Happy Endings, Book I: The Drifter
by Distant-Moon
Summary: Julie is unexpectedly thrown into the Avatar universe before the series began and must help Prince Zuko capture the Avatar. But destiny is a funny thing-it's never set in stone, and history begins to rewrite itself...
1. For Lack of a Better Place to Start

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar or any of his friends. I don't own diddley squat…except for Julie and the other OC's…yeah.**

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**Prologue: I Have to Start Somewhere, Right?**

It was a long time before I could bring myself to pick up a pen, let alone to tell my story. For the most part, I was doing everything possible to put the whole ugly mess behind me-to shove the memories aside and never look at them again. But I couldn't. My body wasn't letting me forget. Weeks passed and still I continued to wake up in the middle of the night with his name on my lips, drenched in cold sweat. All it took was waking up alone beneath my sheets to remember what I had lost.

To put it simply, I'm not the same girl that I was before the accident. I suppose in a way I should be glad—some of those changes turned out for the best, as you will soon learn. But I can't be happy. Not entirely. Because somewhere along the line I got a new scar, jaggedly vivid beside all the others. And, much like the scar on Prince Zuko's face, it isn't going away anytime soon.

Right. You probably have no idea who the hell I'm talking about—unless you're one of those dorks (like myself) who happen to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. If you are, I thank you for making my life that much easier. Unfortunately, I still need to explain at least a little bit for the vast majority who haven't watched the show. Zuko is…wow, how do I explain this? I mean, I can't just throw a Wikipedia entry in your face, now can I? People like Zuko, or Aang and the others for that matter, just can't _be_ explained. They just are.

Not very helpful, I know. But then, I never once claimed to be an expert storyteller. Just a nomad, and, if the situation called for it, a fortune teller. Zuko, in a weird, unexpected way, was my guardian throughout my journey…as well as the bane in my existence.

Right. I'm still not making any sense here. After all, how could I possibly claim to have befriended a fictional character from a kid's hit cartoon show? Well, that's the precise reason why I'm still boarded up at St. Vincent's Institute for the Clinically Insane with suspected brain damage. The nurses are having a specialist look at me—one Dr. Logan C. Chaang, PhD—and in preparation for his visit, they are forcing me to write down everything that happened to me in the past year. They say it will help me separate fiction from reality.

Fat chance! I know who I am! Despite all the shit I dealt with, crossing universes, putting dictators in their place, and consorting with spirits, I haven't forgotten myself at all. My name is Julie McVay, I'm sixteen years old, and I most certainly am NOT crazy. Just stubborn.

I suppose I should get to the point right about now. Nurse Hornbill says that if I don't cut to the chase, she's going to request a psychiatrist to prescribe me some of the meds they push on some of the other inmates. Those particular individuals are actually the sanest people here—until they pop their pills, at which point they become nothing more than human vegetables for a few hours.

If that fat bitch were sane, she would prescribe herself a nutritionist and leave me the hell alone.

Yeah, you heard me Hornbill! You're a fat fuck who doesn't know her left hand from her right! I hope you remember that next time you try to slip something in my food…asshole.

Crap. Sorry, about that! My temper was never this bad before the accident… It's something I really need to work on. Easier said than done.

Contrary to what the white-coats say, it doesn't get easier with every passing day. Not at all. In fact, some of them are even starting to say that I might have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—you know, that mental condition you typically see with war veterans and tragedy survivors? I don't want to believe it, but I can't deny that the symptoms are there. I'm angry a lot, I can barely sleep at night, I get accosted with these vivid flashbacks that seem so real that I feel about an inch away from death.

I wake up every morning reaching for his hand, and it isn't there. That's the worst part. Knowing I'll never be able to hold his hand again.

Quite frankly, I'm not surprised. I mean, I did end up fighting in a war—it just happened to take place in the Avatar's world. I still have wounds from it too, but the nurses say that those were from my "accident." Anyway, I'm more surprised that I haven't picked it up earlier considering the fact that my entire life was one traumatic even after another.

But I suppose if I had to label a trigger even for all this, I'd have to say it occurred on the night of October sixth, approximately around eleven o' clock at night.

.. .. ..

I had overspent my evening studying for my SAT's over at Jessie's place-well, actually, she was berating me for cutting English today in the relative comfort of her bedroom while I attempted to quiz her on vocabulary. It didn't work, though, because when it comes to worrying about me, Jess has got a one-track mind. She didn't even listen when I reminded her how good I had done on the essay portion of the pSAT's without hardly any studying at all.

She just gave me a cold stare and reminded _me_ about my pitiful math scores. Touche.

On the flip side, Jessie was the only person who made the connection between me missing a few days of school at a time with the generally well-known fact that my father is the town drunkard. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have a mother to worry over my well-being that made her act so mother-hen-ish around me. There was no way I could hide a string of bruises from her. As for my mom, she died a little while after I was born, so I could barely remember her now, if at all. Coincidentally, Jessie and I have been friends since the first grade, and that hasn't changed much even now that I've been declared a medical nut-case. She even comes to visit sometimes-when the doctors let her.

If I ever get this story sold to the public, I'm totally dedicating it to her.

Anyway, the gist of all this was that, in the midst of watching Jessie stomp around all mad, ranting about my lack-luster college application, I had completely blown my curfew. Now, I didn't panic right away because it happened to be a Friday night-Dad's chosen night to haunt Steeley's Tavern until some unGodly hour. If he didn't forget his wallet, like he is prone to do sometimes, there was a good chance I could sneak into my bedroom, conflict avoided. Then again, he could still stagger in at two in the morning and give me a black eye over something I had done weeks ago and had forgotten about. Nothing was really certain at my house. All I knew was that if I didn't come home, he would find me...he always found me.

So, taking the late Michael Jackson's advice, I beat it.

Jessie didn't like the situation one bit. She wanted me to spend the night, or to at least do a tarot reading to see whether it would be safe to come home. Yeah, you read that correctly. She wanted me to trust in the heart of the cards like that pissy little Yugi Moto from that 4Kids reject show. It was likely that she had made that suggestion as a stall for time, but the sad truth of the matter was that Jessie actually takes authority in my predictions.

The tarot deck belonged to my mother, I think. I'm not really sure. I found it while rummaging around in our cellar, wrapped up in a crumbling rubber band and covered in an inch of dust. Anyway, the thought of having a real family heirloom-even if it was a cheap deck of plastic cards-and something that belonged to my mom no less really appealed to me. So I read up on tarot in the woo-woo section of the library. As soon as my superstitious best friend found out, naturally she wanted me to tell her fortune...every day.

I think she would have lost interest after a while if I hadn't correctly predicted her winning the raffle at the summer carnival. I had told her that as a joke (and, partially as an excuse for her to drive me across town to the carnival grounds), and to my chagrin she actually drew the winning ticket. To this day she is an avid believer of the paranormal.

I'm actually kind of glad I stuck with that old tarot deck. It actually ended up saving my live when I first entered the Avatar's world. At the moment, however, it did nothing to spare me Jessie's anxiety.

"I'll be fine," I assured her in my most calm voice. "Besides, if I waste time doing a reading, I might not get home in time."

I didn't bother adding that I didn't need to be a fortune-teller-albeit an amateur one-to figure out if it was safe to come home. It was _never_ safe. That was just the way life worked.

"If you don't text me before morning, I'm calling the police," she told me flatly.

I knew she would do it too. Jessie always kept her promises, even if the last thing _I _wanted was to dance with Child Protective Services. It was part of her philosophy that she knew was was best for me; way better than I did. That's Jess for you.

"It's not like anything I say will be able to stop you," I replied good-naturedly. "Just don't panic right away if it takes me a while. I might not be in the position to talk until he's asleep."

I was talking, of course, about my old man.

"Bastard," she muttered. "I don't know how you can be so damn casual in a situation like this..."

"You may call it a defense mechanism," I said, only half-joking, "but I prefer to look at it as being practical-keeping cool in the face of fire."

If I thought that quoting Albus Dumbledore would save me, I was horribly wrong. The Harry Potter reference did nothing to alleviate her building anxiety. If anything, it only served to bring her to the brink of tears. After all, Dumbledore is dead.

Naturally this did nothing to make me feel any better. So I put my most impressive scowl on my face.

"Okay," I told her sternly. "Cut that out right now or I seriously WILL go AWOL. Now, listen! I'm going to cut through the park and cross over the bridge on the interstate. It's the quickest way," I added before she could accost me with the road-kill and mugger argument.

She glared at me, blinking rapidly.

"You're a reckless idiot," she muttered. "But you're still _my_ reckless idiot. So try not to die tonight, okay?"

"Well, dying isn't high up on my to-do list," I reminded her. "It should be a no-brainer."

"You _say_ that, but every time this happens, you end up looking like something someone dug up out of the grave! I mean it! Call me if anything happens!"

"Okay, okay! I promise! Sheesh!"

I was trying to downplay the whole thing, make it seem like no big deal that my dad was an abusive drunk. It made me feel ashamed to have an audience to this, even if it was only Jessie. I knew it wasn't my fault. _I_ was just a victim. But every time Jessie found a bruise or caught me walking with a limp, I felt like dirt-as though _I_ were the one to blame. I was getting annoyed-and I knew that if we kept up this conversation, I would probably snap at her. The last thing I wanted to do was to start yelling at her for no reason.

"Get going," Jessie urged me, grabbing my attention back from the void of self-pity. "On second thought...are you sure you don't want me to give you a lift?"

"Jessie...!" I growled, rubbing my temples and trying to close the dam before the flood of anger broke through. I let out a sigh of frustration. "No. I don't. I keep telling you, I'll be fine! Okay?"

She caught the drift immediately.

"Fine," Jess grumbled, tossing her car keys petulantly over her shoulder. Then, seeing my aggravation as plain as day, she smiled ruefully. "Hey, don't wig out, okay? That's my job."

"And you do it very well," I replied, relieved to feel myself calming down. I took a couple of deep breaths before I could manage a half-hearted grin. "See ya."

I stepped outside.

"Be careful," Jessie whispered as she closed the door behind me with a quiet snap. I paused, half glancing over my shoulder. But then I thought better of it. I took off running down the steps and propelled myself into the street, catching a glimpse of Jessie's face peeking worriedly out the window. I knew she would be watching me until I turned the corner at the end of the block.

I'm proud to say that I still had the wind to keep up a steady jog after my initial sprint. I was already thin, whether due to genetics or my father's stinginess when it came to providing me with meals, I had no idea. I mean, I don't remember what my mother looked like, but I could only assume that I'm a spitting image of her. I mean, where else could I have gotten such vivid red hair? It sure as hell didn't come from my dad, whose shit-colored ponytail reminds me of a limp turd.

Anyway, if it wasn't my choice in hobbies or the good will of God, it was undoubtedly the necessity to be able to run for my life at a moment's notice that did it.

Okay, don't get off thinking I'm this cheesy Lily Potter remake with a hint of Mary Sue. Please. Just look at me for a second: I'm five foot six with no noticeable breasts, skinny as a flag-pole, and I have this freakish mane of Bozo-the-Clown colored hair that mushrooms at the slightest hint of rain. Oh, yeah. I'm definitely the kind of person that millions of untalented pre-teens like to put in their crappy fanfiction...

Focus, reader! I'm about ten blocks away from the plot, and believe me it's a good one!

I remember that the forecast had called for heavy fog with a ninety percent chance of precipitation. So naturally I looked like a piece of work, as it was unnaturally warm and humid as all hell. I felt my hair frizzing up even though it was already cut-in layers-down to my chin. Any shorter and the ends would inevitably curl upwards into a style that would make Jane Jetson blush. Fortunately, most people couldn't see me in the swirling mist.

It also meant that I was likely to be hit by a car if I wasn't careful. So I made sure to keep to the sidewalks whenever I could.

Despite everything, my muscles felt pretty limber as I raced under the hazy yellow glow of the street lamps. I had to slow down a little as I neared the city park-a deserted hunk of metal that miraculously hadn't been condemned when Billy Hampton almost got beheaded on the jungle gym some years back. I checked my watch as I slowed into a jog and decided-against my better judgment-that I could afford to catch my breath on the bridge.

Big mistake.

At this point, the fog had gotten so thick I could barely see ten feet ahead of me. I suppose that, given the circumstances, it really shouldn't have been surprising that I didn't notice that I was being followed. The interstate bridge itself was built for cars-it being connected to a freaking highway, after all. I had jogged about halfway across when I allowed myself to stop, breathing heavily as I clung to the street lamp. It was only once I had done this that I heard the approaching footsteps.

I turned slowly, almost casually as the figure stepped into view. He was dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a holey black sweatshirt that was almost too big for him. I couldn't make out his face just yet-again, no surprise there-but as he got closer it became apparently how male he was. His chin was masked in a faint stubble and his adam's apple was faintly visible from the lip of his collar. However, it was the panther-like slouch that alerted me that I was most likely dealing with a Class A mugger.

_Well, great,_ I thought wryly as I fished smoothly through my pockets, looking for my pepper spray. My swiss army pocket knife was stowed away in the front pocket of my backpack, and couldn't be accessed without drawing unwanted attention to myself. I didn't want my panic to become evident to the stranger.

I tried not to be paranoid. After all, there was a _slight _chance that this was just another ordinary guy...who decided to take a stroll...on the interstate bridge...on a foggy night...

At that moment, he had reached me. His hand came up out of his pocket, and there was glint of cold metal. I found myself staring at a drawn switchblade. I flinched and took several steps backwards, my searching fingers groping more frantically_. _

_Christ on a crutch...! Pepper spray...! Pepper spray_...!

"Give me your wallet," he said quietly.

My hand finally closed around something cylinder-shaped, and my heart felt a little lighter, even if it had managed to wedge itself into the back of my throat. I could barely breathe. My fear wrapped around my lungs like something cold and slimy and constricted them in an unrelenting grip.

"Your wallet," he snapped, getting impatient. I saw the hand holding the knife falter slightly as he noticed my hand in my pocket. "Hey...!"

Too late. I whipped my wrist forward, teeth clenched, fully prepared to give this creep exactly what he deserved...

...?

_Oh, you've GOT to be shitting me!_

My jaw dropped as I found myself brandishing an unwrapped tampon in his face. NOT my pepper spray.

"Um..." I choked, my eyes flickering to meet his. "Girl power?"

He grimaced at me as he slapped my hand away. Then, he grabbed both of my wrists in a cruel grip. His breath stank of stale whiskey.

"You think you're some kind of smart ass, don't you?" he hissed, slamming me forcefully into the pole. I gasped as all the air rushed out of my lungs. His weight was crushing me, and my back arched uncomfortably against the steel. I began flailing against him, hoping to maybe get a lucky shot at his crotch.

I was rewarded with a harsh grunt and a momentary respite in his assault. As he gasped for air, I wriggled free.

I didn't realize how disoriented I had become in the struggle. My heart bombarded my ribs as I tore away from the drunk man. I didn't stop to plan an escape route. In my panic, I simply blundered in whatever direction was closest. I had blindly plunged directly into the road.

The shrill honk of a car horn...blinding lights...my muscles went rigid as I braced myself for the blow. My eyes flew shut, my teeth clenched.

Something slammed into me, knocking me off my feet. I was only vaguely aware of the momentum sending my senseless body flying like a limp rag doll, hurtling off of the bridge. Perhaps I was dying. But I couldn't be afraid now. My mind had switched off all of my nerves-I felt entirely numb as my eyes rolled upwards into the back of my skull. I completely blacked out.

The wind whipped around my ears, pushing my body until it crashed lifelessly into the water. I sank like a stone.

Sinking...

Sinking...

I was dead, wasn't I? I couldn't be sure. I didn't know where I was. Everything was dark. I struggled to push open my eyelids but found that I couldn't. I felt trapped as I pushed against the walls of my body. It had suddenly become my prison.

_Wake up! Please, let me wake up! Give me one more chance! I'm not ready to die yet!_

And that was all it took. Suddenly, I was aware of my surroundings, if only sluggishly.

My first thought was that I couldn't breathe. I attempted to draw in a breath and immediately jerked as water poured into my lungs. It burned in a way water never should. My body screamed for oxygen and completely distracted me from actually obtaining it as I flailed uselessly beneath the waves. This only lasted for about ten seconds before I gave up. I let my arms and legs go limp as the death spasms seized me.

That wasn't the only thing that seized me. I felt strong arms close around me, almost protectively, as though they were embracing me. I slumped against this body as it struggled against my own lifeless weight. As quickly as he could, he was dragging me to the surface. I didn't resist his pull, even as the currents attempted to drag us both under again. I was just an empty burden in the stranger's arms.

Hope is a beautiful thing. It felt almost as good as the sensation of breaking through the edge of the water. But sadly, it was already too late. I had forgotten how to breathe as I had welcomed death with open arms.

More hands grabbed me. A rope was tied around my waist. I was being pulled upwards, up onto the deck of a ship.

_Huh?_ I thought. _There are no boats here._

But there was. I was on one. I flopped onto the floor boards like a fish.

"She's not breathing," someone yelled. I couldn't hear him too good. It was as though I was still underwater. Everything sounded warped and muffled. I was probably still waterlogged.

I felt hands pushing down against my chest, hard. My heart attempted to match the rhythms, to no avail. But my savior wasn't giving up. He forced my mouth open and pressed his against mine, pushing a lungful of air into my body. My body tried more fervently to respond.

Again.

Again.

I gasped, coughing uncontrollably as I tried to push the water out of my lungs. Someone slapped me on the back, not helping. My eyes flickered open and found a group of men surrounding me. The moment my vision came into focus, I thought I was delirious. Either that, or I had lost my mind completely.

I was completely surrounded by a squadron of Fire Nation soldiers.

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**A/N: That's the prologue. Sorry it was so long, but I wanted to actually establish the plot, along with a few key points before I cut it off. It was much longer originally, but I knew that you guys wouldn't have put up with that. So I cut it down a bit.**

**Julie, as you can see, is quite blunt with her descriptions. I did everything possible to make her a realistic character-I even went and researched PTSD, substance abuse, and domestic abuse online before I even attempted to write this. I also read Jumper, by Steven Gould. The main character, David Rice, had an abusive alcoholic father. I found Gould's portrayal to be very helpful, and it even gave me some ideas for plot points in later chapters.**

**So what do you think about Julie? Like her? Hate her? I'm curious, so let me know.**

**RxR**


	2. Plucked from the Water and into the Fire

**Disclaimer: Do you honestly think I own his show? Keep dreaming.**

**Chapter One: Plucked from the Water and Dropped into the Fire**

Okay, so one minute you find yourself literally on Death's doorstep--having been robbed, run over, thrown into the water, and left to drown. Then, miraculously you find that not only did you _not_ die, but that you're now in the company of a bunch of scary-looking tin men straight out of a particularly messed-up cartoon series. Not only that, but you're also completely soaked from head to toe, cold as all _hell_, and most likely will catch hypothermia and _die_ anyway, even if the Fire Nation freaks for whatever reason decided to spare your life.

Just get that picture in your head for a moment. Now take the shock factor and multiply it by a thousand, and you'll almost be able to understand what _I _was feeling.

_Easy, Jules_, I thought, my gaze swiveling from one metal-clad face to another. _You're in a potential life-or-death situation here...let's not make any sudden moves..._

"Did Halloween come early or something?" I blurted out, completely losing all sense of self-preservation.

Okay, fine. I had to ask. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating or that I wasn't in the presence of a bunch of Otaku's who were innocently taking a ferry to their next convention. How such a ferry would have stumbled upon my floating corpse wasn't quite so important so long as it provided me with a plausible explanation for what was happening. I _reall_y didn't want to believe that I had fallen out of my own world and into another. Especially one where the ENTIRE PLANET was being invaded by people who can throw FIRE at you for shits and giggles.

Of course I had seen the show before. It was one of the only shows I actually liked watching. Hell, I admit that I didn't get to watch much tv, considering the fact that Dad never seemed to be able to remember to pay the cable bill on time, and the only channels he had on were the sports channel, Fox Five, and CNN. The rest had infomercials.

No, if I really wanted to watch tv that badly, I would have to go over to Jessie's house. She, of course, had the entire DVD boxset of Avatar: The Last Airbender, being a die-hard fan and refusing to miss an episode. I would sit on that sofa next to her and see these kids going out and trying to win this bitchin' hundred-year war against this fire-breathing overlord--and do you know what would be passing through my mind? _This show is fucking amazing!_

For one thing, the problems are real. The characters are real. I could understand, even relate with what some of them were going through. Plus, it had the added bonus of watching people I could relate with completely destroying their enemies in a slew of earthquakes, tsunamis, and horrific whirlwinds! Did I forget to mention the third degree burns? Oh, yeah, these people suffered, but _man oh, man!_ Did they kick some serious ass in the process!

Not once did I ever imagine that I would actually find myself _in the middle_ of this epic saga. Though now that I did, my chances at survival weren't looking too good. It kind of put a damper on the whole phenomenon. Hell, I probably wasn't even a bender. Stupid realism!

The men began muttering among themselves. I realized that they were still trying to work out what I had said to them before.

"What's a Halloween?" someone asked in a bemused voice.

"I think she said _Hollow _Ween," another replied.

"And what exactly would _that_ be?"

"Damned if I know."

"I think this kid hit his head on the side of the ship when you brought him up, Shen-Long..."

My nostrils flared indignantly. A boy? These guys thought that I was a BOY? I clenched my hands into fists and stuck out my jaw stubbornly, shooting the offender my most venomous glare. I didn't do what I _wanted_ to do, which was to slam my fist into the man's jaw as hard as I could. For one thing, I couldn't. He was wearing a helmet made of very solid-looking metal, and even in my enraged state, I knew it wasn't a very smart idea to punch it.

For another, I was still hoping that I could somehow come out of this alive. Attacking one of the soldiers would just about hammer the last nail in my coffin. Did I mention the swords these guys were carrying around? Now, granted, I may very well have been delirious, but those looked like _real_ weapons. I had nothing to defend myself with--and since everything I owned had been stored away in my backpack, I didn't even have my lousy pepper-spray. Speaking of which, where _was_ my backpack???

At first I thought I had lost it in the ocean, but that didn't feel right to me. I could have sworn I felt its weight when I was being pulled aboard the ship...

That's when I noticed about five of the soldiers rummaging through my wet, but relatively unharmed bag. It had taken them a few moments to figure out the zipper, but once they had gotten it open, they were busily searching through it. My jaw dropped as they pulled out my notebooks from school--most of them falling apart when someone tried to open them due to the soaking they had endured. My SAT textbook was in similar sorry shape. They found my pepper spray in the front pocket along with the swiss army knife and confisgated both items, even if they couldn't read the lettering on the small, harmless looking bottle.

_Assholes,_ I thought angrily. I nearly flipped a shit when they pulled out my tarot deck, but I was also relieved to see that it was safely intact. The cards were made out of plastic and were therefore water-proof. Thank God.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up abruptly and saw that the soldier who had pulled me out of the water--namely, the only one with his helmet off--was trying to get my attention. His hair, jet black, hung down to his shoulders--making it longer than mine, I noted mentally. His eyes were a vivid blue, something I found strange but not worth commenting on. His features were distinctly Asian, which also led me to believe that he was actually what he looked like--a Fire Nation soldier.

I shied away from his touch, resisting the urge to slap his hand away.

"Sorry," he said. "But I have to ask you a few questions, um..."

"Julie," I snapped.

"Pardon?"

"That's my name. Julie."

"Joo...Lee?" he said slowly. "Odd. I take it, then, that you aren't Water Tribe?"

"Do I _look_ like I'm from the Water Tribe?" I asked dryly. It was, after all, a rather stupid question.

Water tribe were dark skinned, had dark hair, and wore blue like it was going out of style. I, on the other hand, had violently red hair, pale skin, and was wearing...um...not blue. Actually, if you must know, I was dressed in a grey sleeveless turtleneck shirt--minus the ridges--green cargo pants, and a pair of black shoes. I suppose if I really _was_ in the Avatar's world, I should be wearing more girly clothing, like a kimono. Maybe that was why everyone was convinced I was a boy.

The soldier grinned at me, completely unabashed. "Earth Kingdom, then."

"Not quite," I replied sarcastically. "And before you ask, I'm not from the Fire Nation, either."

I paused at that moment, realizing that it might have been better to pretend that I _was_ Fire Nation. It might have kept me alive longer, though I certainly would have had fun trying to explain how I had gotten all the way from the Fire Nation to the...um...were those glaciers we just passed?

He didn't seem to realize that I had stopped paying attention to him, and was now staring dumbfoundedly at my surroundings.

"I wasn't going to," he said. "You're obviously not Fire Nation, but you can't possibly be an Air Nomad...why, those went extinct decades ago...!"

"No kidding," I muttered, trying to stop shivering. Unfortunately, my clothes were entirely water-logged and clung to me like a wet suit. The air was dry and frigid, and to my ill-fortune, the sea breeze showed no sign of letting up. At this point, I was kind of hoping that one of the soldiers would get mad and start slinging some fire at me. It would certainly warm me up a little.

"I wonder..." the man said, almost thoughtfully.

"Keep wondering," I snapped. I wasn't in the best of moods. Pretty soon, I knew, I would have to answer to whoever was in charge of this rust-bucket. I didn't know what I was supposed to tell them, either. _"Yeah, Captain Whosawhatsit! I'm from another dimension!"_ Let's see how fast they'd be chucking me into the nearest jail cell. Of course they wouldn't believe me.

So what was I going to say to them?

"Make way for Prince Zuko!" someone yelled. I heard a rush of footsteps as the soldiers moved back into their original positions, but all of them seemed reluctant to get too far away from me. I was a novelty for them, and I could tell that they weren't above invading my personal space if they could find out who the hell I was. Actually, come to think of it, they had already violated my personal space.

I had initially taken the opportunity of the soldiers uniform distraction to grab my backpack and tarot deck--which they seemed to think wasn't worth confisgating--and slinging it over my shoulder. However, when I heard the name _Prince Zuko_, I had literally frozen into a human glacier. You couldn't thaw me out if Katara had tried to waterbend the crap out of me.

Let's follow the chain of logic for a second: _Prince Zuko_ owned this ship. This ship is currently anchored in the middle of what appears to be the _South Pole_. He is _Prince_ Zuko, not _Fire Lord_ Zuko. What else could all this mean except...

All of the color drained out of my face at the horrible realization, though I doubt there was much left in it considering how cold I was.

_Fuck. We're still at WAR..._

I was going to die. It was official.

* * *

If Prince Zuko was well-known for anything, it was for his massacre of an Agni Kai against his father, Fire Lord Ozai. Therefore, it was probably common knowledge that he had been exiled almost immediately after his crushing defeat. He had been sent on a quest that he had no chances of actually successfully completing--almost like a cruel joke. Find the Avatar: the same person who's been missing for over a century, someone who had miraculously eluded Fire Lord Sozin of all people. Do this and we'll welcome you back into the family and pretend that his ugly little incident never even happened.

The scar over his left eye was just a trademark of his shame and humiliation--a stigma that would forever mark him and separate him from the rest of his significantly more twisted and evil family members...particularly Princess Azula, his younger sister. Personally, I was glad to be an only child. I couldn't imagine having to deal with both my father AND a little evil incarnate. Screw that.

Anyway, at the moment I had been discovered by the Fire Navy crew, Prince Zuko had been looking over a map of the South Pole, trying to drown out the sound of his uncle, General Iroh, lecturing him about tea leaves. Or it could have been military strategy. Honestly, he hadn't been paying much attention. Just giving the occassional reply grunt whenever it was needed. He was finding it increasingly difficult to focus, which wasn't too surprising considering how easily distracted Zuko tended to be.

"Uncle," he said through gritted teeth. "Can we _please_ discuss this later??? I'm trying to figure out if we're still on course..."

"Perhaps you should take a break, then," Iroh suggested. "I myself often find my senses rejuvenated after inhaling the nice aroma of ginseng tea."

Zuko ignored his uncle's latest blatant attempt to brainwash him into a tea-loving zombie.

"I can't."

"Prince Zuko, you've been looking at that map for over an hour now. Let someone else look at it for a while and rest your eyes."

"I said, I can't! Not until I figure out where to look for the Avatar next!"

"We've been searching for over three years," said Iroh slowly, rubbing his temples as though warding off a head-ache. "Surely an hour's rest won't set you back too far."

"I said, no!" Zuko snapped.

Iroh sighed. His nephew was being as stubborn as ever, and it wouldn't bode well should they ever find the Avatar if Zuko worked himself to the point of exhaustion. But he doubted that anything short of an alien invasion would drag the headstrong prince out of his chair. It seemed pretty likely that he would be reading maps and muttering about his lost honor well into the night.

Sometimes Iroh feared that this mission had really been meant as a slow execution. Zuko was going to work himself into an early grave at this rate. Just as he was musing over this grim possibility, someone appeared in the doorway and bowed.

"Prince Zuko, General Iroh," he said, "I have news! The men and I found something floating in the water!"

Zuko looked up, interest evident in his golden eyes. "Is it the Avatar?" he asked.

The messenger hesitated. "I...I honestly can't say, your highness. Perhaps you'd like to take a look for yourself?"

The chair made a scraping noise as the Fire Prince hastily rose.

"Let's go at once," he said, all thoughts of navigation forgotten. Typical Zuko. The messenger bowed again and exited the room, ready to lead them up onto the deck, pretending not to notice the Prince's intensity nor Iroh's relief at the distraction. Let me tell you that this nameless messenger was a thousand times more polite than I would of been had I been in his shoes. But then, I guess he had more reason to than I did.

In any case, when Zuko finally did arrive on deck, the first thing he saw was that all of his troops were in a state of disorder. Then he saw this mess of a human being with strange-colored hair, sitting on the floor, completely drenched and wearing strange clothes, and shivering like she was about to come apart at the seams--namely, me.

"Make way for Prince Zuko!" the messenger said in a booming voice. The soldiers, upon realizing that their superiors were present, immediately scrambled to their posts.

Instead of bowing respectfully or even possibly cowering in fear, I boldly met Zuko's gaze, not wanting to show weakness. Hell, I was practically at his mercy. The last thing I wanted was for him to know it. Our staring contest seemed to last forever while he took my bedraggled appearance in. I saw him raise his eyebrows.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Prince Zuko," said the helmet-less soldier, "if I may, the girl's name is Joo-Lee."

I winced at the weird accent he put on my name.

"Let her speak for herself then, Shen-Long," Zuko snapped. He set his piercing gaze on me again, his ponytail whipping furiously in the wind. He was looking at me as though I were some kind of criminal. "Who are you?"

"You know," I muttered, "with that charm of yours, it completely baffles me that you don't have a girlfriend..."

Everyone fell silent.

"Your name," Zuko barked.

"Feh, whatever," I muttered. "Julie. Julie McVay." I tried desperately to rub some warmth into my arms while glaring formidably at the hot-headed royal. He certainly had looks, but not much else in the personality department. I was quickly forgetting all the reasons for liking him back home. Not surprising. It was a long way away from the third season, where he was supposed to redeem himself. Right now he was just...angry.

Fortunately, Iroh came to my rescue.

"Perhaps we can continue this discussion another time," he said, coming forward. "At the moment, I think we should get you out of those clothes."

If anyone other than General Iroh said that to me, I think I would have slugged him, armor or no armor. I think what kept me from getting offended was the fact that I knew who this man was and knew he had nothing perverted in mind. Plus, he was being hospitable, unlike his nephew, who was still leering at me like something he found under a rock. It was starting to piss me off.

"I think Bo-Fen will have a spare outfit for you to change into," Iroh continued kindly. He reached out a hand to me and I accepted it, gratefully. "It is nice to meet you, Joo-Lee."

"Actually," I said in a subdued tone, still ruffled, "it's Julie. Not Joo-Lee. But thanks. Same to you, I suppose."

Then, I got an idea. One that would buy me even more time.

"I don't suppose you can spare me a cup of tea," I said slowly. "I...I'm really cold...and tired...and thirsty."

Iroh brightened immediately while Zuko let out a long groan. I had trouble hiding my sigh of relief--not to mention my ill-timed mirth. For some reason, seeing the Fire Crown Prince so irritated was just...funny. I felt so giddy and light-headed that, what with my shot nerves in a tow, I think I would have laughed at my own execution had it been forthcoming.

* * *

Right now, I was being shown the way to the servant's quarters by the helmetless soldier, who I later learned was named Shen-Long. After I had changed into something presentable, I was to report to General Iroh's quarters for that cup of tea he had promised. I had no doubt in my mind that his nephew would be joining us. The looks he had been giving were nothing short of pure determination and distrust--he would not be letting me get away so easily, that much I knew.

As I was being led away, Zuko had made a noise of annoyance. I could tell what was passing through his mind. He wanted to find the Avatar--God only knows if he had met Aang, yet. All of a sudden, a mysterious girl ends up appearing on his ship with absolutely no indication of where she could have come from. He probably wanted answers. I know I did.

Unfortunately, I couldn't think up a good enough lie because Shen-Long was trying to be sociable. It was irritating. Plus, it didn't help that I kept stumbling because of the boat contantly lurching and rolling with the waves. I started to get sick to my stomach.

"So, Julie..." he said slowly. "That's an...interesting name..."

"Uh, huh..."

"What does it mean?"

I paused, turning to blink at him. "What?"

"Your name," he clarified hastily. "I mean, my father always told me that names tell a story...like, origins perhaps?"

I decided that I didn't like Shen-Long very much at all. He was too damn curious about me, and God damn it, I had enough problems with the canon characters, let alone the nameless background people who don't contribute anything to the plot. What, did he think I was some sort of spy bent on assassinating the Fire Crown Prince? Actually, that was probably _exactly_ what he thought.

"If you want to ask where I'm from, quit beating around the bush."

"Fine. Where are you from?"

"No where."

Shen-Long nodded in an all-knowing way. "You're a nomad, aren't you?"

"No," I said. "I just...traveled a long way. But I'm not a nomad."

I did have a home. It was just an entire dimension away--an unreachable distance that I had somehow crossed within a span of...well, I had no way of knowing exactly how long I had been in the water. It felt like an eternity. For all I knew, I could have been frozen in a block of ice for a century like Aang.

The thought made me shudder internally.

"If you're not a nomad," Shen-Long wanted to know, "then what are you?"

I frowned and said nothing. Whatever I was wasn't any of _his_ business.

I heard the Fire Nation soldier sigh in frustration. It made me wonder whether he was really trying to be friendly, or simply acting under orders. Maybe Zuko ordered him to extract whatever information he could get on me.

"What are you?" he said again, this time more insistent. I glared at him.

"I'm me," I snapped. "I'm Julie McVay. That's all that I am, and all that I'll ever be."

And that was the end of our conversation. We had reached our destination: the servants' quarters...

...which was really just a polite name for the storage room. There was a plain looking door staring at us as we approached, and Shen-Long used a key to open it. As we stepped inside, I noticed immediately how dark and foreboding the place was. As the light from the hallway streamed in I was able to make out the misshapen lumps on the wall. Those were hammocks, where the servants slept. Several crates littered this abode, and there was an unpleasant smell in the air. I felt something furry brush against my ankle as it scampered past me, and I felt my muscles lock in surprise. _Rats..._

"Bo-Fen!" Shen-Long bellowed. "Bo-Fen!"

"I'm here," came a voice to our right. We turned and saw a short figure silhouetted in shadow. She took a few steps into the light, and I could see her better. She was stout and stocky, as though she had been built for heavy lifting and ship-work. Her dark eyes glinted like obsidian daggers as she looked me over. She certainly wasn't dainty, but she definitely was tough as nails.

I liked her already.

"What do you want?" she asked. The low, soft voice she used reminded me of a bass, unfaltering and fine-tuned. It violently contrasted with her country accent. It confused me. It made it hard to figure out if she was a servant of the Fire Palace, or just a spare ship-hand.

Shen-Long gave me a nudge with his elbow, all buddy-like. It made me want to sock him.

"We fished up a stray dog from the water," he told her, and I felt myself stiffen indignantly. "She needs clothes, as her own are clearly unsuitable in this weather. You got any to spare?"

"What do I look like? A tailor?" she snapped, but then swiveled her gaze to me again. She narrowed her eyes. "But I suppose I can lend her some of my things for now...at least until we reach the next port."

"Will they fit?" I muttered, a little put-off at her height, or lack there of.

"Doesn't matter," Shen-Long replied. "It's either that, or go naked. We've got no other girls on the ship...not that we can call either of you put together a _real_ woman."

"Sometimes," I bit back at him, "I find it hard to believe that _you're_ a real _man_."

Shen-Long's goofy grin dropped. He looked almost serious again, and Bo-Fen laughed.

"Oh, now don't get like that, Shen. You know you can't please everyone with your sense of humor."

"_That's_ humor?" I muttered.

"It's a refined taste," Shen-Long replied haughtily. Then, he stepped back outside. "I'll be waiting here until you get dressed. I'm supposed to take you to see the General, next, so don't try to run off on me..."

"She won't," Bo-Fen assured him, shutting the door smartly in his face. She bit back another bark of laughter as she turned to face me again. She looked me up and down, her smile fading into a pensive frown. "Okay, now I can obviously see that you're taller. Not much I can do about that, unless you're willing to shrink. I might have a shirt and jacket that may fit you, but the pants..." she trailed off thoughtfully.

"Whatever," I said hastily. "Anything just to get warm...!"

"You are looking a bit blue in the face...I almost thought you were Water Tribe wearing blue war paint...but that hair..."

"I get that a lot," I replied, and quickly changed the subject.

* * *

Ten minutes later, I was dressed in two loose, long-sleeved shirts--the inner layer was grey, and the outer layer was scarlet. I also wore Bo-Fen's spare jacket--also grey and bearing the Fire Nation insignia--and a pair of maroon pants that I had to bind to my waist with a dark grey sash. They were several inches too short at the ankle, but Bo-Fen said I could wear boots to hide it.

For the moment, though, I had to go barefoot. I felt ridiculous, wearing such a hodge-podge of garments, but at least I was dry. Despite the jacket, though, I was still cold. It was as though all of that icy water had seeped inside of me and chilled me to the bone. I shivered quietly as Shen-Long guided me to the upper quarters, where General Iroh resided. I felt myself getting increasingly nervous and uptight.

"Lucky for you, the Dragon of the West happens to be a benevolent one," said Shen-Long. "His nephew on the other hand...well, let's just say that it'd be wiser to jump into a bear-shark's waiting jaws than to provoke _him_."

"Prince Zuko can't be that bad," I replied stiffly, refusing to let his careless words frighten me. After all, I saw how he was in the show. He was genuinely a good person deep down inside...just kind of confused...and stubborn. Right?

Shen-Long shrugged. He had learned by now that it was pointless to argue with me.

There were a pair of guards standing at attention on both sides of the doorway. Upon seeing us, the one on the right rapped on the door. "Shen-Long and the prisoner are here to see you, General," he called through the crack.

_Prisoner?_

I felt myself starting to tremble, despite my tenacious attempts to appear stoic and unmoved. It wasn't from the cold, either.

I was on a Fire Navy ship. I was a helpless teenager, and now I was about to appeal for my life; and, even worse, I had to rely on the sympathy of a man who didn't know me, and his short-tempered nephew, both of whom were quite adept at _breathing fire_. What if they decided that I was untrustworthy and told the crew to throw me back into the water? Or, even worse...what if they sent me to the Boiling Rock?

It could happen. They could lock me in the brig until they reached the Earth Kingdom, then place me on the next ferry out there. There was _no_ way for me to escape. Not without weapons or a little help. Christ, I needed the Avatar, but for all I knew, he was still a freaking ice cube! What was I going to do???

The door opened, beckoning to me like a vast, gaping mouth that was all too eager to swallow me whole. My stomach was churning, out fear and sea-sickness. I think I was on the verge of collapsing. And there was General Iroh, dressed in all his finery and smiling tranquilly at my quavering form.

_No pressure_, I thought grimly.

* * *

**A/N: Just to clear things up, this chapter takes place PRE-EPISODES. This happens before The Boy in the Iceberg.**

**Not much else to say. Julie gets her first taste of the Fire Navy--it tastes salty, doesn't it? And we see some of her temper seeping into her actions. Normally, she isn't this pissy, but you have to remember that she's in a strange place, and is in a state of extreme discomfort. Sea-sickness? The bitter cold and potential hypothermia? Plus, she almost just drowned. She's not going to be all, "YAY! I GOT SUCKED INTO THE AVATAR WORLD!!!"**

**Because she has no idea how to survive in this world. And you can bet that the Fire Navy is going to be less that hospitable to their unwanted guest. I mean, I see too many stories where the main character appears from their own world, out of NO WHERE, and the cast just _accepts _them, without question, into the group. There's just no way that would happen! Especially during a WAR!**

**I know I should probably apologize for the OC's, but I won't. Both Shen-Long and Bo-Fen will at some point play key roles in the plot. They're not really main characters. Just minor ones who will pop up from time to time. ****Which means that they'll be having a hand in the Avatar story as well... ;)**

**Anyway, all I can say is that if you don't like OC's, then fear not. I won't introduce too many. It's too time consuming to draw out a profile for all of them. Plus, this is really the Avatar story, so I'll have to focus on cannon characters from here on in.**

**NEXT CHAPTER! _Julie meets General Iroh! What story will she tell him to get out of being keel-hauled? ALSO, pest control, rope ladders, AND Avatar Abridged references!!! How will Zuko react??? _**

**Review, otherwise I start killing cannon characters! Don't think I won't do it!**


	3. Plausible and Just Plain Stupid

**Disclaimer: I am not Mike and Bryan.**

**Chapter Two: Plausible and Just Plain Stupid**

I don't know how long I was standing on Iroh's doorstep, wearing my finest deer-caught-in-a-pair-of-headlights expression. The General smiled kindly at me, not unlike someone who was trying to coax a skittish animal into the Vet's office. Before I could process this, though, Shen-Long--who was apparently becoming impatient--pinioned my arms to my sides and frog-marched me into the room.

"Quit looking like that," he muttered to me quickly. "The General's a good man. He'll be fair to you."

I felt a stab of indignation. Was he feeling _sorr_y for me???

Shen-Long must have regretted trying to frighten me earlier; trying to make amends for his veiled and ill-conceived threats by setting the record straight. No more talk of the dreaded Dragon of the West. Just the General. I stole another glance at Iroh and saw nothing but warm hospitality radiating from his rotund, good-natured form. Was this facade for my benefit?

I swallowed heavily. As I shrugged the soldier away, I also somehow found the strength to lean on my own two legs--only God knows where I found it, though. Perhaps it was my relief that Zuko wasn't waiting to interrogate me like he venomously promised. I had less reservations with conversing with Iroh than I did with his hot-headed nephew. At least _he_ knew something about curtesy--and it wasn't good manners to slay the girl you invited to tea.

Keeping my gaze to the floor, I moved a couple of paces past the threshold and hesitated. Should I bow? As if to answer my silent question, Shen-Long placed his palm on my back and pushed me down to the floor. I blushed angrily.

"I've come, General Iroh," I said lamely. "For the tea."

"Yes, I can see that," he replied genially. "Why don't you have a seat.

He beckoned for me to rise, and I wasted no time in swatting Shen-Long's hand away and climbing clumsily to my feet. The combination of cold, sea-sickness, and nervous anticipation was starting to make me feel lightheaded. Hastily, lest my discomfort be noticed, I took my place on the opposite end of the table. There was an ornate-looking kettle and three sets of cups and saucers. Three, not two.

"My nephew will be joining us," Iroh explained as he detected my gaze. There was no emotion in his eyes when he said that; no promise that nothing bad would happen to me on board his ship; no assurances that I would be safe. Just that matter-of-fact tone of voice.

I wondered whether or not I had miscalculated this man.

"That's...nice..."

Iroh was watching me closely. It made me curious as to what thoughts were passing through his shrewd mind.

"Indeed," he said. "However, I wanted the chance to converse with you privately before then. As of yet, Prince Zuko is still under the assumption that you are with Bo-Fen. I see she has found something...somewhat decent for you to wear."

I found myself blushing. "It was the only thing that would fit me, General."

He nodded. "Perhaps we can find something more suitable for you when we reach the next port."

Would I even last that long? I didn't allow myself to hope. After all, he could just as easily be selecting an outfit for me to wear to my grave. Iroh would at least allow me to die fully clothed, and I knew he wasn't the type to defile a young girl's body, whether live or dead.

"Where is the next port?" I asked quietly.

"Well, that depends," said Iroh. "You see, we have some business here in the South Pole that Prince Zuko is...eager to see through. After that, we will most likely head for the Seedy Merchants Pier to stock up on supplies."

"The _what_ pier?"

"I admit, it does sound rather sketchy, but it is sure to have whatever we need. Besides, it's a market that is entirely neutral to the war, so we should have no problem finding someone willing to trade with us."

I didn't comment. Clearly the Fire Nation wouldn't be welcome in most Earth Kingdom ports except for the harbor towns they had already occupied. Even then, relations were bound to be chilly at best. Still, I wondered about what Iroh had just told me. Seedy Merchant Pier was most likely the one seen in the episode The Waterbending Scroll. But that wasn't for several more episodes. Could that mean that the Avatar had already been awakened?

"What kind of business does Prince Zuko have in the South Pole?"

"It is nothing you need to concern yourself with," Iroh replied in that same matter-of-fact voice. "Perhaps we can turn our attention to the matter at hand. To begin with, Lieutenant Jee informs me that you were half drowned when you were discovered by the crew. However, there were no signs of another boat for miles--not even a canoe. What happened to you?"

Oh, snap.

"Um..." to stall for time, I took a long sip of the tea. It was brutally hot and I scalded my tongue. Quickly and immediately, I fell into an uncontrollable coughing fit. Fortunately, Shen-Long had enough sense to grab my cup of tea before I spilled it. He placed it on the table and slapped me on the back. I glared at him through my tearing eyes.

Iroh waited patiently for me to finish. He apparently suspected a ruse like this on my part.

"Better?" he asked. I nodded mutely.

"It...it was hot..."

Shen-Long rolled his eyes. I resisted the urge to get up and kick him in the shins.

"Indeed, tea is usually best served hot, especially when it is served to one who was found in the icy waters of the South Pole," Iroh said pointedly. "You were saying?"

"Ah, right," I said, as though I could have forgotten the question. "Well...um...Sir, I don't really...know how I got there."

Well, it certainly wasn't a lie. How the hell _had _I gotten into the Avatar universe??? To distract myself, I allowed my gaze to drift to my surroundings. General Iroh's abode was handsomely furnished without being too ostentatious. There was a map of the four nations hanging on the wall in front of me, where Iroh was sitting. I could see little pins with red glass beads on the head indictating various locations. I had no way of figuring out the order they were placed on the map, so it didn't help much in telling me where exactly we were. i looked to my right and saw Iroh's bed with a Fire Nation flag hanging over on the far wall. There was a bookshelf in the corner, and in the dead center of the room was the table we were using for the tea.

"I don't think I understand," said Iroh.

"Well, that makes both of us, I guess," I said with a sigh. "I mean, the last thing I remember was...being robbed. I had been ambushed by a mugger, and then...I saw a bright light." I trailed off. Those were the headlights of a car, but obviously Iroh wouldn't know anything about that. And if my story was too incredible, there was no way I'd survive all the way to Seedy Merchant Pier.

"Fire?"

"I'm...not sure," I lied. "Maybe. But whatever it was, it didn't burn me. I blacked out, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up on board your ship."

The Dragon of the West fell silent, musing. He took a long, slow sip of his tea, as though it would help his thoughts.

"If I may add something," said Shen-Long suddenly, "General, this girl was found carrying a knife and a bottle filled with an unknown substance. Also, she was carrying this," he added, reaching swiftly into my coat pocket and whipping out my mother's old Tarot deck. I flinched at the sudden movement.

"A Tarot," said Iroh slowly. He looked over at me, scrutinizing me carefully. "You are a fortune-teller?"

"Um...sure?"

"You seem uncertain."

"Well, you know how these things are," I fumbled. "I mean to say that I'm not a professional fortune-teller. It's more of a...hobby."

"This whole thing reeks of spirits," Shen-Long muttered. Then, he looked hastily at my questioner. "Pardon me, General. I did not mean to speak so--"

"It is nothing," Iroh replied quickly, waving a dismissive hand. "I am also curious about this bottle. Lieutenant Jee seems to be under the impression that it is some sort of poison. He suspects that you are an assassin of some sort."

"I'm not!" I said quickly, looking horrified. "That's just pepper spray! It...it's used to...disarm attackers. You spray it in their eyes, and it burns them. A traveling pharmacist sold it to me, but told me that he wouldn't be making any more. It wasn't cost efficient," I mumbled the last part. It sounded like an obvious lie, but what else was I supposed to tell them?

The two men exchanged glances. I could tell they were dubious.

"Look, if you really think it's dangerous, you can destroy it. Throw it overboard. I won't try to stop you."

I looked from one face to another, looking for any opportunity to prove myself to them. But how could I get them to trust me when the truth sounded like a lie? Lies were all I had to offer them. It made my stomach squirm distastefully.

"We will handle the situation accordingly," Iroh assured me, even though I had no idea what he meant. It was a known fact that, as a member of the White Lotus Society, he tended to be vague almost as often as he lapsed into metaphors and long anecdotes about tea. "In the mean time," he continued in a casual manner, "I wouldn't mind if you demonstrated your skill with the tarot for us."

I raised my eyebrow. "Huh. I didn't think most people actually believed in it..."

"Nonsense," Iroh replied. "Tarot is quite useful in the means of introspection. In one reading, you can learn a lot about both the questioner and the reader of the cards...but of course, you already knew that."

"Like I said, it's just a hobby. No one I know practices Tarot, so I had to learn out of a book."

Said book was probably soaking wet and falling the pieces in my bag. Not good, because I tended to rely on it when an usual combination of cards appeared. I could remember the generic meaning of each card, but no way was I good enough to do a professional reading. No way.

Unfortunately, any credibility I could have hoped for lay in these cards. I had to try.

_Maybe you don't have to do a correct reading, _I realized. _Not if you already know enough about the person being read..._

I smiled weakly at the General. "But sure. I'll give it a try. Can I have my deck back now?" I asked in a low growl, directing a glare at Shen-Long. The soldier looked towards Iroh, who nodded his assent. Reluctantly, he placed the deck on the table and slid it towards me. I paused, then reached for the deck...

The sudden rushing of footsteps, angry voices, the bark of an order, and the sound of a lock hastily being pried open. Iroh looked up in alarm right as the door burst open, and an angry Prince Zuko strode into the room. I jumped, knocking my cards to the floor. They scattered, but I didn't dare to reach over and pick them up.

"I thought I told you that I was to question the prisoner," he fumed. He shot me an expression of distaste. His gaze moved to the plastic illustrated cards littering the deep carpet and stepped condescendingly on one as I moved to snatch it away. I stared in mute rage at the foot slowly grinding my mother's tarot card into the floor. My hands were shaking. "And what are you doing with these?" he asked, looking down at me again.

"Asshole..." I breathed.

Even Iroh looked appalled.

"Nephew, where are your manners? Julie was about to perform a reading for us."

"I don't care if she was about to do backflips for you," Zuko snapped. However, as he glanced at me again he seemed to regret abusing my deck to the extent that he had. His foot came off of the dented card, and I picked it up, cradling it in my palm. Then, I hastily gathered up the rest of the cards before he could damage them as well.

_Mom..._

"She came here under extremely suspicious circumstances, and I for one don't think it's an innocent coincidence that she just appeared in the water like that," I heard Zuko yelling at Iroh. "Did you even ask her about that?"

"Of course."

"And?"

Iroh calmly sipped his tea. "The cause is still open for debate, but we think it was some sort of accident that she arrived here at all."

"And that's okay with you?" Zuko demanded angrily. I was glaring at him now. I knew he had every right to be suspicious of me. It's exactly what I would have been if I had been in his royal shoes. But right then and there, as he continued to eye me with those golden hate-filled eyes, clenching his hands into fists as though he would like nothing more than to curl his fingers around my throat...well, I just about hated him.

Prince Zuko was acting like a real prick.

"All questions will be answered with the passing of time," Iroh replied. "Truth has a funny way of catching up with a person, you see...but in the mean time," he added slyly, "perhaps there is something you'd like to ask her? Perhaps you'll answer some of your suspicions that way."

Only an idiot would have missed the implications behind that remark. They were talking about the Avatar again. Now, I doubted that Iroh really had any faith in my fortune-telling skills, but clearly he was using Zuko's obsession with Aang to gain leverage so I could go through with my reading. Why would he want to see me do tarot...unless he wanted to see whether I was a fraud, and therefore a liar...?

I had no way of knowing. I could only read cards, not minds.

Zuko hesitated, mulling his uncle's words over. Then, he turned to Shen-Long. "Leave us. Have the guards lock the door behind you. _No one_ is to hear this coversation. Is that understood?"

"Yes, your Highness," Shen-Long bowed as he left the room. I saw him shoot me a pitying glance, as though I were already sentenced to die. It was out of his hands, and it was very quickly falling out of mine.

The door slammed shut and the key scraped in the lock. We all waited in silence until the footsteps had faded away completely--until we were sure we were alone. Zuko turned to face me again.

"So you say you're a fortune teller?"

I nodded curtly.

"What nation are you alligned with?"

"Alligned?" I repeated blankly. "You mean where am I from?"

Zuko scowled at me. "Yes."

I thought for a moment. The map on Iroh's wall was a complete map of the world. So that meant that there were no unchartered territories, no undiscovered terrain, and no chance of me being from anything but one of the four nations. I had only four options, well, three. The air nomads were practically nonexistent.

I already admitted to Shen-Long that I wasn't Water Tribe. And I seriously doubted that I could pass myself off as Fire Nation. Should I go with the nomads after all? I did tell Shen-Long I was something of a nomad.

"I don't really have a home. Not anymore," I said after a long pause. "I traveled a long way."

I was determined not to lie if I could. I figured that if I wanted to stay focused on surviving, I couldn't waste brain cells remembering what I told different people. Besides, if I was lucky enough to pass Zuko's inspection, I knew my every move would be watched and carefully analyzed. I couldn't afford any discrepancies.

"Where are your parents?"

I winced, thinking of my father. He was probably waiting for me back home with a kitchen knife.

"Gone," I whispered.

There was a thoughtful pause. I was worried that he would ask for more information, but apparently Zuko noticed how uncomfortable I was mentioning them. Maybe it was because he too had Daddy issues. Or maybe he just didn't care to know. Either way, he didn't press the issue.

"So you traveled alone then? For how long?"

"I haven't been keeping track," I told him. Then, I had to lie. "A long time I guess."

"And how do you survive?" Zuko wanted to know. "What do you do for food? For money?"

"I do what I can," I said slowly. And technically, this was true. Back at home I would either rely on Jessie's cooking or the cafeteria food at school to hold me over during the week. I rarely needed money, and if I did, Jessie took care of it. She even bought me my cell phone, even though I told her not to. She never listens about stuff like that. And I feel guilty as hell when I can't pay her back for things.

"That's rather vague," Iroh put in.

"Well, it depended on where I was," I replied, flushing red. "Sometimes I would sing, other times I would sell fortunes to people, and other times I held a gambling ring."

Three card monty if you really want to know. It took me forever to learn how to do it. But I figured, if I could do tarot, I may as well do other profitable things with cards too. Besides, you'd be surprised how gullible some people could be.

"You sing?" Iroh asked, looking genuinely interested. I didn't much savor the idea of bursting out a tune in front of these two, and thank God Zuko interrupted again.

"Why are you in the South Pole?" he asked sharply. "I doubt any of _those_ talents would be welcome with the people here."

I glared at him. "I don't know _how_ I got here. All I know is that I _am_ here and unless you decide to kill me or something, I'm not going anywhere until we reach the mainland."

"We don't harbor stowaways. Unless you have some way of paying for the trip..."

"What are you going to do?" I demanded. "Throw me back to the sea? Leave me here to die? What gives you the right to--"

"Nephew," Iroh cut in. "Perhaps she _can_ pay for passage back to the Earth continent somehow."

The two exchanged glances. I could see a silent war between them, a contest of wills that Zuko was apparently losing. At least, if his rising frustration was any indication of the fact, then it was a battle he had already lost. The Dragon of the West just seemed...naturally content. And I myself had trouble believing that he was defending a perfect stranger. I mean, this _was _General Iroh, but...I dunno. It just weirded me out a bit. Usually no one but Jessie is ever nice to me.

I looked at the mug of tea on the table. What _did _Iroh put in this, anyway?

"Fine," Zuko snapped. "She can work for food and lodging. But she's your responsibility."

"I'll see to it that she doesn't get into any trouble."

The Fire Prince rose to leave. He strode past his uncle without a second glance, but paused as his hard gaze met my own. Those golden irises of his were just so concentrated with suspicion and fury. Man, it was almost ridiculous to think how much this guy hated my guts.

"I want you back here after dinner," he said coldly. "I still have other things for you to tell me, and then we can discuss the terms of your indenture."

"Understood."

"If I hear anything about you stealing anything, or putting my mission in jeapardy, I will personally see to it that you get shipped to the Boiling Rock," he continued in equally frosty tones. My mouth fell open in outrage, but it was ignored. Zuko grabbed the door handle and slammed it shut behind him, leaving me and the General in an awkward silence.

Really awkward.

"So..." I said, looking around the room. "I assume this isn't your average fishing trip, then?"

"No," Iroh replied, looking tired all of a sudden. "It isn't. But let us discuss other things," he said, changing the subject. His facial expression relaxed a bit as he brought another hospitable smile on his face. "So...what is your opinion about ginseng?"

And then, for the first time that day, I smiled.

* * *

Bo-Fen was waiting for me as I left the General's quarters. I found her leaning against the wall, fiddling with a flute-like instrument. I didn't recognize it, though. Not by glance.

"Oh, there you are," she said, looking up as I came closer. She stuck the instrument into this long pouch that hung from her belt. "I saw Zuko leave not that long ago...well, storm off, actually. I thought he might have killed you or something."

"No, but he wanted to. Is he always this charming?" I asked, thinking of my bent tarot cards.

"Pretty much. I haven't seen that boy smile once since we first set sail three years ago. But listen, since you aren't being carted off to the holding cells down below, I assume that means you're off the hook?"

"For the moment," I said hesitantly. "Why do you ask?"

Bo-Fen whistled. It was long and low, but the pitch was neat and unbroken.

"What did you say to get them to trust you?"

"I dunno," I said with a shrug. It struck me as odd how casual she was even though we had just met. She reminded me of Jessie--if Jessie were a hardened sailor, that is. I mean to say that they both just sort of click with me. I warmed to Bo-Fen because she was one of those frank, but sincere people you rarely meet, the kind who aren't afraid to slap you on the back and correct your mistakes. And, even more astonishing, they could do it without making you feel stupid.

I figured I could tell Bo-Fen what went down.

"General Iroh says I can pay for passage back to the Earth Kingdom if I work on board the ship. I guess I'm part of the crew for a while..."

She smiled. "That's great, but hon'? You're not part of the crew until the crew says you're part of the crew."

"What do you mean?" I asked. Wasn't it enough that I had been hired...sort of?

"Well, everyone sort of has to go through initiation. Just to make sure you have your sea-legs and all."

"I have sea-legs," I protested.

As if the universe was itching to prove me wrong, the waves rocked the ship and the floor seemed to lurch. I stumbled forward involuntarily and slipped backwards onto my butt. I winced as I landed hard on the wooden floor, my cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Bo-Fen reached out a hand and I accepted it gratefully.

"It takes some time to get used to," she told me. "Why don't I give you a tour of the rest of the ship so you can practice moving around? It'll kill two Bull Sharks with one spear."

I saw no reason to refuse, so off we went. It took me a long time to be able to walk without leaning on Bo-Fen's shoulder. She was the perfect height, though, considering that the top of her head barely reached my chin. She was like a living walking stick or something. It was a good thing she was so sturdy, though, because the ship kept swaying unpredictably, and more than once I ended up stumbling out of her reach and onto the floor. Sometimes, there'd be a soldier or a servant passing, and they'd all look at me like I was some kind of clown. I felt like one, anyway, dressed in this ridiculous outfit and my embarrassingly red hair frizzing up now that it was starting to dry.

Looks like it's unmanageable both in hot AND cold weather.

For the most part, though, everyone was passive or indifferent to us. Except for when they laughed at me. They weren't very discreet about it either. In fact, my death glares only seemed to amuse them. Morons. I'm sure they felt _so_ clever with their handcrafted weapons and polished armor while I was wrapped up like a mummy with all these scarves.

We didn't reach any trouble until Bo-Fen was called away to do some work on deck, leaving me alone.

"You should know where the servant quarters are by now," she told me, slapping me on the back. My knees buckled. "See you later."

And then she left.

I was wishing we hadn't been on the opposite side of the ship of the storage area right then and there. Now I'd have to stumble all the way over there...assuming I could remember where it was. I thought of all the people we had passed along the way, and I hoped I wouldn't have to ask any of them for directions. They'd probably laugh in my face.

"Crap," I muttered as I made my slow progress through a particularly long hallway. It was kind of dark below deck, and I couldn't help but get the feeling that there were _things_ lurking in the corners. Once, I'd even felt something small and furry scurry past my ankle and I tripped. I glared at the gloom enveloping me.

Stupid rats.

"Why the hell couldn't they have put torches on the walls or something," I muttered to myself. I know, not very sane, but I was getting frustrated. "I mean, we have generic spooky Fire Navy ship, and they couldn't have made it more intimidating by having torches? I thought these guys lived and breathed fire...oh, wait a minute..."

Of course they didn't need torches. These guys were all firebenders. Living lanterns. Perfect.

"I still hate this place," I whispered, feeling my way along the wall. How did Bo-Fen manage? I never saw her use firebending once.

"Talking to yourself, you little mongrel?" a very masculine voice sneered.

I jumped.

"Who...who's there?" I asked angrily, hoping he hadn't seen me jump.

Laughter. From a couple of throats at least. Shit. What did these guys want?

"This kid's a twitchy little whelp, ain't he?"

I bristled. They STILL thought I was a BOY? I thought we cleared this up in the last chapter!

"Oh, so I get it," I said, realizing that they were as likely to tell me their names as they were to invite me to a tea party. "You're all just generic evil henchmen, right? And dumb ones too. Zuko probably wouldn't trust you guys with a burnt out match."

"Hey, kid, you're not too bright, are you?" one of the men said, not at all miffed by my quick retort. Unfortunately. "This is where we keep all the gun powder. No firebending allowed down here."

"Well, then, this isn't the best place for an ambush, now is it?"

"You didn't see us here, did you?" someone else pointed out.

"Besides," the first voice, probably the leader reasoned in a voice that was way too casual to be innocent. "We don't need firebending to put a few hairs on your chest, maggotflea."

I sensed the darkness shuffling a bit, and I realized that I was surrounded. I had to resist the urge to shudder. So this was what it was like inside a Men's Locker Room. Intimidation and pointless ass rape. Just how I wanted to spend my afternoon.

I forgot to point something out to you guys that I had...neglected to mention before. See, when Zuko was banished three years ago, they had to send men with him to do his...prince-like bidding. Whatever it happened to be. In this case, I guess, hunting the Avatar. Anyway, what with the war going on and everything, it wasn't like able-bodied men were in plentiful supply. And good help is generally difficult to find, anyway. So what Fire Lord Ozai did was commission a few suits to find some tax evaders and other friendly convicted felons--the ones who were least likely to cut his only son's throat in his sleep, not that Ozai lost much sleep over the idea--and have them wear Fire Nation soldier uniforms for a few years.

These guys were thugs, and they knew it. They totally didn't care.

"I'm not a boy, you know," I said, hoping they'd catch on and realize they were guilty of some sort of sexual harrassment.

More laughter.

"Hey, Chaang," one of the grunts crowed. "This runt thinks he's a man!"

Okay, not what I meant.

"I'm a GIRL you retards!" I snarled. "And if you don't get the hell out of here and back to your posts, I'm going to..."

Come on...come on...where was a good threat when you needed one???

"...I'll kick your ass, motherfucker!"

The laughter stopped. I had mentioned their mothers. That was unforgiveable. Actually, looking back on this experience, it probably wasn't the best idea to tell them I was a girl either. Who knew what these crooks had been convicted of.

"We don't fight with little chicken-shits like you, maggotflea."

I was grabbed, forcefully by two pairs of strong hands.

"You think you're so tough, little girl?" Chaang whispered venomously. "How would you like to learn what it feels like to have your arm permanently bent in the wrong direction?"

"Let's just punch her face in," one of the others suggested with a low growl.

"So long as I'm not as ugly as you when you're done with me," I replied flippantly. Damn it, I wanted to shove something in my mouth to shut me up, but my lips kept flapping away, as though they weren't connected to my brain or something. Why do I get so instinctively _mouthy_ when I'm afraid, anyway???

"Ugly, am I?" the man grunted. I honestly couldn't see him that well, but he sounded practically like an ogre. Probably was as smart as one, too, judging by his _extensive _vocabulary. Moron.

"You know, Chaang, we could just kill her right now," said someone else. "And no one will ever know. Not even the General."

"We could throw her body overboard."

Fuck.

"You must feel so manly right now," I spat, though my eyes were wide in terror. "Murdering a teenage girl in the _dark _like a bunch of _cowards_. What kind of soldiers _are _you, anyway??? Where's your _honor_? Your sense of _dignity_???"

"Duh, this girl talks funny, Chaang," a very stupid-sounding voice stated. "She sounds like dat there Prince guy."

Oh...my...God. I was going to die, wasn't I?

"You ass-wipes!" I screamed, flailing to get out of their grip. "Let me go! You labotimized, freakishly testosterone-crazed thugs!!!"

"Heh," said Chaang. "You know what, maggotflea? You just provided me with a little amusement...and I'm grateful for that. It's dead boring playing servant for that spoiled son of a Fire Lord, and hearing you squawk like a squirrelhen brings back fond memories of when I was serving time and ass-raping the new inmates."

There was a moment's pause, and I imagined a row of crooked teeth curling into a smile somewhere in the pitch darkness.

"Tell you what, maggotflea. I'm feeling right and generous, today. I'll make a deal with you. If you can make it all they way up the mast and ring the bell hanging over the crow's nest, me and the guys will let you live."

The mast? The crow's nest? Just what was I getting myself into, anyway?

"I can't do that!" I cried indignantly. "Prince Zuko will kill me!"

"Well," said Chaang in a falsely sad tone of voice, "if the Prince doesn't kill you, we certainly will. Hey, Gin, did you remember to bring the lube like I asked?"

I shuddered violently.

"All right!" I squeaked quickly. "I'll do it! Just...keep that stuff to yourself, got it? Or I'll seriously wring all of your necks when I'm done."

Chaang laughed. I guess he got a real kick out of someone like me making death threats at him.

"If you're still alive to make the attempt," he said, filled with mirth. "Though, I have to give you this, maggotflea...for a tadpole who hasn't grown her sealegs yet, you certainly have balls."

And just like that, the men let me go. I collapsed on the floor, bewildered as I heard their heavily-thudding footsteps retreating.

"See you on deck tomorrow morning, girlie," Chaang called mercilessly back as he rounded the corner. I sat there blinking at the darkness, not daring to move until I had been absolutely certain that they had gone. Then, I dragged myself to the nearest corner and threw up.

* * *

Bo-Fen found me a few hours later, huddled up into a ball and utterly sick with confusion. She shook her head before slapping some feeling back into me. I felt myself being dragged to my feet.

"What are you doing skulking down here for? You're going to miss the dinner bell."

"Not hungry," I muttered.

"I can smell it. What, did you go and puke all over the place? Now someone will have to clean it up before Prince Zuko stumbles upon it."

"Oh, like I care," I snapped. "In case you didn't notice, I almost got killed by your cohorts in the dark!"

Bo-Fen's eyes narrowed. "Which cohorts, hon'?"

I explained about Chaang, and what had transpired, and what I was expected to do. I heard her sigh, and I imagined her shaking her head at me as though I had done something very, very stupid.

"Chaang is a simpleton," she said. "And so are you, apparently. They wouldn't have killed you, you know."

"How do you know that???"

"Well," she pointed out, "The General _is _expecting you for dinner, tonight, isn't he? I think he'd notice if you failed to show up. It's kind of common knowledge..."

I looked away. "Oh."

"Besides," Bo-Fen went on, "they were just trying to mess with you. They probably don't even expect you to try. They want to see what kind of a person you are, that's all."

"But that's just weird! When I get to know someone, I just talk to them...not come up with elaborate schemes to freak them out and possibly get them killed!!!"

"You're not going to die," she said consolingly. "I mean, it's not like you actually said you'd do it, did you?"

"I already told you. They were about to do unspeakable things to me in the dark! Of course I said I'd do it...!"

There was a long pause. Bo-Fen groaned angrily into the palm of her hand.

"You idiot! They were just messing! Don't you know anything about a sailor's oath? I can't believe you just...agreed!"

"What else was I supposed to do?" I demanded. I had to say, I really wasn't appreciating Bo-Fen's attitude on the whole matter. After all, she was acting as though I could have somehow compromised my way out of this situation. "Anyway," I said with bravado, "what's the big deal? What's this bell I'm supposed to be ringing tomorrow?"

"That bell is technically an alarm bell. That's why it hangs over the crow's nest. Whenever an enemy ship is spotted, or an iceberg, or something dangerous like that, whoever's up there has to ring the bell as loud as they can."

"Huh," I said. "But I heard them ringing it an hour ago."

"They only rang it three times," she explained, still sounding furious with me. "That means that it's time for the third shift to come on deck. The soldiers use it to tell time. Especially for the poor sap who has to be up in the crow's nest. The bell gets rung only once the next sentry is at his post."

"It must be cold up there," I muttered, rubbing my arms apprehensively. "But I guess it can't be too hard to climb up there. I mean, these guys do it by the hour."

"These guys are trained soldiers," she reminded me. "You're just a skinny girl who hasn't got her sea legs yet."

I wanted to contradict her, but I too busy trying not to fall over again. I was starting to get bruises every time it happened.

"I just need to practice, like you said," I said obstinately. "Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

"Um...the last person who messed up on the mast fell fifty feet onto the deck. We had to scrape what was left of him off the planks."

I contemplated this for a minute or two.

"You know, things just keep getting better and better the more I open my mouth..." I grumbled. I let her steer me down the hallway and towards what was probably the servants quarters. Hell if I knew, really, I mean this ship was practically a labyrinth. Bo-Fen didn't bother to contradict me, but mused on her thoughts in silence.

"If you back out," she said finally, "and go back on your word, they'll never respect you. But at least you'll be alive."

"So what should I do?" I demanded. "Just give up?"

Bo-Fen shrugged. "I suppose you'll have to ask them to give you something else to do...maybe you can prove yourself some other way. Hell, I'll ask them myself. It's not like they'd gang-rape _me_. They'd never be able to eat solid food again."

Truer words were never spoken. Most of the guys we passed before seemed downright scared of Bo-Fen. Every time she so much as flexed a muscle, they all scattered. I wondered if she was even a Firebender.

She opened the door to the hold and let me inside. It took me a minute or two to find the hammock that Bo-Fen had set up for me. I sank into it and buried my face in the pillow. It was damp and stank of mold, but it was soft enough for what I needed.

"I'll tell the General that you're too sea-sick, and that you'll see him tomorrow afternoon instead," she told me. "If you're still feeling as crappy as you look right now when the dinner bell rings, I'll just save you your rations and bring them to you later."

"I'm surprised you can even see me, it's so dark," was all I had to say.

"You're welcome."

Bo-Fen shut the door behind her. I was left alone with my doubtful thoughts until the steady rocking of the ship lulled me into a restless slumber.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Okay, I purposefully reposted this chapter because the last version WAS a bit rushed towards the end. While the content of the chapter is still exactly the same, I stretched out the ending to make it more real. Because honestly, no one would jump at the opportunity to climb a mast and ring a bell. No one. Okay, that's all for now. Let me know how this turned out. Better? Worse? Please review!

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	4. Fall of the Maggotflea

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar, Nickelodeon probably would have sued me and cancelled it by now. So be glad that I don't.**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Fall of the Maggotflea**

I slept until morning. Bo-Fen had somehow managed to convince Iroh that I was very ill, but Zuko apparently threw a huge fit when I didn't appear as promised. According to her, he said something along the lines of, "She's lucky to be alive, who does she think she is? A princess?" But I suppose he really did believe Bo-Fen because I wasn't disturbed the entire night. In fact, I wouldn't have woken up at all if something mangy and furry hadn't curled up next to me on my pillow.

It took a rat's tail tickling my nose to really wake me up. I suppose it would wake anyone up, really. You can't blame me for screaming my lungs out.

The door to the hold slammed open.

"What's all this noise?" someone called sharply.

"I'll tell you what's wrong!" I shrieked, stabbing a finger at my pillow. The rat had already scurried off, frightened by my yelling. "This ship is completely infested!!! How do you live like this?!?"

The voice tutted. By that point I realized it was Shen-Long I was addressing.

"You know for a nomad you're really very skittish," he said. "What's wrong? Ain't you ever seen an elephantrat before?"

That would explain why the rat had a trunk.

"I just...don't...like them!" I snarled, clenching my hands into fists. "And excuse me if I'm the only one on this rust-bucket that has any sense of hygiene!"

"Hey, now, don't be saying that! All ships have some kind of vermin. It just can't be helped."

"Why don't you kill them or something?"

"If this kind of weather doesn't kill them off, do you honestly think any poison will? What do you suggest we do about it, Julie?"

I glowered at him in the darkness, which I was starting to get used to. At least I knew where he was standing. I could also see another figure, smaller and sturdier, come up from behind Shen-Long. I squinted for a minute and realized it was Bo-Fen.

"Hey, you're awake," she said. "Come on, we need to go on deck."

I froze on my hammock. "Why?" I asked suspiciously.

"Do you want something to eat or not?"

"Oh," I said with some relief. I felt my muscles relax as I ceased to fear the worst. "For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to climb the mast..."

Bo-Fen shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah...about that..."

I knew even before she said it. But I sat still anyway and waited to hear what she had to say. I probably should have made a break for it then and there, but then again, I tend to do stupid things when I'm afraid. So I stayed put.

"They're...not going to let this slide, are they?"

"Nope. In fact, they're pretty dead set that you go through with it. They're waiting until you have something to eat before you make your attempt."

Well, well. This must have been their idea of being humane. Jerks. I wished with every fiber of my being that I was a Firebender so I could have just challenged them to an Agni Kai instead. It was my mistaken notion that only Firebenders could partake in an Agni Kai, and you will see, dear reader, that I was very, very wrong.

But that's a story for later.

"Does...um...Zuko know about this?" I asked, taking the stale biscuit she handed me.

"We're trying to keep this quiet. Chaang is apparently taking bets on whether or not you'll actually make it to the top, and he doesn't want anything screwing it up."

I almost choked as I nibbled on the bread. What an enterprising son of a bitch! I could hardly stand to be a tool in his game, but then...well...I was pretty sure they would kill me if I didn't at least try, no matter _what _Bo-Fen said to the contrary.

"What if Zuko or Iroh happen to take a stroll on deck while I'm climbing up to the crow's nest?"

"That's why you're going to do it when it's time to change shifts. It won't look suspicious that way." Bo-Fen slapped me on the back, and I nearly fell off my hammock. "Don't worry so much. I thought this through."

"What if I fall, then?" I challenged.

"You die," Bo-Fen replied without skipping a beat. "No pressure, though. I'm sure you won't. There'll be rigging and everything."

Huh. Funny how yesterday she was practically yelling at me for doing something so suicidal like agreeing to do this in the first place. A day really does make all the difference, doesn't it? Too bad the sea-woman's bravado wasn't going to do me an ounce of good once I actually got on deck.

"Yeah, well...we'll see, then, won't we..."

I ate my breakfast as slowly as I could, but there was so little of it that I could only stretch it out for fifteen minutes. Then, Bo-Fen helped me to my feet and led me out of the room. My stomach was churning unpleasantly under the solid wad of dread that had sank like a stone into my intestines. The last time I had to do something anywhere near as similar to this was when we were climbing ropes in P.E. I remember how I ended up with rope-burns on my hands after I slipped somewhere near the top, and I never went near the gymnasium again. I just cut like everyone else.

Too bad I couldn't cut now. The only bright side I could see was that if I died now, I wouldn't have to be subjected to any more of Zuko's prying questions. Some silver lining that was.

It was all I could bring myself to do to keep moving one foot after another. I went ridiculously slow, but Bo-Fen dragged me along. It was all too soon before I found myself blinking through the dazzling sunlight. I immediately stiffened under the chilling winds.

"Why did it have to be the South Pole?" I whispered. I saw a cluster of soldiers ambling about, and, mysteriously, a good number of them had excuses to do their work near what was unmistakenly the mast. I groaned, but allowed myself to be dragged in that direction. One of the taller men paused in his mopping and grinned mischievously at us.

"There you are, maggotflea! I thought you might have kicked the bucket! Good to see that you're still alive and squeaking."

I glared at the man. "I'm surprised," I said slowly. "The way you sounded down below, Chaang, I would have thought you were a miserable little hunchback or something."

Bo-Fen elbowed me in the side. Very hard.

"Heh, you've definitely got a pair," he said with a lopsided grin. "Well, we're all just about ready for you if you'd be so kind as to get your ass up to the crow's nest."

"Are you sure you want her to?" Bo-Fen had the decency to ask. "Hell, she doesn't look very strong to me. By the time she reaches the top, I'll have a beard on my chin."

I glared at her. "Just who's side are you on, anyway?" I hissed.

"Just shut up and let me do the talking," she whispered back. "I'm trying to keep your sorry butt in one piece, but if you keep shooting your mouth off like this, you won't live to eat supper...!"

"Sorry," I muttered. I felt dizzy as I looked nervously up at the sky. The crow's nest seemed to be a little pinprick far above me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wondered whether I was lucky enough to have my imagination run amok to this extent. Then I remembered what Bo-Fen had told me about that guy that fell fifty feet to his death and decided not.

I was whole-heartedly screwed. That was a fact.

* * *

Prince Zuko was meditating, practicing his breathing in the calm silence of his bedroom. It was at the very core of Firebending to have perfect control over your breathing, and any good Firebender was smart enough to practice the basics...or at the very least, they had a responsible tea-obsessed uncle to goad them into doing it. In that regard, Zuko was a great bender indeed.

He found it difficult to concentrate, however. A muscle in his jaw kept twitching in aggrivation, a very sure sign that someone somewhere was about to make him very angry. Still, he kept his eyes closed and continued to breathe in and out, trying to clear his mind. It wasn't working, though.

_Stupid girl...who does she think she is???_

When I didn't meet him when he told me to, he felt as though I were undermining his authority. Which, I admit, had been part of the reason I had allowed myself to miss the appointment in the first place. All he saw when he looked at me was a stubborn peasant with freakish red-hair; and while I certainly couldn't blame him for seeing me in that light, considering the circumstances, that didn't mean I couldn't resent him for it. And I certain did. Resent him, I mean.

There was no doubt that the feeling was mutual.

There was a hasty knock on the door. The flame of the candle jumped dangerously, but Zuko put it out instantly as his eyes shot open.

"What is it?" he snapped, getting to his feet and pulling on a shirt. He ripped open the door, expecting General Iroh or his Lieutenant. He did not expect to find Shen-Long standing there, his face flushed and filled with apprehension.

"Prince Zuko, sir," he said. "There's something happening on deck that I think you should know about..."

The scarred exile glared down at him. "I'm listening..."

* * *

I was clinging to the rope ladder for dear life. Below me, almost a mile away practically, Bo-Fen was screaming encouragements. Surrounding her were Zuko's men, all of them yelling profanities and cat-calling and jeering at my dangling form. Some of them, upon seeing me, were trying to change their bets as to how long it would take me to fall, and others were arguing about who would fish me out of the water...or clean my corpse off the deck.

"Just hold on and don't look down!" Bo-Fen called. "Try to get a firmer footing!"

I grimaced. My fingers were starting to ache from having to support my own body weight from so high up. If I let go,though, I would undoubtedly plummet like a brick into the ocean. I couldn't swim. Not even a little bit. No one had ever taught me, and as I looked down into the swirling depths below me, I felt lightheaded with fear. The memory of almost drowning was still very vivid in my mind. I was not eager to experience it again.

My foot chose that inopportune moment to slip out of the noose. All of a sudden, I was struggling like a crazy person to put my feet back on the rope, but they kept flailing and missing. Bo-Fen was yelling at me again.

"Stop thrashing! You'll end up falling! Just calm down, Julie!!!"

I tried to listen to her as my sweaty fingers struggled to maintain their hold on the rigging. I gritted my teeth and pulled myself up a little higher, and just then I managed to catch my foot around one of the loops. I used the leverage to move myself even higher.

_Maybe I really can do this..._

Five minutes after I started climbing I was almost halfway up the mast. I wasn't sure if that was good or not, but apparently I was doing better than even Chaang expected. I could hear him swearing below me. Sailor talk.

Just then, however, I heard another voice. Just about the last voice I could have ever wanted to hear--except maybe in one of those fangirl daydreams that one doesn't speak about in polite company. Though he certainly ruined every one of those in our last meeting, I have to say.

Glancing down, I caught sight of Prince Zuko striding angrily towards our gathering of soldiers, gestulating wildly at the mast. General Iroh and a very sheepish Shen-Long followed in his wake, looking very concerned.

"What's going on here? Where's Lieutenant Jee??? Why aren't all you men at your posts?!?"

I could hear them, very faintly from way up high, explaining the little performance piece attempting to reach the alarm bell--namely me--and saw Zuko's golden eyes boring into me. I felt my stomach lurch unpleasantly, and not just because I was so high up, either. I knew right at that moment that if I survived this, I would be in very big trouble.

"You!" Zuko snarled up at me. "Get down from there at once!"

I made sure I was secure where I was before I dared to look down again.

"I can't!" I called. "I already went this far, and I won't back down now!"

"You'll do as you're told, peasant!"

I stuck my tongue out at him and attempted to keep climbing. Zuko really was an arrogant jerkface. If I could only get a little higher. I was three quarters of the way up now, and the bell was within sight. I was exhausted, but I knew I had to keep going. I was so close...!

"Julie, just listen to Prince Zuko!" Iroh yelled. "You could die if this goes wrong!"

I winced ruefully.

"General, I'm sorry, but I just can't do that right now!"

"Be reasonable!" Shen-Long pleaded. "Julie, this isn't just dangerous! This is downright stupid!"

I hesitated, taking my gaze off of the bell for a long moment before glancing back down at them. They looked so small beneath me. I saw Bo-Fen placing her hand pensively against the mast, as though considering something mathematically. She was probably weighing the risks of coming up after me. I didn't blame her. What with Zuko acting like a fire-breathing dragon down there, it was a wonder that anyone could...

At that moment, unseen by everyone, Bo-Fen sharply struck the mast, sending a tremor rippling upwards.

_...Shit...!!!_

My foot slipped again, only this time I wasn't so fortunate to have a firm grip on the rope. My fingers slipped right through the loop, and I went straight down. I screamed as I fell, and groped frantically at anything that blurred past, hoping it would stop my descent. My ankle got tangled up in the rope, and all at once I found myself dangling upside down, my eyes wide as saucers, my entire body trembling as I stared down at the stirred crowd. Bo-Fen looked calculatingly impassive, but Iroh and Shen-Long both went rigid in shock.

Zuko, on the other hand, swore like a sailor and immediately started climbing up after me.

Unlike my pitiful attempt, the task seemed almost effortless to him. It only took him thirty seconds to get to where I was, and I was so stunned that I could barely utter a sound as he firmly grabbed the rope that had ensnared my leg and pulled me to him.

"Don't make any sudden moves," he cautioned. Zuko nimbly wrapped his arm around my torso so that his body formed a loop around mine. As soon as he was confident that I wouldn't fall, he used his other hand to work with the rope around my leg..

"I..."

"Just shut up," he snapped, still busy with his task. I shut my mouth and watched as he managed to free my leg. Then, in a harsh voice, which I guess I deserved, he ordered me to climb down.

Shaking like a leaf, I obeyed.

Zuko shadowed me until we had reached the deck. When we got there, Bo-Fen grabbed me by the scruff of the neck to steady me. I really wasn't that aware of it, though. I was already stunned into stupidity. I sank against the planks, extremely grateful that I was still alive.

Then I felt a wizened hand on my shoulder.

"I think," said General Iroh in a deceptively calm voice, "we need to have a little talk."

"Um..." I choked, and then suddenly Zuko was at my other side. He firmly gripped my arm, restraining me and preventing any future plans of escape.

"Yes, let's..." he growled.

Oh, snap.

As he led me away, I could make out the vaguely incredulous murmuring of the crowd. They surrounded the crumpled and weeping form of their ring-leader, Chaang. He was screaming something about his money, but before I could piece anything together, Zuko shoved me through the doorway leading down off of the deck and into the bowels of the ship. The door was shut swiftly behind us.

* * *

Bo-Fen watched them drag me off, her expression inscrutable. At the same time, Shen-Long sidled up to her, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"You better have a good explanation for this," he snapped.

The sea-woman glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. "What's with you?"

"You know your orders. Why are you disobeying them, Bo-Fen?"

She shrugged her broad shoulders, flexing her arm muscles in the open sunlight. "Isn't this interesting, though...?" she asked him off-handedly. "This worked out better than I thought. Who knew that the Prince could be downright chivilirous like that...?" she murmured.

"What the hell do you mean? Because of what you did, history is starting to rewrite itself! Do you know what Mesmer do to us if he finds out about this??? This is open treason!"

"Our orders," Bo-Fen snapped, "were to observe the girl. To see the effect that she'll have on her environment. That's what I'm doing. I'm not disobeying anyone." Then, dropping the term-paper talk, she added, "I got this, Shen. Quit worrying."

"But this is destructive! You're deliberately forcing Julie into the spotlight! If this keeps up, then...who know what will happen...?"

"And that's why I'm doing this. Julie's an anomaly. A variable. She's unique, an unpredictable force--one that hasn't existed for a very, very long time. She's something that even Mesmer didn't forsee in his plans. That's got to be worth something."

"Yes," Shen-Long agreed. "He knew immediately when the bridge between worlds was breached. But he never saw it coming, and that has made him very angry..." Quietly, he pleaded with her. "Don't do this, Bo-Fen. This is dangerous...too dangerous for us to get involved in. It's bigger than either of us, and even though we don't know what the fuck this portends, it can't be anything good."

"I'm willing to take that risk, Shen," said Bo-Fen softly. "Because what's at risk here is too big to just sit around and do nothing."

* * *

"What in the name of Agni were you thinking?" Zuko bellowed.

I winced. I was seated in an uncomfortable metal chair that was set up in between him and his uncle, both of whom were frowning--and in Zuko's case, glaring--at me. I kept my gaze to the floor, unwilling to show just how intimidated I was. I don't think it was working though. My interrogater was relentless in his verbal assault.

Just what would happen, I wondered, if I actually cracked under the pressure and put the hot finger on Chaang and his butch friends. Would they kill me? Would anyone on this ship take my side? I considered Bo-Fen before I remembered how she had purposefully made me fall from the mast.

What was her motive behind that, anyway? She didn't seem to hate me when we first met, and I don't think I did anything after that to make her want me dead. So...why?

I decided that after this was over, if I survived, I would reserve a few questions of my own for her.

"What you attempted just now was extremely reckless," Iroh was saying to me. "You are very fortunate that Prince Zuko was able to save you in time, or you might have been killed."

Huh. He sounded genuinely upset about that.

"I'm sorry," I said as sincerely as I could. "I shouldn't have done it...and I really wish I hadn't."

"Then why did you to begin with?"

"Um...well, I..." I was at a loss for words. I suppose the mental image of Chaang clenching and unclenching his meaty hands, as though longing to wrap them around my neck and throttle the crap out of me, didn't help. "I just...had to."

Oh, yeah. I had them eating out of the palm of my hand. NOT!

"What do you mean, you had to? No one on board this ship gave you orders to climb the mast," came a clipped reply. This response had been graciously given by Lieutenant Jee, who I was now meeting for the first time today. The man was dressed smartly in typical Fire Navy garb, and his boots were so meticulously shined that I could see my face reflected in them. This meant that he was a neat freak, and that meant that he was probably strict too. Perfect.

"I had orders...sort of..."

"From whom?" Zuko asked coldly. He gave his uncle a suspicious look, but then mentally checked himself and settled his hate-filled gaze back on me.

I was about to say that I couldn't tell them who's orders I was acting on. But then it occurred to me that they might assume that I was working with their enemies as a spy. I hastily backtracked.

"It was someone on board the ship," I said carefully. "Just not someone particularly important. In fact, the only reason why I'm not giving you any names is because I don't want to be fed to a Bull-Shark."

Well, why not? Honesty had a funny way of helping in modest doses.

"Julie, I'm going to be frank with you," said Jee primly. "You're suspected of insighting a rebellion among the members of the crew and acting as a catalyst for mutiny. We're trying to decide just how severe your punishment should be, so it would be in your best interests to come forward with any...ah, helpful information."

Mutiny? Holy Guacamole! This was being blown way out of proportion...!

"It's nothing nearly as complex as that," I said, the way I would to the principal if he had caught me running three-card monte in the cafeteria again, and was threatening to suspend me. "Just a gambling ring among the crew, and a bunch of ill-conceived threats to get me to be a part of it..."

"Gambling?"

"Yeah," I said, a little miffed. "Apparently these guys think it's all in a day's fun to get a girl to do something dangerous and then take bets as to how long it will take for her to die from it."

A lightbulb went off in my head. Could that have been why Bo-Fen sabotaged me? For money?

"Disgraceful," Jee spat. "I can't believe that something like that could have been going on without me knowing about it...!"

Iroh narrowed his eyes. "It is very strange. But Julie has only been on board for two days. I don't believe that sufficient time has passed for her to hold that much influence over the crew. Therefore, I don't believe that this was an organized riot."

"Unless someone else was pulling the strings," said Zuko slowly. He turned to Jee. "I want you to do a thorough investigation into this matter. Even if this was just an incident of rowdiness, I won't have even minor infractions among my crew. Especially if we find the Avatar."

Lieutenant Jee bowed, clicked his heels smartly, and exited the interrogation chamber. As the door shut behind him, I had begun to mull over what Zuko had just said. Did this mean they already knew about Aang?

"Now about your punishment..." Iroh prompted.

Oh, snap.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was a lot longer in its original form. Seriously, I couldn't find a good place to end until now, and at that point I jumped at the opportunity. I really needed to get this updated, especially now that I have some reviewers! Hurray! Thank you Moonclaimed, Thrawn7730, PinkPanther123, and Toxic-Tears-123 for giving this story the attention it needed! **

**I know, Lieutenant Jee probably should have had a heavier presence on the ship in the earlier chapters, so to make up for his absense, I'm going to make sure you see a lot more of him in later chapters. Also, I dropped the name Mesmer in Bo-Fen's discussion with Shen-Long. He will be another major character, so don't forget about him!**

**I promise, Aang will show up soon. I can't say how soon since my chapters have a tendency of being ridiculously long, but Zuko's ship is getting closer and closer to that iceberg. Best case scenario, I'd say two or three chapters later.**

_Next time: Tarot reading time! Julie has to prove herself both in the cards AND on deck--but will she be able to make up for her blunder on the mast? Danger is in the air! Huzzah!_

**REVIEW!**


	5. No Bed of Roses

**Disclaimer: Seriously, guys. I don't own Aang or Katara or any of those guys. They'd stomp me in a minute flat and escape, anyway.**

**Chapter Four: No Bed of Roses**

About two hours later, I was toiling away on deck, scrubbing the planks under the hawk-like supervision of Lieutenant Jee. I saw him patrolling the poop, eying me with obvious suspicion. It was actually kind of ironic how his reaction to me mirrored Zuko's so closely. Especially since they practically hated each other.

Okay, maybe not hate, but at the very least they strongly disliked one another.

My arms were already sore from climbing. Now my biceps were screaming in protest. For the past couple of hours, I had been made to clean the hold, unfurl the Fire Nation flag at the top of the stupid mast--to no avail--and to help out in the kitchen. After Zuko's cook sent me away in despair (a gourmet chef I most certainly am not), I had been brought up here and handed a mop.

I felt like calling it quits, but I knew that if I ever wanted to see dry land again, I would have to work.

Ten minutes later, one of the soldiers came to Jee and whispered something in his ear. He shot me a look, as though I were at fault for something. Then he sighed.

"Fine," he said. "Tell Prince Zuko I'll be there soon."

"Actually, Sir," said the soldier. "The Prince said you're to come to him immediately."

"Pompous brat," Jee muttered. "All right, then. Lead the way."

As soon as the sound of his footsteps had disappeared below deck, Bo-Fen of all people sidled up to me. That's right. She sidled. Sidled like she wasn't guilty of shaking the mast and making me fall nearly to my death. I was completely taken aback by it.

"Hey," she said, holding out a small sack. I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What's that?" I asked in a clipped voice.

"Your end of it," she replied. She opened the sack and showed me the gold coins...a lot of them. I was both amazed and disgusted.

"I don't want it," I snapped, turning back to my work. Bo-Fen just shook her head at me.

"You're angry."

My grip tightened dangerously on the mop handle. "_Yeah_, I'm angry! You nearly got me killed...! And, what's more, you did it on purpose!"

"That's right. But, hon', I wasn't trying to kill you."

"Yeah? Well, I don't believe you."

She shrugged. "Either way, you did good up there. Because of you, I got to milk Chaang for everything he was worth. I figured you deserved some compensation."

"What do you mean? Don't tell me..._you_ were the one who won the bet???"

Bo-Fen smiled at me and nodded. I couldn't believe it. Words eluded me as I tried and failed to convey my outrage.

Instead, I just slumped over the mop. "Whatever," I muttered. She stared at me for a long moment, not saying anything. When I continued to ignore her, she moved so that she was in front of me.

"So?"

I glared at her. "So, what?"

"How'd it go with Prince Charming?"

Boy, did I let her have it.

----------

"Now, about your punishment..." Iroh prompted.

Oh, snap.

"We can decide that later," said Zuko impatiently with a swift wave of his fist.

I blinked at him. Did this mean that he had felt that I had suffered enough punishment for the day and was letting me go back to sleep? Or something?

Iroh also looked confused. "Nephew?"

"You said this girl was a fortuneteller," he clarified stiffly. He produced my mother's tarot deck out of nowhere and slammed it on to the desk. "So I'm going to have my fortune told, if that's all right with you, Uncle."

Shock had nearly rendered me mute. "How...how did you get that...?" I asked with a funny inflection in my voice.

"Shen-Long brought it to me. I asked him to do this while you were asleep."

"W-what?"

Zuko looked at me sternly. "I thought it would give you an extra incentive to make your appointments with me. If you wouldn't come on your own, I would give you a reason to. Understand?"

That cunning bastard.

"So what do you want from me, anyway?" I snapped, exhaling sharply. It felt as though I were blowing out steam, that's how agitated I was. "You want me to read your palm and find out how long it will be until your next meal or something? Oh, wait, I know! You want me to tell you the name of your one true love!"

Zuko wrinkled his nose distastefully. "No. Are you always this short-tempered?"

"I could say the same about you," I replied as evenly as I could. "Ever since I met you, the only thing I've seen you do is yell at people...well, me mostly. Anyway," I added, "you don't really look like the superstitious type...in fact, I didn't think you'd believe in this at all."

"I don't believe in fortunetelling. But I do believe in destiny. And I want you to tell me what mine is."

I don't know why, but right when he said that, my insides did this weird skittery thing. It was like a bad premonition or something.

"What makes you think I know?" I asked. "You just said that you don't believe in this stuff."

There was a long pause. Zuko didn't take his gaze off of me once, which was unnerving enough. But what bothered me even more was the intent way Iroh was listening to our conversation. I didn't know what to make of it at all.

"My uncle and I both agree that there's something abnormal about you being here," he said with some uncertainty in his voice. "But perhaps it's destiny that we've met. Perhaps together we are destined to capture the Avatar and bring the Fire Nation into a new golden age of unchallenged honor and prosperity."

I just stared at him. "The Avatar? Isn't he...like...dead, or something?" I hoped I wouldn't sound too phony as I dropped this line, but apparently neither of them noticed a thing.

"No one knows," Zuko said quietly. "But I want to find him. I need to."

"Why?"

"That's not something you need to--"

"Nephew," Iroh cut in, "we _are _asking a lot from Julie. Perhaps she would be more cooperative if she were a bit more...informed?"

Zuko sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Fine, then. The Avatar," he said grudgingly, "is probably the only person who could stand a chance in defeating the Fire Nation. If he is found and brought to his knees, the world will follow."

I noticed how he skillfully kept the conversation away from his Daddy issues and kept it purely as a matter of honor. This guy really was a piece of work.

"So you want me to help you try to take over the world?" I whistled. "Wow, that only sounds slightly crazier than your average wolfbat. Besides, I can't really help you. I'm only an amateur."

"If you won't cooperate, I won't hesitate to use force," Zuko warned me angrily. "And don't forget, peasant, that you are a prisoner on this ship. Your life is in my hands, so I suggest that you get your deck together and do a reading for me. If I'm satisfied with your ability, then I might let you live."

"I thought we already agreed that you would give me safe passage to the Earth continent," I protested indignantly.

"We also agreed that you would follow orders and not cause any trouble," Iroh reminded me. "Clearly that also has not happened."

I huffed, falling silent. Though despite my own misgivings about this predicament, I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Iroh really did go out of his way to help me yesterday and I had blown it for a near-death encounter. And maybe Bo-Fen was right. Maybe Chaang and the others were just messing with me for a bit of entertainment--and possibly for monetary gain. Maybe they were never really planning to kill me at all. I felt like a Grade A sucker.

And maybe, just a little bit, I wanted to prove to everyone that I wasn't a maggotflea. But just a little.

"You're right," I eventually sighed, not wanting to look him in the eyes. "It was a really dumb thing to do...sorry..."

"Apologies alone cannot wash away blood stains," the General replied, launching into a strange proverb I had never heard before. "But with hard work and sincerity, perhaps they can fade with the passing of time."

"Huh?"

"I forgive you," he translated. "But you must work very hard in the future to make up for this. You have a long way to go before you can truly call yourself one of the crew."

Zuko had been watching the exchange impatiently. I saw him drumming the tabletop, waiting for us to finish with irritable anticipation. Then, I realized that Iroh wasn't the only person who deserved an apology.

"Zuko," I said slowly, really hating myself at that moment. "You really risked your neck to save me back there. Well, okay, maybe not considering how easily you made it look to climb the mast and you being a prince and all...but...I'm grateful for what you did. Thank you."

"Hmmph," was all Zuko said. "You can thank me by setting up your cards, peasant girl. And don't talk to me so casually, or I'll have Lieutenant Jee give you stripes. It's disrespectful."

A vein throbbed in my temple. "I'm trying to be humble, you idiot..."

"Well, you need to practice," Zuko replied loftily. "I suggest you get on that before I really lose my temper with you."

"Are you trying to be a precocious asshole, or does it come naturally with you...?"

"Lowly roach," he growled.

"Selfish jerk!" I countered.

"Filthy mongrel!"

"Shit-for-brains--"

"Ugly cow-faced--"

We were standing up, in each other's faces when at that moment a streak of fire scorched right past us. A small wall of flames blazed in one spot, separating me from Zuko. We both turned furiously to the perpetrator and found that it was Iroh who had intervened.

"That's enough," the old man said sharply. "Julie, please set up your cards. And Prince Zuko, such language towards a woman is beneath you. Stay silent."

For once, Zuko obeyed. He averted his angry gaze to the floor and held his tongue. I decided to comply by removing the rubber band from around my deck and shuffling the cards. The wall of flames promptly died.

"You may begin," said Iroh gently to me. I nodded and placed the shuffled cards on the table.

"Cut the deck into three parts and arrange them in any order you wish..." I hesitated, "_Prince_ Zuko..."

Zuko glared daggers at me and proceeded to separate the cards as I had asked. When he pulled his hands away, I took the top card from each stack and placed them in a line.

"These," I told Zuko, "will provide some insight into your current situation. The first card represents your past, the middle the present, and the last card is linked to a possible future. I will tell you the card meanings when I turn them over, but it is up to you to interpret them in your own life."

"I'm ready."

Without reply, I turned over the first card. It was the Tower Card, and it was face up.

"This card means that a major disturbance has taken place--one that changed your old way of life. An unsound structure in your life has come crashing down leaving you floundering for a foothold. It also indicates a traumatic experience and possibly family disagreements."

Iroh frowned pensively out of the corner of my eyes. Ignoring him, I turned over the next card. The Three of Pentacles stared up at me, but it was upside down.

"This card in the reverse position warns you of problems with or at work. It suggests that whatever task is at hand, you need to learn more, work harder, and acquire new skills before you can make any progress. Possibly, you are more focused on gaining approval and recognition than you are on doing this job well."

Zuko began muttering under his breath. He didn't look happy at all. But then, it was true. How many times has this guy uttered the word honor in Season One alone? Seriously.

I turned over the final card. The Hanged Man, face up. Interesting.

"This card indicates a testing period and lessons that need to be learned. You will undergo a major transition, but one that will be positive on the whole. When this is over, you will be capable of unselfish dedication to your ambition. You must be patient and introspective as you work to accomplish this goal."

"A testing period..." Zuko muttered. "That makes sense...of course it wouldn't be easy..."

"I wonder," said Iroh, more to himself than to either of us. But he was ignored as a new question was rushing past the prince's lips.

"So," he said slowly, "if I don't give up I'll capture the Avatar...right?"

My hesitation was quite tangible in the tense atmosphere. I saw Zuko's hopeful expression turn quickly into a frustrated scowl as he waited impatiently for me to answer him. But, of course, I knew that he wouldn't be capturing Aang anytime soon...or at all for that matter.

Should I have lied?

"This spread was about you, not the Avatar," I said uncertainly. "Maybe you should try to think about the cards you drew," I added sternly. Hopefully he would catch the hint and go meditate or something. Any form of anger-management would be quite helpful, now that I thought of it. I wondered if there was any therapist back home that would be _qualified_ to work his magic on the Fire Prince.

Probably not.

"This doesn't tell me anything except what I already know," he fumed. "I need to know specifics! About bigger things than this wishy-washy introspection nonsense!"

I glared at him. "I told you already. This isn't a precise science. If you don't like the results, then deal with it."

Damn it all, Zuko was acting more pissy than Jessie was when she found out that the Spice Girls were breaking up. I had no idea how to deal with this.

"I don't know," said Iroh, interrupting us both. "I found the reading to be quite...enlightening. Julie, you have done a fine job."

I found myself staring at him, surprised by his approval. Zuko's reaction hadn't been so encouraging, so it wasn't like I was sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for praise.

"Sure...thanks..." I stuttered, cowed with uncertainty.

"In fact," the aged man continued, "I think it would benefit us if we could have more of your readings in the future. Nephew, do you agree?"

"Absolutely not! If you insist on keeping her on board this ship, find something else for her to do."

Privately, I couldn't have agreed more.

"Fine, then," Iroh sighed. "What do you suggest we do with her?"

Zuko stood up, looking at his uncle tiredly. "I'm sure you can figure something out without having me get involved, Uncle. I've got better things to do with my time than to play babysitter for some beligerant hormone-surpressed girl!"

"Who are you calling hormone-surpressed, you scar-faced mutant?!?"

Zuko's good eye twitched. I was sure an explosion was about to take place, but to my surprise Prince Grumpy didn't even rise to the bait. Instead, he just walked to the door, pausing on the threshold.

"This girl," he said with a note of finality, "isn't worth my time or yours. But it's all up to you, Uncle. I won't have any part in this."

And with that, he left the room. I just glared at the space where he had been standing only moments before, wishing for a moment that looks really _could _kill. Then Zuko would be dead ten times over.

----------

Bo-Fen just shook her head at me. "Scar-faced mutant?"

"I was mad," I muttered, staring at the mop. "Anyway, why should I care if it was a bit below the belt? Zuko's a jerk, plain and simple. Someone needs to take him down a peg."

"Not that I disagree with you or anything, but are you really in a position to do that? I mean, if he gave us the order, we'd have to kill you."

"I know that."

"Then stop sticking your neck out, you dork," she said sharply. "Shen and I can't keep pulling you out every time you stumble haphazardly into an early grave. And neither can the General."

I sighed. Didn't I know it.

"It's just...it bothers me," I fumbled in explaination. "It bothers me that he's treating me like a nuisance. I mean it's not like I asked to be here. The way Zuko acts, it's as though I deliberately crossed his path with the very intention of making his life difficult...and the truth is _he's_ the one making mine hell..."

"Even so," said Bo-Fen honestly. "Julie, maybe the reason it bothers you so much is because you know that what he says is true. You _are _being a nuisance, whether you're trying to be or not. So do something about it."

I opened my mouth to protest when Bo-Fen hastily shoved the sack of coins into my hands.

"Look, the Lieutenant is coming back, so just take this and keep your mouth shut. Then, next time we go to port we can get you some _real _clothes. That should cheer you up."

I blinked at her, watching bemusedly as she strode away from me. Was this the same girl who made me fall from the mast? I just did _not _understand the girl at all.

Maybe that was just Bo-Fen's way. Instead of asking questions that wouldn't be answered, I figured I'd just accept things for what they were. Bo-Fen was just an ambivilent character, a cool customer with a knack for caring too much. At least, I assumed as much.

Whatever. I pocketed the cash and went back to work, the weight of the money somehow balancing me so that when the ship rocked and lurched, I managed--barely--to keep my balance.

Lucky me.

----------

**A/N: I hated writing this. It was such a pain in the ass going through the tarot scene, but it's a plot point I had to put in. Zuko doesn't take Julie's fortunetelling skills to heart, but Iroh mysteriously gleans something from them. What does this portend in the quest for the Avatar?**

**Lots of humor planned for the next chapter for those of you who actually give a damn. Lieutenant Jee takes Julie to task for her misdemeanor, breaking the contemporary conventions (and the fourth wall) in the process. **

**Do you guys even care? Seriously, why do I even bother updating this? It's not like anyone really reads this anymore. But I suppose I should ask you to review, anyway, just in case I'm wrong.**

**Well? Am I wrong? Should I finish this story? Your silence is **_**very **_**telling.**


	6. Julie on Ice

**A/N: REJOICE!!! I have never been so uplifted than I am right now. When I checked my story-traffic box this morning, I was expecting the worst. You know, a barren zero reviews? But to my VERY pleasant surprise, I was proven wrong. Very wrong indeed. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!! Special thank you to Thrawn7730, PinkPanther123, and Simply Saturn for their uplifting reviews of the last chapter, and aims5 for your review of Chapter Three. Even more gratitude for all the people who favorited and/or alerted this story!!!**

**I now have faith in myself once again. ****As promised, here is the next chapter. I no longer have any regrets writing it. ^_^ So, here ya go!**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. No, not the episode. And, by the way, in case you were still in any doubt, I don't own that either.**

* * *

**Chapter Five: Julie on Ice--the Boy in the Iceberg**

Far away from the South Pole--even from the world itself--there was a room that was almost crippled into silence by the shadows that occupied it. It wasn't an ordinary room, though. Unlike most places, this domain was a vacuum--void of any sympathetic heartbeat and even time itself. And even though there were definitely people in this room, I wouldn't necessarily call them human.

Especially the person who sat at the head of the table. I don't think he was human at all.

"So, what is it that you've come all this way to tell me?" he asked the shadowy figures seated around him. The way he spoke was like a humble host towards his guests, but at that table no one questioned his authority. They were all silent if he spoke and no one dared to make eye contact with him.

"Do we have permission to be frank, Lord Mesmer?" one of them asked in a gnarly whisper.

The man smiled, showing a fine row of teeth. "You may."

"Surely you have noticed the...disturbance...? The one that occured in the world of spirits...?"

"I'm sure you didn't waste so much astral energy just to ask me that," said Mesmer smoothly. "If you have noticed it, then I assure you that I have as well."

"This is true, but we are puzzled by your passiveness towards the matter."

There was a long silence. The man called Mesmer took the opportunity to take a long sip of his wine, which was a blood-red color. It reflected his amber eyes clearly before he set the glass down again. All this time, no one said a word.

"I feel no need to do anything at the moment," he told them finally. "The girl has done enough without me having to stir."

"I don't understand," the shadow whispered. "You intend for her to go freely into this world? To what purpose? She is not one of us."

"No," said Mesmer. "Not yet, anyway. But, I'm curious as to what she'll do. The child is...to say the least, unique. And if my suspicions are correct we won't need the Avatar after all. We'll have what we need with minimal distortions."

"Can this be possible? I mean, one of _those _haven't existed in thousands of years."

The man smiled. "I'd like to think so. Anyway, we shall soon see."

* * *

When Lieutenant Jee emerged from below deck his gaze immediately turned to me. I think he was worried that I'd be slacking off while he was gone. But his eyebrows rose at what he was seeing. I was scrubbing the planks with a vengeance. My new-found determination surprised him immensely.

Deep down I had taken Bo-Fen's advice to heart. Up until now I had been complaining and mouthing off to everyone I met. My situation wasn't going to improve any if I kept pissing people off. Though it pained me to do so, I would bite my pride for now and...well...do something to make things better.

Zuko had said that I was useless. Well, I was about to show him and everyone else on this ship just how wrong he was.

"What are you so happy about?" Jee asked sharply, coming to stand by my side. I saw his face vaguely reflected in the polished wood.

I didn't pause in my work. "Not happy. Just...motivated. It's a brand new day, after all."

"I see..." he muttered. "Well, at least you're being productive now. It's a good thing. No woman should be left to run around untamed."

I gritted my teeth, ignoring the latent urge to flare up and claw the man's eyes out. What was it with these people and their unpleasantness?

"That's...pretty sexist, Lieutenant Jee," I said quietly.

"Keep mopping," he said in an infuriatingly bored voice. Like my opinion meant nothing to him. But then I checked myself. Of course this man didn't care what I thought.

I bent over and resumed my work.

"All women really need is firm discipline," he continued, as though there hadn't been any interruption. "Otherwise they end up running wild, causing trouble, climing masts," he added for my benefit.

My grip tightened on the mop.

"Personally," he said, "if my daughter behaved the way you did today, she wouldn't have gotten off so easy. I would have taught her better than to behave with such frivilous passion..."

"I feel sorry for her, then."

Jee stared at me for a long moment. "You have a loose, foolish tongue, girl. Have your parents taught you nothing about respecting your elders and betters?"

"Nope," I replied shortly. "They haven't. I don't have parents."

It was true in a sense. My mother was dead, and my father...well, my father was practically dead to me. If I wasn't so adverse to being homeless I would have run away a long time ago.

I couldn't tell how the Lieutenant was digesting this bit of information. I was steadfastly refusing to look at him. I could tell from the silence, though, that he hadn't disregarded it. In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say he was actually mulling it over.

Weird.

"That explains a lot," he said primly. "Well, get back to work, then, girl. I have things to discuss with General Iroh."

I watched him go with a feeling of unease. Somehow, something told me in the pit of my stomach that nothing good would come of this. Of course, the only time I'd ever be right was when I least wanted to be. So what happened next really shouldn't have been any surprise to me at all.

* * *

"What's this supposed to be?" I asked, eying the garment in distaste.

"Your new uniform. Lieutenant Jee's orders."

It was the most...revolting thing I had ever laid eyes on. I could only guess that it was supposed to be a servant's garment, only it was so blatantly girly that I was surprised that Shen-Long would let himself be seen holding it. I know I wouldn't, and I'm a girl.

"Tell him thanks, but no thanks."

I turned to exit stage left, but Shen-Long, expecting me to bolt, caught me by the shoulder and dragged me back. In my defense, I did not expect him to be so strong. If I had my wits about me, I could have swiftly delivered a knee to the crotch and made my hasty get-away. But alas, it was not meant to be...

"He got General Iroh's approval on this one. You're going to have to wear it."

"Like hell I do," I snapped. "It's pink! I'd sooner eat a Sea Slug than wear that monstrosity."

"Irritable _and _a picky-eater," he sighed. "That's not a very good combination. You know, sometimes I think Lieutenant Jee might be right about you, Julie..."

I paused and stared at him. "_What _does he say about me, Shen-Long?" I asked, my eyes shrinking into narrow, vicious slits.

The hardened soldier in front of me actually hesitated, eying me nervously. He just realized that he slipped up. Majorly. "Um...well, actually, I kind of overheard him talking to the General...I wasn't supposed to hear it, but..."

"What did he say, _Shen-Long..._?"

He winced. "This didn't come from me, but he says that the way you act...well...it would be a miracle if you ever got a man to marry you..."

I relaxed my death grip on his arm. "Oh. Is _that _all? God, next time you tell me that someone is trashtalking me, make sure it's serious."

"It was serious. Julie, are you _planning _on being a spinster your whole life?"

Let me say right now that in consideration of all the eligible bachelors on this ship alone, I wouldn't exactly be heartbroken over it. Not only were most of the people here old enough to be my father (and I'm not the kind of girl who's into that sort of thing), but the few people who actually _were _my age were possibly the most obnoxious people I've ever had the misfortune to meet--Zuko included.

You think I'm kidding? Not even a few hours ago I caught a couple of Chaang's henchmen using Firebending to light up their farts. Ooh! Dream date!

"I don't need a man to complete me," I snapped, snatching the pink rag out of his hands and tossing it on my hammock. I figured that after the Mast Incident, I'd have to at least wear the thing, but maybe I could dye it a different color. Maybe red...it would match my hair, and it might score me a few Patriotism Points with the Fire Navy. God knows I could use a few of those.

Shen-Long just shook his head sadly at me. "You just haven't met the right person yet. Once that day comes, you'll be singing a different tune, my dear."

I chose to ignore that.

"Could you leave? If I have to put on this...oh, God, is this thing _fur-lined_?"

"Only the finest walrus-beaver fur for her Majesty. This is the South Pole, after all."

I sighed. Well, at least things can't get much worse than this.

* * *

Things just got worse.

I should have known that Jee, being the opinionated jerk that he was, wouldn't simply rest with supplying me with the hand-me-down from hell as a required uniform. I should have taken that as a warning sign to grab my things and risk my luck on one of the life-boats. Hell, even a canoe would have been better than this insanity. But no. I had to prove that I wasn't a quitter. I had to stick it out to the end, to build character.

Despite my misgivings about the situation, I stupidly decided not to abandon ship. And this is what I found when I emerged on deck:

An entire squadron of Fire Navy soldiers standing at attention with...musical instruments in their hands. I kid you not. It was like staring at a marching band. I couldn't recover myself in time to run away. The moment Lieutenant Jee caught sight of my slack-jawed expression he promptly grabbed my arm in a display of faux friendliness and led me towards the men.

"Julie," he said warmly--oh, God, he was trying to be _nice_. "We were waiting for you."

My heart skipped a beat. "Why?" I asked nervously.

"Well...we wanted to talk to you. To...make a point..."

No. Please, no. Oh, my God, no. For the love of all that was holy in this world and mine, no. Tell me that they weren't going to do what I was thinking they were going to do. Please, please, please, no...

"You won't listen to orders or threats," said Lieutenant Jee, probably noticing that my life was flashing before my eyes. "You are disrespectful and reckless to a tee. If you were a man, I'd have had you whipped and sent to a cell by now. But then I remembered what you told me yesterday."

What had I told him??? What??? I had to know what I had uttered with this big stupid mouth of mine to put me in this situation. What could I have possibly said to him that made him think that all of this was a good idea. Was the man on drugs?

"You said you never had a firm parental upbringing. So then I decided that all you really needed was a bit of...education...Hit it, boys!" Jee barked to his men.

Oh, sweet Jesus. The soldiers all had their instruments at ready, Sumgi Horns and other things I couldn't identify all pouring out a medley of notes that sounded...eerily familiar. I tried to run away, but Lieutenant Jee held me firmly in place. Miserably, I looked back at the men again, my cheeks flaring red in embarrassment.

Was that...Zuko I saw watching from one of the port windows? Before I could properly be surprised, the men began to sing. And suddenly, I realized why the song sounded so familiar.

They were singing Disney's Mulan.

"For a long time we've, been marching off to battle," a row of soldiers bellowed. "In our thundering herd, we feel a lot like cattle. Like a pounding beat, our easy feet aren't easy to ignore..."

Shen-Long popped out of the crowd and stole the solo. "Think of instead, a girl worth fighting for!"

I blinked. "What?"

"That's what I said, a girl worth fighting for!" he sang.

Oh...my...God. What the hell was going on?

The soldiers had broken formation and were running around, doing complicated dance moves. You could tell that some of them couldn't do a step-ball-change to save their lives. One guy did a backflip, though--pretty impressive considering that they were all fully garbed in armor. Plumes of flame streamed everywhere, and it was like watching a freakishly dangerous circus. One unfortunate bystander accidentally got set on fire, but fortunately someone was standing by with a bucket of water just in case. Amazing what people will think of when they've completely lost their minds.

My arm was now practically bruised because I kept pinching myself to see if I was dreaming. I had to be. This couldn't actually be happening.

"I want her paler than the moon, with eyes that shine like stars," sang one scary-looking man getting down on one knee. I edged away from him, fearing that the stupidity would somehow be contagious.

"My girl will marvel at my strength," a one-eyed man followed up. "Adore my battle scars!" To demonstrate, he ripped off his chest armor and his shirt, revealing hideous flabs of grisley scarred flesh. My eyes were practically melting out of their eye-sockets and I couldn't make myself unsee it. It was horrible.

The chef came forward next, a little reluctantly, and said in a monotone, "I couldn't care less what she'll wear or what she looks like. It all depends on what she cooks like."

"Beef!"

"Pork!"

"Chicken!"

I groaned. This had to be the most retarded spectacle I had ever laid eyes on. And don't forget about the Fartbenders I told you about earlier. I have seen plenty of stupid sights, but this was just...oh, God...words couldn't even describe it.

Bo-Fen, who I just noticed was standing next to me, glared venomously at Shen-Long and made a threatening gesture before she sang in her low, gravelly voice, "Bet the local girls thought you were quite the charmer..."

Shen-Long was eating it up. "And I'll bet the ladies love a man in armor," he purred, glancing at Lieutenant Jee for some reason. I didn't know what to make of it.

"You can guess what we have missed the most since we went off to war!" the men sang in unison. I winced. Several of them were obviously tone-deaf on top of it all. Why did they have to pick a song with so many high notes. And how in the hell did they get a hold of this song??? The Avatar people did NOT have Mulan here. It shouldn't be. None of this should be happening.

So why was it?

"What do we want?" Shen-Long called.

"A girl worth fighting for!"

Chaang stepped up next to sing his part. I could tell he was going to milk it, the bastard.

"My girl will think I have no faults," he began smugly, "that I'm a major find."

There was a long, audible pause. The men all turned at me, and Shen-Long made a _come-on_ gesture at me as though I were a complete moron. I folded my arms, utterly refusing to comply with a line of my own. This was so stupid, I couldn't believe they expected me to join in this farce.

I felt the point of a spear at my back. Realizing what might happen if I remained silent, I managed to utter, "How 'bout a girl who's got a brain, who...always speaks her...mind?"

Silence. Thank the Lord.

"Nah!"

Well, so much for that idea. I wondered if I could sneak away...

"My manly ways and turn of phrase are sure to thrill her!" someone got into my path and put an arm around my shoulder all buddy-like. I wanted to break his nose. I think my eye was twitching a bit, too. In a moment, I was about to snap.

"He thinks he's such a lady killer..." I muttered before I could stop myself.

Suddenly, there was a commotion from inside the cabin. I turned to look and saw General Iroh half-leading, half-dragging Zuko outside into the cold air. My mood instantly took a U-turn, watching Prince Grumpy struggling as though his uncle were trying to force-feed him arsenic. Oh, boy, what was happening now? I felt like a little kid at the zoo--at least, I'm assuming that's what it felt like since I've never been to the zoo in my entire life.

"I'm not doing this, Uncle!"

"Please, Zuko, it is only one line!"

In reply, the Fire Prince threw his head back and spewed real flames out of his mouth in pure rage. I nearly bust a gut laughing.

"I take it that's a no?"

"Come on, Zu," I yelled vindictively. "Sing for me!"

He shot me a look that embodied the most violent of intentions. Oh, sweet, sweet victory. This is what you get for laughing at poor, defenseless red-heads who are mercilessly being sung at, Prince Zuko! That's what you get!!!

I think I may have been enjoying myself too much.

"If I say it, will you all leave me alone and get back to work?" he finally asked in desperation, wringing his hands in frustration.

"Of course, your Highness," said Lieutenant Jee mechanically.

Zuko sighed. His hands were balled up into fists and were trembling angrily. I wondered if he was about to burst a blood vessel in his brain or something. Honestly, I probably did when the men first started to sing. He took a deep breath.

"I've a girl back home, who's unlike any other..." he muttered.

The men cheered. It was crazy. They acted as though they themselves just burned Bah-Sing-Se to the ground. Macho idiots, the whole lot of them. Though, I had to admit, the sight was very satisfying.

"Yeah, the only girl who'd love him is his mother," I sang innocently.

And that was all it took for them to bring it all home.

"But when we come home in victory, they'll line up at the door!"

"What do we want?" Shen-Long yelled.

"A girl worth fighting for!" everyone bellowed. I saw Zuko sulking somewhere in back, clearly wishing that this insanity would end. It was strange, but I kind of understood how he felt...just a little bit though. After I had gotten over the fact that the whole reason they were singing in the first place was because they thought I wasn't girly enough, it wasn't so bad. Not as bad as getting a corkscrew jammed in your eye-socket, anyway.

But then it occurred to me. As stiff and humorless as Zuko was, why wasn't he doing anything to break up the song? Where was that high and mighty Princey authority he was always eager to enforce on the unsuspecting crew members?

That was another mystery I had to solve.

"What do we want?"

"A girl worth fighting for!!!" came the refrain.

Shen-Long gave a bit of a twirl as he faced the crew. He held up his arms as though conducting them for one final time. "What do we want???"

"A GIRL WORTH FIGHTING..."

_CRRRRRAAAAAAACK!!!!!_

The crew fell silent immediately as a collective gasp rippled across the line of soldiers. The noise was so loud it sounded as though a cannon went off inside my skull. My eyes were watering from the impact, but they grew wide in awe as they caught sight of what everyone, Prince Zuko especially, was watching. A dazzling blue light about as wide as an iceberg erupted from the water almost a mile away. It shot towards the heavens in a dazzling display of photons. I felt my lungs were empty and hastily I remembered to breathe.

"Aw, shit," one of the men muttered. "Party's over."

I just nodded, feeling numb. I had no doubt in my mind what the source of that light was. _Someone _had just woken up from a hundred-year nap.

Zuko was at the side of the ship almost immediately, a scrying glass at his good eye. I watched him scrutinizing the line of the horizon calculatingly. Then, he smiled.

"I think," he said to Iroh, "we've found our Avatar..."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Was that funny enough for you? And it wasn't just filler! Aang's awakening brought everyone back into focus, and next chapter we'll actually get to meet him. More importantly, what will happen now that Zuko actually has a target to obsess over? Will he be so distracted that he will spare Julie from his authority? Or will he get so unbearable that the crew might just mutiny? Well, I'm certainly not going to tell you. **

**We also get a glimpse of Mesmer himself, but he is being deliberately vague. Don't think that he'll be butting out of the story as just a mildly interested observer. **

**I told you earlier that I'm a Disney freak, so is it really any surprise that I decided to run with Mulan? Anyway, it was a pain writing out the lyrics, and unless people really want me to I'll probably never do this again. I mean, I'm not a fan of song-fics since all they really are are just typed lyrics with very little description of what's happening, or even a plot. It's just a character singing. That's why I tried to make this somewhat entertaining to read. **

**Anyway, please review! ^-^ Anyone who does so wins a free baby panda-bear! Who can say no to a cute, cuddly little panda-bear???**

**Can you?**


	7. The Blank Slate

**A/N: Let me start off by saying that I'm glad y'all liked the last chappie. Despite the fourth wall being shattered into tiny, irrepairable fragments, everyone seemed to enjoy what was essentially filler. Ah, well. It was fun, right? Besides, this chapter is where things REALLY get interesting. Not saying anymore, you'll just have to read. **

**Panda-Bear delivery for pres1111, PinkPanther123, Simply Saturn, Athena-Fenton, and aims5. They will be covered in bows and dancing around in glee. GLEE, I SAY!!!**

**Disclaimer: Surprise! I now own Avatar the Last Airbender! During the night, my cohorts and I stormed Nickelodeon Studios, throwing the security guards in mass confusion. With our valiant battle cry of "DIE, DISCLAIMERS!!! DIE!!!" and our chicken suits of glory, we forced our way into the premesis and successfully captured THE Mike and Bryan. They were then forced to sign an agreement giving me full creative license over the Avatar enterprise. HAH! Unfortunately...well, there weren't any survivors. My chicken demons were a TAD bit trigger-happy that day. Very regretable all the same, but who's complaining really?**

**Hopefully that entertained you as much as this chapter will.**

* * *

**Chapter Six: A Blank Slate **

Now that Zuko's manhunt had officially begun, everyone was running around, too busy to talk or slack off in any which way. Unfortunately, this included me. At the moment, I was supposed to be shoveling coal alongside two huge guys with scary-looking masks--like, scarier than the helmets that Shen and the others had to wear. More culture shock, I guess, but that really didn't matter so much anymore. No, what mattered was that I was stuck in this sauna, sweating bullets, with no possible chance of getting a glimpse of the Avatar or his noble steed. I was really looking forward to seeing a flying bison.

Yeah, not so much now. Lieutenant Jee said that if I took so much as one step out of the boiler room, he'd personally see to it that I'd be strung up by my toenails and left to rot in one of the holding cells. Though it was hard to take him seriously anymore after the random show-tune he conspired on deck, I didn't want to test him.

Fortunately, though, faceless minions 1 and 2 were too engrossed in their work to notice me at all. Seriously, I tried getting them in a conversation before. This was how it went:

Me: "Hey, guys." (No response) "So...um...you're engineers, right? That must be...fulfilling work..."

(Minion 1 looks up and nods briefly while the other grunts noncommitedly)

Me: "......nifty."

Real conversationalists, those two.

Anyway, I gave up and went to explore the boiler room a bit. Like an idiot, I thought that maybe, just maybe I'd find something interesting to pass my time for the umpty-dozen hours I'd be trapped down here. For starters, it isn't _that _big. A four walled cell that was obscured by smoke and stank like rotten eggs. I figured it was either something in the coal or the body odor of my silent companions. Real pleasant.

I gave up after two minutes. Fortunately, there was a bench nearby, so I sat there and felt sorry for myself.

"Slacking off already?" came a voice. I jumped out of my skin.

"Bo-Fen! Shit! How did you do that???"

The sea woman gave me a half-glance. She was sitting beside me as though she had been there the whole time. Which she might have been. Bo-Fen had a nasty habit of appearing out of no-where. Or maybe she was just really, really quiet when she walked. I dunno.

"Ninja grandparents," she said.

"R-really?"

"Of course not," she said. She sat down next to me and I scooted over to make some room for her. "How you holding up down here?"

"Okay, I guess," I muttered. Then, I decided that I would ask. "Listen, about the song you all sang earlier...um...how..."

"The sheet music was in your backpack. Lieutenant Jee took it for music night, but decided at the last minute that we should use it for your re-education instead."

Suddenly I remembered. Another acquaintance of mine from back home was in the marching band and was trying out for NISMA that year. She had wanted to play "A Girl Worth Fighting For," on her instrument, and I had promised to give her the sheet music since I'd be in the library anyway. I felt a pang of guilt as I thought of what must be going through her head as she discovered that she wouldn't be getting her music from me.

Though you had to admit, it was kind of funny. I mean the whole thing about how the person she was getting her sheet music from getting sucked into another dimension and all. Talk about random.

"But...why?" I wanted to know. "And more importantly, why were _you _involved??? You don't strike me as the type to randomly burst into song."

"I'm not," Bo-Fen replied.

"So then how...?"

She sighed. "It was like this..."

* * *

Shen-Long came running down the hallway, having just received some startling news from the higher-ups. He had never been so excited. Never. Not since they successfully got Iroh's approval to have music night twice a week instead of the meager one. He had saved up his paychecks and now had enough to get himself a first-class Sumgi horn--his old one was very out of tune, poor girl.

But this...this blew everything out of the water. He had to tell Bo-Fen.

"Bo!" he yelled. "Hey! Bo-Fen! Where are you, you wench?"

As he turned a corner, he was promptly tripped by the figure waiting for him. I don't think I had to tell you who the culprit was, either.

"What do you want?"

Shen-Long's eyes sparkled, completely unabashed by her blatant hostility. "Lieutenant Jee is having us do a performance for Julie! It'll be so much fun! You have to join in with us."

Bo-Fen didn't skip a beat. "No."

"But, Bo...show-tunes...!" he whined. The sea woman gave him a whithering glance and sighed.

"Well," she said slowly, "you _are _my brother, as much as I'm ashamed to admit it. I suppose I'll do it."

"You will?" Shen-Long breathed. "Oh, thank you, sis! I'll love you forever and ever and--"

"Pay me," she interjected.

"W-what?" There was a funny inflection in his voice. Bo-Fen replied by holding out her hand.

"It'll be fifty gold pieces."

"I don't have that kind of money!!!"

Bo-Fen shrugged and started walking away. Shen-Long stared at her with a blank expression before he jumped up and ran after her. Just before she could disappear he caught her by the arm. As she turned to look at him he shoved a coin pouch in her hand.

"All right! I'll do it! Here's the money! Happy?"

She took a moment to count it. "You're a few copper pieces short of fifty gold, Shen."

"Please! It's all I have!"

She thought about it for a moment. "Fine," she said after a while. "But I'm charging you interest."

* * *

"You extorted your own brother?" I cried.

"Yeah. So?"

"Um..." I edged away a little bit. "Nothing. Just...impressed. And surprised. I didn't think that Zuko would actually go along with this either...well, beyond the kicking and screaming I mean."

Bo-Fen shrugged. Great. Everyone was just rich with conversation today.

"Don't try to understand royals," said Shen-Long, who was suddenly standing next to me. "It'll just hurt your brain."

I jumped. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I demanded, having a hard time breathing. "You scared the shit out of me...!"

Shen-Long just shook his head. "You're jittery as hell, Julie. I was standing here the whole time. Anyway, Bo-Fen and I are here to bust you outta this joint. We got General Iroh to convince Jee-Jee to let you out early."

"Jee-Jee?"

Bo-Fen looked at me like I was slow. "The Lieutenant...?"

"Why do you call him...?" I began, but then I thought better of it. Some questions were better left unanswered. "You know what? Never mind. Anyway, what's the catch?"

She coughed into her sleeve. "Well...it's going to cost you."

I should have known.

* * *

Fifty gold pieces later, I was in Iroh's cabin serving him tea.

"Be careful pouring the tea, Julie," he requested calmly as I fumbled with the tea-kettle. I bit my lip as more of his precious tea slopped onto my napkin. That kettle was heavy.

"Sorry," I said hastily, filling his cup before moving on to mine. I was worried that I'd overfill it and make even more of a mess, so I settled for a half a cup and lost no time in putting down the kettle. In my hands, it was a weapon of mass destruction.

Iroh's eyes sparkled in controlled amusement, kind of the same way they had been doing when he had implored Zuko to join in the performance piece on deck yesterday. He looked much more like the genial old man who had calmed his nephew's raging fire during the series than ever before. I suppose that was a good thing considering how much tea I was spilling. To Iroh, that was no joke.

"It smells good," I offered, feeling tremendously shy. It was the same feeling I got as a little kid when Jessie's parents would take me with her to meet Santa at the mall. Looking at such a warm, jolly person put me in such a state of unease that I nearly threw up on the poor man's lap. In my short life, most of the adult influence had been either condescending, unsympathetic, or just plain violent. No wonder I was so anxious.

Iroh nodded. "It is a special blend. I am sure that you'll enjoy it." He smiled as he lifted up his cup and took a long, appreciative sip. Hastily, I followed suit in tasting the tea, and found myself relaxing almost immediately. All my nerves were slowly soothing into a dull calm. After the stress I'd been enduring for the past few days, it was quite a change. I found it relieving.

Reluctantly, I put the cup down. "Um...General Iroh?"

He glanced at me over the rim of his cup. I took that to mean that I was allowed to speak.

"Well...this is just something that's been bothering me for a while. I mean, not that I mind or anything...but...well...I just..."

"Yes?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" I blurted out, my cheeks lighting aflame. My gaze dropped to the table, away from his face. "I haven't done anything to deserve it. In fact, if anything, I've done the exact opposite."

Iroh was quiet for a long time. I watched as he took another contemplative sip of his tea.

"No one is perfect, Julie," he responded finally. "And I have a theory that some people are just what you call late-bloomers. No offense," he added with a chuckle, "but in a way, you kind of remind me of my nephew. You harbor a lot of anger. You are headstrong often to the point of recklessness...but I believe that in you, like Zuko, your determination stems from a genuine desire to prove yourself...for a greater good."

So basically he was comparing me to an emo? Gee, that wasn't very encouraging.

"Sometimes, when you stare at a map too intently in search for the right road, it is very easy to lose track of where you are going," Iroh concluded. "It is very easy to lose your way."

"I'm not trying to go anywhere, really," I told him. "Just trying to get away."

Iroh looked up at me. "From what exactly?"

As awesome as this man was, did he really expect him to go into my whole life story right there on the bat? I couldn't just _tell _him about my father--the same man who brought me with him to blockbuster to return a movie that was overdue, and then left me there because he was too hammered to remember that I was there. The same man who wouldn't let me enter that scholarship competition for Juliard, my dream school, because on the night the auditions were being held he decided that I had better things to do. Like cook his dinner. The same man who actually managed to put me into the hospital the one time I suggested that he get treatment for his blatant alcoholism.

"Just things," I replied, keeping my expression carefully blank. "Nothing exciting or anything."

Iroh was giving me that same speculative glance he gave me during my tarot reading for Zuko. It was a bit unnerving.

Which was why I was relieved when we were interrupted as Shen-Long was sent barreling through the door. Iroh and I stared at him as he collapsed in a heap on the floor, smoking slightly from what I assumed was recent Firebending.

"Um..." he groaned, pulling himself into a feeble sitting position. "Lieutenant Jee says that it's time to change shifts. Julie has to go on deck now."

"He sent you to get me?" I asked.

"Those were his intentions, yes," Shen-Long told me. "But then some of the other guys on the graveyard shift caught wind that the Maggotflea would be joining them...I kind of thought I should warn you before you leave."

Iroh rose. "I don't suppose any of them would be interested in a game of Pai-Sho?"

Shen-Long glanced at the General, puzzled. "I...I can't say for sure, Sir, but I..."

"I shall go ask them. Julie, you should hurry or you'll be late for your shift."

Suddenly I understood. Iroh was going to distract them so that I wouldn't get third-degree burns while swabbing the poop deck. Hastily, I pulled on my hand-me-down coat and slung it on as fast as I could. It was brutally cold at night here in the South Pole.

"Thank you, General," I said, bowing to him.

He waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't mention it. I can make you more tea whenever you like. It has been a long time since I had such an agreeable guest."

I smiled, bowed again, and left as quickly as I could. That man was a saint.

----------

I hate the night shift.

Oh, sure, part of it was the weather. Even with the fur-lined pink thing Jee made me wear and that jacket of Bo-Fen's, even with countless scarves that covered me I was shivering my butt off. My breath misted in the chilling air--it easily had to be below freezing out here. Maybe even below zero if you took the wind chill factor into account.

Then there was the spray of the ocean that made the cold a thousand times worse.

Of course, there were things to be thankful for. Iroh had kept the men occupied for quite a while, but eventually even he had things to get done--especially now that Zuko was in full-fledged manhunt mode. Someone had to make sure the Fire Prince remembered to eat, after all.

I had been expecting only a mild case of death and destruction when the graveyard crew lumbered out from below deck and found me. I tried to hide in the shadows while mending a net that had begun to get frayed--only, of course, I just ended up making it worse; I knew nothing about mending nets. That's when I found myself surrounded.

"Hey, Maggotflea," one of them chuckled. "How's it goin'?"

I gave them a look and continued to fumble with the gaping hole in the net. The men exchanged glances for a moment before smiling and nodding at each other in conspiracy. Then, they turned to me again.

"You look cold, Maggotflea..."

"Not...c-cold..." I muttered. "Busy."

"She looks cold to me. Hey, Moku, doesn't she look cold to you?"

The other chuckled like a hyena and nodded. "Definitely frozen. Scrawny too."

"Wouldn't you say she needs some exercise...? To warm her up a bit?"

I swallowed heavily. "Look," I said, "Lieutenant Jee gave us a list of things that need to be done by morning. We don't have time for your half-assed hijinks."

"No," he agreed. "_You _don't."

"A lot of stuff to get done, so you better get started," the man named Moku clarified as he turned to walk away. "If it isn't all done, then we'll tell the Lieutenant that you were slacking off and held us all up."

"He wouldn't believe you, anyway," said the third man with a low, grim laugh.

I watched in open-mouthed astonishment as they left me alone on the deck. I couldn't believe it. They had me. They totally had me, and they knew it. They were just going to go inside and just...I couldn't believe they were making _me _do all the work!

"Assholes," I muttered, throwing the net to the ground in anger. There was no reply save the wind wailing across the water. The waves lapped against the ship so casually, it was as though they were mocking me.

Great. Now I was pissed off AND paranoid.

"Well, they can just go fuck themselves," I whispered, sitting down in a coil of rope in the corner where it was a little bit warmer. I fidgeted until I found a more comfortable sitting position. "I'm not falling for this crap again. Not again. They'll get busted too. Not my problem."

And I was talking to myself. Real nice, Julie.

I remembered the thermus of hot tea that Iroh had given me before I left and decided that now was as good a time as any to drink it and feel sorry for myself. So I unscrewed the lid and poured myself a cup. I took a long sip and sighed in mild content. The tea warmed me up all the way down.

Screwing the lid back on, I sank back and looked up at the stars. I thought I saw a few clouds, but they were wispy and thin. My thoughts began to drift, and my eyes began to close...

----------

The clouds were dense and black. Rain pelted my back relentlessly and the wind was so intense that it was difficult to see or even breathe. I blinked in astonishment and looked around me. I had been sitting on the wooden planks of the Fire Navy ship, but now I was perched on something large, white and very, very soft.

Well, used to be soft. Now the fur was matted and wet and smelled like an animal. I wrinkled my nose and ended up sneezing.

Something red and yellow in front of me jumped and swiveled around. I squinted and found myself staring into the frightened face of a bald twevle-year-old boy. He was clutching the reins in terror, and his expression was one of surprise as he spotted me.

I realized that I knew this boy.

"A-Aang?"

The boy looked unnerved. "Who...are you? And how do you know my name? What are you doing on my bison???"

"I'm...not on your bison," I told him, wondering what the hell was going on. "I...I guess you're in my dream."

"This is a dream?"

"I'm...pretty sure it is."

Neither of us knew what to say at that. Aang became distracted with steering Appa so that we didn't end up crashing into something. Visibility sucked. He still looked scared, but from what little I could see of his face, I could detect a hint of curiosity.

Carefully, I scooted forwards until I was sitting next to him on Appa's head.

"So...you're the Avatar, right?"

Aang jerked so violently that I thought he had been struck by lightning for a second. Then I realized that he was only very surprised. He looked at me in wide-eyed apprehension. "The Avatar? _Me?_ I'm not the Avatar. I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Dude," I said slowly, "you're an Airbender. I can tell from the arrow thingy on your forehead. There are no other Airbenders left, so you have to be the Avatar. Why are you so jumpy, anyway?"

"You still haven't told me who _you _are," he said gruffly. He stared at my hair for a minute before adding, "I don't think I've ever met anyone with red hair before."

I rolled my eyes. "That's because I'm a spirit," I spat sarcastically. "I'm Julie, the Red Spirit. Gotta problem with that, bison-boy?"

Aang's mouth fell open. Too late, I realized that he had taken me seriously.

"You're a spirit? Really? Does that mean I'm dead or something? And what did you mean by--"

"Too many questions!"

"Oh...sorry..."

I stared at him with a quirked eyebrow until he was visibly calm...or as calm as he could have been during this storm. He looked at me, those wide blue eyes filled with curiosity.

"You know," said Aang slowly, "I think I remember this dream. This is usually the part where Appa and I drown, but...well, that hasn't happened yet. Is that because of you? Are you using your spirit powers or something?"

"I'm not a spirit," I said flatly. "I was kidding."

"Then why are you here?"

I looked around us. Below, the waves were churning as though they were itching to swallow us whole. After the nearly-drowning incident, I was not eager to go back into the water any time soon.

"Honestly, I don't know. This is probably just some weird hallucination I'm having from Iroh's tea...I wonder what he put in it, anyway..."

"Who's Iroh?" Aang asked.

"Oh, you'll meet him soon enough," I told him honestly. "Though it might look like he's a bad guy at first, he's really, really kind and wise and stuff. And Zuko is his nephew. He's...a bit of a grouchy emo-pants, actually..."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "He's stubborn, snappish, impatient, and mean! I don't know why Iroh lets him get away with it. He's been dragging his crew through hell just to find you...I wouldn't let him catch you, by the way."

Aang looked confused. "Why does he want to find me?"

"Because you're the Avatar. You're the only one who can defeat the Fire Nation and restore balance between the nations, and blah, blah, blah."

"Restore the...balance...? Fire Nation...what??? I can't defeat anyone. I'm...just a kid...!"

"I know that," I said. Man, this hallucination Aang was really wimpy. I decided to give him something of a pep talk. "Quit wigging out. It's not like you're not going to have help. Have you...met Katara and Sokka yet?"

Aang's expression brightened immediately. "Oh, yeah! Did I ever! They're brother and sister, and Katara, she's a Waterbender! And they--"

"Trust them," I cut in quickly. "They won't let you face everything alone."

"And what about you?"

I turned to look at him in surprise. "What _about _me?"

"Will you be there, too?"

I thought about it for a long time. What exactly was this kid expecting from me, anyway? To pull a freaking Avatar Roku or something? He was looking at me like I was freaking Yoda or something.

"Well," I said slowly, feeling incredibly awkward. "I guess we're just going to have to wait and see..."

I heard a loud thud, and suddenly I wasn't quite there anymore.

----------

The thud came from someone bumping into a crate. I heard a low voice swear something nasty under his breath as my eyes flickered open.

Clear skies. Stars. No storm. I was back on Zuko's ship. Except this time, I wasn't alone.

"Oi, be careful with that," someone whispered not too far away. "They're goin' to 'ear you and then the Captain will ring our necks...!"

"Phah!" another stranger scoffed. "I got meself a glimpse of them. The only lubbers awake right now are so hammered that it be shameful. They'll never 'ear us comin'..."

I blinked. Were they talking about the jerks who left me to do the entire shift...alone? Who were _these _guys, anyway?

I heard the rasping sound of a knife leaving its sheath, and that got me wide awake. I didn't make any sudden movements, watching alertly from the shadows, hoping that the sound of my breathing hadn't given me away.

One of the men stepped into the moonlight. In that heart-stopping moment, I realized that I was staring at a pirate. A motherfucking pirate.

Oh, snap.

"I'll stand guard on deck. Youse guys go down below and see what ye can find. If anyone sees ye, kill them before they can squawk to the others. Understand?"

There were grunts of approval, and I watched them shuffle off to do their...evil bidding. Whatever that was. I could only guess at armed robbery at this point, but that was bad enough, quite honestly.

No one else knew that these guys were here. Iroh and Zuko and everyone else were sleeping unsuspectingly in their cots, unaware of the foul-smelling men who were creeping up on them, plotting their deaths.

I felt panic seize me. This _never _happened in the show. Not now. What the hell was happening?

Either way, I knew I didn't have time to sit around and find out. If I stayed there too long, someone would find me and slit my throat before I even had time to scream for help. And someone...someone had to warn the others. Right now!

* * *

**A/N: So basically the gyst of that chapter was that it's probably a good idea to know where you're going or to have a plan of action. In her conversations with Iroh and Aang, Julie realizes that she has neither. She has no way of getting home, and she's not even sure if she wants to go home at this point, as dangerous as things are. ****And Julie isn't the only one wandering aimlessly. We see Aang struggling with the same indecision and doubt. But was it really just a dream like Julie thought? Or was it something more.**

**Not that she has much time to waste pondering over it. Pirates have officially taken over Zuko's ship! Can Julie warn the others in time, or will they all be fed to Bull-sharks as they walk the metaphorical plank? Find out in the next chapter folks.**

**Was this boring? Honestly, sometimes I just waste so much detail on character development that I tend to forget about the plot sometimes. But let me know. If it starts to get boring, slap me across the face with a fish. A big one. **

**Ah, paranoia. It's an unpleasant thing for an author to deal with. So put my fears at ease, peoples! Review!**


	8. Rocking the Boat

**A/N: I know this is a really quick update, but I have to let you all know that after Friday, I probably won't be updating this story until 2010. That's Friday, 12/18/2009. Today is Thursday. I'm not promising an update tomorrow, but I'm saying it's the only other day that I CAN update for a few weeks. You know, holiday stuff. Family get-togethers, present shopping, last minute panic attacks over final exams, you know the deal. So...yeah. I hope you enjoy this.**

**Also, I forgot to thank Toxic-Tears-123 for her review of Chapter Five. Seriously, thank you! You gets a panda bear too!**

**So...without further ado, here's a m*therf*cking disclaimer.**

**DISCLAIMER: The document Mike and Bryan signed giving me entire creative license over the show? Yeah, it turns out that one of my minions mistook it for a chew toy. It is now a paper snowflake dangling from my ceiling by a single thread...right next to the head of the stooge who tore it up to begin with. So long story short, I don't own Avatar anymore. Deal with it.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Rocking the Boat **

I glanced at the lone guard and his companion strolling along the deck. They were completely at ease. Apparently they were confident that this would be an easy job, that there was nothing to worry about. They may have been right to think that way. After all, what kind of threat did _I _pose to them? Nada. Zilch.

What was I supposed to do? I couldn't get below deck without alerting the pirates. And there was no way I could fight them. Even if they played by the rules, which I knew they wouldn't, I had no chance at beating them. The odds were stacked against me no matter which way I looked at it.

In desperation, I nearly slammed my fist into the mast. And that was when it hit me. _The mast!_

Bo-Fen had told me about the alarm bell that dangled from the top. If I could somehow get to the top without them noticing me, I might stand a chance at warning the others. Plus, even better, I didn't have to sneak past anyone to reach it. It was right here!

Without preamble, I gripped the rigging tightly in my hands and started to hoist myself up. This time, I absolutely could not let myself fail.

* * *

Zuko was too anxious to sleep that night. All of his hard work for the past three years, all of it was about to pay off. For the first time in a very, very long time, he had a lead to go by, a shining light to follow. The blood thrummed in his veins in excitement.

What would his father say when he presented him with the Avatar, in the flesh? He knew that he would be surprised. Zuko was not an idiot--however naive he might have been at thirteen, he knew that Fire Lord Ozai had not expected him to succeed in his mission. But that made it all the sweeter. He would show his father just how useful he really was.

He imagined Azula's face as he stepped through those doors, garbed in his princely attire, an exile no more. Though it was true that the clothes did not make the man, it certainly said a lot about him. Zuko would make sure that he was in tip-top shape when he met his father once again.

He sighed and turned over on his side, the content smile vanishing from his face. Here he was, counting his chickens before they hatched. He didn't have the Avatar yet, and to celebrate too soon would be suicidal to his mission. After all, Zuko had never been born lucky like his sister. Rather, he was lucky to be born.

That would all change soon enough.

Zuko scrunched up his face in annoyance as a faint dinging sound reached his ears. It didn't quite register with him at first. It was just a sound he was hearing, but not quite listening to. When it did, he threw himself out of bed, grabbing his dual swords from the wall.

Just in time.

A large, heavy-set man came lumbering through the door, not bothering to be quiet anymore now that the alarm was ringing. He threw himself at Zuko, knife poised to kill. Instinctively, the Fire Prince dodged the attack, parrying the blow with one of his swords. With the other, he cut the unfortunate man down without so much as batting an eye.

Zuko tried not to kill people if he could help it. That being said, there were times where he had no choice but to kill. On this reckless adventure he had been on for the last three years, it was inevitable that he would get dragged into some fights. It was also highly unlikely that he could fight for his life without taking another. That was just how things were.

He still couldn't help but feel a stab of remorse every time it happened, though. But Zuko got over this very quickly. With a jolt, he remembered just who was supposed to be working the night shift.

Me.

"Idiot girl!" he swore venomously, throwing himself out of the room, nearly barreling into his uncle. Iroh smiled wanely at him, hastily balancing his nephew lest he be sent tumbling. Zuko nodded in gratitude.

"It seems we have some uninvited guests," said the General, an uncharacteristic frown alighting on his normally genial face. Zuko sighed in frustration.

"When I get my hands on that girl..." he muttered. "What the hell did she do? Flag down a bunch of pirates?"

"I highly doubt it," said Iroh. "But in any case, we should be heading upstairs. She may need our help."

* * *

Fucking pirates. They just don't play fair.

It took me less time to reach the top of the mast than before. Possibly, all that work Lieutenant Jee had made me do and made me stronger. But more than likely it was adrenoline that spurred me on. My arms would be hurting tomorrow.

The bell was like a beacon, and I grabbed it in my hands, ringing it as loud as I could. I saw the two pirates down below me jump in surprise, looking around wildly. Then, one of them pointed at the mast.

"There! That small red-headed boy is ringing that there bell!"

A boy?!? What was the fucking matter with people??? Couldn't anyone _tell _that I was a _girl _by now?!?

Fortunately, I didn't have much time to feel too indignant. I had the satisfaction and relief of hearing people shouting from below deck. Then, to my horror, I could make out the clashing of blades. A fight had broken out.

I looked down again and saw one of the pirates climbing up the mast after me. Oh, snap.

Looking around wildly, I saw nothing to defend myself with. No, wait! That wasn't true! Lying on the floor was a small knife, sheathed. It wasn't a combat knife from what I could tell. Actually, it was the kind used to cut ropes with, for ship work. I couldn't remember the name of it, but that hardly mattered.

Unsheathing it, I grabbed some of the rigging and began sawing away. My hands were shaking, and I could barely hold the knife straight. It hindered my progress, made me work much slower than I wanted to. The pirate just laughed as he cleared the halfway point.

I gave up. It was no good. Instead, I grabbed a rope connected to the sail, held on to one end, and hastily cut the other end. At the same time, I stepped off of the crow's nest. I know that under normal circumstances, I never could have brought myself to perform such a stunt, but I didn't have time to be afraid...or at least, to acknowledge it.

As I fell, the sail unfurled at it's full might. It swung into the pirate on the mast, knocking him off and sending him screaming into the water. I caught a glimpse of something--something--catching one of his floundering arms and dragging him below the surface. A spray of blood lapped against the side of the ship.

_Shit. Bull-sharks...!_

I now knew that it would be extremely stupid to try to swim for it. Which meant that as I landed on deck, a bit unsteadily as it was a long drop--hell, I was lucky not to have broken my legs doing this--I had no choice but to face the other pirate. He smiled meanly at me and took a step forward.

I couldn't help it. My nerves were shot. I ran for it, making a beeline for the stairs that would take me below deck.

If I had been thinking rationally, I would have seen that he wasn't armed with any sort of bladed weapon. Actually, he had himself a bow and arrow. As I fled, he took the time to load an arrow on the string and fired it at my retreating form.

Afterwards, I wondered why he hadn't bothered to try to shoot me off of the mast. But, of course, it was too high. I don't think he was good enough to hit me from that distance. Unfortunately, though, he knew how to shoot in a straight line...directly at me...

I felt something sharp embed itself into my shoulder. My eyes flew open, wide, as I fell to the ground, too surprised to cry out. Then the pain hit me, a white-hot and sharp. I let out a whimper and hastily tried to get to my feet. Before I could drag myself more than a few feet, the pirate was standing over me.

I stared up at him with wide eyes when suddenly I saw his eyes widen. A scream of pain erupted from his lips, and I saw him collapse just to my left. I winced as he hit the floor, grateful that I hadn't been underneath him. I barely noticed the burns on his bare back.

At this point, though, it was really, really hard to think straight. I had been hurt before--hell, my old man would lay bruises on me that would make professional boxers wince. But this was a different kind of pain. I had never been stabbed before, even with an arrow, and I could feel the blood gushing out of my wound. I began to feel dizzy.

Before I could really see who had saved me, I felt a pair of hands grab me by the shoulders, roughly. Inadvertantly, I choked out a cry of pain.

"What is it?" I heard Zuko's voice, and I realized that he was the one holding me. "What happened? What did you do?"

"She's wounded," said another voice, not to far away. I squinted and saw Iroh standing over us. "We'll have to get that arrow out of her shoulder."

Zuko drew one of his hands away and found that it was stained with my blood. He swore under his breath.

"Troublesome, reckless little peasant..." he muttered, laying me facedown on the planks. They were too cold and I shivered a little. Zuko made sure that my head was facing sideways, so that I could breathe.

"Don't," I pleaded, my voice cracking. "Don't touch it...!"

"Uncle, do you have...something that we could sedate her with?"

"Tea would be nice," I offered helpfully. Iroh let out a smile and produced a thermus.

"I happen to have just the thing..."

I heard more sword clashes and saw flashes of light from the Firebenders. I winced and looked away. My eyes hurt. Soldiers were pouring out from below, some fighting, others chasing retreating foes. There was melee on deck.

I felt a cup touch my lips. Zuko was holding it.

"Drink this," he said sharply. I looked at him.

"Why?" I croaked.

"Do you really want to be awake for this? Drink it or I'll shove it down your throat."

I think I must have been giddy. A laugh escaped me, and blood bubbled at my lips. "Thanks..." I whispered. I took a sip from the cup and felt a warm wave of oblivion sweep over me. My eyes began to close.

The last thing I saw was Zuko's gaze boring into mine. A smile rested on my lips as my world faded to black. _You asshole, Zu..._

* * *

The healer working on my shoulder was as much of a prick as Lieutenant Jee. He had a prim, holier-than-though nature and had a perpetual look on his face that said, "My farts smell like perfume, bitch." His name? I couldn't be bothered to remember it. Honestly, there were enough people on this ship I had to worry about. The last thing I wanted was to make this tightwad a main character.

Oh, right. The Fourth Wall. Sorry, about that.

Anyway, the first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my entire shoulder, it seemed, was covered in a hard, plaster-like material. I tried to move my shoulder around and immediately regretted it as a sharp pain rippled from my collar bone all the way to my shoulder blades where the arrow had been. What was this crap, anyway?

The healer clicked his tongue in disapproval. "I hope you didn't reopen your wound," he said distastefully. "I already wasted enough bandaging on you to stop the bleeding...normally I wouldn't make a water-proof seal for the wound of a mere peasant, but Prince Zuko insisted on it. Bothersome child."

"Huh?" I said groggily. "Zuko asked you to bind me up like a mummy?"

"He and General Iroh both made it clear that you were to recover as soon as possible."

"Where are they?" I asked, trying to adjust to the irritating candlelight. The flame made my eyes ache. I looked around but didn't see anyone in the room...at first. Then, after a few seconds I detected a familiar face standing in the corner, looking at us with vague interest. "Bo-Fen?"

"Hey," she said, coming towards the bed. "It's about time you woke up. You've been asleep for twelve hours."

I did a quick spurt of mental math and realized that it had to be three o'clock in the afternoon...more or less. I think. I turned my face back to Bo-Fen and noticed the cuts on her arms. Only scratches, but enough to make me remember the pirates.

"What happened?" I demanded, trying to sit up but failing because I wasn't used to the heavy plaster on my shoulder. "Are you okay? What happened to the others? Where are the pirates???"

"Relax! Everything's fine...obviously. While you were unconcious, we managed to fight off the pirates. There weren't very many of them, but the Bull-Sharks enjoyed their company all the same."

I shuddered.

"You got a minor arrow wound, but it will take a few weeks to heal fully," Bo-Fen continued. "Until then you're officially off deck duty. Sort of as a reward for warning everyone in time. Iroh's very pleased with you, Julie."

"How are they? Iroh and Zuko?"

"Fine, but busy. You'll never guess it, but a couple of hours ago Prince Zuko spotted a flare from a wrecked Fire-Navy ship. He said he saw the Avatar leave the ship, and we're heading to a nearby Water Tribe village to intercept him."

I blinked. Things certainly were moving along despite all the ruckus last night. I had to give them all credit, they certainly knew how to handle a crisis. Better than I did, anyway. I sat up and tried to get out of bed.

"Where do you think you're going?" the healer asked.

"On deck," I told him. "I want to get a look at this Avatar person. He's supposed to be dead, you know."

"You're to rest," he snapped.

Bo-Fen gave him a look that cowed him immediately. "She saved our butts yesterday. I think some fresh air would do her some good." She took a few menacing steps towards him, causing the uptight man to cringe away from her. "So what are the doctor's orders?"

"Um..." he coughed, "I suppose...maybe...for an hour. Can't do too much harm, but if she so much as damages that shoulder-cast, I'm holding you responsible Bo-Fen!"

She gave a short low bark of laughter and turned away from the insignificant little man. "Let's go, Julie."

And so we went.

* * *

On deck all the soldiers were scrambling around, trying to carry out their hastily given orders. Bo-Fen and I had taken advantage of the confusion to get a good spot at the bow, trying to catch sight of the village we were breaking towards.

"I can see people!" she told me. "A lot of women and children. Not a lot of warriors. Man, Zuko's going to have an easy time of it."

"Can I see?"

"For five gold you can."

I sighed, forking over the money. Opportunities like this didn't come very often, after all. Bo-Fen handed me the scrying glass again and I took a long look towards the shore. To my delight, I saw a figure that looked a lot like Sokka gestulating wildly with a spear. A bunch of toddlers were watching him in confusion. I laughed to myself.

"They're screwed," I muttered, watching as Sokka turned to yell at Katara, who had just emerged from the crowd with Aang--THE Aang--in a tow. I watched him for a moment before I decided to do a fan-dub. "Oh, Sokka," I said in a farce of a falsetto, for Katara's voice, "You're a comic relief character. You couldn't fight off a short bus full of nuns!"

"A what now?"

I forgot that Bo-Fen was standing next to me. "Nothing," I said. "Just...enjoying the scenery, that's all."

I continued to watch as the trio of awesomeness bickered amongst themselves. Then, Sokka disappeared inside one of the huts, presumably to get ready to "fight off" the Fire Nation. Aang looked a bit downcast while Katara tried to comfort him. I had no idea what they were saying, but I knew that in another dimension the Kataang alarm bells would be ringing like crazy.

I shrugged it off. After all, what could they possibly be saying that was different than what I saw in the show?

* * *

Aang looked hopelessly at Katara. "Are you sure that Sokka can handle this?"

The Waterbender in the making bit her lip, glancing uncertainly towards the hut. "Well...Sokka's no champion warrior...but...well, maybe things will work out okay. We just can't let them find you, Aang."

The boy frowned and looked down at the snow. "This is all my fault. I should never have made you go on that Fire Nation ship...but...well, that dream I had last night..."

"You said you saw a girl in your dream who warned you about the Fire Nation?"

Aang nodded. "Yeah. She had this head of hair--red hair, Katara, it was so...odd. And she could tell right away that I was...well...you know..."

"The Avatar?"

"Yeah."

Katara sighed, turning towards the Fire Nation ship on the horizon. She could see the soldiers ambling about with their chores on deck, all of them working as hard as they could to get the boat to the village. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted a flash of red, but it disappeared within a minute. She shrugged it off.

"It's not your fault, Aang. You couldn't help it. You were just curious. I know I'd be if I had woken up after being frozen in an iceberg for a hundred years and found the entire world engulfed in war."

"It wasn't just the war," he said. "It was her. Katara...she seemed to know everything about...well, who I was, who you and Sokka were, and what it was that I...that I had to do. She told me that I had to defeat the Fire Nation."

"It was just a dream," she consoled him. "Just try to forget about it for now. Come on, we should hide you somewhere until the Fire Nation soldiers leave. Sokka will take care of this."

"I hope so."

* * *

I found Zuko being transformed into the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz...only cooler looking. Still dorky, but a bit more lethal. He spotted me in the doorway and actually looked surprised that I was on my feet so soon. Iroh was standing nearby, and beckoned for me to enter. They both looked relatively unharmed from their dance with those pirates last night. A bit tired, but not too frazzled at all.

"Um...hi?"

"What are you doing out of the sick bay?" Zuko wanted to know with an edge of a groan in his voice. "I would have figured you'd be out of my hair for at least a few days."

"I don't know what you're complaining about," I retorted. "You're almost as bald as an Airbender...which, I hear, the Avatar is."

Iroh looked significantly at his nephew. "I told you the crew would be gossiping."

"Let them talk," the Fire Prince replied leniently. I raised an eyebrow. "What harm can it possibly do? By the end of the day, the Avatar will be in my grasp...and I'll have my honor back."

"Time to make daddy love you," I whispered under my breath. Which probably wasn't fair for me to say considering how he helped to treat my wound and everything, but...I dunno. Sometimes it was just _fun _to tease Zuko.

"Did you just say something?" he asked, turned towards me with a frown.

"Nothing important, Zu. Anyway, thanks for the help last night. I would have been toast if you hadn't showed up."

Zuko looked mollified for a moment. "You're welcome. It was the least I could do after you took an arrow wound just to ring the warning bell."

I blinked at him. "How did you know I did that? It could have been one of the others..."

Iroh gave a light laugh. "You mean the men who were passed out in the galley after an evening of drunken escapades? I don't think they were able to move, let alone climb the mast."

"For once," Zuko added, "you did something useful. Don't mess it up."

I scowled at him, but let it slide for the moment.

* * *

**A/N: **Hold on, wait, shit... **I'm getting someone else to type this for me over the phone seeing as **You're not finished yet? Oh yeah, I forgot you were a slow typer. **how I have no internet access at home at the moment. I know I originally promised that this chapter would be posted last Thursday along with it's **(P-R-E-D-E-C-E-S-S-O-R)** predecessor, however, I was a bit distracted by a recent bit of epic fail on my part. Namely: final exams. Long story short, I ended up not taking one of my finals by accident**, wait I accidentally, shit read what you have written, wait delete that, God dammit -insert name here-

Fine, God dammit, let's start over:** Long story short, I ended up missing one of my final exams, and I ended up failing it. Literally Epic Fail. **Period. Like the dot.** So naturally I wasn't in the mode to update. I apologize though.**

--insert name here- this is a new paragraph. Don't type that.** I know that you all were looking forward to this new chapter, and I realized how wrong it was for me not to update under those circumstances. So here you go. I hope you enjoyed it.**

New paragraph now, --insert name here--** So yeah, pirates are defeated, and Zuko's crew is back on track hunting for Aang. Yayness! **Exclamation point.** It looks like Julie is no longer a maggotflea. But just what will happen when Zuko's ship disembarks at the Water Tribe Village? Will things go awry? Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait until 2010 to find out. I think it's pretty clear by now, that my ability to update is severely hindered now that my computer's on the fritz **put in parenthesis** (More Epic Fail). However, I promise I'll continue working on this story as often as humanly possible.**

**That being said, please review.** Simily face**. XD I busted my ass getting this chapter up, so it would be kind nice, all things considered. Also, many thanks for those that reviewed the last chapter. Squishes for all. **And that's the end, --insert name here--


	9. Raid Gone Awry

**Chapter Eight: Raid Gone Awry**

Aang looked out of one of the hut windows in trepidation. Katara reached out and took him by the sleeve, pulling him away.

"You have to stay inside."

"Are you sure everyone will be okay if I just...leave?"

Katara bit her lip. She knew that with no warriors besides Sokka, her village's chances at resisting the Fire Nation were very slim. In fact, they were practically nonexistent. But she wouldn't tell Aang that.

"They'll be fine. We have to get you out of here."

"Yeah, I know. Sokka already told me." Aang hesitated. "He said I caused enough trouble for everyone to last an entire lifetime."

The young Waterbender scowled. "Don't listen to him. Sokka's just...stubborn. He doesn't mean it."

Actually, he did mean it. Sokka had been all for banishing Aang for setting off that flare--even though it had been a complete accident. But this morning, Aang had summoned up the courage to tell them both that he was the Avatar. Katara had been elated at the news while Sokka had been...skeptical as always.

But even he couldn't deny the evidence. Aang was an Airbender. Airbenders have been extinct for a hundred years. The Avatar was master of all four elements--including air. So...what were the odds? Pretty good, I'd have to say.

It was enough so that they couldn't just throw the lad to the wilderness to fend for his untutored self. Sokka was willing to provide a distraction, during which Aang and Katara would pack their bags and sneak away on Appa. The women of the village had brought the bison to a spot behind the hills where his white fur would blend in with the snow. His saddle was covered with a white blanket.

"Everything is ready for you, Avatar," said Gran Gran, coming in carrying a bag of supplies. She handed it to Katara. "As soon as you are able, you can leave."

"I'm...sorry..." said Aang, looking glumly out the window again. The ship was getting closer. "I never meant to expose you like this. I wish there was something I could do..."

"You cannot help anyone if the Fire Nation captures you," said the old woman with an understanding nod. "Just take care of my granddaughter while you're mastering all four elements."

"I will...I promise."

Shouldering his own bag over his shoulder, Aang took one last glimpse of Zuko's ship before leaving the hut. Katara reached out and rubbed his shoulder, her blue eyes soft and gentle.

"It'll be okay."

----------

Iroh and I were seated on deck, the Pai Sho board set up and a few stray soldiers ambling nearby. They seemed curious, though the reason why was beyond me. This game looked about as fun as watching a chess tournament.

My only experience with chess had come from those rare times I was allowed out of the house. My dad would leave me with this old guy, Mr. Lew, whose niece, Rachel, was apparently this chess prodigy. He would sit the two of us down and go watch football in the other room while Rachel slaughtered me over and over again. It was enough to really make me hate it.

Finally, one day Rachel had called me a whore baby and I--in retaliation--had stuck her chess board in the blender and turned it on the maximum setting.

Yeah, we never really spoke much after that. But, on the bright side, I never had to play chess again. I decided that I wanted to maintain that spotless record.

"Um...General?"

Iroh had been about to explain the rules of the game to me. At my interruption, he smiled politely, radiating nothing but patience and calm. That's how I knew that I shouldn't have interrupted him.

"Sorry, but...well," I fumbled, trying to think of a way out of this Pai-Sho disaster. Then, inspiration struck. "I've been having a bad feeling about today. Can I do another tarot spread before we play...?"

"A fortuneteller should trust her intuition," he replied. "Besides, I expect it will take my nephew quite some time to apprehend his foe. Our game can wait for a little while."

I got another idea that would help my procrastination scheme. "Hey, remember that special blend of tea you made for me yesterday? It was really good. What was it?"

Iroh smiled, not at all minding my random question so long as it was about tea.

"That, Julie, was a blend made chiefly from a particularly rare specimen known as the Jiu-Jiu leaf, along with some other spices. It is very potent, but is also very helpful in meditation and relaxation."

"I think I could use some right now," I told him. "My shoulder's been hurting and I wouldn't mind being able to relax a little. And who knows?" I added. "It might help me with the tarot, too."

Iroh frowned for a moment, his expression suddenly dark. "I cannot trust anyone else to brew it...I shall have to do it myself..." He brightened immediately. "Oh, well. Perhaps you can do a practice reading for Shen-Long while I prepare it."

"Sure," I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. Though part of me really wondered about Iroh's reaction to the thought of _someone else _making the tea.

Shen-Long sighed and sat down in Iroh's place, watching dejectedly as the old man retreated below deck to find his special kettle.

"Did you have to drag me into this?" he asked.

"It's not like you have to have your fortune told, you know," I told him. "Besides, I just want to watch Zuko beat up an eskimo. Is that so wrong?"

Shen-Long raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Yes it is."

I totally could care less. As I was shuffling my tarot deck, I got up from my seat--hoping to precure a more decent view of the "battlefield" when the soldier unexpectedly grabbed my arm. Unfortunately, it was the one that was wounded.

"Ow!" I screeched, jerking away from him. Shen-Long looked startled as I clutched my bad shoulder, which had started to throb painfully. I nearly ended up dropping my entire deck on the ground. Iroh had better actually be making his special tea because it looked as though I might actually need it now. "I'm wounded...remember?!"

"Sorry!" he apologized, his voice all panicky. "It's just that...Julie, I don't know if you realized this but..." he hesitated, his thought trailing off leaving a noticable edge of doubt.

"What?"

"Well...those pirates that attacked...they...you could have been killed," he fumbled. "And you didn't see Prince Zuko's reaction when you were knocked out. He was...upset."

"Oh," I said, understanding immediately. "I get it. He feels guilty because he's been such a jerk this whole time and I nearly died trying to warn everybody about the pirates."

"Maybe. But in any case, don't you think you should do him a favor and try to stay out of trouble?"

Ha! Trouble was my middle name! Well...not really, but whatever. I looked down at the ground and realized that I actually had dropped one of my cards. Eerily, it was lying face up and staring me in the face.

Shen-Long followed my gaze and frowned. He bent down and picked up the card for me. "The Wheel of Fortune?" he read quietly. He glanced at me. "You really should be careful not to drop things."

I snatched the card away, turning red.

"I wonder what it means, though," he added nonchalantly. "I hear that when fortunetellers shuffle their decks, and a single card seems to pop out, they should pay special attention to it."

I looked down at the card in my hand. "The Wheel of Fortune generally tends to mean that your luck is about to change. Whether for better or for worse depends on the position of the card."

Shen-Long was quiet for a moment. "Maybe you should listen to it, Julie..."

I tried to reason with him. "Look, Shen-Long, the only defender of this village is a kid my age with a boomerang. I saw him through Bo-Fen's looking glass. The rest are just old women and young children. Plus, I totally promised I'd stay on the ship. I think I'll be fine."

"There's the Avatar."

"Isn't he an Air Nomad? They're a bunch of peace-loving monks. I'm shaking in my boots."

"Still...he's eluded Fire Lord Sozin and all of his descendants until now. I think we should just play it safe until Prince Zuko returns with his captive."

"Fine," I huffed. "I'll just wait near the railing. I should be safe there with a big strong man like you to guard me."

I was being sarcastic, but Shen-Long actually seemed to take me seriously. I saw him rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. What an ego boost will do to a man...or at least, this man.

"Well...I'm sure the General wouldn't have a problem with it...and I can probably get Jee-Jee to see my way of things...so, okay."

I winced. "Shen-Long," I asked slowly. "Why in the name of Agni do you call Lieutenant Jee '_Jee-Jee'_???"

To my confusion, the hardened warrior actually blushed. "Do you want to watch Zuko beat up an eskimo or what?" he snapped.

What could I say to that? The prize was just too tempting to miss out...and nothing, not even my mother's tarot deck, was going to get in my way.

----------

Down below, Sokka was staring into the horizon, waiting for his enemy. His warpaint was flawless and his weapons had been polished so that they would look extra-super-special-awesome as he was using them to kick Fire Nation butt. He was standing on the ice wall, trying not to be intimidated by the silence or the mist that obscured his vision.

"Well?" he muttered. "Where are they? Stupid Fire Nation, can't even show up on time..."

As though the Spirits were itching to answer his question, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. Stumbling a little, Sokka wheeled around in time to see the guard tower he had spent a better part of a month building crumble to the ground in a messy pile of frozen rubbish.

"Oh, man!" he cried. He almost ran over there to put it back together when a more pressing matter caught his attention. A vast shadow crept along the ground, trumping Sokka in its entirety as he stood there staring bemusedly at the bow of Zuko's warship.

Two words: Epic fail.

"Ohhhh, man...!" he whispered, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets. From on deck, I could get a very good look at his facial expression through the scrying glass. It was really hard to keep a straight face when I saw it. I really, really wished I had a camera--one with a long-distance lense so I could capture his priceless expression on film.

But you can't have everything in life, now can you?

The frightened villagers were running around in a state of panic as the ship cut through the ice wall and threatened to crack the frozen ground from its weight alone. It was pandemonium, but when I turned my looking glass in their direction I managed to catch sight of Katara's grandmother trying to get the terrified children back into their huts.

Huh? Where was Katara? Shouldn't she be outside too? I scanned the entire village with my scrying glass, but I couldn't find her anywhere. This was just...strange.

_The Wheel of Fortune generally tends to mean that your luck is about to change..._

I hastily shook the thought out of my head and looked back down into the village. Just in time to see the wall that Sokka had been standing on collapse, sending the remains (and Sokka) hurtling backwards in a mini-avalanche. Somehow, though, the Water Tribe warrior managed to get to his feet and don a battle-stance as the bowsprit of the ship folded open. It hit the ice with an ominous thud.

I had to grip the railing tightly to keep from falling overboard.

Zuko gave the order for his men to move out. Within seconds, they began to move down the gangplank. I could see everything perfectly, and for a minute I completely forgot about Katara and how she wasn't where she was supposed to be. Instead, I kept my eye on the village's sole defender, waiting for him to strike. I was not disappointed.

With a screech that was probably supposed to have been something resembling a war-cry, Sokka charged up the ramp, his club bared and ready to crack Zuko's skull.

_3...2...1..._

With laughably casual ease, Zuko sidestepped Sokka's attack and kicked the weapon out of his hand. It flew up in the air, arching magnificently as the Fire Prince brought his foot back up, slamming it in Sokka's face. With a cry, the Water Tribe warrior flew to the side and was planted face down into the snow. Only a second later, his own weapon hit the ground.

_Humiliation!_

"Fail, Sokka," I muttered, shaking my head. "Just...fail."

Shen-Long glanced at me curiously, but I ignored him. What happened next was pure entertainment. For the first time in my life I was getting to see an episode of my favorite show play out _right in front of me_! How awesome was that?

Zuko continued down the gangplank, and the villagers unanimously cowered backwards away from him and his soldiers. For a long moment there was silence. Then, the Prince approached Katara's grandmother.

"Where are you hiding him?"

No one dared to answer him. Zuko looked at the crowd in annoyance, gaze swiveling from one frightened face to the next. Seeing that he wouldn't get any response from anyone, he seized the elderly woman, brandishing her at the people.

"He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?"

Silence. There was a brief pause before Zuko released his hold on Gran Gran. Without preamble, the old woman sank into the snow, scowling up at him defiantly. She was _definitely _related to Katara.

I saw Zuko's brow twitch in frustration. _Uh, oh_, I thought. _Someone's going to get burned..._

The Fire Prince snarled--sounding even more furious than he had been when Iroh and Lieutenant Jee had coerced him into singing that Disney song. With a single fluid motion he launched a gout of flame over every head in that trembling throng of people. I almost felt sorry for them.

_Well, it's not like Zuko's going to kill them or anything, _I reassured myself. _This is all show._

Sokka had managed to pry himself out of the snow at this point, but his facepaint was worse for wear. Catching sight of Zuko towering over his grandmother, he plucked his weapon out of the snowbank and ran towards him, screaming.

"Sokka," I muttered. "Sneak attacks don't work if you scream it out loud...!"

"Did you just say something, Julie?" Shen-Long asked.

"Nope," I replied right about the same time Zuko turned to face his assailant. Stepping out of the way, Prince Grumpy grabbed Sokka by the belt and tossed him over his shoulder. The Water Tribe warrior hit the ground face up, barely rolling out of the way in time to dodge the blast of flame that Zuko had propelled towards his face. Sokka gritted his teeth and threw his boomerang.

At least the fight was proceeding normally. Still, where in the name of Agni did Katara go?

Zuko didn't expect a hurled projectile. He barely got out of the way in time to dodge the boomerang, which flew past his ear and hurtled away into the distance. Zuko glanced at it for a moment before turning back to Sokka, shooting him a death glare.

At the same time, a random little kid tossed Sokka a spear. Oh, great. This should be good.

"Show no fear," the boy said.

I leaned a little farther out from the railing than I probably should have. I was so eager to see Zuko pound on Sokka with his own spear, that I didn't see what was happening in the sky.

That's right, you heard correctly. The sky.

* * *

Aang and Katara were perched on Appa. They had just saddled up their bags, and were preparing to take off. They were both trying to shake off the gloom of their current predicament. Katara was trying to hide her worry for her brother beneath her interest in the giant fluffy monster.

"Appa's really cool," she said, patting the sky-bison on the head for the fifth time in the past ten minutes. Appa sure wasn't complaining, though. He was hoping that this strange Water Tribe girl would give him something to eat.

"Well," said the boy Avatar. "At least now you get to see him fly. He really can, you know."

"Sokka was the one being skeptical. I totally believe you."

Grinning only half-heartedly--Aang was still freaking out inside about Zuko and his men--he flicked the reins. "Yip Yip!"

With a roar, Appa made a running start and leapt up into the air. Katara let out a cry and flung her arms around Aang to keep herself from falling off. When she opened her eyes, she was startled to find herself so high off the ground. She blinked towards the snow-covered ground so far below in sheer amazement.

"Wow," she whispered.

"Yeah, sorry," said Aang. "I should have warned you. Taking off can be a bit of a shock for first-timers."

"It's amazing...!"

They continued to fly along the planned route, which would take them behind the mountains and far out of Zuko's line of vision. It just so happened that they were able to see the ship, which was banked unceremoniously on the ice, just in front of the village. Aang looked at it and scowled.

"I wish there was something I could..." he trailed off, squinting. He saw a flash of red on deck.

"Aang? What's wrong?"

"Look!" he said, pointing towards the Fire Navy ship. "That person...right there."

Katara crawled cautiously towards Appa's side and scanned the boat in the direction Aang had pointed. "You mean that small person? With the...is that _red hair _I'm seeing???"

"That's her!" Aang said excitedly, gripping Katara's arm. "That girl from my dream, remember? She had red hair, just like that!"

There was a long silence.

"So what do we do?" Katara wanted to know. "I mean, it seems pretty weird. I doubt it's a coincidence."

Aang grimaced. "I think I know. But you're not going to like it." Reluctantly, he flicked the reins again, this time steering Appa towards the ship. "Hang on, Katara. Appa! Yip Yip!"

* * *

"Julie, look out!" Shen-Long cried.

I looked up in time to hear a loud, rumbling roar of...something. As my gaze frantically searched for the source of the deafening noise, I found myself staring into the menacing face of...APPA?!?

I was utterly dumbfounded. What the hell was going on?!?

Shen-Long took a fighting stance and threw a long plume of flame up towards the sky-bison. At the same time, a short monk handed the reins to a Water Tribe girl sitting beside him--Katara!!!--grabbed his staff, and literally flew down to the deck, dodging the flame easily. Like a cat, he landed directly in front of me.

It was Aang.

"Come on," he said to me as Katara tried to land Appa as neatly as possible. They managed to avoid crashing into the deck; nervously, they waited for Aang to board. I wasn't sure what he was doing here or what he was waiting for.

I just stared and stared.

"Julie, it's me! Aang! You appeared to me in my dream, remember?"

It took me a minute to figure out what the bald-headed kid was talking about. Then I remembered, vaguely, the stupid dream I had the night the pirates attacked--the one where I had been casually conversing with Aang on Appa's back. My face paled at the implications.

Aang had had the same dream I had. Which means...I just _told _the Avatar a bunch of spoilers for Season One. No wonder he wasn't waiting for Zuko in the Water Tribe village like he was supposed to.

And now he expected me to climb on Appa's back and _escape _with him and Katara. Sans Sokka.

This was _NOT _good.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied hastily, seeing the look on Shen-Long's face. "Anyway, you better get your butt off the ship. Otherwise Prince Zuko is going to..."

I was interrupted with a cry from the ice. Zuko was staring in shock at Appa, but made a hasty cry to his men.

"That's him! Don't let him get away!"

"Aang, hurry!" Katara yelled.

I swore under my breath. Aang looked as though he had been electricuted, and hastily jumped into action. Apparently, that meant grabbing me, throwing me over his shoulder, and throwing me onto Appa's back. How he did that, I couldn't say. Unless the kid was using Airbending, which he probably was. I wasn't quite sure at the time, considering the state of shock I was in.

Fortunately, Katara grabbed my shoulders and kept me from falling off. I certainly wasn't in the condition to be doing that. And, HEY! Crap! I was being kidnapped! By the Avatar! This was insane!!!

"What are you guys doing?" Sokka yelled. "You're supposed to be escaping!"

"We're on it," Aang replied as he leapt onto Appa's saddle. He was about to flick the reins when a long flaming whip flashed just above our heads. He and Katara ducked in the nick of time. Me? I was already sprawled on my back.

Zuko had managed to get his back soldiers back on to the ship during the time I had been wasting time gawking. And now they were surrounding the sky-bison, preventing him from taking off. Katara gasped and Aang looked as though Christmas had been cancelled.

Oh, snap.

"Surrender," the Fire Prince commanded harshly. "If you try to take off, we'll kill the animal."

No one made a single move.

"Good," said Zuko. "No sudden moves now. Release your hostage."

"She's not a hostage," said Aang. "Julie's coming with us."

"Will you stop saying that?" I snapped. Only because it was looking more and more like we wouldn't be going anywhere. And if Zuko thought I was in league with the Avatar, I could pretty much expect nothing but capital punishment. Yay.

"I don't get it," said Katara, frowning at me. "Are you saying you _want _to stay here? With the Fire Nation?" Turning to Aang, she said, "Are you sure that she's the one, Aang?"

"Positive."

"Stop your muttering and release the girl!" Zuko snarled.

Before anyone could do anything stupid, I raised my hands into the air and slid carefully off of the saddle. I hit the deck and walked carefully back to the soldiers. As I passed Zuko, I whispered, "Don't be too harsh, Zu. He's just a kid."

He glared at me. But he didn't say anything. Thank God.

"Secure the bison, and apprehend the Avatar and his friend."

Just then, two soldiers stepped forward, holding a struggling Sokka in their grip. "He was trying to stop us, Prince Zuko. What should we do with him?"

"Same as the others. I want the Water Tribe peasants in one cell, the Avatar in another. Bring those two away first," Zuko added. "I want a look at this Avatar."

The soldiers had already forced Katara and Aang off of Appa's back. As Aang was brought towards Zuko, I saw Katara kicking and squirming angrily in her captor's grip. My eyes were wide. This was _REALLY BAD_.

"So you're the Avatar," said Zuko, narrowing his eyes at the boy. "But you're just a child."

"Well," Aang replied. "You're just a teenager."

I shook my head, trying to make sense of it all. Aang had gotten captured, just like it said in the script. But Katara and Sokka were now on their way to a friggin' cell! And it was all my fault!

Zuko was examining Aang's staff. Apparently now it was time to gloat.

"This will make a perfect gift for my father," he said, smiling one of the few smiles I had ever seen on his scarred countenance. Unceremoniously, he thrust the staff at me. Numbly, I took it. "Bring this to my quarters, peasant."

I scowled at him. "Way to be a jerkface, Zu."

What made things worse was that now that those two were in the clutches of the Fire Nation, there was no one left to help Aang escape. Except...well...Aang. With Katara and Sokka as potential hostages, Zuko could just threaten them to keep him from doing anything. So really, that just made things ten times more difficult.

I gripped Aang's staff in a death grip.

Oh, snap. What had I done?

* * *

**A/N: I know it took forever to update. I know. I suck. I know. But my computer sucks right now, and I'm still in trouble over my messed up grades. So...yeah.**

**Needless to say, the story might not get updated as often as I like. Maybe once every two weeks, at best. That's until I get my computer fixed, and who knows how long it'll take to save up enough money for repairs...--grumble, grumble. Needless to say, it sucks to have to trek to the library to do something that should be REALLY FRIGGIN SIMPLE! **

**However, I have good news! I have considered having Julie join team Avatar. And I revamped the plot a little bit. While it may not be what you expect at first, I promise that Julie and the Gaang will see quite a bit of each other during their adventure. I'm not saying any more than that, so there.**

**Anyway, review! I needs reviews!!!**


	10. AN:

Hey Everybody,

This is, unfortunately, not actually Distant-Moon. As you've probably guessed, that doesn't bode well for an update. And you'd be right. Distant-Moon doesn't have access to a computer right now, let alone the internet, so she asked me (Hey, how you doin'?) to let everybody know that she probably won't be able to update until September.

That doesn't mean she's not scribbling away frantically in a notebook even now, she just can't put anything up. So please excuse her hiatus and enjoy your summer, she'll be back as soon as she can.


	11. Toeing the Fine Line

**A/N: Heeeeeeeere I am! After an insidiously long hiatus, I have finally gotten my act together (well...my own apartment, anyway...-sweatdrop-) and a library card, so now I can update on the conveniently not-broken library computers! **

**Having finally checked the reader response to the author's note my oh-so paranoid friend was kind enough to post for me, I was surprised. Surprised and touched.**

**It truly warms my heart to hear how much this fic has entertained you all. Quite honestly I was expecting a revolt of massive proportions (people tend to hate you when you post author's notes instead of the next chapter...), so I am also relieved that I am _NOT _dead. **

**You guys must really love this story to have put up with that crap. So thanks!**

**P.S. This is a serious chapter. I swear it's not filler. Besides, you're looking at a really, REALLY long chapter. Would I be so cruel as to stuff it with unnecessary plot development? Would I? Please!**

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Toeing the Fine Line**

While it is traditional for me to start off a chapter bewailing whatever shit-tastic situation I managed to stumble (usually headfirst) into, I just don't feel like it right now. As it was, I have come to the sudden realization that bitching is for the weak, and, besides which, won't accomplish anything except pissing off everyone around me. Anyway, it didn't even make me feel better, so what would be the point?

I could laugh, scream, and sob all I wanted. It wouldn't be getting Aang or his friends out of the dungeons.

"Julie, your tea is getting cold," General Iroh reprimanded me.

"Sorry," I muttered. To mollify him, I took a long sip of the tea. It wasn't his "special" tea, whatever the hell that was, but it still managed to take off a lot of the chill from the South Pole. I was still in a pretty shitty mood, but that was to be expected given current circumstances.

In my other hand, I fiddled with Aang's staff (the same staff Zuko had, against his better judgment, entrusted to me in the last chapter) and continued to feel guilty.

"You seem melancholy and distracted," said Iroh pointedly. I looked up at him, all, '_Really, Dude?_' but otherwise silent as a brick wall. What did he expect me to do? Spill my guts right there with the tea things?

When the silence persisted, I managed to shrug. "It's nothing," I said.

The old man looked at me shrewdly. "I get the feeling you haven't heard a single thing I said about earthenware kettles."

I looked away. Man, this sucked.

"I was listening," I mumbled, slouching a little in my chair.

Iroh's eyes glinted. "Really? Then what did I say was the key to making fine tea?"

Le Crap on a stick! I hate pop quizzes; even on a normal day when I _wasn't_ sitting on my butt on a hostile enemy ship in the middle of freaking no-where with little or no hope of getting home again! Though it wasn't as though Iroh was going to torch my ass with his smite-worthy firebending if I got his question wrong, I still didn't want to look like an idiot, either.

I flummoxed. "You just said it was the kettle...didn't you?"

He sighed. "Proper aging, Julie. I was saying that there are a number of ways to _improve _the quality of the tea itself-_such as_ using an earthenware kettle as opposed to a metal one, as well as using fresh water that _hasn't_ been boiled already." He shook his head at me. "But unless the tea has been aged correctly, the taste will be hindered greatly."

I blinked at him. Iroh was starting to get really tea-righteous all of a sudden. _Huh, _I thought. _Maybe pretending to be a tea fanatic wasn't the best way to keep Zuko from sinking his assbear claws into me._ I started to think that it would have been preferable to have been poked to death with flaming spears.

I'm just saying.

"The way most tea is served in public places," Iroh continued, lost in yet another tea rant. "Just a cup of _lukewarm _water with a...a...tea bag...!" He shuddered and was silent for a minute, as though trying to compose himself. Without opening his eyes, he said to me, "Julie, for the love of Agni and for your own personal safety, never let me catch you holding one of _those _monstrosities, or so help me...!"

Um...whoa.

"Why, it is an _outrage _to anyone who _cares _about tea!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the table. At this point I had scurried away to a corner, a safe distance and out of range of any fire-spewing wrath that may have been forthcoming.

Then, Iroh blinked at me in confusion. It was as though he had just remembered I was there.

"Julie, why are you sitting so far away from the table? Come here and finish your tea."

No way, old man. You can just finish my tea and let me quietly cower here like a little bitch until you're finished. But I realized that _that _answer wasn't going to fly, so reluctantly I scooted my ass back to where I should have been sitting.

"Sorry," I said, and meaning it. I really was sorry that I had provoked him into a fit of rage. But Iroh didn't seem _too _pissed, so I guess we were still cool and whatnot.

"You really _must_ be bothered about something if you can't even concentrate on tea," he said. "What is on your mind?"

Only a complete stooge would have spilled their guts-or rather, _my _guts-about how badly I was stewing for landing Aang and his best friends in a shitload of Fire Nation whoop-ass and prison cells. I knew Iroh was understanding, but he was still Fire Nation, after all. And we hadn't progressed enough in the series to the point where he would directly defy his nephew to help Aang.

Shit, I realized. I wondered if I was even going to stick around to see that, or if I would even survive that long. This was just way too hodge-podge and convoluted for my tastes. Where was a simple road-map when you needed one?

"Nothing," I lied. "My shoulder kind of hurts, though."

Actually, this was true. Not only did it hurt, it throbbed. It was like a living, breathing, angry...thing...bent on making me miserable. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse instead of better; but that was besides the point. I was more worried about how I was going to fix this little shit-festival I had created. I could barely concentrate on thinking of an escape plan for Aang, let alone pay attention to Iroh's tea lecture.

Iroh frowned. "If it hurts badly enough, we can have the healer look at it again."

Oh, hell no. Having _that _miserable butt-munch open up my shoulder cast would only cause him to bitch _endlessly _about how much trouble I was causing him. Besides, there was the little detail that I needed to (somehow) help Aang escape. And I couldn't do that if I was in a hospital bed...cot...whatever.

Screw it. I wasn't going to sickbay, and that's that.

"I'm fine," I said quickly. "I just...well..." I tried to think of a way to retrace my argument to a less traitorous one. "General Iroh, can I...ask you something...?"

"You just did. But you may ask something else, if you wish."

I nodded. "It's just...the Avatar...he's just a little kid. I thought he was, like, ancient or something."

I, of course, was bullshitting. I knew full well that Aang was just a hyperactive tween with the soul of an innocent monk-baby. I just wanted a reason to justify my angsting over his capture.

Iroh looked at me carefully. It was as though he were weighing my words very carefully, although why he would do that was completely beyond me. I never usually said anything worth consideration. I was typically straightforward...at least, when my life wasn't at stake.

"My nephew and I believed the same thing," he said. "We were just as surprised as you to see that he was actually a young boy."

"Doesn't that bother you, though?" I pressed. I knew I was pushing my luck, but I was really curious how they would justify something like this. "I mean, the fact that he's so young. He can't possibly be your enemy. He barely even put up a fight back on deck."

Iroh looked at me. "Does it bother _you_?" he asked.

I blushed. "Well...yes. Yes, it does. He's just a kid, General. He shouldn't have to die just because...I mean, he can't help being _born, _can he?"

He held up a hand to calm me. The man was so Yoda-like that it made me shut up faster than clam at a New England brunch. I hadn't realized I had shouted until the weight of the silence that followed pressed down on my ears.

"I can see you feel very strongly about this. I also agree with you to a certain extent. But you have to understand that my nephew has been hunting the Avatar for the last three years. He too feels strongly about this quest. He too is conflicted, perhaps just as or even more conflicted than _you _are right now."

I scowled, but I allowed the logic. I may not like Zuko very much, but he wasn't a stubborn emo-pants for no reason. I guess I could try to see things his way...maybe...

"I can assure you that the Avatar will _not _be killed," he continued. "If he were to die, he would simply be reincarnated, and Zuko would have to begin his search anew."

I could not imagine the holy-hell-tastic hissy fit Zuko would have if _that _should happen. I didn't want to think about it.

"What about his friends?" I demanded. "The two Water Tribes-persons and whatnot. Are _they _going to die?"

"They will be arrested, but unless they do something foolish and dangerous to our mission, we have no reason to harm them in any way."

"But they're still going to Fire Nation jail, aren't they? Crap!"

I couldn't keep the panic out of my voice. Anxiety was warping my imagination so that all I could see in the near future was Sokka being made into a prison bitch. Or maybe Katara getting some prison tattoos. Ew, to both of those fear-induced delusions.

Iroh quirked an eyebrow at my outburst. "Is something the matter?"

Hastily, I pulled myself together.

"I mean...darn those not-Fire-Nation tards and their...evil intentions..." I said awkwardly. "They clearly deserve to rot in a cell. Oh, look, I think I hear Lieutenant Jee calling me. Better not disappoint the man, right?"

I got up out of my chair and made a break for the door.

"Later!"

I dashed out the door, leaving a not-very-surprised ex-General in my wake. He shook his head at my retreating form.

"The girl needs to drink more tea," he decided privately. "She is far too high-strung for her own good sometimes..."

* * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the ship, a very private and urgent conversation was taking place.

"How can you be so calm about this? Look how drastically Julie's presence has tampered with the flow of time!"

Bo-Fen looked at her brother indifferently. They were currently standing guard outside of the dungeons, looking quite menacing in their faceless minion disguises. However, it was the one place they could have this discussion without being overheard by someone else. No one wanted to go near the cells; partially because Zuko had threatened bodily harm to whomever should enter without direct permission from himself or Lieutenant Jee, but more so because the place was damp and depressing.

It was quiet except for the steady drip-drip from the ceiling.

"I don't see what you're so upset about, Shen. S'far as I can tell, the pirates were the only thing that came unexpectedly. It was probably just a hiccup in the plot that came about when Julie crossed over into our world. I would expect breaking the rules like that should result in a few...distortions..."

Shen-Long shook his head in exasperation. "And you don't think the Avatar's capture was _unexpected...? _I'm telling you, this wasn't just a _hiccup_. It's so much more than that. Something's going on that we don't know about!"

There was a long silence. "You're overreacting, hon'," said Bo-Fen. "You don't seriously think that one of the _other_ Mesmers is behind this, do you?"

"_Shhhh...!_"

"What? We're alone."

"The prisoners might hear you. The last thing we need is for the Avatar to find out about _them_. Our master will be _furious _if the Avatar caught wind of the Inner Sanctem." He was quiet for a minute, flipping through his options. "We should tell Mesmer Dorian everything. He was suspicious of Julie, as well as Mesmer Prospero's idea from the very beginning."

Bo-Fen gave him a look, which he couldn't see beneath the face-plate. "So Mesmer Prospero wants to go on with the plan, in spite of the _slight _anomalies taking place. So what? That doesn't mean that Julie is his personal agent. How can she be? None of the Mesmers can cross over into other worlds..."

Shen-Long looked pale within his armor. "A fact that I find somewhat troubling. If someone as powerful as they are cannot penetrate through those barriers, how can one girl possibly do it?"

His sister merely shrugged. "I suppose it's why Mesmer Dorian wanted us to keep an eye on her. So let's put the issue of the pirates and all the other weirdness aside. We knew that there would be disruptions anyway, so why freak out over every little thing?"

"Because there's a chance that Julie is something...worse."

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Bo-Fen asked incredulously. "Did you see how Julie reacted to those pirates? The girl was nearly killed trying to save us! Poor kid..." she added, shaking her head. "No, I don't think she's anything bad, Shen. She doesn't have that look about her. If anything, she's just one person who got here by accident...and now she's probably going to get mixed up in this whole big mess...!"

"It might be an act."

"_Please_," Bo-Fen sighed. "Anyway, when it all comes down to it, it doesn't matter _who _sent the pirates or why. We both decided that Mesmer Prospero _can't _be trusted. To be honest, I doubt _any _of the Mesmers can be trusted, but it's a risk we both decided to take. Remember?"

Shen-Long felt tired all of a sudden. "Yes, I do. All too well, sis'."

"Good. Now that we've gotten _that _settled, what are we going to do about the Avatar?"

* * *

Unaware of the intrigue taking place around me, I had since come to the conclusion that I was the only person who could possibly save Team Avatar. The time was ripe to come up with a plan that would, hopefully, get the Gaang out of the ship dungeons of death and despair and on Appa's back, flying merrily off towards the distant sunset; only that would mean Aang was driving and not Sokka since they'd be going West instead of North, towards the opposite Pole. Sokka was the anal-retentive yet lovable all the same map guy, while Aang was the equally lovable but somewhat geographically retarded bald kid.

Do the math.

Anyway, I was wandering the lower sections of the ship, kind of hoping to stumble upon the cells by accident. On our previous tour, Bo-Fen had...conveniently forgotten to show me where the cells were. Probably in case I should ever find myself a resident of them myself one day.

Unfortunately, not only did I _not _know where the cells were, I barely had any idea where _I _was going. It was darker than Davey Jones's proverbial locker and stank of rotten eggs. By that observation, I figured that I was either closer to where I wanted to be (because who would clean a dungeon?), _OR _I had really fucked up and ended up near the engine rooms. And I knew out of simple common sense that only an idiot would put the prisoners' cells so close to the ship's fuel source.

Can anyone say, "_flambee ole!"?_

I decided then that if I came across an engine room, I'd just mosey up to the engineers all ninja-like and steal a map of the ship...or their keys, if they happened to be carrying them. I was assuming, of course, that they even had maps to begin with, and that I could take them without being noticed. But I was going on what the Gaang had done in the episode with the Drill as it penetrated the walls of Bah-Sing-Se.

So, I was creeping along, minding my own business, when I bumped into something in the dark. I didn't even realize it was a person until he spoke to me from out of the blackness. And even then, I had just kind of assumed that it was just Shen-Long or someone equally as unimportant.

How very wrong I was.

"Julie," said Lieutenant Jee sharply.

I jumped about half a foot in the air before stumbling on the unsteady boat floor, nearly falling on my butt, as I was so prone to do these days.

"Um...hiya, Lieutenant Jee. Pleasant view down here, huh?"

I was, of course, being facetious. I had to squint really hard and already know where to look before I could even slightly make out the man-shaped form of the navy officer. I could imagine him frowning sternly at me, as though finding my witticism, even at my own expense, to be highly inappropriate and unladylike.

The chauvanistic douche-waffle.

"What are you doing, skulking near the galley? And why aren't you in uniform?"

Note to self: check to see if people from the Fire Nation have reptilian night vision. There was no way he should have been able to tell that I wasn't wearing his hideously pink garment of subordination. Not in that pitch darkness.

"I'm...I'm...lost..." I stammered, as it was the first excuse that popped into my brain. Then, it occured to me that this might actually be the most plausible explanation I could have used, so I went with it.

"Lost," Lieutenant Jee repeated, as if he didn't hear me correctly.

"Well, it's so dark down here!" I defended hotly, trying to sound as though I was about to cry. Which, by the way, wasn't so hard considering how nervous I was. "I...I keep trying to find the hold, but I keep going around in circles. And I tried to find Bo-Fen and have her help me, but I can't find her either!"

"Bo-Fen is in the cells, guarding the Avatar. So is Shen-Long."

This certainly was news to me. Maybe I could ask them where the cells are later, instead of stumbling around like an idiot. But then, what if they asked why I wanted to know? I still wasn't sure if I could trust Bo-Fen, after that incident with the mast.

No, I'd have to do this myself. Damn.

"Are you...crying, Julie?"

I blinked. Huh. Maybe he didn't have spooky night-vision after all. Well, okay, if this helped me lie my way out of this, then why the hell not?

"I...I'm fine...!" I said as dramatically as I could. "It's not like I'm...scared or anything...I mean, the Avatar's locked up. He's not going to try to _kidnap _me again...right?" I added in a small voice.

Right. As if I could ever be afraid of someone as sweet and unassuming as Aang or his goofy, rag-tag pals. But Lieutenant Jee didn't necessarily know that, did he? Well...to be honest, I wasn't sure what the man knew.

To my relief, the man had been all ready to come to the rescue, and willingly ate that pile of shit like it was chocolate mousse.

"I figured as much," he said, somewhat kindly in spite of his blatant 'tardation regarding my gender. "Young woman have passionate dispositions, and have a lot of trouble coping with duress. They can't help it, I know," he added, correctly interpreting my silent shit-fit for what it was. "Sometimes, they get so compelled by a situation that their emotions simply run away with them. Which is why every woman needs a reliable man to keep her grounded and stable."

He nodded smugly at my outrage, which I could only guess was evident on my face.

"Um..." I mumbled, not sure if I could speak without breaking character as the damsel in distress. I was thinking that kicking him in the balls _might _just give me away.

Lieutenant Jee kept going as if I hadn't made a sound.

"To be honest, Julie, I had a feeling you would eventually succomb to your true nature as a woman. It was only a matter of time. I mean, there has just been one crisis after another, what with you nearly drowning, the mast incident, the pirates, and then being taken hostage by the Avatar himself!" Jee paused for a moment, I think, to shake his head slowly and somberly. "It's just too much for a young female to handle."

Assbag!

Who the hell did he think he was? How could _he _possibly know what I could or couldn't handle? I mean, I survived a lot of crap on my own, without a so-called _reliable _man to assist me. Thank you very much.

As a matter of fact, half of the traumatic things that I had to endure were things that Lieutenant Jee couldn't possibly know about. Living in the bad part of the city with a drunken, miserable excuse for a human being, let alone a father...having to walk on egg-shells around the man, even the few times he was sober...being the target of frequent, even routine, beatings just for looking at him the wrong way; drunk or sober, it didn't matter. And the few times I had considered running away, and the one time I had actually made the attempt...

...well, once was enough. I never did it again. I still had the scar on my stomach as a glaring testimony to what happens to cowards who run. And, anyway, before his career went down the toilet, he had been a private investigater for some major law firm upstate. As long as I lived, I knew that wherever I could try to run to, Dad would always be able to find me. Always.

Except now. Now, I was out of his reach, possibly forever. I refused to cower before a man ever again. The only thing I regretted about this was the one person who would not only bristle, but lunge for the jugular had she heard Lieutenant Jee's careless words. _Jessie._

She was my best friend and the only person who might have been able to take care of me, if such a person could possibly exist. But she was worlds away from me. I'd probably never see the mother-hen-in-the-making ever again. Not unless I achieved a miracle and found a way home. But half of me didn't even know if I wanted to go back. Did I really want to go back home, back to my father? Could I do that for Jessie's sake?

I never mentioned this, reader, but I spent hours staring up at the ceiling at night, wondering this very thing. It was probably a pointless thing, since I probably couldn't _get _home. But it didn't prevent this question from haunting me.

Hastily, I got my mind back on to something I _could _handle at the moment: my aggrivation towards Lieutenant Jee.

"Forget it!" I snarled, ripping myself away from his helping hand. I staggered back a few steps as the rocking of the ship caught me off guard, but I let the motion carry me towards the passage I had just come from. "I'll find the hold myself! I don't need you, you sexist pig!"

There was a slight foosh as Lieutenant Jee lit up a small flame. Luckily, it wasn't one of those places on the ship where Firebending wasn't allowed. A ghost of a smile, wry and condescending, appeared on the older man's face as he regarded me. He looked as if he had just won a game of chess.

Huh?

"Now that sounds more like the impertinent maggotflea I know and despair of," he said crisply. His smile faded into a more business-like expression. "Run along, now, like a good girl."

I humphed and began to stomp off towards the hold. I would go there and rethink my strategy, but also, I really wanted to rest. My shoulder seemed to be throbbing from all of the stress and irritation.

"And Julie?"

I paused, turning to glare at him. "What?"

"Try to stay out of trouble."

I shot him a dubious look. What did he mean by that? He couldn't possibly have guessed what I was really doing down here...did he? Was this his round-about way of trying to...warn me? Of telling me to keep away from Aang?

Or maybe...maybe, in a stupid, indirect way, he was telling me to be careful...?

Meh. I liked it better when he was just a douche-waffle. At least _that _was easier to wrap my brain around.

* * *

Hours later, after his guard shift had ended, Shen-Long returned the keys to Lieutenant Jee.

"Here they are, Sir," he said, his face flushed a little from underneath the face-plate. He handed over the circlet of metal with the many keys dangling off of it. The superior officer took the keys absent-mindedly. "Bo-Fen told me to give the keys to you. She had to use the little girl's room."

"Women," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "How was the Avatar?" he asked.

"Quiet," said Shen-Long. "It was a good idea to keep them drugged. You were right, as always, Sir."

"Yes, well, we didn't want them escaping. Poor Julie. The girl is traumatized after that stunt those rebels pulled yesterday. Imagine, being the victim of a kidnap attempt."

The officer looked tentatively at Lieutenant Jee. He wasn't sure if he actually meant what he said, or was being sarcastic. After all, he knew that, despite the man's undisguised lack of regard for the fairer sex, he wasn't stupid either. If he didn't notice the air of familiarity the Avatar had towards Julie...well, he was very surprised.

For Julie's sake, however, he kept his mouth shut.

"A girl as stubborn as she is, though, she probably doesn't want to admit how scared she is," the Lieutenant continued. "So I was thinking...maybe we should give the girl something to keep her mind off of the Avatar."

"For her sake, or for ours, Lieutenant Jee?"

The man looked at him. "Shrewd. I meant it when I said that it wouldn't do to have the Avatar escape. Prince Zuko would have us all drawn and quartered...spoiled, self-centered brat..."

"So what do you plan to do, then?"

Jee smiled a smile that was void of alterior motives...which, meant, of course, that he was totally planning something. "I'll tell you over a drink."

Shen-Long liked the idea. After all the fuss today, he could really use a drink. With a nod, he followed the Lieutenant away from the cells, but not before handing off the keys to the next soldier on the shift. The nameless guard saluted them before taking his place. He stood there like a statue until both of the men had gone away.

It was quiet. It was too dark to see very well, but the guard could hear very distinctly the drip-drop sound from the ceiling, the damp smell overwhelming his other senses.

It was very easy for the stranger to sneak up on him.

The soldier didn't realize he wasn't alone until the hands came out of the darkness, _behind him_, and spun the helmet around on the guard's head. With a choked cry, the man struggled to right it, stumbling around to get a look at his assailant. Quick as a flash, the stranger found the cache in the guard's armor and clamped down hard on the pressure point.

The guard slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The stranger didn't hesitate. After sitting the guard up in a sitting position, the keys were removed from his belt-loop and swiftly pocketed. When he eventually came around, he would think that he had merely fallen asleep.

The only time the assailant paused was to glance over towards the cells. No, there would be no freedom for the Avatar today. It was still too soon. The thief knew that right now there were still changes being made in the shifts. Too many witnesses...and besides...

One glance towards the cells told the thief everything. Aang was out cold. In the neighboring cells, so were Sokka and Katara. They had been kept sedated for the past several hours, and would be kept that way for as long as possible. Prince Zuko had been very specific about that.

_So they can't escape now. Once they wake up, though, they'll probably figure out not to touch the food._

The thief was counting on them being able to focus long enough to read the notes that were left for each of them when they woke up. Then, locking the cells again, the stranger calmly strode upstairs and into the darkness of the ship.

Sure, once Prince Zuko realized the keys were still missing, he'd be angry. Angry and suspicious. But so long as the Avatar remained in his cell, he wouldn't immediately think of a plot of escape. Actually, it was more likely that he'd think the guard fell asleep and lost the keys.

Anyway, if Zuko really wanted to suspect someone, it wouldn't be the true culprit. No, it would be the rather conspicuous redhead who was still asleep in the hold. In plain, it would be me, Julie McVay. Not that there would be enough evidence to pin me on anything. But that really didn't matter right now.

What mattered was not getting caught. And the thief was secure in the knowledge that this wasn't going to happen. And it was with that in mind that this stranger left the dungeons and went to blend in with the others on board the ship.

* * *

**A/N: Le gasp! Someone stole the keys to the cells! And what did the note for Aang say? More importantly, just what is Lieutenant Jee planning for Julie? You will find out when she does, but that won't happen until later. Sorry, guys. Deal with it.**

**Okay, okay, fine. Not my best work, but it's been a while since I posted, and I had a lot of stuff to cram into this, so...yeah. I'm sorry you didn't get to read any daring escape scenes. But I felt that it was really necessary to depict the inner conflict Julie was feeling this entire time. Not only is she feeling guilty over getting Aang and his friends captured, she's wrestling to figure out her own destiny in all of this. Plus, she's homesick. That's a lot of weight on her mind, you know.**

**Be prepared to laugh, cry, and scream in frustration as you wait for the next chapter. I can only go to the library to type twice a week for two hours at a time. So...yeah. Typing and editing take a really, really long time. Especially while I'm worrying about how my bills are going to get paid.**

**Not to worry, readers. I will continue to work on this fic. It's a challenge, and that appeals to me. -Evil smirk- **

**IMPORTANT QUESTION: **Okay, so I know now, based on the lucious reviews I have received (many thanks, by the way), that you guys really like Julie. Yayness! I was worried that she was a bit Sue-ish. I am relieved to see that she is nothing of the sort.

But I am a bit surprised that no one has commented on any of the other OC's, or even any of the main characters (for the most part). So I'm going to ask you guys quite bluntly: **What do you think of Shen-Long and Bo-Fen? Are you guys even remotely curious about the sub-plot with these so-called Mesmers and this Inner Sanctem thing? Or is it just pointless backdrop?**

Seriously, I need to know. It's an important part of the story, and Shen and Bo are semi-important characters. But if no one is interested in them, I can't say for sure how well this bodes for the rest of the fic...

**SO JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! YOUR OPINION MATTERS TO ME! Duh.**

**Oh, and tell me in a review, Sil' vous Plait. I'll be waiting.**


	12. A Pointless Interlude

**A/N: Last chapter seemed to be a rip-roaring sucess, I think. ****Before I get to the next chapter, I'd like to thank all of my reviewers for the last chapter with a pointless interlude. **

**Yes, this is pure crack. You will occassionally see me writing these when my brain has fried due to the stress of trying to pay for an apartment, along with student loans, electricity, and a number of other miscellaneous expense. As you can tell, it is stressful being on my own with a broken computer to boot. One would think that I would utilize this valuble time on a computer to post an actual chapter except for the fact that I trekked ALL THE WAY TO THE LIBRARY only to find that I had, in fact, LEFT THE HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT AT HOME. **

**Yes. I left the chapter at my apartment. I was ready to tip over some bookshelves I was so mad. **

**But then, just when all hope seemed to be lost, it occurred to me that some of my interlude rant things are kind of fun to read. So I'm including it in my story, if any of you care to read this. If not, feel free to skip on ahead to the next chapter (it'll be up really soon, just as soon as I can get the library yet again.) I'm not stopping you.**

**But if you're in the mood for a little crack, keep reading. I hope you will be entertained.**

* * *

**AUTHOR RANT #001**

**The _Disclaimer_ regarding Disclaimers:**

**Distant-Moon walks on screen, holding Momo, our spaztastic lemur pal in her arms. She is wearing a seemingly serene smile on her face, which all of her close friends know is just a precursor for senseless violence. In this way, she lulls the audience into a stupor, a false sense of security as she strokes Momo under the chin.**

**Me: **"Good morning...or afternoon...or evening...whichever, since I have no real sure-fire way of telling time here. Nor do I have any way of knowing what time you'll be reading this. But let's not quibble over terminology. I'm sure you're all wondering where the next chapter is. Rest assured, it is well on its way."

**Momo croons happily as Distant-Moon feeds him a plum.**

**Me: **"However, before we get started, I have a very important message for all of you. To assist me in this, I have summoned from Zuko's dungeons the boy Avatar himself." -Looks off-screen- "AANG! GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE!"

**Aang, who was just happy for the opportunity to get out of the dungeon for a few minutes to stretch his legs, scrambles into the room with a gust of wind. He is wearing a huge grin on his face.**

**Aang: **"Hiya, folks! I know I didn't really get the chance to introduce myself, but I'm the Avatar! You know? The master of all four elements? And you know, I shouldn't be all happy about this, considering that I've been hiding in an iceberg for yae near a century...but what the heck? I'll make an exception for the sake of...um..." -Pokes the camera curiously- "Hey, mysterious goddess-type person...what am I doing here, anyway? And who am I talking to?"

**Distant-Moon sighs. She has a way-worn expression on her face.**

**Me: **"They already know who you are, Aang. We're wasting time. We're supposed to be educating these good people about disclaimers."

**Aang: **"But are these people, like, _spirits _or something? How do they know who I am, anyway?"

**There is a long silence as Distant-Moon regards the Avatar with a single raised eyebrow. Aang blinks back at her for a few seconds, wondering why it is so quiet. Then, he slouches a little in defeat.**

**Aang: **"Sorry. I'll be good."

**Me: **"I guess it can't be helped." -Turning back to the camera- "Since the Avatar is somewhat incapable of keeping himself _on topic_, I suppose it is up to me to spell it out for the community of Avatar fanfiction. There is a serious lapse of judgment here regarding the disclaimers I find in other people's fanfiction, which I am about to right as we speak."

**Aang: **"Ooh! I know what you're talking about! Disclaimers exist so that way people reading your story realize that you don't own my universe! Or anything even remotely similar to it." -Mutters to himself so that Distant-Moon doesn't hear- "Thank the spirits...!"

**As if on cue, Sokka walks on screen, looking around for his boomerang, which seems to have gone missing. How he got out of his cell remains a complete mystery, as Distant-Moon simply does not feel like composing an excuse. However, the fact still remains. Sokka is in the room.**

**Sokka: **-Overhearing the conversation- "Yeah. That's just stupid. Could you imagine the hell we'd have to pay if _this _nut got to decide what happened to us?"

**Distant-Moon's smile becomes plastic and brittle, and her grip on Momo tightens reflexively. Aang, seeing this, becomes visibly nervous.**

**Aang: **"Um...Sokka?"

**Sokka: **"Hold on, ya little hellion. I'm trying to make a point!" -Clears his throat- "As I was saying, could you imagine how screwy things would get if someone as mentally unstable as _this one _over here was able to, oh, I dunno, rewrite our histories or something? The whole state of the universe would melt into putty!"

**Aang: **-More insistant- "Sokka!"

**Sokka: **"Evil putty! Stickier than that stuff that Appa sneezed on me back when we first met Aang!"

**Aang: **"SOKKA!"

**Sokka blinks owlishly at Aang.**

**Sokka: **"Geez! What is it, already?"

**Aang: **"She _does _get to decide what happens to us. She's the AUTHOR."

**Sokka: **"The _what _now?"

**Aang: **"Well, she claims that we're all just characters in a popular cartoon show. I don't know what that means, but it sounds scary!"

**There is a long silence.**

**Sokka: **"What?"

**Aang: **"Yeah. It turns out that our lives were actually scripted out by a couple of guys named Mike and Bryan. And now we have to appear in Distant-Moon's story."

**Sokka: **"...What?"

**Aang: **"And even though she doesn't _own _us, so-to-say, she can still make a bunch of bad things happen to us!"

**Sokka looks from Aang, to Distant-Moon, to Aang again. He notes how the Avatar is looking a tad wimpy for a supposed protector of his known world, trembling in the presence of an ordinary looking girl with a bland smile plastered to her face. He simply shrugs, chalking it all up as a lack of world-saving experience on Aang's part. After all, the story just started.**

**Sokka: **"Prove it."

**Distant-Moon shrugs, pulls out a Glock, and points it at Momo's head. The lemur, about to take a huge bite out of his plum, freezes in mid-bite.**

**Me: **"Well, he asked."

**Distant-Moon is about to pull the trigger when Aang screams, horrified in the face of potential animal cruelty.**

**Aang: **"Wait! Don't do it! Violence isn't the answer! Just...just put the gun down, Distant-Moon...!"

**Tired of waiting for the next chapter, Julie, our foul-mouthed protagonist, stomps angrily into the room.**

**Julie: **"Oh, quit being a baby, already, and update your story. If you're tired of throwing in disclaimers, then don't write them, for God's sake!"

**Me: **"That's not what this is about! There is a point I am trying to make here!"

**Julie: **"Yeah, and I think the point just caught a train to Hoboken, New Jersey. But seriously, if this isn't about your rabid hatred of disclaimers, then what _is _this all about? Are you feeling so inadequate that you decided to take it out on _us? Again?_"

**Me: **"I don't hate disclaimers! I hate SUCKY disclaimers! I mean, come on! It's freaking obvious that none of us own the damn show! I mean, come on! Why would I be writing this fanfiction if I had any control over the Avatar world!"

**Julie: **"To inflate your ego? To make you feel more powerful than you actually are? I mean, look at yourself! You're holding an innocent lemur at GUNPOINT, you nutjob!"

**Aang: **"What did Momo ever do to _you, _anyway?"

**Distant-Moon starts shaking Momo around like a rag-doll. At this point, the main characters are more afraid that the author will shoot herself by accident in her haste to "make a point."**

**Me: **"I mean, come on! In theory, the disclaimer has practically NO PLACE in a story whatsoever! But then, there are paranoid-type persons such as my anonymous best friend...Jessie...cough...Jessie...cough...who actually recommend that they be included. Just in case."

**Jessie: **"Just so you know, my name isn't really Jessie. And I'm not the same Jessie that you see in the story. Just a coincidence." -Turning to Distant-Moon and spazzing out- "WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT TELLING PEOPLE WHO I AM? DO YOU WANT ME TO GET CYBER-STALKED OR SOMETHING?"

**Me: **"_Jessie_ is just a little cranky, folks. Nothing to see here. ANYWAY, the point is, if a disclaimer absolutely MUST be written, it should at least be _entertaining_. Please don't make me waste ten precious seconds of my life reading pointless info. I know you don't own Avatar. Just get to the funny. MAKE WITH THE FUNNY!"

**Julie: **"You know, there are other genres out there besides humor."

**Me: **"You mean like horror? Because in ten seconds I'm about to make Momo into a Class A horror movie victim."

**Aang: **"NOOOOOOO!"

**Julie: **"Sure you are. Have fun with that, then."

**Me: **"You think I won't do it? DO YOU?"

**Julie: **-Rolls eyes- "Then do it, you tard. _I'm _not stopping you."

**Aang: **"JULIE!" -Looks nervously at the deranged author- "Um...she doesn't mean that!"

**Julie: **"Sure, I do. Go on. Pull the trigger."

**Zuko, from offstage, hears the commotion. As he stalks into the room, his ponytail sways menacingly from side to side, an aggravated scowl on his scarred countenance.**

**Zuko: **"What's going on out here? I'm waiting for the next chapter to start..."

**Julie: **"You and countless other nameless fans. Cue massive fan-girl drool-fest in three...two...one..."

**Aang: **"Oh, Zuko! Thank goodness you're here! Distant-Moon has gone insane!"

**Zuko: **-Blinks dubiously at Aang- "You _do _realize that we're still enemies, right? And why aren't you in that prison cell where I left you?"

**Julie: **"Does anyone else find it weird that Momo is even _in _this disclaimer seeing as we haven't even _met _the critter yet?"

**There is a long silence as everyone mulls over what Julie said. At first, she thinks that they are in a state of severe disquiet. It is only when that silence is broken by the only ponytail-wearin emo in the room that she realizes that she's been ignored by everyone within hearing range.**

**Zuko: **"I'm pretty sure we had you in chains, too..."

**Julie: **"Oh, for the love of..."

**She is immediately cut off as Aang shrugs his shoulders nervously.**

**Aang: **"Distant-Moon said that I had to help out with this...whatever this is."

**Julie: **"No, seriously, am I the ONLY one a little concerned about the fourth wall? THERE IS A FREAKING LEMUR HERE WHERE THERE SHOULDN'T BE, PEOPLE! AND HE'S GOT A GUN POINTED TO HIS HEAD!"

**Julie stabs a finger at the clearly terrified lemur. She waits for a reply.**

**Zuko: **-Narrows eyes at the author- "Are you playing with fire-arms _again_...? I thought Jessie took that away from you!"

**Julie: **-Facepalms- "That's it. I'm out. If anyone needs me, I'll be quietly swallowing a razor blade in the corner."

**Julie stomps off, muttering about stupid authors and their pointless drabble dialogues that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual story they are trying to write. **

**Zuko: **-Still ignoring Julie- "Hand it over. No animal cruelty until AFTER the chapter gets written, and I get my honor restored."

**Sokka: **"Your...honor? That's what you're worried about?"

**Zuko: **-Flatly- "For the past three years I've been trying desperately to fulfill my destiny by delivering the Avatar to my father on a silver platter, along with a tray of hand sandwiches cut into little triangles. I've been a little preoccupied lately, as you can clearly see." -Impatiently turns to Distant-Moon- "Do I have to take that thing away from you?"

**Me: **-Pouting- "You know, I'm not _really _going to shoot Momo in the head."

**Zuko: **"The gun. Now." -Holds out his hand, gesturing impatiently with his fingers-

**Me: **-Sighs- "Fine...!" -Hands over the Glock- "Happy?"

**Zuko: **"Are you kidding? I'm not going to be happy until the Avatar is back in his cell." -Glares at Aang- "Get going, you."

**Aang: **"Aww...! Well, okay. Hey, see you later, Julie. Julie?" -Looks around for the missing protagonist- "Hey, has anyone seen Julie?"

**Sokka: **"Speaking of missing people, has anyone seen Katara? How come she wasn't in this?"

**Zuko: **"The water-peasant girl? She's having tea with my Uncle..." -Groans into his hand- "Why can't my prisoners just stay in the dungeons where they belong? Why is it so hard for the guards to grasp that we lock the doors FOR A REASON!"

**Aang: **"Yeah, Iroh invited me to tea too, but Distant-Moon was kind of insistant that I be here...you know?"

**Zuko: **"He did WHAT?"

**Bo-Fen appears out of no-where due to here bad-ass ninja skillz. She walks over to Julie's corpse, which is still lying in the corner, and nudges it with her foot speculatively. **

**Bo-Fen: **"Um...I think I found Julie."

**Aang's eyes bug out of his head and Sokka, who was oddly quiet up until now, simply turns to Distant-Moon.**

**Sokka: **"Can't you...I dunno...fix this?"

**Me: **"This was the point I was trying to make. Even though I don't have any _real _jurisdiction over what happens to you Mike and Bryan-made Avatar characters, _this one" -_points to Julie- "_She _belongs to me. Which means that if I should happen to kill her off in my fic, more than likely she will stay dead. I own her. I decide what happens to her."

**Zuko: **"That's just...sick..."

**Me: **"I don't mean it like _that, _you nimrod. Also, on the flip side, even though I _might _kill off some of the main characters...Sokka, for instance..."

**Sokka: **"WHAT? Why me?"

**Me: **"Just an example, dude. Anyway, if you were to die in my story, you wouldn't actually be harmed in the making of this fanfic. Because I don't own you. Which means I could do this..."

**At this point, Momo bursts into flames. The lemur falls to the floor and runs around like a chicken without a head, screaming in a wordless animal language, gutteral and filled with agony.**

**Then, Distant-Moon snaps her fingers, and the flames vanish. Momo is unharmed.**

**Me: **"...and it'll be like it never happened. SEE! MOMO is FINE!"

**Aang: **"Um...what about Julie? She's...um...kind of...um..."

**Everyone looks at the corpse, obvious discomfort on their faces.**

**Me: **"Don't worry. She'll revive in the next chapter. See, technically she killed herself. I had nothing to do with it. Which means I can drag her sorry ass back to the world of the living by the time it's time for the next update."

**Sokka: **"And how will you justify ALL OF THIS in your so-called fanfic, mysterious crazy lady who apparently is capable of causing me intense suffering for little or no reason at all?"

**Distant-Moon flashes an evil grin.**

**Me: **"That's easy." She looks dramatically at the camera. "Dream sequence."

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: NO LEMURS OR MAIN CHARACTERS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THIS DISCLAIMER. JULIE IS OKAY TOO...WE THINK...UM...ACTUALLY, WE'LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT. **

**Julie: **"Actually, I'm not dead. But since you took the time to read this crap, I guess you have time to leave a review too. Come on! Do it! We all know you want to, deep down inside. I'm just saying."

**A/N: Seriously, this was just for fun. If this bothers you guys and just want me to post chapters from now on, then just say so. I just thought it would be a nice refresher, you know? Since I don't actually have an actual chapter to post this time around, at least. Just let me know what you think, okay.**


	13. Same and Different

**A/N: Okay, now that I'm semi-sane once again, I think I'll just put up the next chapter now. Sorry about the last one. Although it was somewhat well-liked by the readers, I didn't get so many reviews and I have since come to the conclusion that it WAS out of place in my fic. Once again, sorry about that. Won't happen again. Seriously.**

**Without further ado, the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I will no longer subject the readers to worthless crap. The end.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Same and Different**

Night fell quickly in the South Pole. For a while I had been under the impression that it was winter here, what with all the snow and the short days and stuff. But I soon learned that it was actually the brink of the summer. I had forgotten how topsy-turvey everything was on the other end of the equator.

Staring up at the stars, I stiffled a bitter laugh. _On the opposite side of the world? Try another freaking dimension!_

I couldn't sleep that night. My shoulder was still hurting me, and I felt so overheated down below that I felt like a Julie pie baking in an oven. I knew that I was probably getting sick, that there was something wrong with the wound, that it wasn't healing right. I knew that.

But I couldn't do anything about it if I wanted to help Aang.

Anyway, the one time I almost fell asleep, I had this weirdo dream with some freak of a girl who called herself Distant-Moon, who held a gun to Momo's head. And then the dream kept going even after I swallowed a razor blade. I think Freud with have something to say about that one. He'd probably tell me that the gun was a phallic symbol, and that I have a streak of beastiality running in me. Or something equally as retarded.

Yeah, I never thought much of psychology. It's kind of stupid what people will believe, actually.

Taking advantage of the inevitable sleepless night I was going to have, I decided to come up on deck where it was (much) cooler, to clear my head and to think of a plan. I didn't have the leisure to think and plot during the day, during the watchful eye of Lieutenant Jee. I shuddered as I thought of how shrewd he had come across a few hours ago. It was unnerving, and went against all of the previous impressions he had made on me thus far as a human being.

Why did I get the feeling that he was up to something?

_Focus! _I sternly got myself back on track. _Aang is in prison. How are we going to fix that?_

I lowered my gaze to the churning black waters surrounding the ship and scowled at my reflection. No ideas were forthcoming.

Before I could follow through with the temptation to repeatedly slam my head into something very solid, such as the nearest wall, a low rumbling sound reached my ears. I jumped, looking around in confusion. _The fuck? _I could have sworn the sound had come from behind me, but...

Then I found myself staring across the deck at a certain sky bison in chains. Appa.

"Oh," I said, turning around all the way to face the big guy.

I felt a stab of guilt when I saw the state he was in. His usually pristine fur was matted up where he had struggled against the chains. And his solemn black eyes were sad and lonely. His massive body slumped dejectedly against the planks, as though hope had finally left for the evening. Appa just sat there, staring at me.

I didn't know what to do. But it didn't take long for me to remember just who was responsible for _getting _him in those chains to begin with. Namely, me.

I took a few tentative steps in his direction. He didn't stir right waway, but as I came closer his ears flickered sideways like a horse's. Sluggishly, his gaze drifted to me again. I had no doubt in my mind why he was suddenly growling at me.

It was a warning. Stay away, or I'll bite you.

"I know you're mad at me, aren't you?" I said quietly, staring up into his vast, bison face.

Appa stared back at me dispassionately. I took another step closer and refused to be daunted as his growl reached a lower, more threatening decibel. I couldn't blame him for hating me right now. I was responsible for the miserable day he had had. Not to mention the little detail that Aang was in the clutches of the biggest emo on the plantet...otherwise known as Zuko.

Man, even _I _would have hated me under those circumstances. In fact, I kind of did right then and there.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I told him, holding up my hands in an _I'm-unarmed-so-please-don't-eat-me _stance. But I couldn't lift my arm up all the way because of my shoulder. The plaster kept it from moving much, but a white hot pain seared across my collar bone every time I made a sudden move.

Grimacing in what I hoped was a rueful smile, I added, "I don't think I _could _hurt you, even if I wanted to. Not with my shoulder all fucked up like this."

I walked around to the side of him with uneven steps. I could feel his eyes following me, half out of curiosity, half out of what I thought might be concern.

I focused my attention on the chains. They were wrapped tight around Appa's body, enough to restrain him without hurting him, unless, of course, he started to struggle. Those chains were secured with a number of locks. A moment's inspection told me that each of the keyholes were made for a different key.

_Le crap_, I thought. Of course Zu-Zu wouldn't have made it easy.

For a minute, I toyed with the idea of freeing Appa first as a distraction for the crew. Then, while the faceless minions were detained, I would just sneak down into the dungeons and _viola!_ Free Aang, Katara, and Sokka. Hop on Appa's back and fly off into the distant sunset.

That could work. I could do it. I could totally do it right now...if I could only find a way to pick the locks.

Too bad I wasn't the prissy little princess that Lieutenant Jee wanted me to be. I didn't have a hair-pin on me. And I knew Zuko would sooner put on Lieutenant Jee's _fugly _lady-marm uniform that I was forced to wear while singing "I'm so Pretty" from_ A West Side Story _than to trust the likes of me with the keys.

I mean, I know I kind of helped to save everyone from the pirates earlier, but that didn't necessarily mean they _liked _me or anything. It didn't make me part of the crew in any way, shape, or form. I was expecting Chaang and his goons to come up with another mind-scarring stage in my "initiation" as we speak.

Still, Zuko would never trust me with anything _important._ To him, I was still an unwelcome guest on his emo-parade.

I clenched and unclenched my hands into nervous fists. What the hell was I going to do? How on earth was I going to pull this off? I had no idea who had copies of the keys, or even how I was supposed to go about stealing them. Even asking about the keys labeled me a suspect before the crime was even committed.

So great. I was back to square one.

With my good hand, I reached out and patted Appa's side, stroking his soft fur. His body stiffened at first, startled by my touch. But after a minute, when he realized how gentle I was being, I felt his muscles relax. It felt like he was melting.

I smiled. Animals were freaking cool. And Appa was the most bitchin' animal on the planet.

"You're just a big softie, aren't you, boy?"

It was hard to keep the affection out of my voice. Most animals had this affect on me with the notable exception of rats, who were so stupid that they could only think in great numbers and, besides, were just plain mean. I was still watching the corners like a paranoid straight off the set of a horror movie, watching for those freaking elephant rats.

Appa let out a semi-appreciative rumble, as though reading my mind. I laughed quietly.

"I guess it's a good thing you don't hold a grudge..." I trailed off sadly as I thought of what trusting me had cost him, had cost Aang. "I just wish there was some way I could help..."

"I bet you do."

I wheeled on the spot, startled to find that I wasn't alone on deck anymore. Prince Zuko, his royal jackass, was glaring down at me with his good eye, looking at me as though I were a bug he had just realized he had stepped on.

Before I could be properly offended, my shoulder burned hot again, causing me to jolt on the spot. I grabbed the cast with my good arm as the color drained from my face. I bit my lip as I tried to block the pain out of my mind.

That damn shoulder was getting worse every friggin' minute.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," I snapped through gritted teeth. "I can't move too well, and when I get backed into a corner I tend to stab first and ask questions later."

Zuko ignored the death threat like he would a fruit fly. "What are you doing out here? It isn't your shift on deck."

"I wanted some air."

"I thought you hated being outside. You said once that it was so cold out here that it would freeze Satan's butthole in hell...whatever that means."

I couldn't believe he had overheard me complaining to Bo-Fen. What, did he have super-hearing or something? Maybe because of his eyesight...

"Mind your own damn business," I retorted, turning back to Appa. I started petting him again.

Zuko frowned, as though the image presented before him didn't compute. "I can't believe you're going near that thing. He nearly took Lieutenant Jee's arm off before when he was putting the chains on him...I'm pretty sure he's still dangerous, even after we drugged him."

"You _drugged _Appa?" I cried. "You...jerk!"

Of course, this was the one time I couldn't come up with a decent insult. Wonderful.

Zuko just shrugged. "We didn't want him getting away. If it keeps the Avatar docile until we reach the Fire Nation, it's a price I'm willing to pay."

"You would say that." There was a long pause as I regarded Zuko out of the corner of my eye. "Why are you talking to me anyway?" I asked. "Last time I checked I'm still the bane of your existence. Did I miss the memo?"

"Nothing changed, peasant. I'm bored. Just like you."

"Uh huh," I said. "Whatever."

Zuko shifted uneasily for a minute, taking a spot next to me as he stared off at a point somewhere in the distance. I don't know why he was so uncomfortable. He was clearly the type of guy who preferred silence...but then why did he keep shooting me these wary glances? It was as though he expected me to drop dead at any moment.

Maybe it was the fact that I was playing with a supposedly dangerous beast that had him so disconcerted.

"The sun will be rising in a few hours," he said finally, as though the lack of conversation had finally gotten to him. Although that was about as unlikely as a rift opening up beneath my feet and sending me into another dimension...wait. Forget what I just said.

"Just what the hell is _that _supposed to mean?" I demanded quietly. I mean, it was such a stupid thing to say.

Zuko's brow furrowed, realizing just how idiotic he had sounded. "I mean to say that you should get some rest. Your shoulder looks worse." He threw a pointed glance at my cast. "A lot worse, actually."

"Thanks. Now go away. Even stubborn, fire-breathing princes need to sleep."

Zuko sighed. Like he was frustrated for some reason.

"Oh, what's the problem _now_?" I snapped, annoyed. "I'm not even doing anything."

"I'm not mad at you...for once. Though I doubt that will last at the rate you're going."

"Then what?"

Zuko hesitated. He looked away from me, bunching up his nose in disdain at the thought of confiding in a mere peasant like me. But seeing as how Iroh was asleep (I was guessing) and that I was the only commoner on board the ship who would even talk to him, even if it was to insult him...well, Zuko's options were pretty slim. And clearly this was one of those rare nights he craved a conversation.

At least, that's what I was guessing.

"Ican't sleep," he said simply. As if it made no difference if I knew it or not.

I just looked at him, curiosity starting to seep through my irritation and discomfort. "You can't sleep," I repeated, as though making sure I had heard him correctly. "Okay, fine. Then why don't you gloat to your Uncle over a cup of tea. Maybe that'll help."

"It won't. I haven't been able to sleep well since..." he cut off abruptly. "For a long time."

"I'm a light sleeper too," I offered since I had nothing better to contribute to the conversation. "I'm kind of jumpy. I don't like closing my eyes for too long. Anything can happen while you're asleep."

My hand drifted to my stomach unconsciously, where my scar was hidden beneath my shirt. I barely kept myself from shivering, just like I did every time I thought about _that _night.

Zuko looked troubled. "I know the feeling. I've had to worry about that ever since I started looking for the Avatar. I've had members of my crew try to kill me in my sleep. Not that they got very far," he added, a threatening note entering his voice. "But sometimes I just get so many thoughts in my head...just wondering where the Avatar is, what he's doing...how I'm going to capture him."

"So you're obsessed over a twelve-year-old boy. We all have our quirks, dude."

His gaze met mine, glaring at the levity I had offered.

"You're very insulting."

"I just call them as I see them, Zu."

"And don't call me Zu."

I smirked. "Would you rather me call you Prince Emopants, slayer of comic relief?"

He just sighed. Thankfully, he left _that _matter where it lay. He wasn't in the mood to bite tongues over terminology, apparently.

"Okay," I said, trying to go back to the main issue. Well, _Zuko's _main issue. "So what it sounds like you're saying is that you can't sleep because you have a lot on your mind." I raised an eyebrow. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"What does that mean?"

"It's a saying, dumb-ass."

"It isn't one I've heard before. And watch your mouth."

I guess it wasn't fair for me to call Zuko a dumb-ass. It wasn't his fault he didn't know the sayings from my country. He probably didn't even know what a penny was.

"Sorry," I said reluctantly. "It's just a way of asking what someone is thinking about. At least, it's what we say where _I'm _from."

Zuko narrowed his good eye suspiciously at me. "I thought you said you were a nomad."

Oh, snap.

"Well," I said, tripping over my own lies. "We do settle down in different places...whenever the weather gets bad...you know. And there are some spots we migrate to for a few weeks at a time."

"Like where?"

Shit! Zuko was calling my bluff!

"You know...um...Kyoshi Island...Omashu...Ba-Sing-Se..."

He just quirked an eyebrow, like he didn't believe me. "And just what would you _do_ in the great city of Ba-Sing-Se? Most people go there as refugees. They can't just come and go as they please unless they're someone important..." That suspicious look returned to his face again.

Zuko was thinking way too much about this. I had to distract him.

"For your information, we do _nomad _stuff. Don't be such a 'tard." I glowered at him. "Are you going to tell me what you've got on your mind that's so upsetting that you can't even sleep? Or are you just going to keep pooting on my culture?"

Zuko frowned at me. It was obvious that he was still skeptical about the story I had fed him, but it must not have been important enough to argue about. In quiet reluctance, he allowed the subject-change.

"It's...complicated."

I sat there, waiting for him to continue. Fortunately, it didn't take long for him to launch into monologue-mode.

"For the first time in three years things are finally turning out the way I want them to. Not only that, they're turning out beyond my wildest dreams. I should be sleeping like a baby..."

"Maybe you got used to pulling so many all-nighters, and they're finally catching up to you. Your Uncle told me how gung-ho you were about this Avatar thing."

"That's _not _it. That's not it at all. It's like..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Never mind, it's stupid."

"No, tell me. It can't be any stupider than some of the things I heard from your men. You know they keep swapping these rumors about the Avatar? One guy was convinced that he was really a she, and that "she" could turn into a flying lemur on the night of the full moon."

Zuko didn't even credit that with a response. At least, not a direct one.

"My men were hired based on physical strength, not necessarily on intelligence."

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out."

There was a brief pause. Somewhere in the distance, a badger-gull called out to its companions over the distant seas, only to get no response. It was a rather lonesome setting. Very depressing, actually.

"Well?" I prodded. "You're going to tell me, right?"

He scowled. "It's nothing. It's just ridiculous, but...I can't stop thinking that...well..." he glanced warily at me. "It seems...too easy."

I blinked. Too easy? Zuko was complaining that capturing the Avatar, his pet ambition from the ripe age of twelve, having finally been completed at long last...was _too easy_?

"What?"

"I told you it was stupid," he muttered. "It's probably impossible for someone like you to understand something like this. I mean, you probably just think that just because I'm royalty, that means I've had everything handed to me right and left. That I've never had to struggle for anything in my life."

I just stared at him, dumbstruck. This conversation was getting surprisingly personal.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze from the icy waters to meet my confused expression. "It isn't true. I have never had it easy. Not even when I was a child." His golden eyes were very bitter as he regarded me. "I've had to fight and struggle for everything I have now. And even now it isn't much. Just one measly little ship with a crew of untrustworthy peasants."

"It's more than I have," I muttered.

Zuko ignored that.

"For the past three years, my men have seen me as a spoiled, wannabe prince who's used to having his own way. They don't know how hard I've had to fight. They don't know that I..." he cut himself off, unable to say anything else...or unwilling to.

"Zuko..." I said quietly. "Why are you telling me this?"

I had pretty much hated Zuko from the moment I met him. He was nothing but a condescending jerk, yelling at me, treating me like dirt beneath his shoes, stepping on _my mother's _tarot cards...and I knew that he felt the same way about me. But I never really wasted much time thinking about the reason _why_ he kept to himself. Or why he alienated himself from his crew.

I mean, I knew about that thing with his father. I knew the whole stigma associated with his scar. But in my opinion, that was no excuse for the way he treated people.

Maybe the reason he never bothered bonding with his crew...was because he was already an outsider. Maybe it was because he knew what they had already decided about him from the moment _they _first met that he just _didn't bother _trying to change their mind.

And suddenly it made sense why he was having a conversation with the likes of me in the middle of the night.

Our eyes met. There was something that seemed to pass between us, but it was gone a moment later when Zuko tore his gaze away from mine.

"It's the truth. It doesn't matter if I tell you or not. It doesn't change things. It doesn't change anything," he muttered.

I didn't say anything. What _could _I say?

"It's just...given everything I've had to fight for and given the fact that I have practically no luck...it just seems..._bizarre_...how easy it was to apprehend the Avatar once I found him. Nothing ever works out that way for me." His eyes were distant and confused. "It shouldn't bother me, but...it does. It just doesn't make any sense."

"Zuko..." I said.

His eyes darted to me. "What?"

"Your Uncle said that you didn't know that the Avatar was a child. Does that...does that bother you?"

Zuko was silent.

"I just...I think it would bother me if the enemy of my people whom I had been tracking down for nigh three years turned out to be a twelve-year-old boy. And that he didn't put up much of a fight, either. It feels too much like targetting the innocent."

He scowled. "It's what I have to do. To get my honor back."

"Is it really honorable, though? I mean..." Zuko's glare cut into me like a knife. "You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything."

He looked miffed. "I didn't expect you to understand, anyway."

I felt a stab of annoyance.

"Whatever. Look, if you're done insinuating my lack of intelligence, could you go sulk somewhere else? You're making my shoulder throb."

Zuko turned away from me and started walking back towards the stairs leading below deck. I expected him to storm off, but then, to my surprise, he paused on the threshold. Seriously, he just would not get the hint. Why wouldn't he leave?

"You know, you really should get some sleep. For your own good."

"Thanks for the concern. Now leave me alone."

"I mean it," he said, and I looked at him in surprise. He sounded so...insistent. "Not that I care or anything, but I heard Lieutenant Jee talking to my Uncle earlier...something about an idea for your...education."

My eyebrows went up. Way up. This couldn't be good. The last time the man had tried to "educate" me, he and his thugs had burst into song. Not only that, a Disney song. If Lieutenant Jee was getting more ideas...well, I had probably better bust Aang and crew out of their cells, just so I don't have to go through with whatever he was planning.

Even if it got me killed, at least I wouldn't have to live through another rendition of _A Girl Worth Fighting For._

"It's nothing stupid like last time," he told me, as though reading my mind. "Though I don't know what he's planning, exactly, but I can say that much at least."

I glared daggers at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

Zuko frowned. "Not that it matters, but you'll probably need your energy, what with your shoulder looking the way it is. Besides, I don't have the funds to waste on you if you get sick. Also," he added. "I don't like the idea of you chumming it up with the Avatar's bison. Don't think that I haven't forgotten about how he seemed so _familiar _with you. I plan on questioning you about that at some point," he warned me.

"Why not do it now?"

"Because, one, I'm tired, even if I can't sleep; and two, I've got people keeping an eye on you for the time being. Once I'm well-rested, then I'll get the answers I need."

"Why does it even matter?" I demanded. "You already have your precious Avatar. I don't even know the kid, and grilling me won't accomplish anything. Who I am or where I come from is none of your business."

"Who you are...or who you say you are...it just doesn't match up with the things I've noticed about you. Watch your step around me, peasant. And rest assured...I will get to the bottom of this."

On that enigmatic note, he stalked past the threshold and down the stairs. I watched as the darkness swallowed him with mixed feelings of anger and dread. _Stupid, arrogant prick. It's none of his freaking business...why does he care, anyway?_

Appa didn't seem to know either. He looked just as confused as I was.

"Oh, screw it," I said, snuggling into the sky bison's side. He was surprisingly soft and comfortable to rest on, and even my red and throbbing shoulder couldn't find complaint with the feeling of nestling up against Appa. "I worry about this in the morning."

Little did I know that my world would be completely thrown through a loop once morning came.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not sure if you can call this fluff. I kind of thought it would be interesting if Zuko and Julie had a conversation away from everyone else. Just testing the waters with this one.**

**However, I thought it was pretty significant. It shows that even though Julie and Zuko don't like each other much, they can still form some sort of common ground. Which is something, at least. Plus, we have some character development, not only for Julie, but for Zuko as well. Though I don't think what he told Julie is anything that should surprise any of you.**

**Hee...I kind of like the thought of Julie snuggling up with Appa. Actually, I kind of want to draw that...hmmmm...**

**Meh. Review. Do it now, or I'll write another tangent chapter in the guise of a dream sequence. **


	14. Looking for Answers

**A/N: As always, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Hopefully in this next one we'll actually get some actual plot. Yay! Think of the implications! The story actually goes somewhere! Woot!**

**Disclaimer: Mike and/or Bryan probably write better than I do. It's a matter of fact. **

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Looking for Answers**

Since I was asleep while all of this was going on, this part of the story will be in the third person. Fortunately, someone was kind enough to fill me in on the blanks later on...

* * *

(Aang's POV, third person)

The first thing Avatar Aang noticed was the smell. It was the smell of mold, the smell of darkness, the smell of solitude. It was the dank aroma one might notice in a coffin or an old closet, something narrow and confined. Being an Airbender, the literal embodiment of space and freedom, this observation was very unsettling to the twelve-year-old.

Aang slowly opened his eyes and winced as his head throbbed. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this groggy and disoriented.

_Where am I...? _he thought as he looked around him. Then, like flipping through pages in a book, his mind jumped back to the events of yesterday. _Where's Appa? And Katara and Sokka? What happened to us...?_

There was a single torch that lit up the length of the room. Looking around frantically, Aang found that he wasn't in a room, but a cell. Squinting through the bars, he thought he could see two more figures slumped on the ground in the opposite cell.

"Katara?" he murmured. "Sokka?"

He tried to stand up but felt something holding him back. There was a rattling noise as the chains binding his wrists and ankles extended to their maximum length. Aang stumbled and fell back to the ground.

"Augggh..." he groaned, feeling the stabbing of an unwelcome headache. This really wasn't a good day for him.

A single piece of paper fluttered out of his pocket and drifted to the damp floor of the prison hold. Aang blinked at it for a moment before taking it in his hands. He hadn't remember having anything like this when he was...captured.

_That's right. I was captured by the Fire Nation. _He frowned at the memory, looking at the piece of paper with renewed interest. _But then what's this...?_

With unsteady fingers, the young Avatar unfolded the paper and squinted down at the words scrawled across it. It took him approximately five minutes to make out what it said.

...

When he finished reading the message, Aang quietly folded it up again and stuffed it back in the pocket he had found it in.

The door to the dungeons groaned on its hinges as the guard on duty pushed it open. The man looked very disshevled, as though someone had roughed him up in the last few hours. His beady eyes flickered around the room frantically, saw that Aang was awake and glared in sheer malevolence. The man stalked to the cell and leered down at him.

"All right, you little punk. I don't know how you did it, but I know you did it!"

"Huh...?"

The flickering light of the torch cast deep shadows into the guard's flushed and sweaty face. There was a bruise on the man's jaw, drawing Aang's attention to the way his cheekbones jutted out, like a shark's. The man was as bald as an egg, which might not have bothered the young Airbender (having no hair himself) if it weren't for the scar on the back of his head. It looked as if it had been made with a knife. As though someone had tried to slice his head open while he was asleep.

The man's appearance was frightening enough without the unsettled air around him and the anger that hung around him in a menacing aura. Aang cringed away from him and the drawn blade he was suddenly holding.

"Just give me back the keys, and I won't have to hurt you or your friends...! Quickly now!"

As alarming as the guard was, Aang could tell that something was _off _about the situation. He scrunched up his brow in confusion. Hadn't he just mentioned a set of keys...?

_The note mentioned keys too._

It was all Aang could do under those circumstances to lie with a straight face. Or as close to a straight face as he could make without cringing. "I...I don't know what you're talking about," he said quietly.

"My knife disagrees, boy. Come on, this is your last chance."

Aang jumped back as the guard grated the weapon against the bars of his cell. It made a terrible sound that sent chills up his spine.

"How could I have your keys? I was chained here the entire time. And...and wouldn't I have escaped by now if I did?"

It was only then that it occured to Aang that (assuming that the cell was still locked) the guard couldn't get inside to carve him like a turkey-goose. Not without said keys.

Maybe that was why he was so mad. The man was so upset that his face had turned a nasty shade of purple. "I don't know HOW you did it, ya' little brat! Just give them to me, or I'll...!"

"What's going on in here...?" a voice cut through the room like a glacier.

Hearing it, the guard went rigid on the spot, the color draining out of his face. From behind, Prince Zuko stalked into the dungeon, shooting an inquisitive glance first at the Avatar, then at the guard himself. The man looked like hell had frozen over.

_Busted!_ Aang thought, barely restraining a grin.

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

It did not take Zuko long to figure out that there was something very wrong with this picture. For starters, the guard that should have been on duty was not at his post where he belonged. Instead, he was inside a room that he, along with many, many others, had been told not to enter except under dire circumstances. His face was flushed and sweaty, as though he had just undergone a struggle of some sort.

But really, what caught Zuko's attention was the fact that he had just been threatening to carve the Avatar like a freshly-stuffed turkey-hen.

As soon as he noticed his presence, the guard shit a proverbial brick. "P-Prince Zuko..."

Oh, yes. Something was definitely wrong here. Zuko was sure of it.

"I asked you a question," he snapped. "What are you doing in this room? Why aren't you at your post?"

The man's gaze repeatedly darted to his distant right as he fumbled for an excuse. "I...I heard something...suspicious...coming from the cell. I came to investigate."

Zuko glared piercingly at him. Was that really the best he could come up with. Even a half-drugged squirrel could see the blatant lie for what it was. And Zuko prided himself on being somewhat more intelligent than a half-drugged squirrel.

"There is nothing suspicious about the Avatar being in the cell where he belongs. However, there is something suspicious about _you _roughing him up without any authorization."

"But he..."

"He, _what_?"

The guard hesitated. Obviously, there was something troubling him, probably something he didn't want Prince Zuko to know about. A tense minute passed as he mumbled unintelligently under his breath, his gaze finally resting nervously on his bootlaces. It was like a bomb had been diffused.

"I can't hear you, soldier."

"Nothing, Prince Zuko. He just insulted my pride is all."

He did not feel the need to mention the missing set of keys to the dungeon. He was not suicidal, after all.

Zuko sniffed. "If I find you in here again, you will be severely punished. That is all."

The man blinked at him stupidly.

"You're dismissed," he translated with a note of irritation in his voice. "Get out!"

The man jumped at the abrupt order, saluted, and hastily darted out of the prison hold. The door groaned shut behind him. Zuko and Aang were left alone.

* * *

(Aang's POV, third person)

Awkward was very much alive. Aang could feel it squirming on the floor in between the space where he and Zuko stood. It twisted and writhed like massive worm getting its liver sliced open. It wasn't a pleasant thing to watch.

But then, what _are _you supposed to say to your captor after they kept you from becoming a statistic for prison deaths.

"Um..." he said after a _very _notable period of silence. "Thanks. I thought he was going to hurt someone." _Or me_, he added mentally.

Zuko's reply was curt and indifferent.

"Don't thank me, Avatar. I didn't come here to help you. I could care less if anything happens to you in here so long as I can bring you to my father in one piece."

The boy frowned. So much for being friendly.

"Why _are _you here, then?" he asked.

Zuko didn't say anything at first. He just stared into his face, contemplatively, as though trying to size him up. It was in that moment that Aang sensed trouble. It was the instinct one had before a brushfire broke out, or a thunderstorm hit. Biting his lip, he met the Prince's gaze with his own, hoping that he didn't look as nervous as he felt.

"That girl you tried to take off of my ship," Zuko finally said. "I want to know who...or what she is."

"You mean..." Aang stopped abruptly. He had almost said _my _name. But hastily, he remembered the warning in the note and redirected his statement. "You mean the girl with the red hair?"

"Don't play dumb. You know her name. I know you know her."

"I don't. Sorry."

Zuko made a noise of frustration. "Do I look stupid to you? If you don't know her, then why did you try to capture her yesterday?" When Aang didn't reply, he stomped right up to the bars and glared down at him. "You _called her Julie_."

"So did the guy standing next to her. I heard him shout her name before I got to her."

"Why did you want her?"

Aang looked troubled. "I...I thought she was in trouble. I thought you were holding her prisoner on your ship."

Zuko just stared at him.

"She looked unhappy, and...well...she wasn't dressed like the other people on board. What else was I supposed to think?"

No answer. Aang felt his curiosity spark. Suddenly, he wanted to know more about this girl that Zuko seemed to dislike so much. Who was she? And why did she appear in his dream?

"_Is _she a prisoner?"

"That is none of your concern."

Just like that, Zuko had cut him off. Not surprising considering that Aang was at Zuko's mercy at the moment. As that glaring fact loomed down upon him, Aang felt another stab of anxiety for his friends.

"What are you going to do to us?"

Zuko spared him a glance, then grimaced and looked around at Katara and Sokka, who were still unconscious. Probably just to have somewhere else to look at besides Aang's face. "You won't be killed. My father needs you alive. As for the other two, they'll be brought to the Fire Nation as slaves...or prisoners. It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," came the Avatar's soft reply. "They're innocent. You already have me. Can't you just...let them go?"

"So they can come back and try to rescue you?"

Aang didn't say anything. He knew a lost argument when he saw one.

"Wait here," said Zuko. "I'll have someone bring you some food. I can't have you starving yourself to death before we reach the Fire Nation."

As though glad for the excuse to leave, the Fire Prince turned on his heel and disappeared through the door. His prisoner stared after him for a long time before slumping over and sighing in relief. At least they wouldn't be killed...yet. There would still be time for escape.

That is, if this note was for real. If this person followed through with their promise, then escape was a very viable option.

_I just have to wait, then. _Aang was very unhappy at the thought. _I hope Katara wakes up soon. Then maybe I'll have someone to talk to._

* * *

As you remember, reader, I ended the last chapter by falling asleep in Appa's fur.

It was very cozy there. In case you didn't know, sky bisons have four beating hearts to keep them warm in the outer layers of the atmosphere, where they are most fond of flying. I only know this because Aang filled me in on that bit of info later on. Much later on, as a matter of fact. Needless to say, I did not have to worry about catching pneumonia.

Sleeping helped a little bit too. When I woke up the next morning, groggy and disoriented, my shoulder didn't hurt quite as bad as it did last night. Though it was still a nasty shade of red underneath the cast. And I still felt too warm, even out in the bare winds of the antarctic. That couldn't have been a good sign.

Plus, I didn't wake up as leisurely as I wanted to under those circumstances. It was Bo-Fen who found me curled up in Appa's fur. Rather than go near the sky bison, she instead found a ten-foot pole that the soldiers used to untangle the rigging from the ground.

In few words, I was mercilessly poked with a stick until I finally woke up.

"Wha...?" I muttered.

"Man, you sure overslept. Lieutenant Jee wants to see you in Iroh's quarters as soon as possible."

I stared at her, still trying to remember where I was and why I had been so unceremoniously jolted from my slumber. "What do you mean?" I asked her. "What's going on?"

"I suspect he's going to debrief you. About the Avatar's kidnapping attempt yesterday. Remember?"

I blinked. "Oh. Right then." I snuggled deeper into Appa's fur and made as if to go back to sleep. "Tell him I'll be there in a few hours."

Bo-Fen poked me with the stick again.

"Ow!" I yelped as it jabbed me in the chin. "Watch where you're sticking that thing! You can put my eye out, you know!"

"Get up. He wants to see you now. And the longer it takes to bring you to him, the more money comes out of my paycheck."

I glowered at her as I rose unwillingly to my feet. I felt my muscles spasm uncomfortably, stiff and half asleep from the fetal position I had been in for the past several hours. I tried to stretch them as I walked towards Bo-Fen, and I winced as the blood lanced through my arms and legs. As I lumbered towards the stocky girl, I felt my shoulder begin to throb. I guess it was only wistful thinking that it was getting better.

The soldiers on deck stared at me weirdly as I followed Bo-Fen below deck. It was obvious that they too were surprised I had dared to spend the night with a supposedly "dangerous" beast. It was a laughable contradiction, as Appa made a sad bellow as I walked away.

It was ridiculous the way that solemn sound made everyone flinch and dive out of range. Appa was just a big teddy bear.

"You know, for someone who's supposedly afraid of the Avatar, you seem awfully chummy with his sky bison," Bo-Fen commented.

There was a long silence. I honestly didn't know what to make of her observation. At the moment, I was too tired and bedraggled to really care very much. I was _dreading _whatever Lieutenant Jee had in store for me, to tell you the truth.

"Who says that I'm afraid?" I grumbled. "I mean, sure...yesterday he caught me off guard, but..."

"Save it. You and I both know the truth, Julie."

Huh?

I narrowed my eyes at her. "The...truth? And what would that be?"

She paused and looked me squarely in the face.

"You want to save the Avatar. You want to set him free."

* * *

Seriously, you have got to be kidding me. She could not have just said what I thought she said...had she?

* * *

I stopped dead in my tracks, alarm-stricken as I stared at her.

"W-what?" I choked.

"You feel bad for the kid and want to bust him out."

"That...that's ridiculous."

Bo-Fen just gave me a dry look. "Really? Well, that's a shame. Escecially since I happen to have the perfect way...hypothetically speaking...to do it." She gave me another look before increasing her pace and striding farther down the hallway. "But since you're not interested..."

"Wait!"

She smiled. "Yeah, hon'?"

"I...I want to hear your plan."

"It'll cost you."

Of course it would. With Bo-Fen, there was never such a thing as a free lunch. I glowered at her, feeling a premonition that my answer would result in one of the craziest misadventures ever to damn my already squalid existence on Zuko's ship. But I didn't have any time to worry about it. Not really.

Bo-Fen looked as though she were calculating interest for the amount of time it took for me to make up my mind.

"Fine," I said. "How much do you want?"

I took out the pouch of gold she had given me earlier and started to count out coins. To my surprise, she just shook her head.

"I don't want money, Julie."

"Then what did you mean when you said this would cost me?"

Bo-Fen looked at me very seriously. "What you're thinking about doing is dangerous. Not just dangerous. If anything goes wrong, and I mean _anything..._I can't cover for you, hon'. I'm sorry, but there's too much at stake here."

"Huh?"

"Julie, do I have to spell it out for you? Prince Zuko and the General both consider you a pseudo-crew member of sorts. If they find out that you're even thinking about freeing the Avatar, they won't just hold you prisoner. You'll be a traitor." There was a beat. "You'll probably be killed."

I felt a ripple of ice flow through my veins. _Kill me_?

"I just wanted you to know. That's what I meant when I said this would cost you. It could cost you everything, and then some."

"Why are you offering to help me?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I don't get you, Bo-Fen. First you act like my friend, then you knock me off the mast, then you show up when it's convenient and extort me, and now you're offering me a way to free the Avatar! Just what the hell are you trying to do, anyway?"

She just smiled. "I have my reasons for wanting to help you. I just don't feel like sharing 'em with you. No offense."

"Does Shen-Long know about this?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Want to risk it by askin' him?"

I thought about it for a minute. "Not really, no. So are you going to tell me your plan, or not?" I demanded.

"Not yet. I don't like puttin' all my eggs in one basket. Besides, Lieutenant Jee is waitin' for us. Let's go."

As though it had materialized from my very thoughts, the door to Lieutenant Jee's study appeared in front of us. I hadn't noticed how close we had gotten to it. Seeing it made me think back to last night, to Zuko's half-hearted warning. I felt a tremor of dread.

"Do I _have _to go in there?" I asked. "I'd rather face the Boiling Rock than to go in there."

Bo-Fen responded by rapping her knuckles against the door. Damn it! Whose side was she _on _anyway?

"Come in," someone responded.

I gulped as the door opened and Bo-Fen nudged me into the room.

* * *

It was just as I feared. Lieutenant Jee and General Iroh were both seated at a table, with a Pai Sho board opened up in front of them. As I entered the room, the Dragon of the West smiled before placing a Lotus tile in a particularly strategic point on the board. Or at least, it seemed that way to me. If Jee's groan was anything of an indicator, that is.

"Julie," he said amiably. "Very nice. Come join us. We have something to discuss with you."

I wanted to edge towards the door, but Bo-Fen was blocking my way. Heaving a sigh, I trudged over to the table and drew up a chair.

"Who gave you permission to sit?" Lieutenant Jee demanded. "We said you could join us, not that you could sit."

I glared at him. "There's a difference? And since when do I need _your _permission, anyway?"

"Don't you know anything, girl? It is forbidden for a woman to join unmarried men at the table unless invited. Especially not a servant girl!"

"Screw you!"

"Julie," said Iroh warningly. And that was all it took for me to realize that I was on thin ice.

Reluctantly, I got up out of my chair.

"Look, did I do something? Am I in trouble? I swear, I wasn't doing anything weird in the galley. Whatever Lieutenant Jee told you is a lie."

The corners of Iroh's mouth twitched. "Um...no. As far as I know, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Then why am I here?"

Lieutenant Jee began examining the Pai Sho board again, but launched into his prepared monologue anyway.

"Now that Prince Zuko has captured the Avatar, we will be returning to the Fire Nation," he explained. "The trip should take us a couple of months. Now, the General and I have been talking, Julie. Talking about your _future_." He said that word with a strange emphasis that made me shudder. "We're a bit concerned. You admitted to being an orphen, which means that, in short, you really have no place to go once this mission is over."

"That's my business," I argued.

Lieutenant Jee ignored me. Well, of course he would. The asshole.

"While it may seem to you that certain people on board this ship are 'out to get you'," he made little quotation marks with his fingers. "I assure you that the very opposite is true. While I can't speak for Prince Zuko, General Iroh and I both feel personally indebted to you for alerting us to the pirates on board the ship. Also, it was your presence that brought the Avatar within capturing range."

"That was an accident. I didn't...I mean...never mind."

"In short, we feel that the least we could do is look out for you. So I thought that you should be the first to know that I have personally sent out messenger hawks requesting a list of respectable young suitors for you."

"YOU DID _WHAT_?"

My throat felt raw as I screamed at him. Oh, my God. This was even worse than I thought. This was...a nightmare!

"Since you don't have parents to handle this for you, we are arranging your betrothal and are even providing a modest dowry. It's the least we could do. With a good husband, you won't ever have to worry about money ever again."

"But...but...WHY?" I wailed. "Couldn't you have just...I dunno...gotten me a job as a servant or something...?"

I was freaking out. Seriously, this was just icing on the cake. How could these seemingly right-minded gentlemen expect me to go through with something as idiotically insane as this?

"You don't have the right temperment for a servant," said the Lieutenant dismissively. "At least this way you might get your own servants someday. Why are _you _complaining?"

"You are basically deciding my future for me. Don't I get ANY say in this at all?" I looked pleadingly at Iroh. "General...?"

"The messenger hawk was already sent out before I was even aware of this," said Iroh, wincing a little in remorse. "Sorry, Julie. However, I'll be happy to contribute to your dowry, if that makes you feel any better."

Oh, yeah. I felt _MUCH _better now. Thanks.

NOT.

"In the mean time, you will be receiving mandatory etiquette training to improve your manners," Lieutenant Jee concluded. "I won't be made a laughing stock by putting up an unmarriable girl on the market."

My jaw just dropped. "What? WHAT? NO! HELL NO!"

"Julie, you really should be grateful. Lieutenant Jee is really acting in your best interests," Iroh tried to mollify me. "We already received replies from quite a few prospective young men. They all seem very interested in you. One of them is even planning on building a love shrine in your honor. He requested a lock of your hair, though..."

That was the last thing my spinning head had processed before I fell to the ground in a dead faint.

* * *

Zuko was confused.

In all the time he spent traveling across the world searching for the Avatar, he had never thought he'd come across as person as aggravatingly unusual as the peasant girl his men had fished out of the water. And the really twisted part of this was that he had _the AVATAR _on board his ship too. With the boy in custody and his mission nearly complete, there was no reason for this mystery to eat up so much of his attention.

Or so he told himself.

Julie wasn't a particularly pretty girl. She was very conspicuous with that vibrant hair of hers, and granted, she did have nice eyes. But they probably would have looked nicer if they weren't glaring at everything they saw. And she was as skinny as a young boy. There was nothing particularly remarkable about her appearance beyond that.

Her personality was even less charming. She argued at every opportunity and wasted no time in starting fights on his ship. She was constantly annoyed by something or someone. The only person she seemed to have an ounce of respect for was his Uncle Iroh. And barely a day had passed after the man had stuck up for her before she was causing trouble again.

But strangely enough, those things weren't what bothered him. All of those things he disliked about her, her temper, her attitude, the ridiculous way she styled her hair...those were all given. They were things a person could figure out just by looking at her.

No, what bothered him, kept him from truly enjoying his victory, were the countless discrepancies, the myriad of untold variables that kept cropping up. All of the things he _didn't _know about Julie ate away at his thoughts like a parasite.

_The Avatar was lying. I know he was. That girl is connected to him somehow, and I WILL figure out how._

Julie Mcvay. That weird little peasant girl. Just what _was _her role in all of this?

As though fate was laughing at him for not being able to get her off his mind, he happened to cross paths with Bo-Fen. She was carrying a worryingly dead-to-the-world Julie on her back looking a tad irritated.

"Um...what is the meaning of this?" he asked, trying to sound authorative. Actually, his voice leaked with surprise and alarm. "Is she...dead?"

"No," said Bo-Fen. "Just engaged. Poor girl fainted in shock."

Zuko should not have been interested, but he asked anyway. "Engaged?"

"Yeah. Lieutenant Jee is trying to get her all ladylike for whatever lucky fella happens to win her troth. I feel sorry for the poor bastard he ropes into marrying her, though. She's bound to bite his head off."

"Um..." Well, he really didn't know what to say to that. Or to the weird sense of loathing he felt towards this stupid betrothal.

Seriously, would it kill any of the ranking officers on his ship to at least _consult _him on matters such as this? Seriously, this kind of thing just undermined his authority.

_It's just a waste of time. They should be worrying about getting us home with the Avatar._

That was what he told himself, anyway.

"Carry on, then," he grumbled before stomping away.

Bo-Fen watched Zuko leave with a single raised eyebrow.

"I wonder why _he's _so keyed up..."

* * *

**A/N: So there you go. Now there is nothing left but the escape itself. Man, it really feels like I'm drawing it out. Sorry about that.**

**But at least you got to hear from Aang. Yay! Avatar moments of awesome. And next chapter we'll learn Bo-Fen's...erm...interesting and _elaborate _escape plan. I'm not saying much, but it will involve copious amounts of licquor. -Evil grin- So, yeah. If you still think my fic is boring after that, feel free to flame me. I probably deserve it.**

**^-^ 'Kayso, please review. I'm on a mean writing streak, and the reviews keep it hot.**


	15. The Great Escape Part I

**A/N: Reader response has been the best that it's ever been. Seriously. I have never been so happy since...well...in a while, let's just put it that way. Of course I'd be even happier if I could type this in the comfort of my own home instead of at a timed public terminal. But why quibble? **

**I just want to thank all of you readers who have been SO patient with my slow plot progression. I know you're all itching to see how the Gaang escapes from Big Bad Zuko. Hee! Well, wait no longer. THIS IS THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!**

**Disclaimer: If I were Mike and/or Bryan, ATLA would SO get booted off the air for the chapter you are about to read.**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: The Great Escape, Part I; Fire-Nation Beer Pong, FTW!**

In case you have never fainted before and are tempted to try it out yourself one day to get out of that math test you didn't study for, let me nip that in the butt right now. Because it turns out that fainting really, really sucks. Trust me. Don't do it.

Because when I woke up, I still had that ringing noise in my ears that I had been hearing as Iroh told me about my many anonymous admirers...and that love shrine...oh, my God! Let this just be some sort of bad dream. PLEASE.

As I lay in my stiff cot down in the hold, I blinked up at the pitch black ceiling in complete bewilderment, trying to fend of the onslaught of details that I would have lived a long happy life not knowing about. Seriously, betrothal? An arranged marriage? A lock of my _freaking hair_? What the hell was Lieutenant Jee _THINKING?_

I groaned, trying to bury my face in my pillow, except my shoulder felt like there was a flaming knife permanently lodged in my collar bone. Every time I moved, there was pain. Lots of pain.

"Shit...!" I hissed, gingerly trying to sit up. A hand forced me back down again.

"Don't try to move too much, hon'. You'll make that shoulder worse, and the last thing we need is for you to be bedridden before I even tell you the plan."

"B-Bo-Fen?"

"The very same."

"What happened? Why am I in the hold?"

Bo-Fen sighed. "Lieutenant Jee dropped the marriage bomb on ya', and you collapsed. Not surprised, really. Though I'd have at least drop-kicked the sorry bastard on my way down." She cracked her knuckles thoughtfully in the darkness.

"I'm guessing that you're on my side on this one, then?"

"Feh. Did you know that the whole reason I joined the Fire Navy was to get out of an arranged marriage? I freaking hate men. Or at least men like the Lieutenant. The others are not worth mentioning either, but for different reasons." She paused for a minute before adding, "But apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. At least, if Prince Zuko's reaction was any indication..."

It wasn't like I cared, but hearing Zuko's name made me sit up a little straighter on my cot. "Zuko? What do you mean? He wasn't in on this, then?"

There was an evil smile in Bo-Fen's voice as she spoke to me from the darkness. "Apparently no one consulted him about your engagement. I saw him stomping off to the General's room in a tizzy after I told him the news. He looked really mad."

I didn't know what to make of that. "So basically if he _had _been consulted, that would have made it okay then?" I asked, covering my confusion with a flippant remark. "I hope to hell that I never have to rely on Zuko to defend my honor, or I'm screwed."

Then, I remembered the interesting can of worms she had opened at my feet.

"Um...I didn't know you were...um...engaged."

I was really hoping that Bo-Fen wouldn't comment on my abrupt change in subject. Fortunately, she didn't.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, hon'. But that's neither here nor there at the moment. Let's get down to business, shall we?"

I nodded, mentally smacking myself for forgetting. "The plan?"

"Yup. Now listen carefully, because I don't want us to be overheard. I brought you to the hold because I know that miserable excuse for a healer would be listening in, and the last thing I want is for word of this to get back to Zuko."

"Duh."

"Okay, okay, just making sure you got it. So, listen, Shen-Long heard about your impending betrothal and feels bad that you're stuck with a busted up shoulder. So I got him to convince Lieutenant Jee to hold a music night tonight." I heard her click her tongue against the sides of her cheek, something I noticed she did a lot whenever her brother popped up in a conversation. "Technically, we already had one, so we're just going to call it a celebration in Zuko's honor. For capturing the Avatar."

"Oh, that'll be a riot. Zuko wouldn't know a party if it walked up to him and vomited all over his shoes."

"Yeah, but it'll give _us _the perfect opportunity. See, it's going to be a surprise party. So if Zuko gets suspicious of anyone over the next few hours, this will throw him off completely."

I thought about this for a minute. "Or throw him into a neurotic fit of paranoia."

"Well, yeah, but I'm kind of hoping that it doesn't come to that. If so, Shen and I have a shitload of booze stocked up for a rainy day. Good stuff too, not that weak shit those freaking hippie nomads tried to foist on us. Though they _did _sell the General quite a bit of that tea he likes so damn much."

Hippie nomads? Could it be...? No, better not to ask.

Also, the mention of liquor in such an appreciative fashion was starting to make my stomach crawl. It just reminded me too damn much of Dad. He acted like a connoisseur, then went home and drank through a couple of bottles of the cheapest crap he could get his hands on.

I repressed the nausea I felt and forced my thoughts back to the plan.

"Where do I come in?" I asked, wanting to cut straight to the point.

Bo-Fen was uncomfortably silent for a moment. "Well...we're going to need a distraction. And you're the one who has to do it. If Zuko sees you at the party, he can't suspect you of any foul play later on."

"What does it matter?" I asked. "After what Lieutenant Jee did, I'm sure as hell not sticking around. Do I look like someone who wants to be married to a complete stranger at the age of sixteen?"

"Look, worry about that later. I need you to think of a good distraction while you're in here. I told Lieutenant Jee that you'd be resting for the rest of the afternoon, sleeping off your fainting spell. I'll come and get you when it's time."

"Wait!" I said sharply. "How are we supposed to get Aang out of his cell once we have the crew distracted? We don't even have the keys."

Bo-Fen seemed blithely unconcerned about this. "Don't worry, hon'. I'll handle the messy stuff. You just do what you need to do to keep Prince Zuko from catching on to our little stunt. Got it?"

Before I could answer, she sauntered out of the hold and closed the door behind her. Huh. Talk about making an exit.

* * *

My shoulder didn't feel the least bit better by the time Bo-Fen and I showed up at Lieutenant Jee's prepared feast. But I pretended like it was fine. The key was me staying out of the med bay long enough to bust out the Gaang. And believe me, no amount of physical torture was going to make me forget it.

Yeah, I know. I'm stubborn. Get used to it.

Bo-Fen had her flute out and was warming up with it. She apparently was going to join the musicians in their little performance pieces, playing it very low key until the moment of truth. She was also quite serious when she told me I had to think of a distraction.

I had one. But I didn't like it.

An hour passed and all the preparations were finally finished. I saw Iroh enter the galley followed by a very reluctant Zuko. Our eyes met for a moment over the throng of soldiers, gold locked with my own amber, and for a minute neither of us moved. Then, Zuko gave me a curt nod before looking off somewhere towards his left.

Huh. Some surprise party. He didn't look very surprised at all.

Just pained.

"Are the guards in place, Uncle?" I heard him ask Iroh as they sat together at a large table towards the end of the room, farthest from the door.

"Of course. They know their duty, Prince Zuko."

"Even so, I don't want anyone slacking off just because I'm allowing this..." he wrinkled his nose, "...celebration."

"Oh ye of so little faith," I said as I came up to stand beside the General. "Come on, Zu. What are you so worried about? The Avatar is in his cell. And, from what I've heard, he's chained up but good. I don't think he'll be going anywhere."

Zuko's eyes swiveled to meet mine sharply before quickly looking away. "I see _you're _feeling better."

"It'll take more than the temporary insanity of a uniformed officer to keep me down," I replied. "Why? Were you worried?"

He scowled, and the candle flame nearest to where he was sitting flickered dangerously. "Why would I worry about a loud-mouthed peasant? And by the way, you had better not cause any trouble tonight."

"Who, me?"

"Yes, you. Even though the Avatar claims to have never met you before, I'm not convinced. You're both terrible liars," he concluded.

I wanted to say something scathingly sarcastic to him, something that probably would have gotten me hauled into an adjoining cell with Aang. But fortunately, the music started up just then. Zuko, still refusing to look at me, focused his attention to the musicians. I felt a strange sense of annoyance and relief.

Quietly, I took the only other seat available, the one on Zuko's other side. I saw the muscles in his neck grow taut, but other than that he didn't acknowledge me. Well, fine. Probably better to have him ignoring me.

What was _with _him, anyway?

As I pondered this, I realized that the song Bo-Fen played was eerily familiar. I watched in mild confusion as some of the men started humming the first few bars, until, with a jolt of alarm, I realized that the song was yet another Disney song.

_Shiiiiiiiiiit..._

Zuko took one look at the unfolding show tune and needed a drink. I could see it in his face.

"I'll be your candle on the water," Shen-Long sang. "My love for you will always burn...I know you're lost and drifting, but the clouds are lifting..."

My God. Could this be any lamer? I slumped a little in my chair and stared morosely into the cup of tea that Iroh had passed me. Freaking Disney songs...of all the nerve. It was as if a cruel, laughing demon was presiding over the world. That was the only explanation my tired mind could come up with.

My thoughts drifted to the escape we were about to carry out. Seriously, even if I managed to get the Gaang out, what was I supposed to do? Follow them? I wasn't a bender. I'd only drag them down. But if I stayed, what else would there be for me besides Lieutenant Jee's pointless marital arrangements?

"Don't give up," Shen-Long broke into my thoughts with the next verse. "You have somewhere to turn."

I rolled my eyes and happened to glance over at Zuko. I was wondering if he thought this was as stupid as I did. That was when I noticed that he was watching me out of the corner of his eyes.

"What?" I said quietly, yet defensively.

He swiveled his head back to the performers, glaring. Not a word passed his lips.

Okay. Weird.

"I'll be your candle on the water 'till every wave is warm and bright," the men joined in. "My soul is there beside you, let this candle guide you."

"Soon you'll see a golden stream of light," Shen-Long followed up, tying the chorus to a close.

This was the lamest of the lame, but at least it wasn't as bad as their rendition of _A Girl Worth Fighting For_. Seriously, that sucked AND it was embarrassing, since it was directed at me. However, I wondered, as I did previously, how the soldiers had gotten the lyrics, as well as the music for this song.

Not wanting to disturb Zuko in his sulk-fest, I turned to Iroh instead.

"Hey, General?" I whispered. "I've...um...never heard this one before. What is it?"

Iroh smiled. "It is a particularly moving love ballad native to the Fire Nation. It is very compelling, don't you think?"

I shrugged, glancing uneasily at Zuko, who was steadfastly ignoring me with every ounce of his concentration. Jerk. Feeling more than miffed now, I looked back at the performers.

"A cold and friendless tide has found you, don't let stormy darkness pull you down," came the next verse. "I'll paint a ray of hope around you, circling in the air...lighted by a prayer..."

The rest of the song followed without incident. Well, unless you count me getting all agitated because Zuko kept shooting me these furtive glances. He looked confused. And a little angry. As if I had somehow planned all of this somehow. God, it was so obvious that he thought I was going to turn traitor. I mean, look at him! He practically hated me.

It was a distinct matter of fact.

I was thanking the allmighty heavens when the song finally ended. Then, to my surprise, Bo-Fen spoke up to the crowd.

"Hey, Julie," she called. "Didn't you say you had a little performance piece that you wanted to do yourself? I forget."

"Oh!" I said, jumping up in surprise. Zuko and Iroh both looked at me; Iroh looked intrigued while Zuko looked like I had just suggested he chug tobascco sauce. Man, he could have at least _tried _to be more pleasant. "Um...yeah. Only...it's not a performance piece, so to say."

The men all stared at me. I felt my nerve start to fail me, but I forced myself to keep talking.

"Actually," I said slowly. "It's a game. One that we nomads liked to play. It's called...beer pong."

"What?" Lieutenant Jee snapped, looking outraged. "A _drinking _game? That's...that's..." he sputtered, unable to finish his sentence.

Zuko also looked pissed off. "My men are too highly bred to come down to _your _level of celebration."

"No we're not!" someone yelled from the crowd.

"Not if there's good whiskey involved!"

"Tell us the rules!" someone else screamed.

I later learned that Bo-Fen had bribed these guys to agree to whatever I suggested. At the moment, though, their enthusiasm almost threw me off. I had expected Zuko to be a hardass, but the soldiers warmed to the idea like a kitten to a saucer of milk. Sweet!

So I explained the rules to them.

"You set up these cups and fill them with whatever kind of alcohol you want. Then, each team picks someone to try to toss a little ball into the cups. If one person manages to sink the ball in a cup, the person on the other side has to drink it."

"How do you win?" Shen-Long asked curiously.

"Um...when all of the cups on the other team are empty, then you win."

"Well, I'm game," said Bo-Fen, clasping me on the shoulder that wasn't injured. "Sounds like fun...not that any of you deadweights would know what fun is these days."

I'm guessing she was referring to the Disney song.

Zuko got up angrily from his chair. "If everyone else wants to partake in this idiotic game, then fine. I'll be in my room if anyone needs me."

That was emo-speak for _do-not-disturb-me-or-you-will-face-the-most-fiery-pits-of-hell._ I watched, a little worried that he was leaving so soon. I was hoping to have him in here, where he would be distracted. Or drunk.

But Iroh dispelled that notion for me, and quickly.

"My nephew isn't much of a drinker," he explained to me in a confidential whisper. "He can hold his liquor, thank goodness, but he finds it very low class to overindulge like the other men on the ship."

Huh. I felt a reluctant stab of respect for Zuko. Whatever he was, at least he wasn't like my Dad. For a moment, I saw my old man in my mind's eye, slumped over on his Lay-Z-Boy with an empty bottle of vodka at his feet. He snoored like the devil when he was drunk.

I forced the image out of my head before it could consume me. Instead, I supervised while Bo-Fen set up the cups. Lieutenant Jee looked like he was going to have a coronary.

"Don't worry, Sir," I said, saluting (though it pained me to do so). "I won't be playing. I'm...not quite feeling well, to be honest with you."

This was strictly true. My shoulder felt like it was on fire. Burning relentlessly as I tried to think, tried to keep my mind on the plan. It took all of my force of will not to put my head in my arms and fall asleep at the table. In spite of the sleep I had gotten, by body felt flushed and overheated. I was getting sicker all the time.

_Afterwards, _I promised myself._ Then you can rest. First daring rescue, then be dead to the world if you want._

I would follow through with that mantra to the letter.

When I promised that I wouldn't be drinking, Lieutenant Jee nodded in relief. "Very well, then. I suppose we can play...just _one _round."

* * *

Two hours and about a dozen games of beer pong later, the men were quite thoroughly sloshed. And no one was more drunk than Lieutenant Jee.

"_You shee, thish ish the way you...HIC...you light a flame. No, you fool, not...not like that. You'll set the damn thing on fire! What are you trying to do, any...HIC...way...?"_

He was showing a heavily intoxicated Shen-Long how to light a candle just by staring at it. It reminded me absurdly of Men Who Stare at Goats. I never saw the movie, but I heard it was based off of this military research campaign to teach men how to make goats explode just by staring at them. Some sort of force of will...or something.

_"But, Shir...you need to breathe...or somefink..."_

_"Nah...breathing ish for...for the weak. A really good Firebender can light it with hish...hish...chii..."_

Bullshit. Or at least, that was what I wanted to say. But I was in too much pain to really care. No one noticed that I could barely stand. I was sore and aching, and every other second I could feel my vision blurring.

Okay. Not good.

"Um...Bo-Fen..." I called weakly. "I...I don't feel good at all. Can we...just call it a night...?"

Bo-Fen turned away from the men and nodded. "Let's just tell the General that you're _sick_ and need your rest."

I groaned. "Make it quick. I'm practically dying over here."

Iroh was watching the festivities, sipping his tea casually. I could see that his cheeks were slightly pinker than usual, but other than that he was relatively lucid as he regarded us. Bo-Fen had to hold me up because my knees kept buckling under my weight.

"Um...General Iroh, Sir? I think Julie needs to get some rest. I think her shoulder is bothering her again."

The content look faded from Iroh's face. Concern appeared in his sage-like eyes. "She does appear to be very flushed...can you stand?" he asked me.

"Not...really...no."

"If she gets worse, then bring her to the healer," Iroh told Bo-Fen. "I will let Prince Zuko know where you are if he asks."

I opened my mouth. "Why would he..." but before I could get my question out, Bo-Fen _accidentally _nudged me with her elbow.

"Whoops. Well, better be going. Good night, General."

"Bye," I called to him as Bo-Fen half led, half dragged me out of the room.

We made frustratingly slow progress down the hallway, and I could feel us going deeper and deeper in the ship. I couldn't see, and I was too groggy and disoriented to know which way she was leading me. But I knew better than to ask questions. It went without saying that we had to be very quiet now.

"I have the keys," she whispered. "I took them last night, while the last guard was on duty. That was good acting, by the way. But I think it's safe. You can get off me now."

"Not...acting..." I murmured. "Hurts...really bad..."

Bo-Fen stopped in her tracks. "_What?_ But I told you to _rest_!"

"I did...! It didn't help!"

"Shit! Just what am I supposed to do with you _now_?"

I glared at her. "I...I know what I have to do! Dammit, I do! I won't back out of this, even if I am a little sick."

"A little. Hon', you can't even stand without my help, can you?"

I refused to answer her. I glared at the floor and willed all my strength to my legs. My body was sluggish and heavily, but as I pushed myself out of Bo-Fen's arms, I found that I could, at least, stand. That much came as a relief.

"Just lead the way," I snapped. "We'll worry about me later."

I don't know why, but Bo-Fen had gone eerily quiet. Then, before I could tell her again, she took me by the arm and led me through the dark passages of the ship. Soon, I could feel the air go stale, and I knew that we were at the very bottom.

The dungeons. They were cool and damp. It was actually a bit of a relief to go down there. It was a soothing balm against my feverish skin. Soon, I could see a torch in the distance. Bo-Fen motioned for me to stop.

"There's a guard on duty. But if I've done my job right, he'll be drunk too. We just need to get him out of the way so he doesn't see our faces. Just in case he's lucid tomorrow."

"Got it," I murmured. "Any way we can sneak up on him?"

"I'll go make small talk with 'im to keep him busy. While I do that, I need you to creep quietly by. I want you to let out the Avatar and his friends. Let them do the dirty work for us."

"You're devious."

Bo-Fen smiled. "I know."

She gave me a helmet to wear so that way my hair didn't give me away. Then, she pushed me back against the wall and told me to wait until she gave me the signal.

"What's the signal?" I made the mistake of asking.

"I'll start singing A Girl Worth Fighting For. Then you do your thing."

I resisted the urge to hit her, knowing that Bo-Fen was far too solid for me to knock over. Plus, I doubted I could have pushed over an empty cardboard box in my condition. So, biting back the nasty reply I had forthcoming, I crouched down in the shadows, watching and waiting for my signal.

* * *

Bo-Fen saunted up to the guard. "Hey, there, Moku. How's guard duty treatin' ya?"

The guard, Moku, looked very, very bored. At the sight of Bo-Fen, he put the bottle he had been holding back on the shelf along with the shot glass. Apparently the only thing there was to do when guarding an unconscious twelve-year-old and his eskimo friends was drink yourself stupid. Which was precisely what he was doing now.

"Everything sucks," he muttered. "Nothing ever happens down here. Don't know why Prince Zuko even wanted me down here...dammit, I'm missing music night..."

"Ahem."

"Oh, right. I mean Prince Zuko's celebration. I forgot we were calling it something different now. Where is that _brat, _anyway?"

"Prince Zuko? Probably pining away over the newbie."

"Hah! That maggotflea...he _would _be drawn to her type. She looks like a boy!"

Bo-Fen winced, knowing full-well I could hear what they were talking about. She must have known that I was fuming in my hiding place. Just what the heck did they mean? I was NOT a boy...! And since when did they get the idea that Zuko was _pining _over me. If anything, he was looking for the nearest deserted island to dump me on.

I wouldn't put it past him.

"Yeah, well, anyway, speaking of the maggotflea, she ain't doin' so good either," said Bo-Fen, changing the subject. "I'm pretty sure that shoulder of hers is infected with something awful. That arrow was probably poisoned."

I felt a tremor of fear run through me. _Poisoned_?

"Aye. That be the way of pirates, Bo-Fen. You oughta know that by now."

"Yeah, well...sucks to be her."

"You can say that again."

I just sat there and stared at the wall. Poisoned? No, that couldn't be right. I had to be fine. I mean, it's already been two days! What kind of poison takes that long to kill a person? Seriously, talk about counterproductive.

But that didn't mean my shoulder _wasn't_ infected.

Shit.

"She's lying down in the hold. General Iroh's worried about her, too. He's a good man."

The guard laughed. "I bet the Prince is worried too. That Julie is the only girl who so much as looked his way for the past three years. He'll never get laid at this rate."

I felt my blood boil. The day I hopped in the sack with _Zuko_ would be the day hell froze over!

"Heh, heh...good one," Bo-Fen chuckled. "Hey, hey, remember? _The only girl who'd love him is his mother..._" she sang.

Moku snorted as he poured himself another drink. "_What does he want? A girl worth fighting for!" _he trilled, waaaaay off key. I winced from my hiding place. I was surprised that shot glass didn't shatter in his hands.

It didn't matter. Moku was apparently so wasted he didn't even notice that he had skipped halfway through the verse. I bet he was tone-deaf on top of it all. It would have explained as much.

But I knew better than to waste time wondering about it. That was my signal.

_Here goes nothing, _I thought.

* * *

**A/N: All right, all right, I know it's a cheap cop out of an escape. Getting everyone drunk and then sneaking Aang off the ship. But believe me when I tell you that things don't always go according to plan. Major complications next chapter. Besides Julie's wound acting up, we're not going to see the last of Zuko either. The escape itself proved to be so long (page-length wise) that I had to divide it into two. Hopefully both parts will be tastefully epic and entertaining.**

**Nuff said.**

**As for the BLATANT Zuko x Julie tension running amok this chapter, I'll admit I was intrigued by the ideas suggested to me in the reviews. The Disney song I inserted was _originally _going to be Kiss the Girl, but I think that would have been pushing the envelope a little too far. Besides, this is an adventure, not necessarily a romance. I mean, I might throw in a romantic subplot here and there, but overall the story is centered around Julie and her adventures in Avatar World.**

**So I just went with _Candle on the Water_. BONUS POINTS TO WHOEVER CAN TELL ME THE DISNEY MOVIE IT CAME FROM! Yeah, I'm a nut. Deal with it.**

**Okay, so what did you think? REVIEW!**


	16. The Great Escape Part II

**A/N: All right! I'm finally done part two of the three part escape saga! Woot!**

**I know I originally said that this would be a two part episode arch. But it was really a lot of material to cover. I tried to put a lot of suspense in this chapter, and, of course, humor. Who doesn't love a good laugh these days?**

**I promise though. Next chapter will complete the Great Escape.**

**^-^ I am just loving all of the supportive reviews I have gotten! Thanks to everyone who gave this story the attention it needed, even during the slow moments. Pardon the pun, but it should be smooth sailing once the next chapter is ready to post, thus completing the "Zuko's Ship arc," as it has been named by the readers. But what exactly is coming to an end here? Believe me, it's not what you think.**

**Hee hee...I love plot twists...! To bad you'll have to wait to find out what it is! Still, I hope you enjoy part two.**

**Enough said. On with the fic!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: The Great Escape, Part II; Wading through Alterior Motives!**

It was dark enough, even with that torch, to slip past Moku and Bo-Fen. She was doing a good job keeping him distracted for me, though at my own expense...errr...! I still don't know _how _they got the idea that Zuko _liked _me. It was just so _stupid_...!

And if anyone referred to me in the masculine again, they'd be eating their own teeth in half a second.

Fortunately for me, the door to the cells was still open. Apparently they had just administered a meal to the captives. As I crept inside, however, I saw all three trays on the floor, untouched. Inside the cells, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were all sitting quietly, looking alert as they watched the shadows surrounding them.

"Um...hello?" I whispered. "Aang? Avatar Aang, are you in here?"

The occupant of the cell on the far right jumped up.

"Over here! Are you the one who's supposed to get us out?"

I waited about twenty seconds, making sure that we weren't being overheard. Then, I crept over to the cell block.

"Wait a minute, Aang," said Katara quickly. "Are you sure we can trust this...person?" Then, to me, she said, "Who are you, anyway?"

Quickly, I removed the helmet. Even if my face wasn't as recognizable in that dim lighting, my hair gave me away immediately. I saw surprise light up on the trio's faces.

"You!" Sokka cried. "You're that girl that got us captured!"

"You're Julie," said Katara. I noticed that she didn't contradict her brother's accusation. I figured that I had a lot of explaining to do.

"I'm going to let you out," I told them. Sokka and Katara continued to eye me dubiously, suspicion evident in their faces. "When I do, we'll have to knock out the guard outside. I snuck past him on my way in, but I know he's more likely to notice four people in the dark than just one."

I pulled out the keys that Bo-Fen had given me. There were a lot of them on the ring, and I had no idea which one would open what cell. I moved towards Aang's cell as quickly as I could; though, I had to say that it wasn't as fast as I wanted. I could barely walk in my condition, and my skin felt like it was on fire.

I squinted at the keys and tried to find the right one for the lock. My vision kept blurring, and I had to keep blinking to keep everything in focus.

"I knew you would come back," said Aang, as-a-matter-of-factly. "I knew you weren't like them."

I paused and looked up at him. Out of all three of them, Aang seemed to trust me the most. I wondered if this was because of our dream meeting, or because of some other reason I wasn't aware of. Needless to say, it was kind of nice seeing a friendly face in this festering hellhole of a ship...besides Iroh, I mean.

That's when I saw that they were locked in irons too. Those was more locks I had to find keys for.

Wonderful.

"I didn't mean to get you captured," I told him quietly. My throat hurt. "Sorry."

"Then...you _aren't_ working for Prince Zuko?"

"That jerk?" I scoffed. "Are you kidding...? Oh, crap!"

I cursed as the keys slipped out of my shaking hands and landed on the ground. Dammit, this was taking way too long. The longer it took for me to get the Gaang out, the more chance I would be discovered in here by Moku...or someone else. Shit.

I groped along the floor for the keys and found them in a puddle of water. Then it occured to me.

Water.

"Katara, I'm going to let you out first. Do you think you can use Waterbending to freeze the chains and the locks? If so, we can probably break them..."

"How did you know my sister is a Waterbender?" Sokka demanded. Man, he obviously wasn't convinced that I was a good guy...er...girl.

"I'll explain later. Katara?"

She blinked at me. "I...I think I can." Then she frowned at me. "Are you all right? You look like you're going to be sick."

"I've seen better days," I replied.

It said something about Katara's character. Even though I couldn't be trusted just yet, she still worried about me. As much as she would anyone else, at least. I was glad that she was such a compassionate person, but right now...well, we didn't have time to have her worrying about me.

We needed to GTFO, if you know what I mean.

It took me approximately two minutes to stagger to Katara's cell, find the right key for the locks and for her chains, and push them open. Once I got one of her wrists free, she took the keys from me and did the rest. I slumped on to the ground and held my head in my hands. I felt really, really weak.

I heard her voice really close to my ear. "Are you sure you're all right...?" Almost in mother-like concern, she moved my hands away from my face and felt my forehead. "You're burning up!"

"I'm fine," I muttered. "Go free the others. I'll...I'll wait here."

She hesitated, but then she saw that there was nothing more she could do for me. I was relieved when I heard the clinking sound of the chains falling to the floor.

"Try to be quiet," I warned her. "Or the guard will..."

"What's that sound?" Moku's voice faintly echoed back into the cells. I felt myself freeze, and Katara stopped in the middle of getting Sokka out of his chains. Frantically, I motioned for her to keep going. Then, I slipped my helmet back on.

I couldn't afford to be recognized.

"Hurry!" I hissed.

Katara got Sokka's chains off and quickly moved on towards Aang's cell. The moment she was gone, Sokka looked at me and sighed. He came over to me and, to my surprise, helped me to my feet. I blinked at him, finding it hard to keep his face in focus.

"Huh?"

"Well, since you're already sticking your neck out to help us, we can't just leave you down here for Zuko to find you." Sokka was a little taller than me, but as he slung my good arm over his shoulder, I found it easy to lean on him. "Even if you're only helping us because you're delirious with fever...or something. I still haven't figured it out."

"I...didn't mean to get you guys caught. I really mean it."

"Then why are you with Zuko? Aang thought you might be a prisoner or something, but when Zuko came down to interrogate him before he wouldn't tell us."

I tried to focus. "I'm not _with _him. He...he found me...out here." I frowned for a minute when I came to realize something. "His crew saved me. And he let me stay here. He said he'd take me as far as the Earth Kingdom if I didn't cause any trouble."

"Well, so much for that," said Sokka. "You're helping his enemies escape. Heh...that's kind of a kick in the behind."

In spite of me being sick, irritable, and scared out of my mind at the possibility of getting caught, I felt myself agree with Sokka. It was really, really hard not like him. The guy had twenty times the charisma Zuko had.

"So, you're not from the Fire Nation then. What were you doing all the way out here in the South Pole?"

I looked up. Katara had Aang out of his cell. They came to stand next to Sokka, looking at me curiously.

Should I tell them?

"There's no time to explain," I said quickly, glancing nervously towards the door. "Let's just get out of here. Bo-Fen can't distract the guard forever..."

"Bo-Fen," said Aang slowly. "Was this the person who left me the note?"

I turned to look at him. "Huh?"

* * *

Moku was sure that he had heard something that time. It sounded like...whispering. Were the prisoners awake?

"It was nothing. Geez, they're all chained up, remember? And you're the only one who has the keys."

He felt himself pause apprehensively.

The keys. Of course he didn't have the freaking keys. Someone had taken them from him last night. But he couldn't have just gone and admitted that to Zuko or Lieutenant Jee. If they even caught wind of this...well...the bull sharks would have been more merciful. Of that he was quite certain.

Besides, that was nothing compared to what the _Fire Lord _would do if the Avatar somehow escaped because of _his _negligence.

Moku was smart enough to volunteer for the guard shift until the keys were found. Unfortunately, he wasn't smart enough to realize that even if the Fire Lord _did _find out, it would be the higher-ups who would be administered punishment. Not the grunts.

Still, the thought of being found out gave him the shivers. If only Prince Zuko hadn't caught him yesterday. He'd have wrung that kid's lousy little neck. Freaking Avatar. Stupid mind games.

The sound of chains hitting the floor reached his ears as he poured himself another shot of whiskey. "I _know _I heard something that time," he grumbled, slamming the glass down on the shelf and stomping towards the door.

Bo-Fen hesitated. "I didn't hear anything. Are you sure you didn't have too much to drink? Maybe I should take over your shift, Moku..."

"Dammit, don't get in my way. I'm not _that _drunk!"

"Oh, crap..." she muttered.

* * *

"What note?"

Aang blinked at me in confusion. "The one I found in my pocket. It said that you would help us escape. Here."

I took the note in my hand and opened it. I tried to read it, but I couldn't focus on the letters. Besides, it was all in Chinese or something. I couldn't read it even if I wasn't about to pass out.

"My head hurts," I muttered. "I can't read it."

Sokka took the note from me and read, "Avatar. If you want to escape, wait for Julie. She will help you. Don't let anyone find this note. Don't eat or drink what the guards give you. It'll be drugged."

"It wasn't signed," Aang added. "But it was how I knew that you would be coming."

"But where did it come from?" I said quietly. "Where...how...?" Then, it all clicked into place. Bo-Fen had the keys. Somehow she must have slipped Aang a note. "Never mind. Let's just get out of here before...before..." I trailed off as my eyes drifted towards a looming shape in the doorway.

Oh, snap.

Standing there was the guard Bo-Fen was supposed to be distracting. Only apparently her shift had ended, and I had somehow missed the memo. Fan-freaking-tastic.

Aang, Katara, and Sokka stood there like three deer that had somehow wandered into a neon light show at a rock concert. Utterly frozen. Even the guard seemed taken aback at the sight of the prisoners out of their cells and wandering about with what looked like a Fire Nation soldier slung over the Water Tribe warrior's shoulder. Who was that, anyway?

Moku, the guard, almost recognized me. Fortunately, he was too drunk to think clearly. This gave me plenty of time to bring everyone to their senses.

"Get him!" I cried.

Aang jumped, the first to come to his senses. Using his airbending, he blew the guard right off his feet. Moku let out a strangled yell as he flew down the hall, landing inside a broom closet down at the very end. Katara took that opportunity to rush forward. Using the water that seemed to cling to the walls of this dank little stink hole, she froze the guy to the wall of the closet.

She stopped and stared at him for a good minute, then looked down at her hands in surprise. "That's the first time I've frozen someone the right way. I think I'm getting better at this!"

Katara turned around to beam at us only to find that she had _also_ frozen Sokka (and me) to the door of the dungeons.

"Um...oops..."

She made a motion with her hands, and I felt the water melt around us. We were soaked.

"Katara!" Sokka groaned in frustration. "Next time you try to help, make sure I'm no where near you. Got it?"

Even though I was overheated, the water clinging to my clothes made me feel heavier. There was a draft down here, and I was starting to really feel the cold. I clung to Sokka, shivering.

"L-Let's...g-get out of here..."

Bo-Fen stepped out of her hiding place. She had had the good sense to shut the door to the broom closet and lock it. "You'd better hurry, Julie. You guys made plenty of noise just now. I'd be surprised if Zuko doesn't come down here to investigate."

Sokka looked from Bo-Fen, to me, then to Bo-Fen again. "I'm guessing you're this mysterious accomplice who left Aang the note?"

"Guilty as charged."

"You're Fire Nation."

"Also true."

"So? What's your deal? In case you didn't notice, that bald kid over there is the Avatar. And you're helping him escape." Sokka quirked an eyebrow skeptically. "Am I the only one who thinks this is strange?"

"Actually," I put in. "I was wondering that myself. But Bo-Fen says she has her reasons for helping us. She'll probably pump me for every dime I have later..."

"What's a...dime?"

"It's money, and...you know what? Never mind."

Bo-Fen smiled at Sokka like she would at an overly curious child. "You know, when I first got a look at you, I sorta figured you for an idiot. I guess I was wrong." She started walking away from us, towards the stairs. "Come on. This way."

"Wait, you didn't answer my question!" Sokka protested.

Bo-Fen turned to look at him. "Well, I guess I _could _just tell you. But I doubt you'd get it, since we just met and all. Or I could stop and give you my entire life story, which will probably take at least an hour or so of explaining." She walked back and looked Sokka squarely in the face. "Or, you can get your butt up those stairs and help me get Julie back to the hold before we all get our asses _caught_."

"Wait, what? No!" I cried. "I don't want to stay here!"

"You could come with us," Aang offered tentatively, but then he was looking at my face. Something in it made him hesitate. "Is it...okay for you to travel?"

Bo-Fen just shook her head sadly. "Look at her, kid. Does she _look _okay to you?"

I just stared at them in horror. I couldn't believe this. I really couldn't.

"I'm fine!" I protested. "Really! I...I just need to get some sleep, and...and...I'm fine!"

But as my gaze drifted from one face to another, I could tell that not one of them believed me.

* * *

At the moment my bid for freedom was up for debate, Zuko was in his room. He was at his desk, turning over the pages of a book. He frowned at the unfamiliar letters, the strange texture of the paper.

It was one of the books inside my backpack. Somehow, it had survived the dunking in the ocean. It had taken a few days to dry out, but it seemed to have suffered the least damage out of everything inside.

For the past couple of hours, Zuko had taken it upon himself to go through my bag. Somehow, without my noticing, he had descended into the role of a creeper. If I had known about this, I would have dropped my escape plan and barged into his room to deliver a roundhouse kick to the face.

Well, maybe not. But still! The implications were just so...creepy...

Up until now, Zuko had been focused on securing the Avatar, and then on fending off those ravenous pirates. Now that both of those things were taken care of, and now that he realized that he couldn't just ignore the mystery my presence presented to him, Zuko had the leisure to look into the matter. The best way he could think to do it was to pick apart my bag.

The same bag I had assumed was destroyed in the icy surf of the South Pole.

Now do you see why I _don't _like him?

"I can't read these letters at all," he muttered.

He was turning through my spiral notebook, trying to puzzle over the language barrier. He was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, dammit. He prided himself on having some of the best education available for children of noble upbringing. And his father certainly hadn't been stingy in tutors. There was very little that he should not have been able to read.

But my notebook was completely unreadable. He didn't know what it meant.

Just another mystery he had to solve. Zuko frowned. Nothing about me made any sense to him.

Just then, he heard it. A yell. A thud. It came from below him.

"What's that noise?" he muttered. "Those fools had better not be destroying the galley. I knew I shouldn't have let them play that stupid drinking game...those slobs."

It took him a few minutes to reach the galley. When he got there, he froze in the doorway.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, was drunk. The entire room was in a state of disarray. Empty cups and bottles of liquor were scattered all over the floor. Various unconscious bodies were slumped over on tables, on chairs, on every flat surface available. Zuko's eyes widened when he saw his Uncle snoring quietly in his seat.

He scanned the room quickly, but didn't find what he was looking for. In ten strides he marched up to Iroh and shook him awake.

"Uncle...! Uncle, wake up!"

"Huhn...?" The old man jerked awake. "Oh, nephew. It is you. Have you decided to come back to the party?"

"Party's over. Where's that girl?"

"Pardon?"

Zuko gritted his teeth, fighting with his patience. "_Julie_, Uncle. Where is Julie?"

Iroh blinked up at him. "Oh, yes. Julie. I'm afraid that her condition has gotten much worse. Bo-Fen kindly volunteered to bring her back to her quarters, and in the morning we'll have a healer look at her shoulder. Between you and me, nephew, I think it might be infected."

Zuko hesitated. "Her...shoulder...?"

_Then she was lying when she said she was feeling better. But why was she even _down_ here if she was still hurt?_ His eyes narrowed as he continued to look around him. _Reckless idiot...!_

"Why can't he look at her shoulder _tonight_...?"

Iroh gestured towards the opposite wall. Zuko turned and saw that the healer was currently passed out next to Lieutenant Jee. The uniformed officer was muttering incoherently, and to the Fire Prince it sounded like a ballad of a famous long dead dragon-slayer. But he couldn't be sure.

He knew he shouldn't have hired a recovering alcoholic for the ship's only healer. Even if the only other applicant had a severe anxiety disorder and a crippling fear of the ocean.

Zuko remembered a particular incident about a year ago when they ran into some hostile Earth Kingdom refugees. Some of them were packing some poisoned blades and had waited for them in an ambush. The end result wasn't pretty, but in the end Zuko's men had won. Unfortunately, the healer had decided to go through half of their remaining supply of booze...and it wasn't for medical purposes, either.

_"Healer! There are three of our men seriously wounded! They need immediate...are you _drinking?"

_"Just a minute, Prince Zuko. Just appreciating the victory, is all. I'll tend to them...soon."_

_"How soon? They're missing limbs!"_

_"Give me an hour. I need to...erm...prepare."_

Dammit! Would it have killed his father to find someone who didn't feel the need to celebrate every battle won by getting himself completely wasted?

"He should be sober once the sun rises," Iroh commented. "I just hope Julie's condition remains stable for that long."

Zuko looked at him. "Is it really as bad as that, Uncle?"

* * *

"To be honest," said Sokka after a moment of scrutinizing me. "No. I don't think you can travel like this."

"It looks worse than it actually is."

"Julie," Bo-Fen interjected. "You're fever is so bad that your skin is redder than our Fire Nation war banner. And you're staggering more than a drunk right now. Plus your arm looks like it's about to fall off..."

* * *

Iroh's face became grave. "Worse, actually."

Zuko was very quiet as he brooded on the matter.

It was true, he didn't like me. Not at all. I was more trouble for him than I was worth. But at the same time he didn't like the idea of me succombing to an infection that I had received while _saving _his crew. It didn't seem right somehow. It wasn't...fair. Or honorable.

He decided not to think about it.

"I thought I heard a noise down here. Did you notice anything strange?"

"No, nothing at all. But then, I was asleep."

He sighed. "Fine, then. I guess I'll go back to my room." He trailed off thoughtfully, a scowl forming on the bridge of his nose. "Better yet, I had better check on that troublesome girl...make sure she doesn't pull any more of her ridiculous stunts."

Zuko didn't know what he would do or say when he saw me. He wasn't even entirely sure that he wanted to deal with my...err...engaging personality at the moment. All he knew was that if he didn't at least see for himself that I wasn't dead...or busting out any of the inmates...he probably wouldn't be able to focus.

Focus. On what? What was left for him to focus on now that the Avatar was in his custody.

"Nephew?"

"I'll be going. Um...when the men wake up, have them clean up this mess."

"Of course."

Not having anything to say, Zuko walked out of the room. Iroh watched him with something akin to sadness on his face. The lost expression on his nephew's face hadn't been wasted on him.

* * *

"Look, we'll decide my fate later," I said. "Let's just get you guys up on deck. Appa should still be there."

The Gaang exchanged nervous glances. Fortunately, common sense prevailed, and soon we were all creeping along single-file up the stairs. We moved quickly as we could have under those circumstances. Unfortunately, even though I was in the middle of the group, I seemed to be slowing everyone down. Sokka had to push me along and make sure I didn't fall over just to keep up.

As for stealth...well, let's just say that we weren't as quiet as I would have liked.

"Sokka, why are you carrying those _chains _with you?" I asked after one of the links grated against the floor for what seemed to be the fifth time.

The Water Tribe warrior glowered at me in the dark. "If we run into Zuko, I figured we'd give him a taste of his own medicine. We'll let him see how he likes sitting in a pile of chains for over twenty-four hours."

"Someone's bound to let him out by then. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'd just melt the metal."

"Um...third-degree burns?"

"Will you two be quiet?" Bo-Fen snapped. "Unless you _want _to wake up the entire ship of angry Firebenders who want to kill you..."

That shut us up.

As we moved, I thought about what Bo-Fen had tried to explain to me before. It was true, I was sick as a dog. It was also true that the Avatar and his friends had too much on their plate to take care of an ailing girl who had absolutely no marketable skills. At least, not marketable by the Gaang in their quest against the Fire Lord. No matter which way I looked at it, I was a liability.

Could I really afford to drag them down? Was it selfish of me to use them just so I could escape an arranged marriage?

"Someone's coming," Bo-Fen whispered.

"I'll check it out," I volunteered. "Hold my helmet, Sokka."

"Wait," he said. "Are you sure? Maybe one of us should go instead..."

I was tired of being a liability.

"I'll do it. Wait here, and whatever you do, don't make any noise!"

There was only a moment's hesitation before they did as I asked of them. Reluctantly, they crept back into the shadows while I moved towards the sound of the footsteps. It was for the best. I couldn't have run even if it was practical to do so, and what good would it have done for me to hide?

I wondered if it was just one of the drunk crew members hoping to crash in the hold until sunrise. We had passed it a few minutes ago, on the floor below us. Granted, those hammocks weren't the most comfortable things to sleep on, but those guys were so plastered I doubted they'd care very much.

Instead, I was really, really surprised when it was Zuko I found just around the corner.

"Eep..!"

I almost fell over, but Zuko, more out of instinct than anything else, caught my arms and held me steady. He looked as surprised as I was.

"What are _you _doing here?" we both said at the same time.

We stared at each other. Was it just me, or did Zuko look...guilty for some reason? I couldn't be sure. All I knew was that he was here, and that he was probably going to demand an explanation. Or something.

The shock wore off pretty quickly. Zuko's eyes narrowed at me as he looked me over. "You look terrible."

"Duh. I'm sick." _Moron._

"I know. And I don't think it came on all of a sudden. I think you were sick before the party." He shot me another annoyed look. "If you weren't feeling well, why did you bother coming? You should have stayed in bed."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sure that would have been a lot easier on _you_. I forgot that you're allergic to strong-minded young women." I glared up at him. "I'm surprised you don't have a rash by now, considering how often we seem to run into each other."

Zuko ignored my quip. Which was surprising, really. I couldn't believe he wasn't biting my head off my now.

"Uncle said you were lying down. So why aren't you?"

Crap. Must improvise. Now.

"I already told you. I hate being cooped up. Besides, I couldn't sleep."

"Not _that _again."

"It's true!"

"You're a terrible liar. So what is it, really? And make it quick, peasant. I have better things to do than mince words with you."

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, DUN! Caught! By Zuko! What will Julie say? Will she be able to keep the Gaang from getting discovered? Will I ever stop asking rhetorical questions...?**

******So, a lot of people managed to guess that the song in the last chapter was from _Pete's Dragon_. Yeah, I know that in the movie it's sung by a woman, but I thought that it wasn't necessarily gender specific, and that there was no reason that Shen-Long couldn't sing it in his own vocal range. Not that anyone really complained, but...yeah. Just wanted to get that out there.**

**Part three will be up hopefully later this week. I'm really pulling all the stops for this one. ^-^ Anyway, please review!**


	17. The Great Escape Part III

**A/N: The big finale is finally here! Yay!**

**-Slumps over in defeat-**

**Okay, I admit it. I know the last chapter sucked. Big time. All dialogue, no action. I get it. I totally understand now that a story cannot thrive on mere introspection alone. You were all expecting an action packed, bustin' out of jail scene, and instead you got Zuko staring at a book. And a disease-ridden protagonist.**

**I know! Where's the action? Why the huge suck-fest?**

**I officially apologize for the crap I foisted on you. As a result, I have learned the error of my ways. For this chapter, I think I've gotten things completely turned around. I've decided to pack this one with as much drama as I could. Call it a psychological thriller if you will. I just hope it isn't anticlimactic or anything. If it is, let me know. I don't want this story to be boring.**

**Is it boring?**

**Well...in any case, here you go.**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: The Great Escape, Part III; The Reliable Liability Factor**

_"You're a terrible liar. So what is it, really? And make it quick, peasant. I have better things to do than mince words with you."_

Was I really that terrible of an actress?

Granted, Zuko never really believed my little fictions to begin with. Not that bit about me being a peasant nomad, that much was obvious. But there were also little things he didn't accept from me. My supposed insomnia, the fact that my shoulder didn't hurt that bad, all lies, and Zuko was getting good at detecting them. Too good.

But I had a feeling that he was keeping things from me as well. I wondered if he even knew that the Avatar was free from his cell. If not, then why would he be wandering around like this?

More insomnia? I doubted it.

"I...I heard a weird noise," I said reluctantly. "I think it came from that direction." I pointed down the stretch of hallway away from where the Gaang was hiding.

"You probably just heard me walking," Zuko muttered. "Or are you so delirious from your fever that you couldn't figure that out?"

"I'm not...not...I'm fine."

"Liar."

"Uggh! Just leave me alone!"

Not the most original comeback, but probably the best I could come up with, with a fever of a hundred and two...or higher. I wasn't really sure. Honestly, I was having trouble differentiating between the floor and the ceiling, and Zuko was starting to look like a freaking cyclops.

In a feeble attempt to avoid throwing up on his shoes, I fixed my eyes on the ground. Thank God there weren't any annoying floor tiles or complicated patterns to dance in my field of vision.

I hadn't realized that I was teetering until Zuko reached out and caught me by my good shoulder.

"You had better go lie down, peasant. I don't have time to deal with you being sick," he muttered in an annoyed voice.

Annoyed?

Lightbulbs went off in my brain. All at once, I knew exactly how I would get Zuko back to his room.

"You never did tell me what you're doing down here," I said suddenly. "I thought only _lowly_ soldiers and servants ambled around down here. Aren't you too good for the servants quarters?"

It may have seemed irrational and stupid of me, but I really wanted to make him angry. I figured that if I pushed him to the point of sheer disgust, he'd storm off and want nothing more to do with me. And the most obvious place for the Prince Sulky to go sulk would be in his room.

I didn't just want to annoy him. I wanted to say something that would inevitably trigger a temper explosion that would make the super-volcano under Yellowstone look like a hiccup. I don't know why I wanted it so badly, but I did. Even though it was just a ploy, I couldn't explain the tight feeling in my gut when he looked at me.

There was something resembling concern in his eyes. It didn't seem right, given the fact that we were practically enemies. It made me angry and confused.

"Are you really so bored that you have to keep picking on me?" I asked quietly.

Zuko just stared at me. I didn't understand. He was one of the most easily provoked people I had ever met. Why was he just standing there, staring at me?

What did he want from me?

He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not picking on you. Stop being so childish."

He was quiet for a minute, scrutinizing me in the dim lighting. He frowned, as if trying to figure something out, something that constantly eluded him. All the while, I felt like a fool for not knowing what he was thinking.

"Then...then why _are _you here?" I asked. "Why else would you be down here?"

His response was quick. Rehearsed.

"I came here to question you," he told me. "Remember? I told you that I'd be doing that?"

"Now?"

"Got a problem with that, peasant?"

Actually, I did. I was in the middle of a very important, life-or-death mission. I did not have time for interrogations, or whatever-the-hell-it-was Zuko wanted. Besides, I had a feeling that his questioning was just a front.

"It's Julie," I said.

"What?"

"My name. It's not peasant. It's Julie. Think you can remember that?"

There was a brief silence.

"Uncle was right," he said after a moment of scrutinizing me. "Your shoulder is infected. I bet your fever is starting to affect your brain. It's obvious."

I didn't say anything.

"Why haven't you gotten it treated yet? Are you trying to die?"

No, I did _not_ want to die. I didn't want Zuko to know what I was up to. I didn't want him to keep looking at me with such a troubled expression, like he actually gave a damn. I didn't know what about me could possibly cause him to be concerned, anyway?

Did he really care if I lived or died? How could he? I wasn't even a member of the crew. I wasn't even a noble. I wasn't even his friend.

Right now, I was _freeing his arch nemesis_ and plotting a daring escape worthy of the last scene in Casablanca. So why? Why did he care? Was this an act?

It had to be. But I didn't know...I didn't know why I couldn't think straight...

"If you are, then you're doing a pretty good job of it," he muttered.

"I...I didn't ask for your opinion...!" I snapped.

He frowned. Funny. I would have thought that he would want me to actually speak. But then again, with Zuko's tendency to monologue, who could really be sure?

"I don't care," he said. "Besides, you're not the one in charge here. I am."

I turned away from him and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. I didn't know what to do. Zuko wasn't getting angry, and I don't think I could get him to leave unless I went with him. And I wanted to leave this place.

How could I escape with Aang if Zuko was shadowing me like this?

Maybe that was the problem. Maybe I just _couldn't_.

"I feel sick," I said quietly. "Really...really sick."

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think. Distraction. I needed a distraction.

But how could I think of one when everything kept spinning...? Everything kept lurching around, nothing that I laid eyes on would stay still. If I stared at my pale hands for too long, they became not two, but four, then six...I had to keep my eyes closed. Nothing made sense anymore.

* * *

"She's blowing it," Bo-Fen muttered.

Beside her, Aang, Katara, and Sokka peeked around the corner and watched the two silhouettes that belonged to me and Zuko. They had trouble listening to our conversation, but Bo-Fen must have had better hearing. In any case, she didn't need super-senses to realize that it was taking way too long for me to disengage our foe.

Something had to be done.

"Do you think Julie will be okay?" Katara whispered to her. "Won't Zuko get suspicious?"

Bo-Fen narrowed her eyes at the scene. Was that Zuko's _hand _on my shoulder? Hmmm...maybe things weren't nearly as bad as she thought.

"No," she replied. "He isn't suspicious at all. In fact, I think he might actually be worried about her."

Sokka dared to squint around the corner. "Really? But he's...Zuko. He's a bad guy, remember?"

Bo-Fen shook her head. "You have to remember, though, hon'...underneath all of that armor, he's still human. And..." she smirked as she saw what was happening next, "..._very_ much a gentleman."

They were quiet for a minute.

"Shouldn't we...I dunno...help her out or something?" Aang asked hopelessly. He wasn't sure how he should be handling _this_. "She doesn't look good at all..."

"Nah," Bo-Fen assured him. "I don't think Julie needs any help. She's got this."

* * *

I needed help. Right now.

"What's wrong?"

Zuko came up from behind me when he saw I wasn't responding to him. I was still leaning against the wall, trying to keep it from spinning away from me. The metal was cool, but it wasn't cool enough. I felt like I was suffocating slowly.

"Go...away..." I muttered.

His hand was too warm. Why couldn't he just go away. He was too warm.

"You need to lie down, right now," he said quietly. "You're even worse than I thought."

His hand closed around my wrist, trying to pull me away from the wall. I felt myself losing my balance. The entire world was slipping away from me. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe.

Just like before. I was dying again. Just like before.

Not like before.

Last time, the time I almost died, when I nearly drowned in the water, it was cold. Shockingly cold. It felt like I would never move again, never could. No amount of movement could bring warmth back into my frozen limbs. Like a corpse, I was chilled to the bone. And with nothing to compell me to move, the water had begun to fill my lungs. Blackness had swept over me like a shroud.

This time, it was completely different. It was like fire. I stood there, supported by Zuko, slowly being consumed. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. It was too hot, and I was dying, and no one was doing a damn thing about it. Instead of being numbed to everything, I became aware of it, hyper-sensitive to everything around me. Especially Zuko, who seemed to be the source of the fire.

I felt myself starting to cry, like a child.

"Let go of me..." I pleaded with him. "I...I can't...I'm dizzy."

It was true. Back and forth, my thoughts jumped from all the contradictions. Hot and cold, friend and enemy, good and bad, right and wrong. They were all spinning in my head, making my eyes hurt and tear up.

"If I let go of you, you'll fall."

"That's not...your problem...!"

"That's not for you to say. Now stop struggling and come with me. We'll go find my Uncle. He'll be able to help you."

I sniffled and tried, weakly, to tug myself away; to find the spot in the wall I had been leaning against. Zuko wouldn't let me move. He was such a jerk. Couldn't he see how much I needed to get away? My skin throbbed from the fire in his hands.

But there was no fire. It was dark. But it felt like fire.

I wanted him to leave.

"Didn't you say you had questions for me?" I asked desperately.

It was the only thing I could think of to get him out of this strange, frightening persona of a pillar and back into the familiar interrogater that I knew and hated. I could deal with hate. Hate was what I knew best.

Didn't Zuko hate me anymore?

"If you die, I'll never get my questions answered."

For as long as I could remember, whenever I found myself in unfamiliar territory I became vicious. This was no exception. Zuko's inexplicable reaction to my goading, the anxiety of my mission weighing on my mind, the swimming feeling that lulled me tantalizingly close to unconsciousness if I faltered against its pull...it all had me on edge and lashing out without reason.

I was pushing him and calling him names now, but he just kept dragging me up the hallway. Even in my numb state of mind, I realized we were heading back up, towards the galley. Away from the Gaang.

I was too sick to feel relief. I was too angry to do anything but kick and scratch at every bit of Zuko I could reach. I was too weak to do the damage I wanted to do.

God, I felt sick...!

"Asshole!" I yelled. "I didn't ask for your help, anyway!"

He didn't say a single word. I could tell that I was getting to him, though. The irritation was blatant in his eyes. But no matter what I said to him, no matter what I did to detain him, that stupid bastard kept up his farce of wanting to help me.

No one wanted to help me. No one except Jessie. And Zuko wasn't Jessie.

Why should I care if I hurt him? I _wanted_ to hurt him.

I looked up at him, hating him, not hating him, feeling sick, but feeling like I could walk as long as Zuko was there to hold me up...dammit, it didn't make any sense. Nothing I did got to him.

What would hurt him the most?

His scar?

Swallowing the nausea I felt climbing my throat, I ripped my hand out of his grip and lurched away from him. My hand lashed out at the most obvious target there was. It was an angry red, burned flesh, waiting there, glaring at me, like fire. I hated this fire. I wanted it to stop. I hated it with every fiber of my being.

In that one instant, Zuko caught my hand and gripped it tight, glaring with genuine anger into my flushed and tear-stained face.

"Don't. Ever. Touch my scar."

* * *

"Aaaaaand, she blew it," Bo-Fen sighed in frustration. "Damn, that girl. Doesn't she have an ounce of romance in that empty head of hers? He had her eating out of the palm of her hand!"

"She did?" Aang whispered. "All I saw was him dragging her away somewhere. Do you think she's in trouble?"

"He was trying to be macho. It's a guy thing," the sea woman explained. "But apparently she's too dense to see it."

"I dunno," said Sokka analytically. "I probably would have done the same thing. I still kind of want to punch him."

"Men," she sighed, throwing up her hands in frustration. "All right. Change in plans. Just follow my lead."

* * *

I felt a strange satisfaction at the dread I felt, looking into his eyes. My stomach twisted into knots, scared little knots. I must have been sick. There was no way I could have been enjoying this.

What was I feeling? I didn't even know anymore.

Zuko, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to kill me.

"Let me go," I said slowly, like I was talking to one of the mentally inept. "I don't want your help."

His eyes cut into me, sliced me open and left me raw and bleeding.

"I don't _care_ what you want."

And with that, he grabbed me and hauled me up over his shoulder. The entire world seemed to flip over and right-side-up again as he carried me down the hall like that. I blinked in sheer astonishment, both at Zuko's audacity and the fact that he could even manage a feat like that. It was like I weighed nothing at all to him.

I was nothing at all. I couldn't hurt him even if I wanted to.

Why did I feel relieved?

"W-what? What the hell do you think you're doing?" I choked, my face even redder than before.

Zuko's face was carefully composed now, though I could see how little patience he had left.

"If you won't come quietly," he said. "I'll have to take you to my Uncle by force. And you brought this on yourself, just so you know."

"Eep!"

"Stop struggling, girl. Agni, you're troublesome...!"

"Put me down!"

"Make me," he growled.

I grabbed him by the ponytail and tugged it as hard as I could. With his other hand, the one that didn't keep me pinned to his shoulder, he grabbed my hand and pried it away. In one swift motion he wrapped my arm around his shoulder and kept it there.

He was much stronger than me. I shouldn't have even bothered. I was exhausted.

"Any more of your antics, and I'll toss you into the ocean to cool you off," he muttered. "Brat."

I was completely speechless. What was _wrong _with this guy?

Before I could even think to figure it out, I heard footsteps. Rushing footsteps. Back from the corridor where Aang and the others were hiding. The same people I was supposed to be helping to escape.

Holy crap! I completely forgot!

My eyes darted back anxiously and Zuko paused, hearing the noise. The muscles in his neck grew tense as he turned to face whoever it was who ran up to us. As the person rounded the corner, I felt myself gasp in horror.

Standing there, looking slightly out of breath, was Bo-Fen.

What was she doing?

"Prince...Zuko..." she breathed.

Zuko was immediately alert. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's...it's the Avatar. He's...he's not in his cell...!"

* * *

"You want to _what?_" Sokka whispered incredulously. He looked shocked.

"This is taking too long. At this rate, the sun will be up, and the soldiers will be sobered up again before you know it. They've had a lot worse parties than _this _you know."

The trio stared at Bo-Fen in astonishment. "So you want to just run up to Zuko and tell him we're here?" Katara demanded. "You may as well just hand us over on a silver platter!"

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you," Sokka muttered angrily. "This was too fishy from the beginning. I should never have..."

"No," said Aang.

"What?"

"I think we should hear her out. I mean, look how hard Julie's trying to help us. She's really sick. Why would she risk her life like that just to get us captured again? It's pointless." The Avatar turned to Bo-Fen. "And _you're _her friend. You wouldn't do anything that might get her killed."

"..."

"Well?"

"Yeah. We're friends."

Aang didn't hear the doubtful note in her voice. Instead, he just turned to the others, eyes bright and full of trust.

"See? Now let's just listen to her plan. I'm sure we're not going to let ourselves get caught again. Right?" he added, glancing at the sea woman again.

"No," Bo-Fen said patiently. "You won't get caught. You just need to distract Zuko. If we stage it right, we can take him out, make it look like Julie and I weren't involved, and get you three out of here in one fell swoop. Just rush out and attack us like you mean it. When the timing is right. Can you do that?"

Sokka and Katara blinked at her, but Aang nodded.

"I _know _we can."

* * *

_"It's...it's the Avatar. He's...he's not in his cell...!"_

His golden eyes bulged. _"_What...?"

I was in shock. I had no idea what Bo-Fen was thinking. As it was, I couldn't think myself. I was dizzy and hot and confused. And why was I on Zuko's shoulder? Why wouldn't he put me _down_?

My head hurt, my throat hurt, my shoulder was throbbing and burning, and I was on fire. I had no idea what was going through that woman's head. No idea at all.

"The guard isn't there. I went to change shifts, and he was gone. So was the Avatar."

"Go sound the alarm!" he barked. "Wake up the men! Have them sweep the ship! Have them scour every single corner! I don't care if it takes all night!"

"Yes, Prince Zuko."

"Hurry!"

Bo-Fen saluted and turned on her heel to head back down the hallway. That was when it happened.

All at once, there was a gust of wind that plowed into us. I gasped and cringed, clinging to Zuko as we were blown backwards. I felt a lurch as Zuko lost his footing, and we were sent hurtling into the blackness behind us.

I screamed.

There was a thud. We landed, hard, on the ground. I gasped as the air flew out of my lungs.

Every part of me ached.

Every part of me burned.

Zuko was on the ground beside me. His hand was still locked around my wrist. Somehow, he had kept a hold of me. But it wasn't enough. I was hurting really bad. I groaned, sinking into the solid floor, wishing I could melt into it and have all my aches and pains melt away with me. I didn't want to hurt like this.

But I was used to pain. I was used to taking falls. So as much as I wanted to pass out, I couldn't. It was all too familiar.

I blinked up at the ceiling and saw Bo-Fen staring down at me anxiously. "Julie? You all right?"

"Hurt..." I croaked. "The hell...Bo-Fen!"

"Sorry."

"The hell were you thinking...?"

She looked over at Zuko, who had been knocked out. He lay slumped over on the metal, eyes closed. I felt a pang of worry.

"Is he dead?" I gasped.

"Nah. Just out cold."

Relief. Inexplicable relief swept over me. He was okay. He wasn't dead.

"Where's..." I stopped myself from saying Aang's name, just in case Zuko was still able to hear us. "Where's the Avatar?"

"Right here," said a voice from behind me.

I felt Aang's hands pushing me up off the floor. They were a relief, cool, not hot like Zuko's hands. One of those hands was still clinging to me, but Bo-Fen gently pried it away.

It stung when his skin suddenly left mine.

"Sorry," Aang said sincerely. I looked at him and saw just how stricken he was to see that I had fallen along with Zuko. "I just turned the corner and attacked when Bo-Fen said to. I didn't know he was carrying you, Julie."

"S'fine," I muttered.

I couldn't move. Bo-Fen and Aang hauled me up while Sokka and Katara ran over to us.

"Can you freeze him to the floor?"

Katara nodded, but then frowned. "There's not enough water down here. I don't have enough to work with."

"We'll just leave him then. Let's go before he wakes up."

I thought of him lying on the floor, but shook my head. I didn't want to think about Zuko anymore.

* * *

It took us a few minutes to get to the deck. I didn't even bother trying to walk anymore. Sokka and Bo-Fen carried me. All the time I just kept my eyes closed and tried not to focus on the rocking motions of the ship or the bumping I felt at every step. I was completely senseless to it all.

"Is she going to be all right?" Aang asked worriedly as we broke to the surface. "She looks terrible. I didn't mean to hurt her."

"I think that's more of the infection than anything else," said Bo-Fen. "Though that fall can't have helped much."

"I'm sorry!"

"Don't be. Julie knew the risks. She'll...she'll be fine."

"Will she?" Katara asked. "She needs a doctor...or a healer. We don't have any of those. Even the elders back in our village don't have the kinds of medicines she would need."

"If she doesn't get them, what will happen? Will she die?"

Bo-Fen looked down at me. She didn't say anything.

"We can't let her die after she went and helped us," Aang protested. "It isn't right. It isn't fair."

"Sometimes," said Bo-Fen quietly. "Life isn't fair."

We moved over to Appa. I only knew this because I heard him rumbling in recognition. He was excited to see Aang. That much was obvious. I tried to push open my eyelids so I could see him, but my face felt hot and swollen. My breathing was coming out ragged.

Everything hurt.

"Appa..." I breathed.

"He's okay too, Julie," said Katara, moving some of my hair out of my face. "Everyone's okay."

"Can I...come too...?"

No one said a word. They didn't know what to say.

"She can't travel like this. She'll die before we even get five miles away," said Sokka bitterly.

That surprised me. I was pretty sure that he disliked me, but I was starting to realize that he was just naturally suspicious. Just his typical, overprotective self. It had never been anything personal.

He didn't want me to die either. That was kind of him.

"Leave her here," said Bo-Fen with an edge of defeat in her voice. "I'll take care of her. You three just focus on getting your butts over to the North Pole. I bet there'd be plenty of Waterbenders up there for you two to learn from."

"How can we just leave her, though? With Zuko of all people."

"I don't think he'll be a problem," she said knowingly. "Anyway, you guys may not have the medicines Julie needs, but we do. As much as I hate to admit it, Julie's best bet at staying alive is right here."

"But that's..."

I could hear the struggle, could hear the unspoken obligation that they felt for me. I had done them a solid, and to leave me here in the jaws of the enemy would be nothing short of betrayal. They did not want to leave me with their enemy.

"Zuko doesn't know what we did. I'll make sure that he never finds out," Bo-Fen promised.

Aang looked troubled. "I wish there was just something we could do," he said quietly. He put his hand against my forehead, burning with fever. His skin was cool. Nice and cool.

I realized, dimly, as my mind struggled against the heat that was suffocating my reason, that I was being selfish. I could not go with Aang. Aang could not fulfill his destiny if he was taking care of me. Anyway, no one could take care of me. No one except Jessie.

I missed Jessie.

"Go," I muttered. "Kick butt. S'all you can do...kick 'em once...for me, 'kay?"

I couldn't see their faces, but I felt Aang's hand grow more firm on my forehead. Uggh...foreheads...what good do they do, anyway? They were just _there_.

As you can see, reader, I was now officially delirious.

"If you don't," I said groggily, "I'll come and...kick _your _butt. Got it?"

He laughed weakly. "Okay."

Everyone crowded around me. I could sense them rather than see them. Aang, Katara, and Sokka, all wanting to say good-bye to me, all hoping that this wouldn't be the _final _good bye.

"Take care, Julie," said Katara, squeezing my hand.

"Yeah, don't die," Sokka added. This statement ended in a yelp as his sister elbowed him roughly in the side. "OW!"

"Don't say that! You'll scare her! She's _not _going to die."

She was saying that purely for my benefit, but it wasn't doing me any good. I wasn't really listening anymore.

"Bye," I whispered.

Bo-Fen took a hold of me, and I heard the chains fall away from Appa. They slipped to the ground, and as they rattled against the planks, I thought of glass breaking. A glass bottle shattering into pieces as it smashed against a wall.

I remembered what it was like to die. To feel that searing pain. To be lying there on the floor, small body broken on the musty carpet, feeling my life slipping away from me, feeling utterly helpless.

I had only been eight years old.

My father's face loomed down at me from the darkness.

_"That's what you get for trying to run, you little brat. You can never run from me."_

Aang's voice tore me from the nightmare before it could completely consume me.

"Yip yip, boy!"

Appa let out a bellow as he took a running start and leapt into the air. I felt the swoosh of air as they soared into the sky. I heard Sokka's cry of amazement and disbelief. It was clear that he hadn't expected him to fly.

But they were flying. Running free. Free. They got away.

Going. Going.

Gone.

_"You can never run from me._"

I knew I couldn't run. I had no where left to hide except for Bo-Fen's sturdy arms. She held me as I started to sob.

"Shhh..." she said soothingly. "It's all right, hon'. I got you. You'll be safe here."

"Safe?" I whispered.

No place was safe. Not even home.

I thought of empty houses and broken bottles all the while as the darkness swept up to claim me. Before I knew it, everything had faded to black. I was gone.

* * *

**A/N: Feel free to flame me for this if you want. I know a lot of you wanted Julie to go with the Gaang. To join Team Avatar. To become compadres with the most bad-assed main characters in existence. But alas, it wasn't to be.**

**This is partly because I have only now just realized how fun it is to right Julie and Zuko being all snarky at each other. It's as amusing for me to write as it is (HOPEFULLY) for you to read. Plus, I have major plans for them. AND NO, I DON'T MEAN SOME FREAKING MAKE-OUT SCENE AT KYOSHI ISLAND! Sheesh! I meant everyone on Zuko's ship.**

**I promise, though. Whatever happens to Julie, Zuko, Iroh, Bo-Fen, Shen-Long, and Lieutenant Jee will be purely for the sake of the fic. No OOC-ness or bad, cliched plot lines (unless I plan on making fun of them). So, there.**

**Whoops. I guess I just admitted that Julie's going to live. I guess I'd be more concerned if you guys weren't so damn smart. A lot of you were picking up on the fact that she's narrating this from a mental hospital. So obviously she survives.**

**^-^ I'm glad you all paid attention. Good job.**

**Anyway, if you liked this, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF SOKKA, REVIEW!**


	18. Real and Surreal

**A/N: I just want to thank everyone for restoring my ever-shaky confidence in this fic. Now that I can see how much you all enjoyed the Escape arc, I'm uber-excited to get to the next one. Unfortunately for all of you, it will take Zuko's ship at least a week to reach port, and Julie is still fighting off an infection. This means that this chapter will have...-everyone groans-...yet more character development.**

**But important stuff. A tad angsty, but if you're in the mood for that kind of thing, by all means keep reading. And I hope you all continue to enjoy this fic.**

**

* * *

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**Chapter Fifteen: Real and Surreal**

Far away, in a place that existed in nonbeing, Mesmer Prospero sat in his soul room and brooded.

The russet liquid in his wine glass was half empty on the table. It was all together ignored by the cloaked man as he gazed into a sphere that seemed to encompass the very essense of time and space. It hung motionlessly in the air in front of him, supported by nothing and holding nothing within it. And it had a strange quality of sucking in light rather than giving it out. In its presence, the soul room was perpetually drained of color and life.

It had no effect on the man sitting on his throne. Death had long ceased to have meaning to him. He could not age, therefore he could not "die." At least, not in a traditional sense. But this was the case for all of the Elite. The Mesmers were eternal in their suffering.

"Lord Mesmer," a voice whispered. "We demand an audience."

Prospero didn't even bother to look up. Instead, he reached for his wine-glass and drained it. As he set it down, it made no audible sound, but a fine crack appeared in the rim of the glass. As though the force of his arm caused it to chip.

"You demand nothing. You are nothing compared to the powers that be. Now speak your purpose."

The shadow materialized beside the throne. It was barely a tangible presense.

"We have...taken matters into our own hands."

This did not seem to concern the cloaked man, who resumed staring into the orb as if it were the only thing capable of holding his attention. Though an ironic expression lingered in his eyes. "Oh?"

There was silence. Apparently the disembodied essense before him had expected somewhat more opposition than this.

"We have tried to contact the girl who breached into the Avatar's world."

"Ah, marvelous. A noble effort. But were you successful?"

There was vague amusement in his voice, something that the shadow seemed to find very perturbing.

"We could not enter the Avatar's world ourselves," it said grudgingly, "...as it lies within the Rift that the Lady Ayla created...as you know."

For the first time, impatience flashed in Prospero's eyes. Clearly at the mention of _her _name.

"I _do _know, so get to the point."

"We can sense that the girl is on the verge of mortality. An infection is slowly consuming her, and she lies on what may be her death bed as we speak, Lord Mesmer."

"She will not die," Prospero replied indifferently.

"You do not have jurisdiction over that dimension. None of the Elite do. So how can you say such a thing?"

"My, you _are _bold for such a lower being. It's like you're begging for me to kill you."

The shadow didn't say anything. It knew that Prospero didn't have the jurisdiction for its annihilation (not that this protected it _indefinitely_, but it certainly helped in this instance). It belonged to another Elite.

"I _know _that Julie will not die. I know that for a fact. She has become too valuble to that space time for her life to be extinguished so anti-climatically."

"Since when do the laws of the multiverse bend to your poetic whims?"

Prospero smiled. "That's quaint. Fortunately, you're not in the position to force me to satisfy the curiosity of a mere Lesser being such as yourself. I know your intentions in coming here today. You wanted to imply that Dorian, your master, has found a way to monitor the girl."

The shadow gave a start. "How...?"

"You gave yourself away when you mentioned her illness. She is on the verge of death. Of course her soul would be in limbo now. Those with sufficient mana might even be able to contact her when she is in this state." There was a pause. "Did you think I would not know this?"

"We were not sure how extensive your connection to the girl was. It appears now we have a better idea."

It had been a ruse after all. Not one that Mesmer Prospero seemed to care about. "Yes, I can see Julie. I can see her all the time if I want to. I do not need to take advantage of such a feeble link the way Dorian does."

The shadow flinched from the cold iron edge in his voice.

"You came here today against your master's wishes. I know this too. But why? Were you concerned enough about the situation that you felt...obligated to find out what exactly I know? Or...did you have something else in mind...?" The ice thawed slightly. "Perhaps you were under the impression that you could sell me this link in hopes that I would reward you."

"I...I won't tell you. I'll never tell...!"

"You're afraid. How cute. You needn't tremble like that. I have no intentions of ending you. It would be a shame to deprive your master of such a priviledge once he gets wind of what you've done, after all."

"You can't!"

"Oh? Why not? Still afraid? No matter. I suppose I could keep this little meeting to myself. After all, you told me quite a bit about your master just now. The fact that you came here of your own free will tells me that he isn't nearly as strong as he once was. He's weakening. Still quite powerful enough to make your existence a place of eternal torment, I assure you...but not quite strong enough to oppose me as he wishes to."

There was a long silence.

"I'd be more than willing to...provide you with more information. In exchange for your silence, Lord Mesmer."

"Yes. Information would be nice, thanks. You may go with your life."

The shadow hesitated. "How do I know that you'll keep your word?"

"We'll be in touch. You would have to be at least in existence for that to happen, so of course I have no intentions of ending you until then."

"And...after?"

Prospero smiled. "Ah, now. I'm not going to just _spoil _it for you. What kind of ending would _that _be?"

* * *

Zuko couldn't remember the last time his body had ached like this. Muscles and joints were stiff and refused to listen to his mind's sluggish demands at movement. His head pounded when he tried to open his eyes. His ears were ringing.

_"She's not doing well...very high fever..."_

_"May not last the night, I hear...very bad...a shame..."_

Zuko couldn't make sense of the conversation, but he had a tight feeling in his chest that something was very, very wrong. When he heard his Uncle's voice join in, he tried his best to concentrate. It was all garbled, though.

_"Bo-Fen came for me as soon as she could. Apparently the Avatar blindsighted them in the hallway. It isn't her fault that his happened. I think she expected Julie to stay put."_

_"But to follow the Avatar?"_ It was Lieutenant Jee who had spoken now. His voice was strained with surprise and indignation. _"In her condition, what could she have expected to do?"_

_"Bo-Fen thinks she was trying to stop him. At least, that was what she told me."_

Zuko scrunched up his brow and tried to sit up. All he could manage to do was groan.

"Nephew!" Iroh exclaimed suddenly, a little too close to his ear. "You're awake."

Slowly, he managed to slide open his heavy lids and glare at his Uncle. "How could I sleep? You were being loud." He frowned as he realized he was lying in the medical bay of the ship. "Why am I in here? What...what happened?"

The two men stared at him. "You...you don't remember...Sir?" Lieutenant Jee asked.

Zuko met his gaze for a minute, puzzling over the expression. Gingerly, he began to probe through his most recent memories...Julie's face, flushed with fever, eyes narrowed and blinking back tears...and then...what? He tried to remember.

The Fire Prince closed his eyes and buried his forehead in his hand. Of course. The Avatar. The woman, Bo-Fen, had alerted him to the boy's escape, and just as she went to sound the alarm...what? He could vaguely remember a flash of yellow appear in the hallway, and the stinging gust of wind was hard to block out.

It was almost like it was happening again...the feeling of being sent flying, rolling over and over, hitting the floor several times. His head was swimming.

In an instant, Iroh's hand was on his shoulder. "You shouldn't strain yourself, Prince Zuko. You sustained a very mild concussion from the assault, but it won't heal if you continue to force it."

"Where's Julie?" he demanded. "She was with me when the Avatar...when he attacked us. Where is she?"

There was a very pregnant pause.

"She's in the other room. The healer is tending to her as we speak." Iroh's relief soon melted into a grave expression. "She isn't doing well."

Zuko's brow puckered. "What about the Avatar? Did you stop him from escaping?"

"I'm...sorry, nephew. We did not reach the deck in time."

A smoldering rage flooded him. Sorry? Sorry didn't even begin to make amends for this fiasco! The Avatar had been his quarry for three years. For the first time in all that time, Zuko had finally had him in his grasp. Now, in the span of an evening it had all fallen to pieces? Why? How could this have happened?

When his mind jumped for someone to blame, my face was the first one he saw.

_That troublesome girl!_ If he hadn't been wasting his time with her, he could have prevented this. It was all _her _fault!

Zuko clenched his hands into fists. His knuckles were a bloodless white. "I want every man out looking for him. No rest or music nights until we figure out where the Avatar ran off to."

"Yes, Prince Zuko," Lieutenant Jee sighed.

"And I want the remaining supply of alcohol tossed overboard immediately. If I find anyone slacking off, there will be severe consequences." That one shouldn't have needed explaining.

"Yes, Sir."

"Nephew?"

"_What?_"

"Um...well..."

"What is it?"

Iroh looked very uncomfortable. "Well...after we brought you to rest, we searched the ship carefully. The only thing to be discovered was...well...on deck."

"And?"

"Shen-Long found Julie where the sky bison was being held. She was barely conscious, running an alarmingly high fever and was completely senseless. We think she was trying to stop the Avatar herself, but overexerted herself in the attempt. Either way, she hasn't slept much. She just keeps murmuring nonsense...she's probably delirious."

"How did she get all the way to the deck?"

"We're not sure. But the effort clearly cost her."

Zuko felt a stab of frustration. _Stupid girl_, he thought venomously as he forced himself towards the edge of his mattress. _No one told her to interfere. This is all her fault._

"Nephew, you should rest."

"Where is she?"

"I don't think you should..."

"Either help me up, or be quiet, Uncle. I'm going to see her. I have to get my questions answered somehow, even if I have to shake her awake and force the answers out of her."

"Medically speaking, that might not be the best thing for her condition."

Zuko gave Iroh a bleak look as he pushed himself to his feet. His legs buckled slightly before he got his bearings straight. "I don't care. If she let the Avatar escape, then she deserves it." He started to make his slow but determined progress across the room. In a few strides, his Uncle caught up to him and offered him an arm.

"Thanks," he said grudgingly.

"It's better than having you fall and crack your head open. Either way, your will is like iron, Prince Zuko."

Neither of them said anything as they passed through the doorway. Iroh led his nephew to the bed where the subject of Zuko's aggravation (namely, moi) was stirring feebly.

The healer looked tired as he dabbed at her forehead with a cold compress. "Finally got her to sleep, but she keeps having these fits. I had to drug her just so I could examine her."

Zuko was staring into my face. "She's having a bad dream."

"Apparently."

He thought about his own dream and wondered.

My lips parted as I breathed out a single word. "Jessie?"

* * *

_"Are you sure you don't want to stay over, Julie?"_

_An eight-year-old Jessie smiled at me with all the innocence a second-grader could muster. Up until now, she had been trying ceaselessly to get me to have a slumber party with her. Of course, she didn't know about my Dad. I couldn't tell her _why _I wasn't allowed to spend the night._

_I imagined what he would do if I came home late again. I cringed, but I used that to sell the lie that I told her._

_"Why would I want to sleep in a froo-froo place like this?" I asked, beckoning around me. _

_At the moment, Jessie was going through a Disney princess phase. She had a Little Mermaid bedspread that she was sitting on, homage to one of her favorite characters, Ariel. She said that she reminded her of me. I didn't know if I had any actual resemblance to her except for my hair, which I had grown down to the middle of my back. I kept it long to hide the bruises._

_Jessie saw them anyway, but I told her that I fell a lot. She was young and naive enough to believe me._

_"I thought you liked Disney movies too," she protested, stung._

_"Well, yeah. The Lion King. Peter Pan. But not the ones with those dumb princesses. They don't do _anything_ except wait for a prince to save them. That's so...lame."_

_Jessie frowned. "What's wrong with having someone save you?" she asked._

_I didn't say anything. I was stuffing my notebook into my backpack, along with my chorus folder. It was the music elective that Jessie and I had both opted to take. I really liked it too. Ms. Lee, our music teacher, said that I should take singing lessons someday, and sometimes I would daydream about singing in front of a huge crowd. _

_Dad didn't want me to sing, though. He never told me why, but he hated the sound of my voice. I wondered who was right, Ms. Lee, who said I could sing really well, or my Dad, who said I sounded worse than nails in a blender._

_"Haven't you ever wanted to meet a prince, Julie?"_

_I glanced at her. "Not really."_

_"How come?"_

_I rolled my eyes. "Because," I told her flatly. "They aren't real. People don't just go around saving you like that. People don't care. No one does."_

_Jessie looked aghast. "But the princes _do _care. That's why they save the princesses. Because they _love _them."_

_"Love is stupid," I replied. "I don't believe in love."_

_I could tell that Jessie wasn't taking that one very well. She looked more hurt than the time I went and told her that it was really her mom that left quarters under her pillow whenever she lost a tooth. Quickly, I edited my statement._

_"I mean, I care about you," I said hastily. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't like you, Jessie."_

_She pouted at me. "I care about you too. That's love, isn't it?"_

_I blinked at her. "Um..."_

_"Of course it is," she said firmly. She came over to me and placed one of her dress-up tiaras on my head. "I bet those princesses didn't believe in love either before they met the princes. My mom says that that's how love works sometimes. If you've never been in love, you don't know what to expect."_

_I resisted the urge to tell her that her mom was a total dumb-ass. But the thing was, I knew I could tell her something like this and she would _still_ play with me at recess and invite me over to her house. I could tell her anything, do anything to her, and she would still be my friend._

_I guess that was why I didn't want to hurt her feelings. It wasn't fair._

_"I'm not a princess," I grumbled. "If anything, I'm like a monster trying to eat the princesses. I'd destroy them if I could."_

_Jessie thought about this for a minute. "Then, I guess I'll just have to be your Fairy Godmother."_

_"What?"_

_"So that way I can change you into a princess in time to meet your prince. And then you'll fall in love and live happily ever after."_

_I was about to say something nasty, but Jessie put her arms around me and gave me a hug. I flinched as she brushed against my tender side, where my Dad's foot had caught me the one time he had caught me practicing for chorus. But I didn't pull away._

_My face was red and I felt like I was going to cry. _

_"Happy endings aren't _real,_" I whispered._

_

* * *

_

"What did she say?"

"Jessie," I murmured. I grimaced and tried to turn over in my sleep, but the healer kept me from moving towards my infected shoulder. "No...stop...! Let go...!"

Zuko's jaw dropped. "What's a...Jeh-see?"

Iroh frowned. "I think it's a person, not a thing."

They fell silent, watching me toss and turn while the healer frantically tried to calm me. It was all a futile effort. I was completely unaware of the people around me, oblivious to everything but the nightmare that slowly consumed me. Slowly and inevitably, just like the infection. I started to hallucinate in my sleep. The professionally gentle hands of the healer suddenly became hostile fists with the intent to harm. Suddenly, they belonged to my father.

* * *

_I tried not to make too much noise as I pushed open the front door. I saw his car in the driveway, even though it was still early in the afternoon. It meant that he hadn't gone to work today. It meant that he had been drinking again._

_Tip-toeing, I moved up the stairs and crept towards my bedroom. Every time a floor board creaked, I felt my heart slam against my ribs. Every sound I made seemed to amplify through the thin walls. The slightest noise could mean my death sentence. That's how much I dreaded waking my old man up. _

_I hoped he was too out of it to hear me._

_Softly, I closed the door to my room and set my backpack on the floor. There were no locks on the door, otherwise I would have locked it. Instead, I looked out the window towards the fire-escape, making sure that it was unlatched in case I needed to get out again, like last time. I hoped it wouldn't happen tonight._

_It was hard to focus on my multiplication tables. I heard him shuffling around downstairs, like a massive beast in its lair. Every time I heard him, I froze, my pen poised on the page without having written a single word or number. A few times, I forgot my own name as I went to fill out the top of the work sheets because of this knot of fear in my stomach that made me _freeze_._

_It was a bad omen. Soon, I heard him calling for me._

_"Julie!"_

* * *

"No, please...stop!" I whimpered as a cold compress dabbed at my sweat-beaded forehead. "Jessie, help...!"

"She's having a fit," the healer muttered. "She never sleeps for very long before she has a nightmare."

Heedless to my visitors, I started wrestling against the healer.

"I'm sorry...I won't do it again, just don't...please, Dad, stop...!"

Zuko's face seemed to freeze. So did Iroh's. Slowly, they turned to look at each other, wearing the expression one wears when stumbling upon something they shouldn't. It was the look you see when you turn the corner and hear the end of a sentence that blows your mind away. When you become an inadvertant eavesdropper.

I was unaware of it all.

"Jessie...don't tell him I'm sick, Jessie."

* * *

_The nurse clicked her tongue as she took the thermometer out of my mouth. "A hundred and one. Well, lucky you. Looks like you're sick enough for you to go home early...Julie, was it?"_

_I groaned. This sucked. Big time._

_"I don't want to go home," I whispered. "I'm not...not sick...really..."_

_Jessie's face was pinched with worry. She had walked me all the way to the nurse's office. It was one of the many unwritten duties of a best friend that she had made up for herself. I still didn't understand why those same rules never seemed to apply to me._

_"Julie, if you're sick, you should call your mom or dad," she said. "They came come get you."_

_"No...!" I snapped. The nurse looked at me curiously, and I quickly lowered my voice. "I don't want to go home, Jessie. I want to stay with you."_

_"We can play tomorrow if you're better."_

_I shook my head. How could she understand? She didn't know that for me, there might not _be _a tomorrow. Not if Dad had to pick me up from school. And what if he had been drinking again? I didn't want him to show up at school like that. I could only imagine the humiliation of watching him stagger up the steps and looking blearily at each student, trying to remember what I looked like._

_The best case scenario would be for him to ignore the nurse's phone call. I could make up a lie about him working, and maybe I could go home with Jessie. That might actually turn out to be fun._

_But if he came to school I was dead._

_"You can't let her call my Dad, Jessie."_

_She frowned at me. "Why not?"_

_I tried quickly to think up a good excuse, but my head was spinning. I really didn't feel good at all._

_"He won't come. He doesn't have a phone. We can't call him."_

_Jessie narrowed her eyes at me. "But...everyone has a phone. At work at least. And you told me that your Dad is always working."_

_It was actually one of the things that drew Jessie to me in the first place. She had noticed that, much like her own parents, my Dad never showed up to open-school night. I had just let her think that my Dad was too busy with work the way her parents were. And in a way, it was true. Dad was too busy. Only he wasn't working._

_My Dad hadn't held down a job since I was three. We lived on welfare checks from the government._

_"Julie, why can't your Dad come get you?"_

_I found myself blinking back tears. "He...he just _can't_, okay?"_

_"But..."_

_"Jessie," I interrupted. "Please. Just trust me. Okay? We can't tell my Dad that I'm sick."_

_

* * *

_

"Just don't tell him..." I murmured. "Please..."

Iroh helped Zuko into the seat closest to my bed. The old general put a hand on my forehead and winced at the heat. For a Firebender, that was saying something.

I grimaced, sensing people crowding me. Too many. I didn't like it.

I reached for the nearest sleeve. It was Zuko's. Though in my fever-induced hallucination, I was convinced that I was clinging to Jessie.

"Don't tell my Dad..." I whispered.

Zuko stared at me for a long time. Slowly, he reached down and started to pry my fingers off of his arm.

"No, Jessie!" I was suddenly frightened. They were taking her away from me. "Don't leave, Jessie! Don't! I'm sorry I lied! But I couldn't tell you the truth! I knew you wouldn't like it!"

I was crying, struggling in a panic to reclaim a grip on Zuko's arm. He grimaced and looked pleadingly at his Uncle. The General just met Zuko's gaze solemnly, silently communicating that he didn't have an answer to his dilemma. In any case, he offered none.

Getting no help from Iroh, the flustered prince reluctantly turned his attention back to me.

"Jessie, come back...!"

"I'm not..." he started to say, but then thought better of it. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Julie, it's me. It's Zuko."

He wasn't sure what that was supposed to have accomplished. I don't know why he thought that would have made any difference to me. Anyway, it didn't matter what he said. I really thought that he was Jessie.

But Jessie was gone. I couldn't find her. There was no one left, and I was sick, and they were going to call my Dad. I never felt so lonely in my entire life. Even at my worst, I could at least say that I had Jessie around to help pick up the pieces.

I was crap on my own. I couldn't do anything on my own.

Zuko looked nervously at Iroh again. It was clear that my quiet sobbing was making him uncomfortable. Even though he had never seen me cry before, he was finding the sight extremely unsettling.

"You need to calm down," he said in a low voice. "You need sleep. Please try to sleep."

"Don't go," I whimpered.

Zuko sighed. With a half-hearted scowl on his face, he reached out and slid his hand into mine. As soon as he did that, I felt the world right itself. I had someone to hold on to. I wasn't alone anymore.

"Jessie?"

"I'm here," he said with an edge of defeat in his voice. "I won't leave. Go to sleep."

"Jessie, I'm...I'm sorry..."

"I know. Sleep."

I nodded feverishly. "You'll stay?"

Zuko looked up at his Uncle. Then, quickly, he looked away again.

"I may as well. But if you don't close your eyes right now, I'm not making any promises."

I turned over on my good shoulder, facing Zuko. My hand trembled in his. I may have been imagining it (I mean, I was running this huge fever and all), but I could have sworn that I felt him squeeze my palm just a little bit. I just wish I had been coherent enough to witness it. It might have helped me to make sense out of his weird behavior earlier.

Iroh quirked an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were going to get your answers, nephew. Even if you had to shake them out of her."

Zuko just looked tired. "I'm only staying until she falls asleep. Then we can start searching for the Avatar."

"Whatever you say, Prince Zuko."

"Have the men on high alert until I can get up there. I shouldn't be too long."

Iroh nodded as he headed towards the doorway. He paused to look back at me, concern on his face. "I really do hope she gets better. If her condition gets worse, I'd like to know about it."

Zuko frowned at the thought, but nodded consent. This seemed to satisfy the general. Quietly, he moved out of the room.

I scrunched up my brow, hearing the retreating footsteps. "Jessie, don't let the nurse call my Dad...he'll be angry..."

"No one is calling anyone. As far as I know, your father isn't even on this ship. And how many times do I have to tell you to go to sleep?" he said in exasperation.

I felt the corners of my mouth curl up into a smile. Jessie was always worrying about me. Silly Jessie.

"Stupid peasant," Zuko muttered as my eyes closed.

The healer came up from around him with a fresh basin of water. Wringing out a new compress, he began dabbing my forehead again. He shook his head from side to side.

"I can't say this looks good. I doubt she'll make it through the night like this."

Zuko ignored him.

"Still," the man said slowly. "She _does _have a cute smile..."

That single statement caused the prince's mind to implode on itself.

"I didn't ask for your opinion," he snapped. "And get back to work!"

* * *

**A/N: Nothing much to say here. We get some flashbacks into Julie's past, and it seems like Zuko and Iroh have a better understanding of her past. They may not know where she came from, but they do know that there's something she's avoiding back "home." How will it affect Zuko's opinion of her?**

**Hee. I love a good angst now and then. So sad, but so necessary. Did you guys like this? Please review!**


	19. Things Better Left Unknown

**A/N: The angst in last chapter envinced a variety of reader response. Some good, some dubious. Fortunately, the majority of angst is done for this part. Thank god. I mean, I know it's really necessary if you want your character to seem like a real person, but I tend to go all out. Last chapter may have been too much.**

**So, I've gone back to making Zuko's mind bleed. Let the laughter begin. ^-^ I hope you like!**

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* * *

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Chapter Sixteen: Things Better Left Unknown

Shen-Long sighed. It was a beautiful morning, of course. Sunrise at the South Pole was quite a sight, the way the golden hues reflected off of the myriad ice formations and glaciers. But he couldn't concentrate on it.

It was ridiculously early. His shift wasn't even supposed to start for another few hours. But Prince Zuko had ordered everyone to be hypervigilant until he himself was able to assess the damage from the Avatar's bid for freedom yesterday night. Lieutenant Jee had done a thorough investigation of the dungeons and even managed to trace out the most probable escape route.

But Zuko didn't care. _'Stand by until I get on deck,' _he had ordered. He was still under the impression that he was the only person competant enough to recapture the Avatar should he appear. Until he was able to start the search himself, Zuko was taking no chances of his crew screwing up a second time.

Then again, Shen-Long couldn't blame him. The boy certainly had the motivation, after all. A three year banishment tended to do that to you.

And speaking of unpleasant topics, his thoughts abruptly turned from Zuko's jerkiness to my comatose state.

He knew that right now I was battling against a very dangerous infection. He also had a gut feeling that somehow I was involved in this fiasco (i.e. the Avatar escaping). But right now, most people were under the impression that I had been trying to stop Aang. Either that, or I somehow wandered up there on my own during one of my hallucinations.

Shen-Long, on the other hand, knew better. Because when he reported on deck this morning, Bo-Fen was staring bleakly into the ocean, a rare expression of guilt evident in her eyes.

Something was up.

"You look tired," he commented as he took his place beside her. He scrutinized his sister for a second. "In fact, I don't think you got any sleep at all for the past couple of days."

Bo-Fen scowled. She was in a bad mood. "I slept enough last night. But you try sleeping when that girl's screaming echoes down into the hold."

"You're worried about her?"

She sighed. "Yeah. I mean, she seemed well enough at the party, but...wow. I mean, it all happened so fast, you know?"

Shen-Long just sighed.

"Bo-Fen...I _know_."

"Know what?"

"You know. What you've really been up to for the last two days."

Bo-Fen just looked at him, raising an eyebrow. Shen-Long suddenly had a need to justify his suspicions.

"Well," he said, awkwardly, "You've been distant since the day before yesterday...and that was around the time the keys to the dungeon went missing, wasn't it?"

The sea-woman had more than enough steel in her not to jump at the implied accusation. "How did you find out about the keys? No one knew about that."

"I saw you carrying them when it wasn't your shift. I didn't say anything, but I knew."

"You're too damn observant for your own good, Shen."

He shrugged. "Maybe."

There was a brief silence as the siblings regarded each other. There was a connection that went way back, before their time as Fire Navy soldiers, even before they were born. Silently, they communicated through their eyes, telling each other things that went beyond words. And before you freaks get any ideas, that is NOT what she said.

Ahem.

"I didn't think she was _this _sick," Bo-Fen muttered angrily. "Stupid girl."

Shen-Long frowned. "Don't blame yourself. I knew what you were up to. I could have stopped you if I wanted to, but I didn't." He couldn't keep the wince out of his voice. Clearly, he was feeling guilty too.

"Shen," she said quietly. "It's just so weird."

"I know."

"I thought it was weird in the beginning, when she _looked _like her. You noticed it too, right?"

Shen-Long looked exhausted. Like that single sentence had the power to drain the life out of him. "I suppose you mean...Ayla?"

"Yeah."

"How could I not? Why else would I jump overboard to save a drowning peasant girl? It certainly wasn't for her winning personality..." He coughed out a bitter laugh before falling silent. He didn't say anything else for a minute or two. "And if I noticed the resemblance, I'm sure that _they _noticed too."

Bo-Fen chose to ignore that. It was just something else she had to worry about, and she was not eager to keep a tally of such foreboding things.

"She acts like her too," she told him.

"What the hell are you talking about? Ayla was noble and brave and unique. Julie's just...difficult. An interesting girl, but emotionally vexing."

"Don't lie. You like her. A little bit, at least."

"She's brutally honest. I mean, she always had a vicious reply ready to fling at me." He shook his head in numb astonishment. "No wonder people think she's a boy. She's more antagonistic than a Boar-Q-Pine."

"But you like her."

"Shut up, Bo-Fen."

"Come on," she protested. "Why are you so bent out of shape at her all of a sudden?"

Shen-Long just gave her a look.

"Well, listen to this. When I found out she was running a fever I told her to go rest, that I would do the job myself. But she just refused. She said it was her fault that all of this happened, and that it was her responsibility to fix it."

Actually, I had told her that I was fine and that she should mind her own business. But why quibble over terminology?

"So, basically what you're telling me is that she's reckless and stubborn?"

"You say potato, I say rutabaga," Bo-Fen replied indifferently. "Besides, I know the real reason why you're upset is that she took such a reckless chance like that...trying to help someone when she was in no condition to. It was something Ayla used to do a lot too."

That pushed her brother's patience to the limit.

"Why are you so desperate to see things in this girl that just aren't there?" Shen-Long shook his head in exasperation. "Because she looks like her, and you want to see if she'll _act _like her, too? Because let me tell you something: It's pointless. Julie isn't Ayla. She will never be Ayla. And not even Julie deserves to be treated like a guinea-pig just because you want your friend back."

Bo-Fen glowered at him. "I thought it would be fine. I wasn't going to let anything happen to her, Shen."

"Still...I have to say, sister, considering the way you used to treat Ayla, and considering the way you're treating Julie now...you're a dangerous friend to have."

She didn't look up at the comment. Despite the look of distaste on her face, it was as though she had heard it all already. However, unseen by Shen-Long, the hand in her pocket tightened into a fist.

"I'm an even more dangerous enemy," she reminded him. "I know what I've been doing is risky. And I know I've been putting you at risk too. But if I've told you once, I'll tell you a thousand times," she said heatedly. "There is too much at stake here to just sit back and do nothing!"

"You're being loud."

Bo-Fen shot him a withering look.

"I haven't forgotten what Mesmer Prospero did," she said darkly. "And I never will."

At her side was the hilt of a blade. She stroked the sheath thoughtfully as she stared out at the dazzling horizon.

"Nor will I," Shen-Long muttered. He too looked vaguely murderous. "But, Bo-Fen...even if we succeed...even if we stop Mesmer Prospero and avenge her...you have to remember that Julie is just a lost traveler. She may look like her. She may act like her. But that's where the similarity ends. You can't just treat her like your best friend come back to life."

His voice cracked at the last word.

"No one can bring back the dead," Bo-Fen whispered.

Shen-Long brooded on his reflection. "Unless she wasn't...uggh, what am I talking about? Ayla _is _dead." He buried his hand in his hair, turning away from the ocean and staring morosely at his feet. "Sometimes I wish we could just toss Julie overboard and forget this whole damn mess."

"I know you do, Shen. But you have to admit...the resemblance _is _uncanny..."

"Uggh..." he said again.

And that was the end of that.

* * *

An hour after I had fallen asleep, Zuko was still sitting by my side. He had said that he would only stay long enough for me to fall asleep, but even so. He couldn't leave. All it took was the thought of what I would think and feel if I woke up alone in a dark room. It was partially chivalry that kept him there, but also the very blatant fact that the infirmary strongly reminded Zuko of a morgue.

This was just depressing.

_Stupid peasant, _he chastised me mentally, watching my face. Quite often, I would cringe or mutter to myself. I was obviously a slave to my nightmares tonight, but at least I wasn't screaming anymore. He found that to be quite an improvement.

Zuko had no desire to start a conversation with the healer. He was like a ghost, flitting in and out of his view, occasionally obscuring me from view as he tried to break my fever. Every time this happened, he felt a stab of annoyance. He wanted to be alone in his thoughts. But the healer just kept popping into his field of vision, distracting him.

Zuko hated feeling obligated towards a mere peasant like myself. He wanted to be alone right now, but he couldn't risk leaving me alone. Not if he wanted his questions answered. And those kept piling on by the day.

But it was worse when the healer felt the need to _comment _on things.

_"She feels like she's cooling off. Finally. If she's always this hotheaded, I'd hate to be the poor sap Lieutenant Jee ends up suckering into marrying her."_

Even sleep-deprived and irritable, Zuko felt that was unnecessary. I may annoy the crap out of him when I'm awake, but now that I was sleeping Zuko couldn't help but notice how much smaller and more vulnerable I became. It contradicted his mental image of my fierce, defiant scowl. Regardless, he thought I was about as menacing as a pygmy puma, awake or asleep. It made no difference to him.

_"I don't know why you want me to bother fixing her. That ungrateful brat's been nothing but trouble since she came here..."_

_Sure, she's troublesome, _Zuko thought. _But imagine if it were Azula he had to heal. _The poor bastard. He wouldn't wish that fate upon anybody. And I wasn't nearly as bad as that. Not yet, anyway.

"Prince Zuko," the healer spoke up suddenly. "I'm going to have to change her bandages. You might want to step out for a minute."

Zuko felt some color enter his cheeks. "You could have said something sooner," he wanted to snap, but found the words cut off abruptly as the healer began to unroll some fresh gauze. As quickly as he could manage, he got himself out of his chair and staggered to the door.

Concussion be damned. He may be an honorless exile, but there were still _some _things that were sacred.

"I'll be back later to check on things," Zuko barked over his shoulder. "That girl had better still be alive until then. I _will _talk to her when she wakes up."

Sweet Agni. Things just had to be better outside the infirmary.

* * *

Apparently, Zuko's day was not about to get any better, no matter how many pleas he made to the Spirits.

"What do you mean, you didn't bother defrosting the cells?"

Lieutenant Jee had a strangely nonchalant expression on his face. "Your _exact _orders were to wait until you arrived before conducting the investigation. I didn't want to damage the crime scene."

"You're purposefully being difficult," Zuko snapped.

The Lieutenant didn't bother to contradict the accusation. The entire crew seemed to be suffering slight to moderate hangovers from last night's binge. Needless to say, no one was very happy at being left on hyper-vigilance for the few hours Zuko had spent in the infirmary. It wasn't as if they were going the find the Avatar, anyway. This whole thing was just a farce.

He kept his face carefully blank. "I don't know what you're talking about...Sir."

Zuko wasn't a happy camper either. Though his head didn't hurt as much as it did earlier, he still couldn't walk straight, and he had nearly tripped on a couple of empty bottles of liquor despite his orders to dispose of the entire stash. Couldn't they have at least cleaned up after themselves?

"Let's just get this over with," he groaned.

General Iroh was waiting for them in the dungeons. As expected, there was ice stuck to the heavy iron door of the dungeon. Obviously, the sign of a struggle. Zuko made the assumption that the Avatar or the Waterbender froze the guard to the door. But...how did they get out of the cells?

"It's quite a scene, isn't it?" said Iroh serenely, causing everyone within a five yard radius to feel a swift spike of aggrivation.

Even though he drank more than most, the General didn't seem to have a hangover at all. Either that, or he didn't show it. Seeing him in such a pleasant mood made Lieutenant Jee's take a swift nosedive. How dare he be so obscenely cheerful at this hour.

"What happened to the guard on duty?" Zuko wanted to know. "I want to question him about last night."

Lieutenant Jee frowned in confusion. "What do you mean, you want to question him? I thought he was being questioned before, when you had the entire crew in alert mode all morning. What were you _doing?"_

Zuko glowered at him. "That's none of your concern, _Lieutenant_. And are you telling me that you don't know where the guard is?"

"I thought he was with you."

For the love of Agni.

"Did you hear something?" Iroh asked suddenly, craning his neck towards the odd sound he had heard down the hallway. The trio fell silent, listening carefully for a moment before they heard it. There was a thumping sound coming from the broom closet.

"Why is the lock frozen shut?" muttered the Lieutenant in confusion.

_Thump...thump...thump..._

It took about three beats for them to suddenly realize that someone was trapped in there.

Iroh and Lieutenant Jee exchanged incredulous glances that was vaguely reminiscient of Homer Simpson's "Do'h!" Zuko, on the other hand, strode over to the door, ripped it open, and was prepared to extricate the poor bastard from within. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for what he saw inside.

Nothing could have prepared him for the severe mind-scarring image before him.

"..."

General Iroh and Lieutenant Jee came to stand beside the oddly silent prince. There was a brief pause as they regarded the hung-over, half-naked man in the closet. Slowly, their gazes turned towards Prince Zuko. After a minute, Iroh mercifully turned his nephew around, revolving him like a marble statue. Zuko's shoulders seemed to creak as he did this.

"It was that Waterbender girl that did this," Moku croaked as he staggered into the open air, and freedom. "But don't worry, General Iroh. I caught her."

That would explain why he had been wrestling with the mop. But there was still an elephant in the room, and it was time that someone addressed it.

"Um...soldier?" said Lieutenant Jee awkwardly. "Can you...perhaps explain where your _pants _are?"

Zuko's face had grown so taut that the slightest expression would have caused it to shatter.

"Still in the closet," Moku told them. "I've been in there for so long I felt like I was suffocating. But it was okay. I did have the pretty girl and a fresh bottle to comfort me..."

As if it explained everything, and in a way it did, he held up the now empty bottle of tequila. Zuko, on the other hand, looked and felt as though a blood vessel had imploded somewhere inside his skull.

Good help was really, really hard to find these days.

"Zuko, perhaps you should...go lie down," said Iroh tentatively. "Um...Lieutenant Jee and I can handle this. You need your rest, you know."

Zuko just looked down at his Uncle and nodded stiffly before shuffling away. There were just some things that he _didn't _need to know.

Like why the guard that was supposed to have been guarding the Avatar needed to be comforted by said Avatar's female companion, who was, by the way, not even half his age. In fact, Zuko decided that he could live a long, healthy life without ever finding the answer to _that _question.

* * *

"Damn...will you look at that...!"

Zuko's nerves were severely frayed by the time he returned to the infirmary. Having already been mindfucked once that day, his tired brain immediately conjured unpleasant images to compensate for what the healer may have been seeing. It was shameful, but he found himself musing over the possibility of a third nipple, or perhaps a tattoo.

For the record, Zuko was really hoping it was just a tattoo. It was all he could handle at the moment.

"What's going on?" he called through the crack in the door, even though he had the feeling that he didn't want to know.

There was a brief pause.

"Actually, your Highness, you might want to look at this. It's nothing immodest, but..."

Zuko scowled. Impatience was quickly winning out over his worst forebodings.

"Is she decent yet?" he demanded.

When he received a reply in the affirmative, the prince stalked through the door. True to his promise, the healer had rebandaged my shoulder. Nothing was exposed that shouldn't have been. But as he came closer, he saw immediately what had surprised the trained professional.

It was on my stomach. A circular scar, jagged, marred my flesh like a blood-red crescent moon. It was smooth and clean from swift medical attention, but it was an ugly sight nonetheless. Because of this, Zuko could tell that it had been treated by a highly skilled physician. But that shouldn't have been possible.

A peasant should not have been able to afford such treatment. A wound this deep would have crippled me if left untreated. In the Avatar world, where medical treatment meant healers and herbalists and was reserved for people of higher status, I probably shouldn't have been able to afford even the shoddiest job available. If I survived, I would have been aged on the spot. A crone in my teens.

Zuko grimaced.

"It's not pretty," the healer agreed. "But I have to pay my compliments to the guy who fixed this. Nice job."

"What could have done this?"

"Well, judging by the shape, I'd say a broken bottle. A stab wound, most likely."

Zuko's mind jumped to my feverish rants. Inexplicably, he felt sick to his stomach.

_Why is she having nightmares about her father?_ he wondered. _How did she get that scar...?_

But he shook his head. No.

There was no evidence for the path Zuko's thoughts were headed. And anyway, I had told him that my parents were dead. Gone at least. Zuko was sure of it. He had been listening carefully for lies ever since the first day I came here. He could not have possibly been mistaken.

Besides, what business was it of his if any of it _were _true? He didn't have time to waste brooding on the secrets and misfortunes of a single odd-looking peasant girl. He was on a life-quest for crying out loud. It was the Avatar he should have been worrying about, not me. It didn't make sense for him to be so _bothered _by all of this.

He stiffled a groan, kneading his temples with his fingers. _Nothing _about me made any sense. Least of all how he felt about me.

And I slept on, completely unaware of it all.

* * *

A few hours later, I was suddenly aware of myself again. You know how it is, when you're awake, but not awake all-the-way? Where you're kind of asleep, but also kind of not? I was in the state of mind where I knew I was sleeping, and I didn't want to wake up.

Just when I thought that, though, I felt a throbbing ache in my collar bone. It dragged me unwillingly back to reality.

"Uggh..." I groaned, turning over on my good shoulder.

I squeezed my eyes shut and bunched up my nose, grimacing as a motherload of uncomfortable stimuli made themselves known to me. I felt weak, my shoulder hurt, I was hungry, my shoulder hurt, I was thirsty, I had an itch on my back that I couldn't reach, my shoulder _still_ hurt, my throat was sore, and my shoulder hurt.

"Fuck," I muttered. "Did someone get the number of that truck?"

"You're awake."

Oh, wonderful. Zuko was here.

"The...the hell're you doing here, Zu?" I mumbled, pushing my eyes open. "You don't belong in here."

But as my eyes focused on my surroundings, I realized that I wasn't in the hold, like I had thought, but in the infirmary. Sitting in the chair next to the bed was probably the last person I wanted to see right then and there. Even under normal circumstances, Zuko was not the most pleasant visitor to have.

"I can be wherever I want," he replied stubbornly.

I felt sick as a dog, and Zuko's scowl made me want to throw something at him. But I was too weak to do more than speak.

"Fine," I grumbled. "Just don't...yell at me or anything. I feel like crap."

He frowned and looked away, focusing his attention on the port window. The room we were in was technically underwater, so fish kept swimming by. Weird looking ones too. Considering how many sharks populated these waters, I wondered why anyone would put an infirmary so close to one of these windows. It's not a very soothing sight.

"Don't tempt me," he grumbled. "Troublesome peasant."

I grimaced. His voice annoyed me.

"If I'm so freaking troublesome, then get out. You don't have to be here, you know."

"Like I'd actually _want _to visit you. Don't be stupid."

Asshole.

"Then why _are _you here?" I demanded petulantly. "Are you saying you're hurt or something?"

"You really don't remember what happened, do you?"

My thoughts sluggishly turned to...how many nights ago was it? The night I broke Aang out of his cell. Vaguely, I remembered being accosted by Zuko. I remembered the intense look in his face as he insisted that I...crap, what was it again? Why couldn't I freaking remember? He was annoyed with me, and I started yelling at him...and then...there was this feeling.

The feeling I got when his hands brushed against mine. Like his skin was laced with sunlight. That fire that had been consuming me in my fever. The feeling that was so overwhelming that it frightened me, made me want to escape.

"Did I...do something to you?" I asked slowly. I was staring at my lap because my face suddenly felt hot.

Zuko blinked at me, frowning in confusion. "You don't remember?"

I shook my head. And this was the truth. Things were very fuzzy. I only remembered bits and pieces of that night, and the entire time between then and now was a big blank.

It was kind of scary.

"You were sick," Zuko told me. "You know that much, right?"

That question didn't even deserve a response. It was obvious. I was in a freaking infirmary.

"Was my shoulder..." I trailed off in a question mark.

"Infected. And you were running a bad fever."

I frowned contemplatively. Great. So apparently I had just barely survived by the skin of my teeth. At least, I was judging that I was out of danger considering the fact that I _seemed _to be coherent. I suppose that was some progress, anyway. I suppose I'd actually remember having this conversation tomorrow.

Conversations...in a hallway...

...OH GOD!

"Hey," said Zuko suddenly, seeing the look on my face. I suppose I looked like I had been hit in the gut with a wrecking ball, because that was how I felt. "What's wrong with you?"

A lot of things. The most pressing of which being that I was starting to remember things. Details.

I remember that adrenoline-spike that flowed through my limbs when Zuko had tried to get me to see his Uncle that night. That feeling of panic that had surfaced when he touched me. I couldn't understand that feeling at all.

It had made me desperately want to flee. It had made me want to cry.

Oh...fucking...snap.

"Zuko..." I choked. I felt color flooding into my face. "Did...did I...do anything strange...when I was sick, I mean...?"

Oh, my God. Please, please, please, God, if you exist, which I'm not sure you do since you went and let me get stranded in another freaking dimension...and I'm not sure what I did to deserve this, but still...please, please, please don't let what I _think _happened, have happened. Please don't actually let it be true...

...because if I seriously let myself cry in front of an ass like Zuko, I will never, EVER live it down. I'd die of shame.

Zuko's bemused expression hardened into a scowl. Slowly, he stood up to his full height so that he was towering over me. I felt all the fight go out of me at the sight of the fierce look on his face.

"If by strange, you mean trying to punch me in the face while I was trying to _help _you," he said coldly. "Then I suppose I should say, yes. But then again, that's not strange for someone like _you_."

I glared at him. "I'll punch you again if you don't get _out_ of my face."

He made an aggravated sound. "You're an idiot, you know that? People try to help you..._I _try to help you...and all you ever do is throw it back in my face!"

"Well, maybe I don't _want _help!" I yelled back at him. "And why the hell would you want to _help _me, anyway? What the hell do you _want _from me?"

Zuko froze. "Excuse me?"

I wanted to stuff a sock in my mouth. Or something that would shut me up. But now that I had said it, all the words came rushing out like a freaking tsunami. All of the things I couldn't figure out, everything that I had been afraid of, all of that drama and confusion came spilling out of me in one traitorous wave.

"I said, what do you want from me? Or what _did _you want from me?" I balled my hands into fists on my lap. "You hate me. The very sight of me causes you severe indigestion. I just don't understand why you didn't just leave me there. I'm not your problem! Why didn't you just leave me alone like I asked?"

I felt a hot wave of anger as I found myself blinking back tears. DAMMIT!

Zuko gave me a weird look. "You're basically saying that you're upset because I was _nice _to you? Because I wanted to help?"

"No one wants to help me," I spat. "Not unless they _want _something from me. And, I can't do _anything _for you or for your Uncle, okay? I can't fight, I can't bend, I can't magically help you track down the Avatar...so why am I here?"

This question was not meant for Zuko. I did not mean why was I on his ship. I meant why was I even in this place to begin with? Why was I in the Avatar's world? Was it an accident? Or was I supposed to be doing something?

Should I be trying to get home? Could I even _go _home?

"You're here because you're sick and you need to get better," he said stiffly. "You're here because _I _want you to get better."

My jaw dropped. "Wha...?"

Zuko looked at my dumbfounded reaction before turning ten different shades of red. "I didn't mean it like _that_. Idiot." He scowled at the wall, keeping his gaze carefully pointed away from me. "I'll admit...I'm curious about you. You're a weird, aggravating person. But I want to know more about you. Where you came from. How you got here. That's all it is. I don't need anything from you except answers."

"Answers."

He nodded.

"But...but...you're supposed to be capturing the Avatar...!" I blurted, flustered and confused by his response. "How does finding anything out about me help you do that?"

"It might not. But I can't overlook the possibility that this was...not a coincidence. That you're being here somehow means something."

I knew that. And that was what scared me. Because I was just an ordinary girl. This wasn't destiny. I shouldn't have even been here at all.

Zuko stood up. "I'm going to let Uncle know that you're awake. He was worried about you too."

He moved towards the door, and I noticed how slow and awkward his movements were. I suddenly had a flash of memory, and I recalled the gust of wind that had sent us both flying backwards. How Zuko had hit his head and blacked out. Was he still hurt?

Then I froze as I realized something. He had said, _too_. So, if General Iroh wasn't the only person worried about me...did that mean...?

Zuko stopped short, catching sight of the look on my face.

"I'll come back," he said. "I won't be gone long, either. So don't do anything stupid."

I shook my head quickly. God, why was it suddenly so hard to talk all of a sudden?

"I'll be all right," I choked.

He stared at me for a few seconds before shaking his head. He moved past the doorway and exited into the hall.

I sat there in a stupified silence as the seconds ticked by. Questions flitted through my brain as I sank wearily back onto my pillow, and slowly I turned my head towards the window. _Zuko _was worried? _Zuko _was curious about me? As a person? Was that what he had meant? Was that why he was being so...weird all of a sudden?

Uggh! Why did I even _care, _anyway? This whole mess was just...a mess. I couldn't make sense out of ANYTHING.

I glared at the fish swimming by. _Stupid, Zuko. Stupid everything._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: I stuffed every bit of unavoidable filler I could into this chapter so that way the plot could kick up again. I figured after how long it took to get Aang off the damn ship, I really needed to kick things into high gear. So, here you go. For your troubles, I made it as funny as I could.**

**So, what did you guys think of the "Mop Scene?" Zuko's brain will never be whole again. Never.**

**Anyway, for those of you who are interested in these kinds of things, there was a reoccuring theme this chapter. "Things Better Left Unknown." If you look closely, you'll see a number of characters wrestling with questions. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen muse over a dead comrade of theirs. Zuko in particular is forced to confront a lot of questions this chapter; the least of which being why all the men on his ship are so DAMN CREEPY. When it occurs to him that there are some things he might not want to know the answer to, Zuko thinks of Julie and realizes that he's still drawn to her past, even though it's obviously an uncomfortable topic. What could _that _mean?**

**Finally, Julie herself has a number of questions about why she's in the Avatar's world. She wrestles with the possibility of destiny and free-will, and finds both possibilities to be scary as all hell. But even more frightening is Zuko's inexplicable interest in her, an interest he himself fails to comprehend. At the end of the chapter, both of them are left on shaky ground. They're not quite enemies anymore, but can they really call themselves friends either?**

******No, romance lovers. It's not love. Not yet, anyway. Who can say for sure at the moment? Only time will tell.**

******So, if you liked it, REVIEW. If you didn't like it, REVIEW! Just give me a reason why, though. I want all the details you can think of.**


	20. The Supply Run from Hell

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**A/N: HUZZAH! I NOW HAVE OVER A HUNDRED FREAKING REVIEWS! HOODY-FREAKING-HOO!**

**Anyway, I'd like to apologize for the slow update. I originally was going to post this on Tuesday, but SOMEHOW my over four-thousand word chapter in progress had been reduced to a mere eight-hundred words before I even had time to say "WTF?" So, after I had stopped foaming at the mouth, I set out to re-write it. I'm sorry to say that it wasn't anywhere near as good as it was before, but I tried. Sometimes inspiration is hard to copy.**

Plus, my flashdrive is still missing, so I'm out of luck until it's found. LE BITCHING FLASH DRIVE! RAWR!

I hope you guys like. As always, RxR.

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Chapter Seventeen: The Supply Run from Hell

"Shit! How the hell do you use these things, anyway?"

"You're making it more complicated than it should be. Is this your first time?"

"What do you think, Zuko?"

A sigh. "Just let me do it, then."

I was surprised that Zuko was willing to go through the trouble. Despite the fact that his constant presence in the room was starting to give me a rash, I didn't complain as he helped my arm into the sling. After all, it wasn't as if I was going to figure it out on my own. Once I got the hang of it, though, I swear I'd boot him out of the infirmary for good. Stupid freaking chivalry.

"Why do I have to wear this thing, anyway? My arm isn't broken..."

"It's so you don't strain your shoulder again like last time. The last thing you want is for it to get infected again."

I scowled. I wished Zuko would just leave me alone. It was just plain weird to have him being...civil. Not only civil. Kind. It was like he had turned into one of those pod people overnight or something.

Maybe it was because he felt sorry for me. Not like that made any difference. I didn't want or need his pity. The condescending asshole.

"General Iroh," I whined. "Do I really have to do this?"

The genial older man gave me a knowing look and nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry, Julie, but Lieutenant Jee was pretty insistant that you receive this training. He genuinely wants you to become a proper young lady." He winced at the last three words, and I knew that those were Jee's wording, not necessarily Iroh's.

"I don't _want _to be a lady," I grumbled.

"Don't be difficult," Zuko muttered. "I don't like this any more than you do. But the longer it takes for him to teach you how to sip tea, the longer it'll take for him to help me capture the Avatar."

"Can't you just tell him no? You're a prince, for crying out loud. You _outrank _him!"

"You need manners. I agree with him about _that _much. You'll probably cause a lot less trouble once all of this is done and over with."

Zuko clearly didn't know me at all. Not only would I _not _be less trouble, I would be so hell-bent on revenge that I would be a constant thorn in his side. He would never sleep soundly ever again. I would see to that.

"And what will you be doing while I'm being brainwashed?" I asked.

The corners of Zuko's mouth twitched against his will. "Brainwashed?"

"That bastard is going to beat all these stuffy, pointless rules in my head. I consider that to be brainwashing."

He bit back the incredulous noise he had been about to make, keeping his face as stoic as possible. It seemed to me that Zuko was deliberately going out of his way to appear utterly stiff and humorless at all times. And he wondered why I liked messing with him so damn much.

"I'll be looking for the Avatar," he told me. "Actually, I should have been on deck an hour ago, but Uncle seemed convinced that you would mutiny unless I came to get you myself."

I shot Iroh a scandalized look. _Et tu, General?_

Once again, I was being double-crossed by Zuko and Iroh, and once again, no one was about to come running to the rescue. Not Bo-Fen, who had taken the opportunity during her last visit to warn me of my inescapable doom (and _conveniently _offering no workable solutions to my plight); certainly not Shen-Long, who I hadn't even seen since the party, and who also was (apparently) avoiding the infirmary like the Black Plague; and especially not Lieutenant Jee, who, for whatever reason, seemed to be looking forward to the laughable amount of time he was about to waste trying to teach me something.

What was _that _about, anyway? Was _everyone _on this damn ship trying to screw me over? Probably. And why the hell was Shen-Long avoiding me? Uggh, too many questions, and not enough chocolate to make me give a damn.

As I rose stiffly from the cot, I made sure to avoid their eyes. Zuko offered me his arm, but I ignored it and stomped past him to the door, where Iroh was waiting for me. I saw him glower at me out of the corner of my eyes, but he didn't say a word to me. Apparently his chivilry was used up for the day. Finally.

Iroh nodded at me and we ducked out into the hallway together. I had barely resisted the urge to scowl at him. After all, one does not scowl at someone like Iroh. After all, it wasn't his fault Lieutenant Jee had went and arranged a marriage for me. If anything, it was Zuko's fault for not keeping a closer eye on him. Seriously, that man needs a leash.

The trip to Lieutenant Jee's study was short. Too short. I think half of the time was eaten up by Iroh's attempts at a conversation.

"I am glad to see that you're finally feeling better, Julie."

I nodded glumly. I had tried to fake sick the moment I realized that I was still going through with these stupid lessons, but naturally Zuko and Iroh had caught on to my scheme, and right quick too. Granted, I didn't have much experience faking sick. I mean, it wasn't as if I ever wanted to stay home from school. Staying home was practically a death sentence for me.

"Yeah," I replied reluctantly. "I hated being cooped up in that infirmary. It smells like feet."

Sad, but true. And Iroh didn't even bother to contradict me. Not that it mattered.

"I know this isn't the way you planned to spend your first day out of bed," he commented. "And I'm sorry I have to ask this of you, but please try to be on your best behavior for Lieutenant Jee."

"Fine," I mumbled.

Iroh scrutinized me. "I know you have trouble getting along with him, but I'm sure you two can come to an understanding somehow. If you try to stay out of trouble, I might be able to convince my nephew to allow you a break midafternoon. How does lunch on deck sound?"

I would have rather had the entire day off, but obviously _that _wasn't going to happen.

"Promise?"

"I will try. I only ask the same of you, Julie."

I nodded. I supposed that was the best I was going to get.

"I'll be good," I told him.

Translation: I would not make any attempts at the Lieutenant's jugular. I would not cause..._major _property damage. I would not try to escape. Try being the key word. If I made any attempts at anything, I would be successful, and more importantly, no one would see me do it.

Iroh totally didn't believe me. But he didn't say anything. We had reached the dreaded door.

"Uggh," I groaned. "Do I really have to _do _this?"

As if answering my question, Iroh reached past me and knocked. We had to wait for about a minute before the door slowly creaked open. I wondered if Lieutenant Jee had done that on purpose, trying to get me nervous. He knew how much I hated his stupid idea and this farce of an arranged marriage he had planned for me. Clearly he had wanted me to squirm...

...but as the door opened, a very surprised Lieutenant Jee blinked out at us. Hmm. Maybe he wasn't building up suspense after all.

For a moment, he just stared. From me, to Iroh, then back to me again.

"You actually showed up," he stated. He was quiet for a minute. "I admit, I'm surprised to see you going along with this."

"Don't push your luck," I told him flatly. "I'm not here because I want to be. And don't think you can take advantage of a helpless girl for long. I can easily handle whatever atrocity you can think of."

I was almost confident of this fact. After all, I had sat through enough Disney movies as a kid to keep Jessie happy. Really, how much worse could this be? Keeping Lieutenant Jee satisfied until I could pull the wool over his eyes and escape this stupid wedding, I mean.

However, the two men both looked astonished by my blunt reply.

"For the love of Agni, girl," said the Lieutenant. "You're getting etiquette training...not tortured."

I blinked at him. "There's a difference?"

* * *

I had soon learned to eat my words. In a matter of days, Lieutenant Jee had me on the verge of a psychological break; the kind with the involuntary eye twitches and everything. I'm surprised I hadn't started blacking out and attacking people with a knife yet.

Gradually, though, I found myself falling into a steady ruitine. In the morning (translation: at the crack of dawn) I would wake up and have a modest breakfast with Bo-Fen and Shen-Long (except that now Shen-Long was consistently finding reasons to excuse himself from the most important meal of the day; I tried not to take this as a snub, but it still kind of bothered me). Then, I would be whisked off for my daily torture sessions with Lieutenant Asshole.

These "lessons" ranged from irritating to downright intolerable, and had me unconsciously clenching and unclenching my hands in a strangling motion under the table by the time Iroh (mercifully) came to collect me. To my relief, he had come through with his promise for a mid-afternoon break.

Thank the Spirits.

I had to say, it was really kind of nice to sit on deck with Iroh, especially now that we had officially left the South Pole. There was still a constant wind (freaking sea-breeze, you know?), but all in all it was much warmer. The sun was constantly beating down on us as we ate our lunch, all while watching the huge strip of land before us inch closer and closer by the day.

"Is that the Earth Kingdom?" I had asked one day, after my lessons were over.

Iroh nodded. "It is a beautiful country, and the people there are quite resilient and hard-working."

"It must have been hard fighting them," I commented. "They sound like the kind of people who never give up."

A solemn look flashed in his eyes. "This is also true," he assented sadly.

I didn't push the subject any further. I mean, really, what would have been the point? Iroh was saavy enough not to go pushing and nosing his way into my past (like one certain person I could mention...one with a massive scar and a bad-attitude the size of Emoville (population: Zuko)). I saw no reason to lead Iroh to brood over the loss of his son, Lu-Ten.

Quickly, I changed the subject.

"Hey, General," I said. "Since we're going to be making a supply run anyway, do you think it would be okay if I...um...got a few things?"

The somber expression faded as he smiled at me. "Of course. Actually, I think it would be a very good idea. No offense, but you could use some new clothes."

I didn't take offense. I was back to wearing the outfit I had worn on my first day here, the one I was wearing when I fell into the ocean. After the dunking it had taken in the freezing salt water, the fabrics seemed permanently wrinkled and frayed at some of the edges. Even so, it was far preferable to that pink monstrosity Jee had wanted me to wear. Thank god it was too warm now for fur-lined clothing.

"Cool," I said. "Um...actually, I was hoping to get something else."

"Like?"

"Um..." I hesitated, wondering how this was going to go over. "Well...a weapon."

Iroh quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm tired of being a sitting duck," I explained. "I keep getting attacked, and...well...I was kind of hoping that...that I could learn how to fight...or something."

He didn't answer right away. I could tell that even though he trusted me enough to give me a place on the ship, he wasn't comfortable with the idea of me having a weapon. Apparently he was worried I'd string up Lieutenant Jee by his tendons while he was sleeping. Sheesh! Did I _look _anything like Azula?

"Please?"

"We'll see," Iroh replied, noncommittedly. I sighed. What more could I expect.

I didn't let this bother me too much. At least he was trying to look out for me a little bit. There was never a time on this ship when I doubted Iroh's sincerity or hospitality. I never felt like I had to watch my back around him. Even if he wouldn't let me buy a sword or something cool like that, I decided that I still liked him. At least he seemed to understand the laws of common decency.

Zuko on the other hand...

Every other day, it seemed, the no-good dumb-butt managed to find an excuse to ingratiate himself into my lunch hour. Perhaps it was a mild exaggeration on my part. After all, most of the time he would _talk at _us about the Avatar. Usually, his comments were directed to his Uncle. They were mostly speculations about where Aang was, what he was doing, certain methods he might employ in capturing him, all the boy scout knots he would use to keep him from escaping...

But then there were the moments when he would notice me. Notice me eating. And even though he wasn't trying to be, Zuko would come across as insulting as ever.

"You should have Lieutenant Jee work on your table manners next," he commented once as he saw me struggling with a pair of chopsticks. "Even peasants should know how to use those."

Promptly, I told him to go shove his own chopsticks up his proverbial ass. I say proverbial only because it was obvious that he already had a huge stick up his ass to begin with, so there probably wouldn't be any room left for chopsticks.

"Julie," Iroh said warningly.

"Sorry," I grumbled. "I'm just...clumsy...okay?"

Zuko (after he had gotten over the chopstick comment) merely shook his head at me. "You're a terrible liar. I've seen you shuffle cards. You're a demon with those things."

It had become sort of a nervous habit, but I had taken to shuffling my tarot deck at random intervals. But since Zuko wasn't around most of those times (being too busy angsting over a twelve-year-old boy), I could only assume he meant during the evenings he had me perform tarot readings for him. This usually came after supper (which I could only be glad about, since he always had something to say about what I was eating...the jerk).

"Where did you learn how to shuffle cards like that?" he had asked one evening, while I was doing a reading.

I ignored the question. I was in the middle of setting up a Celtic Cross spread, and since I wasn't in the habit of doing full spreads like this, it took a lot of concentration for me to remember where all of the cards were supposed to go and what they meant. I was quickly flowing through the motions of shuffling, more for the mental cleansing of the ruitine than anything else. But even so, Zuko's questions were distracting.

When I didn't answer him right away, he just moved on to a new point, trying to herd me towards the answer he _suspected _he was looking for.

"I remember you telling my Uncle how you used to run a gambling ring. That must have taken a lot of skill."

"Well, you learn a lot of things on the street," I said. Of course, immediately, I wished I hadn't. It really wasn't any of Zuko's business. "Look, are you going to cut the deck, or not?"

Zuko glowered at me. Clearly he could care less about getting his fortune told. And this bothered me. I didn't exactly want him to hate me any more, but I wasn't sure if I wanted him _interested _in me, either. Because even though we were _sort of _teetering on the verge of a possible friendship, it could all too easily turn the other way.

After all, interesting doesn't have to mean good. It could mean bad. It could mean deadly. Especially if Zuko ever got wind that I had let the Avatar escape from right under his nose.

"I'm surprised your parents let you do something like that," he said.

I winced. "My parents..." _didn't give two shits about me_. "...just forget it, okay?"

For once, Zuko seemed apologetic. Which was rare.

"Sorry. You must miss them."

Fuck you.

I wanted to say that to him. I knew damn well that he was pushing the envelope as far as it would go without tearing. He was doing it on purpose. The only reason why I didn't go off on him was because he really looked sorry for upsetting me. Apparently, he was willing to do anything to get answers, but didn't like the idea of hurting me in the process.

Uggh! Why should I care if he cared? I DIDN'T care. Not one damn bit!

"I just..." shit, why did I feel the need to justify this? "Look, my Mom died when I was really young. I don't remember her. And my Dad isn't worth mentioning."

Zuko's eyebrow (yes, he only had one eyebrow) went up. Apparently he had not missed my usage of the present tense. Frustrated, I pushed the deck in front of him, glaring with all the menace I could muster at that point.

"Would you _please _cut the damn deck?" I sighed.

To my relief, Zuko complied with my request. But I could tell that neither of us were about to forget this conversation any time soon.

* * *

The days passed quickly, and it wasn't long before we were closing in the Earth Kingdom. I was getting excited. Seriously, I still had that sack of gold Bo-Fen had bribed me with after the Mast Incident, and I was more than ready to spend a good chunk of it. Whenever Lieutenant Jee seemed about to push me over the edge with some etiquette BS, I just ran through my shopping list in my head.

_Good clothes, _I thought. _Definitely some armor. A weapon...a knife or a sword would be nice. _

It was a nice feeling. Even if Iroh wouldn't let me buy one, I figured I could probably sneak off and get a weapon on the sly.

As the days passed, I found it gradually easier to keep my promise to Iroh, and to keep my temper in check. Sure, Lieutenant Jee frequently pushed my buttons. But I was starting to come to the understanding that it was his job to make me miserable. Especially since Zuko was too busy stalking a twelve-year-old to do it himself.

I don't know why, but I found less reasons to be angry. I mean, I could only guess that the shock of being in another dimension was starting to wear off. The faces on the ship were now familiar, and I didn't get lost below deck anymore. With less unknowns, I had less reason to be afraid. With less reasons to be afraid, I had less of a reason to lash out at people.

Plus, I was really, really looking forward to the supply run. Call me a girl all you want, but I will admit that I liked to shop as much as the next X-chromosomed individual. Especially if it was with money I had earned myself.

And I had sort of earned that gold. I mean, I risked my _life _for that gold. So it was mine.

Today, however, in spite of all of my newly-acquired self-control and whatnot, I'm sad to say that I nearly blew my top. You see, when someone gets promised a shopping trip, nothing should get in the way of that. Nothing. I didn't have the time to mentally prepare myself for what happened at lunch today.

"I can't wait to get off this ship," I told Iroh.

He smiled knowingly. "I suppose this doesn't have anything to do with you getting out of your lesson for today."

"It might."

Iroh smiled as I took a large bite out of my rice-ball. But that smile faded a little when Zuko came storming over to us, looking as though the long-awaited zombie-armeggedon had finally arrived and that it was now time to break out the big guns. Either that, or it had something to do with Aang.

My bets were on the Avatar.

"Change of plans," said Zuko briskly as he sat down at the table. "We're not stopping. I think the Avatar is heading east, so we'll have to change course if we want to keep up with him."

I choked on my rice ball. Iroh had to slap me on the back before I could breathe again.

"WHAT?" I half-gasped, half screeched at Zuko. "But...what about the supply run?"

Zuko gave me a disparaging look. "Don't peasants know how to chew their food these days?"

"Don't change the subject!"

He rolled his eyes, as though silently pleading for Agni to swoop down and lend him some Firebending chutzpah. "You can get your clothes later. Sad to say, but something _slightly _more important just came up."

Zuko was being sarcastic. And I felt myself having a coronary.

"I had _other _things to buy, you know!" I told him angrily. "Really important things!"

I think his patience had finally been used up. Zuko wheeled around and gave me a look that should have had me scurrying into the nearest hole I could find. But I was too upset to be logical at this point.

"What?" he demanded. "What could be _so _important that we have to drop EVERYTHING, just so you could go shopping?"

Hmmph. Well, if he was going to take that tone with me, I sure as hell wasn't going to pull any punches.

"Tampons," I replied.

"..."

Confusion flickered across Zuko's face. I realized with a mental slap to the face that they probably didn't have tampons in the Avatar world. This put me in a temporary state of unease. What the hell _did _they use, then? Did I even _want _to know?

Shit. I was probably going to find out eventually. Maybe this wouldn't turn out to be such a huge lie after all. I really did need to go shopping.

So, swallowing any embarrassment or foreboding, I stomped over to Zuko and started whispering a hasty explanation into his ear. As I elaborated on a few things, I saw his face turn from pale to several different shades of red faster than you could say "crimson wave." When I pulled back and scrutinized his dumbstruck expression, I knew I had won my point.

"Um..." Zuko cleared his throat, finding his words stuck behind his vocal cords. "Don't any of the...um...female soldiers..."

"Bo-Fen is all out. And there are no other female soldiers."

There was a long, awkward silence.

"Nephew?" said Iroh, looking concerned. "Are you all right?"

Zuko's face had turned to stone. "Tell the men to change course...immediately."

"Why?"

He seemed to be avoiding looking at the triumphant expression on my face. "We're...going shopping," he muttered reluctantly.

* * *

The moment I was about to disembark, Zuko read me the riot act.

"You have two hours," he told me. "Not a minute more. If you make me or my Uncle have to come looking for you, you will regret it."

I had been about to sweep down the gangplank, all indifferent. But when he said that, I nearly tripped on my ass in surprise. I wheeled around and gave him an incredulous look.

"You'd come _looking _for me?" I blurted. A few seconds later, I felt color rise to my cheeks. I felt like an idiot.

Zuko also seemed to have caught on to his mistake. "I don't mean it like _that..._idiot girl," he muttered. "I just worry about the trouble you'll cause when I'm not around to keep an eye on you. The last thing I need is for people to make a connection between a certain loud-mouthed, redhaired peasant and _my _crew. Especially if you end up breaking something in one of the booths."

"Is that why I'm getting an armed escort?" I asked, gesturing towards Bo-Fen and a very disgruntled looking Shen-Long. They were waiting for me at the bottom of the gangplank.

"Yes."

"You know, you could just come with me yourself if your so concerned."

Zuko's face turned red. "I'm not coming with you while you're buying those..._things_. Do it yourself. I'm going to be readying the crew so that we'll be ready to leave by the time you return." Again, the glare of doom. "_Don't _be late."

"Or else," I replied. "Got it, Zu."

"And _don't _call me Zu!"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. See you later, Prince Emopants."

I didn't wait to hear Zuko's angry reply. I marched boldly down the gangplank, smiling ruefully at Bo-Fen and giving Shen-Long an ironic glance. Without a word, we moved through the throng of people. It felt good to feel solid ground beneath my feet again, but it felt even better to know that I had successfully ruined Zuko's day.

Yeah, I know I'm a bitch. Get used to it.

Within the first hour, I had found something decent to wear. Not only decent, but freaking awesome. We found a booth selling Fire-Nation clothes, which I quickly found looked the best on me (green was passable, but blue clashed with my red hair). I ended up with a sleeveless red top, black sparring pants (the kind people wore for training and Agni-Kais), and a bitchin' pair of black boots (the kind that didn't kill your feet when you ran).

I also got myself some black training armor that looped under my left arm and came up to form a shoulder plate over my injured right shoulder. The Fire Nation ensignia was emblazoned in red over my chest. Okay, so I was officially wearing the garb of the Bad Guys. At least I wasn't about to get fatally stabbed. Plus, I looked something like a bad-ass. Now all I needed was a weapon.

I was wrapping grey knuckle bandages over my hands and wrists (and having a lot of trouble since my arm was still in that sling, and I had to do it one-handed) when I turned to face Shen-Long. "So? Don't I look totally bad-ass?"

To my shock, he was stiffling a smile. "You...you look..." he trailed off, knowing damn well that I wouldn't like his answer.

"What?" I said flatly.

He shook his head, so Bo-Fen came forward with a reply. "You look..._cute_."

I felt my jaw drop. _Cute_? I wasn't supposed to look _cute_. I was supposed to be deadly! People should have been quaking at the sight of me! But no, maybe she was just trying to cover up the horrendous comment her brother had been about to make. But as I turned to the guy in charge of the booth for a second opinion, I could see a rueful smile on his face.

Shit! He was agreeing with her!

"Here," I muttered, handing over my gold. To my indignation, he reached down and patted me on the head.

"Don't worry," he told me. "Once you start training, you'll get the muscles to fill out that armor. You'll make a fine soldier one day, lad."

I glared. "I'm a girl," I snapped. "And we're leaving."

On that awkward note, I swept away with Bo-Fen and Shen-Long in a tow. The two of them were poorly disguising their mirth in the form of sudden spasms and coughing fits. I felt irritable by the time the booth was out of sight.

"So, I guess you're not avoiding me anymore," I commented pissily to Shen-Long as we made cursory glances at the nearest booths. All around us, people were screaming their wares like it was going out of style. Or maybe their lives depended on making a sale. Who really knew?

"I wasn't avoiding you," he said, wiping a tear out of his eye. Bastard. It wasn't that funny. "I was busy."

"Liar."

"I didn't ask your opinion, Bo-Fen," he said snippily. Huh. Mood swing.

"It's not an opinion. It's a blatant fact, dumb-butt."

Shen-Long muttered something about women and hormones, but I didn't really hear all of it. I was distracted by something from the booth we were walking by.

It was a booth selling masks. Not the flimsy, crappy kind you can find at the local Halloween store back at home. I'm talking about durable, bad-ass masks. And one of them looked almost exactly like Zuko's "Blue Spirit" mask. The only difference was that it was red. Blood red. Fucking A.

"Cool," I muttered, picking up the mask. I felt a tremor of excitement holding it. "Hey," I said to the old man running the booth. "How much for this?"

"It's not for sale," he muttered sullenly. I didn't even bat an eye as he spit on the ground. I wasn't exactly the squeamish type.

"Whatever," I muttered, beginning to put the mask back on the shelf.

I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the indifferent look I was wearing, or maybe it was something else. Maybe the old man was on drugs. Maybe there was a parasite feasting on his brain as we speak. But all of a sudden the old man got a really good look at my face. I heard him crow in surprise.

"What?" I said, a little alarmed.

Damn, I knew I wasn't exactly a catch, but I didn't think I was ugly enough to frighten an old man out of his wits. Seriously, between all this gender confusion and now this, I was starting to have a really low opinion about my appearance.

Screw self-esteem. I was annoyed.

"Have...have we met before?" he stammered, eyeing me very closely now.

"Not that I can remember," I muttered. Thank God for that too. I think I would remember meeting a nutjob like this.

He stared at me, jaw agape. I gave him the once over before edging towards Bo-Fen and Shen-Long, who, for some reason, were exchanging frantic looks. They looked like they had gotten caught stealing a cookie out of the cookie jar.

"Um...I think I broke him," I said to them.

"You didn't break him," Bo-Fen reassured me. She frowned at the old man. "Koichi, is that you?"

"Bo-Fen?"

"Shit," I said, looking from one to the other. "You guys know each other?"

"We're acquaintances," said Shen-Long quickly, putting himself between me and old-man Koichi. "From a _long _time ago. And we were just leaving."

But apparently the old man wasn't finished with us. "Where did you find _her_?" he demanded, looking astounded again as he looked me over. I felt a little creeped out, having this wrinkly prune of a guy checking me out. "I thought you said she was dead!"

"You're mistaken," Shen-Long told him gruffly. "She's not who you think she is."

"Who?" I said, hating being the only one out of the loop.

"No one, hon'," Bo-Fen interjected. She looped an arm around my shoulder and started leading me away. "You gotta excuse Koichi, Julie. He's a bit on in years and kinda senile. Sees a body and thinks it's someone else. Nothing to worry about."

I frowned. Something about this didn't feel right. The way Bo-Fen and Shen-Long were quickly shooing me away made me think there was something they were keeping from me. But then, maybe it wasn't any of my business.

The hell it wasn't.

But it didn't matter either way. Bo-Fen had already herded me well out of ear-shot, and I could only glance back in confusion at Shen-Long's hasty, but firm conversation with the mask-seller. I wondered what they were arguing about. Clearly, it had something to do with me.

"Here," said Bo-Fen, handing me a pastry of some kind. She had just bought it from the nearest stall.

"I'm not hungry," I told her. "What's going on? What aren't you guys telling me?"

"What are you talking about? We're not keeping anything from you."

"Well, it sure feels that way."

At this point, Shen-Long had returned to us. I saw he was holding the mask I had been coveting before. Without a single acknowledgement, he shoved it into my hands.

"It's a gift," he said as I reached for my coin pouch. "He wanted to apologize for the mistake before. Why do you _want _this thing, anyway?"

I gave him a suspicious look, but took the mask without complaint. "Because it's cool. And...I dunno. It kind of already feels like it belongs to me. I was going to buy it, anyway."

Shen-Long looked unnerved by what I had said.

"What?" I demanded.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "We should move on. We still have to get your...um...supplies, and we already used up a third of our time."

I opened my mouth to make a sarcastic reply when suddenly we heard shouts coming from behind us. We all turned in tandem and saw a small shape darting through the crowd. I didn't get a good look, but from what flashes I saw of him, it looked like a little boy, no more than six-years-old. He was holding a dagger and kept looking behind him anxiously.

"Stop that child!" someone yelled. "Thief!"

I blinked at the scene like an idiot. At that moment, the kid looked up and met my gaze. To my surprise, he gave me that same look of recognition that the mask-seller had given me. Shocked and a little awed, he stared up at me.

Behind him, the shouts grew louder. His pursuers were getting closer.

The boy looked sharply behind him, swore, and ran up to me. Before I could so much as flinch, he had cut the string to my coin pouch, caught it, and ran off into the nearest alley.

"HEY!" I cried. "Get back here!"

"Julie, wait!" Shen-Long barked.

He reached out to grab me, but I was already tearing after the boy like hell on wheels. That little fucker was _dead_.

* * *

**A/N: So, the supply run doesn't go as smoothly as Julie wants it to. She barely gets on shore at all, and after successfully conning Zuko into letting her go shopping, she ends up getting robbed blind by a street urchin! But what is the connection between Shen-Long, Bo-Fen, and the mask-seller? Was it really just a coincidence that he recognized Julie?**

**Yeah, like I would throw in something like that for no good reason. You people should know me well enough by now. **

**Julie had better hope she can catch the little thief before her curfew, otherwise she's going to have one very pissed off Fire Prince on her heels. And what adventures await her in her pursuit of the boy? Find out in the next _EXCITING _chapter.**

**Until then, review mon bitches. I love reviews more than I love chocolate, and that is saying something. REVIEW!**


	21. Mistaken Identity Part I

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**A/N: Happy Halloween, everyone! I have a new poll up on my profile, just for fun. And, as always, thank you for everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. Nuff said.**

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Chapter Eighteen: Mistaken Identity Part I

If there was one thing I knew I could do, it was haul ass. And that was exactly what I did the moment that little runt had cut my coin purse.

At first, I ran just to keep the kid into my line of sight. We weaved in and out of the alleys, into the backstreets where Shen-Long and Bo-Fen carefully kept me from wandering into. I could immediately see why. Everywhere I looked, these seedy looking people were shuffling around, pandering drugs, hookers, and children to the even creepier-looking customers.

Of course, nothing was discreet or illegal in a place like this. That's why they didn't give two shits about discretion.

But this kid had no idea who he was messing with. I had paid nearly in blood for that money, and there was no way in hell some street urchin was going to just snatch it from under my nose. Drawing in a deep breath, I went into my sprint.

I saw him half glance over his shoulder, and then yelp when he saw that I was gaining on him. I could tell now that he really was only just a little kid. He was getting tired out. It was only inevitable that I'd catch him.

At the last second, he veered left into another alley. I turned and followed him all the way to the dead end.

We both skidded to a stop.

"Hey, kid," I said, panting because I was almost out of breath. "I just want...my money back. Oh...okay? I won't hurt you."

The boy scowled at me and backed up against the wall. He never blinked, breathing in and out of his nose as though he couldn't get enough air. He looked exhausted.

"Did you hear me?" I said, taking a step closer. The boy didn't move an inch, so I took another step closer. Then another. "Look, if you're low on cash, I'll give you some, but you can't have the whole thing. I need money too."

He didn't say a word. Puzzled, I moved within an arm's reach of the kid.

It was a stupid thing to do.

In that split second, the child's face changed into something determined and angry. It was an expression that said _survival._ His eyes flashed the rabid will to live as the dagger I had completely forgotten about came whisking out of its sheath.

"Shit...!"

I had relatively quick reflexes. I needed them to be able to deal cards the way I did; I mean, what good would my three card be if I couldn't read the people playing my game? So as I saw the knife coming towards me, I gave a violent start. I ended up falling on my ass. Just inches away from my face, I felt the air swish from where the blade had nearly cut me as I fell to the ground.

Actually, it's better to fall on your ass. It's the most cushioned part of your body. So I was only slightly stunned as I looked up at the six-year-old child who seemed eager to decapitate me.

But he hesitated. "Go away," he said.

I blinked at him. "Aren't you going to kill me?"

"I...I'm tired of blood. Just go away. I'm not going back with you, and...and you can't make me!"

I felt some of my fear leave me. This wasn't some crazed pirate who was likely to kill me, do questionable things to my corpse, and then toss me overboard to the bull sharks. No, this was just a kid. He clearly wasn't out to murder anybody. He just wanted to survive. To be perfectly honest, that was one of the most sane motivations I had encountered thus far.

But what did he mean? Go back with me? Did he think I was trying to kidnap him? _He _was the one who stole _my _money.

"If you didn't want me to follow you, then why did you steal from me?" The boy was as silent as a stone. "You needed money?"

There was a long pause. Then, after a minute or so, the child assented with a defiant nod. "I'm keeping all of it. And if you try to take it back, I'll cut you."

"But you won't kill me?"

Again, that hesitant look. "Only if you try to take me back."

Huh. Something was clearly not right here. I'm thinking that, once again, I was being mistaken for someone else. And I was really starting not to like the sound of this someone else, either, if little six-year-olds were willing to carve me like a turkey just for looking like them. What was going on here?

We stared at each other, sizing each other up.

"Kid, what's your name?" I asked.

He didn't answer me. He just stared into my face. He was clearly perturbed for some reason, and that something had to do with me. I was getting tired of all the weird looks from people today, so my voice was like flint when I broke the silence.

"What's the problem?"

"You should know my name. You know everyone's name."

Really, now?

"Well, that's news to me. As far as I can tell, we've never met in our lives. So I'll ask you again, what's your name?"

He frowned. "Kuba," he muttered. "I'm Kuba."

"Just Kuba?"

Again, the defiant nod.

I stared at him a bit more. He wasn't very tall, not very surprising since he was just a little kid. But he stood as tall as he could, dark eyes flashing with all the tenacity he could muster. His skin looked vaguely sun-kissed, which indicated he spent a lot of time outdoors.

His hair looked unkept and his clothes were scraggly. But the strange thing was that the tunic and pants he wore, while simple and plain-looking, seemed to be of relatively good quality even though they were dirty. This made me think he was a runaway rather than an orphen.

How long had this kid been on the streets for good clothes like that to turn to rags? I looked closer at him and saw that even though he was tan, his skin looked slightly sallow from malnourishment. It seemed like he was eating just enough to survive, but definitely not enough to stay healthy.

I frowned. "Are you hiding from someone? Is someone trying to hurt you?"

Again, puzzlement flashed in his eyes. "You really don't know?"

I sighed. "Do I look like the kind of person to waste time asking questions that I already know the answer to?"

Kuba frowned contemplatively. For a kid, he was pretty reserved. Cautious. He didn't trust me yet, which was smart, but still kind of frustrating for me since I genuinely wanted to do something for the kid if I could.

"Tell me who you are," he said finally. "If you aren't who I think you are, then what's your name?"

"Julie," I responded immediately. "Julie McVay."

"And what are you doing here?"

"Well, I _was _shopping until you went and stole my money. I'm kind of supposed to be somewhere, actually."

"Where?"

I wasn't sure if I should be telling this kid I was traveling with the Fire Nation. I couldn't tell what nation he was from, but chances were that he was Earth Kingdom. I doubted a kid would understand the concept of neutrality. If I was traveling with the enemy, then that clearly meant that _I _was the enemy too.

"A ship. I'm a passenger on a ship...Prince Zuko's ship, actually."

"Of the Fire Nation?"

I frowned. Instead of looking angry or shocked, like I expected, the kid looked relieved. "Yeah," I said slowly. "I thought everyone hated the Fire Nation around here. Don't you?"

"Doesn't matter to me. The only people I hate are the Brotherhood."

"The who?"

"The Brotherhood...you know?"

"No, actually. I don't."

He looked really confused now. "But you look so much like her!" he blurted. "How can you not know anything about the Brotherhood? They _belong _to you! Don't they?"

"I already told you, I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never met you, and I don't know anything about this...Brotherhood thing. Who...or what are they?"

Kuba looked a little worried. "I...I'm not supposed to tell. Outsiders aren't supposed to know who we are."

"So you're one of them?"

He looked sad and angry. "I was. I hated it. I hate them. I'm never going back. Never."

"What about your parents?" I asked. "Are they part of this...Brotherhood?"

He nodded hatefully. "They don't want me," he muttered. "They gave me up. So I ran away."

We were both quiet for a minute. Kuba glared at the dirt, no longer bothering with caution as he blinked back the tears that were forming. I started to feel really bad for the kid. Besides, I could kind of relate to the whole "my parents hate me" thing.

But as much as I hated to push an unpleasant topic I was really curious about this Brotherhood thing. What did Kuba mean when he said that I _owned _them? Was he kidding?

Clearly, he had me mistaken for someone else. But who?

* * *

Meanwhile, Shen-Long and Bo-Fen were frantically searching the alleys for me.

"Damn it, Shen! Why didn't you grab her?"

The two siblings stood in front of another dead end. Apparently, when they had tried to follow me, they ended up getting completely turned around in the backstreets of the market place. It was the most they could do to find their way back to the main road. But they had no idea where I was.

Shen-Long glared at his sister. "Why didn't _you _grab her, Bo-Fen? For that matter, why did you let that urchin go right up to her like that? I though you were supposed to be guarding her!"

"So were you! And you were standing right by the alley they disappeared down. Or did you forget that?"

He sighed. "Well, this is just _great_. What are we supposed to tell General Iroh?"

"Forget General Iroh. Prince Zuko is going to have a fit when he finds out we lost his girlfriend."

Shen-Long wheeled around to face her, startled. "What do you mean, _girlfriend_? I thought that they hated each other." He scrutinized her face for a minute, trying to figure out if she was being sarcastic.

"Well, I don't think he hates her. Actually, I was only joking about the girlfriend thing, but he does seem to care what happens to her. He's not such a bad kid, in a way."

"He's bad enough to make our lives hell if we don't meet that damn curfew," Shen-Long muttered bitterly. "Of all the things that had to happen...there's no way we'll find her before the last hour is up."

Bo-Fen thought for a long time. Shen-Long, though impatient to find a solution, hesitated to act when he saw that crafty gleam in her eyes. Slowly, a smile spread across her face.

"Shen, I think I have a way to save our skins. Let's go back and tell Prince Zuko what happened."

Shen-Long jumped. "Are you insane? We can't go back without Julie!"

She smirked. "Trust me, brother. I've got a plan. Just leave the talking to me."

She turned around and started walking back towards the ship. She seemed oblivious to her brother's incredulous reaction. His face clearly said what he was thinking: _I've got a really, really bad feeling about this. _One way or another, it didn't matter to Bo-Fen. It rarely ever did.

_

* * *

_

Ten minutes later, Kuba and I were sitting by a couple of trash-bins. We were well-hidden, both by the bulky sacks stuffed in and around the bins and by the bad smell coming from them. The only living things that dared to bother us were rats, and they were only interested in the hot meat-filled pastries we were nibbling on.

"Thanks," Kuba said when he had finished his. He used his sleeve to wipe the crumbs off of his mouth. "You didn't have to give me your food. I already have your money. I could have just gotten my own."

"You would have blown it on candy or something. You need protein."

Geez, I was starting to sound like Jessie. But seriously, someone had to make sure this kid ate right. Who knows how long he had gone without a decent meal.

I knew I had to get back and find Bo-Fen and Shen-Long, but I felt terrible about leaving Kuba alone in a place like this. What would he do? Where would he go?

"Hey, Kuba, do you...I dunno...have a place to stay? I mean, when you get tired and stuff, where do you sleep?"

He glanced up at me. "Wherever."

"But..." I shook my head, disturbed at the thought of a little kid just sleeping on the ground. Anything and anyone could just kill him in his sleep. That didn't sit well with me. "What about food? What do you eat?"

He shrugged. Not very talkative, this kid.

"Okay, that settles it then. You need some serious survival skills."

Kuba blinked at me. "I nearly cut your face up with a knife, and you're going to tell _me _how to stay alive?"

I scowled. "You know, you're pretty ballsy for a six-year-old. But clearly you haven't learned not to underestimate people."

He gave me an irritated look. "I'm _nine_."

Whoops. I guess I was the one doing the underestimating around here. But, damn he was one short nine-year-old. Part of me was convinced that he was lying. Either that, or he was really shrimpy for his age.

"Okay, so maybe we both need to learn a bit more," I said, blushing a little. "The point is, I know what it's like not feeling safe at home. I know a thing or two about making money. And I had a friend who nagged incessantly about taking care of myself." I felt a pang when I thought of Jessie, who was probably worried sick about me right now.

"Honestly, I don't care if you don't want to listen. But I don't feel right about leaving you here by yourself. I'm going to teach you a few tricks, and you're just going to have to deal with it."

Kuba stared at me when I made my little speech. "Lady, you're...kind of weird."

"Damn straight. Now will you let me teach you?"

He shrugged. "Well, I guess. I mean, I don't have anything else to do right now?" He narrowed his eyes at me. "Will you give me another pastry if I learn something good?"

I sighed. What a one-track mind this kid had. "Sure. I'll buy you some food that will last you a long while if you do what I say. Got it?"

He nodded. After all, what was the worst that could possibly happen.

* * *

"What do you mean, she's _missing_?"

Shen-Long kept his mouth shut, as Bo-Fen had instructed him. Still, he found it very difficult not to flinch at the look Prince Zuko was giving them. He didn't just look annoyed. He looked downright furious.

Bo-Fen just kept her face carefully blank. "We were headed back to the ship, but Julie stopped to buy a pastry from one of the food stalls. There were a lot of people crowding the street, and before I could get to her, a strapping young man just grabbed her and ran off. There was nothing Shen or I could do, your Highness."

Shen-Long swallowed his surprise. _A strapping young man? It was a street urchin! And she chased him down the alley!_

Zuko paused. "She was kidnapped?"

General Iroh and Lieutenant Jee had exchanged a quick glance. "What did this...kidnapper look like?" one of them asked carefully.

"Well, he wasn't particularly tall, but he had a knife." This was sort of true. "Dark hair, messy clothes. I think he was after her money, but Julie wouldn't give it to him."

There was a brief silence. The men in charge were silently comtemplating what should be done.

"So he manhandled her into the nearest alley?" Zuko said, giving Bo-Fen a piercing look. "Did you follow them?"

"He moved quickly. And those backstreets are like a maze. We almost got lost three times trying to track them down."

The Fire Prince cursed under his breath. Iroh looked at him sharply. It was a point of fact that Zuko rarely, if ever, uttered a curse word. It was a matter of honor as well as higher-breeding that kept his mouth clean. Which meant that he had to be in a particularly foul mood to drop the f-bomb.

"What I want to know is why someone would kidnap Julie at all," said Lieutenant Jee. "I mean...she's not exactly a goddess, her manners are terrible, and she's just a commoner."

"Unless someone knew that she was traveling with us," said Zuko angrily. "I bet that whoever took her thinks she has some valuble information about the Fire Nation..." his eyes widened in horror. "Or the Avatar."

No one said anything. No one had to. It was obvious how bad things would get if word got out that the Avatar had returned.

"They'll probably torture it out of her, one way or another," said Bo-Fen. "But don't worry. Julie's stubborn. I doubt she'd rat on us right away. They'll most likely have to peel the skin off of both of her hands before she'll talk."

The men cringed. Not a pretty picture, that.

"And who could forget that arrow she took to warn everyone," she added. "And she just got out of the infirmary, too. Talk about ironic."

"That's enough," Zuko snapped. "Lieutenant, I want you to form a search party. As soon as its ready, I want every street searched until that girl is found. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

Lieutenant Jee did a quick salute and left the room. Whatever issues he had with Zuko, they had nothing to do with the orders he had just been given. At least, if his quick response was any indication of this fact.

Iroh came up to Zuko. "Am I to assume we will be doing our own search, nephew?"

"We'll leave immediately. We can't let anyone find out about the Avatar."

"Hmm..."

The Prince looked at his Uncle. "What?"

"Nothing."

Zuko apparently caught the older man's drift. "I _will _capture the Avatar, Uncle. But Julie's already been hurt once trying to help us. As troublesome as that girl is, that doesn't mean I'm willing to let her suffer just so I can achieve my destiny. There's no honor in that."

Iroh smiled. "Whatever you say. In any case, I am proud of you."

"Tch."

* * *

"Okay, time for your first lesson."

Kuba looked apprehensive as he regarded the crowd of people swarming the streets. "I don't like this," he muttered. "There's too many of them. They're like a hive of fire ants...it's almost like being back at the Brotherhood."

"Just think of them like koala-sheep," I replied.

I saw him regard the multitude, and if anything he looked even more tense than he had before. "Okay," he said doubtfully.

We walked down the road as casually as any other customer, examining the wares when really we were examining the people at the booths. I had Kuba try to pick out the people who seemed the most easily distracted. We would follow them for a block or two before I showed Kuba how to "bump" into them and pick their pockets. But I wasn't an expert at this, so we only tried this on the people who were least likely to notice. For the most part, it worked great.

I would have rather taught him how to deal cards, but it wasn't a skill I could teach him in a day, let alone in an hour. Besides, I didn't have a suit of playing cards with me. Only my tarot, and those weren't the best for gambling. They were too valuble to me. So I settled for pickpocketing.

The problem was that Kuba tended to get antsy. I had to admit that he was great when his back was pressed against the wall, but all too often he tended to overlook things when he got nervous. He started to make mistakes. I quickly realized that it would be a better idea for him to learn how to pick targets. That way, when I had left with Zuko, I wouldn't have to worry about him trying to steal from a mercenary or someone equally as dangerous.

"The important thing is figuring out which people are safest to take from," I told him. "I know that sometimes you see a guy with a lot of cash, but you can't get greedy at your level. You need to be patient and smart." Another reason why I wasn't so good at pickpocketing. I lost my cool at the drop of a hat.

Kuba nodded. "So if I take from a whole bunch of stupid people, I'll be safe?"

"Well..." one should never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. "Safer than trying to steal from one rich soldier."

"There's no such thing as a rich soldier. Don't you know anything?"

I glared at the kid. I decided to ignore his cheek for now. Not that I could have done anything, anyway. And besides, it's not like I was in the habit of beating up children. I wasn't about to start, either.

"Another thing to consider is begging," I said reluctantly. "While you're still young and shrimpy, you're bound to get plenty of pity money. But don't forget to pick your target carefully! Don't try begging from assholes, or they'll kick you in the face or something. Try the sappy rich people or old ladies. They tend to be nicer..." I hoped.

He frowned. "I heard some weird stories about rich people and what they do to street kids..."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Only beg from people who aren't murderers and pedophiles."

It was sad that I even had to say that. It really was. Kuba was a bright kid, but jumpier than a squirrel.

The sun was starting to sink low in the sky so I was really eager to wrap things up. Kuba and I started walking back towards the docks. The boy was practicing people-watching while I was praying that Zuko wouldn't be _too _mad that I had gone off on my own.

If I had a watch, I would have realized that I was already three hours _past_ my curfew, and that Zuko would be a ticking time-bomb by the time I found him. But it didn't matter. We never made it to the docks.

"How does that guy look as a target?" Kuba asked, nodding towards a rotund man in fire nation robes. I glanced over in that direction and gave a start.

Crap! It was General Iroh! And Zuko was with him!

"Um...bad idea. In fact, let's get the hell out of here."

"Why?"

There were too many people to move quickly, but I grabbed Kuba by the arm and hauled him towards the docks as fast as I could go. I think it was because of all those people that I wasn't spotted right away. But what really took me by surprise was that the farther we got away from Zuko, the more the crowd seemed to surge. People seemed to be gathered around something going on in the town square.

Huh?

I stopped short in my tracks, glancing down at Kuba. "What do you think is going on?" I asked. "Is this a festival or something?"

"Are you kidding me? It's the middle of Harvestmoon. And the Day of the Spirits isn't for another two weeks."

"Day of the Spirits?" I wondered if he had meant Halloween. "Is that the day where you...um...dress up in costumes?"

"Duh. What do you think I meant?"

We were thoroughly wedged into the crowd at this point, and I could make out the sight of a couple of people in maroon robes flocking around the town square. Some of them were handing out flyers while others were emphatically preaching about something.

The moment Kuba laid eyes on them, his body stiffened. "It's them...!" he breathed.

"What?"

"We need to get out of here! Come on!"

Kuba started pulling on my arm, trying to push through the people back the way we came. But a large burly man we had bumped into got angry at us, and shoved me back into the crowd. I felt my hand being ripped from Kuba's, and within seconds the boy had been lost in the tide of people.

I tried to push through and reach Kuba, but the asshole who had pushed me kept getting in my way. I couldn't move.

"Hey!" I snarled at the guy. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You should have watched where you were going, brat. Now get out of _my_ way!"

"The hell I will."

The man glared at me and showed me the hilt of his blade. "Want to rethink that statement, boy?"

I might have backed off if it weren't for the boy-crack he had just made. That, and the fact that I had managed to hold onto Kuba's dagger. It wasn't much, but at least I could defend myself if things got ugly.

Common sense said to back off, but I was pissed. "You want to start something in broad daylight, shit-for-brains? Then try it."

He let out a snarl. I had been watching the hand on his knife so intently that I didn't see the other one when it came up and boxed me across the ears. I fell back into the crowd, my head spinning.

There was a ringing noise in my head. I groaned, and ten seconds later I realized I was on the ground. At first, I was worried that I might get trampled, but when I looked up I saw that the crowd had parted. Apparently the guys in the maroon cloaks were getting ready to make their exit, but I had fallen into the path that had been cleared for them.

There was a few beats as we regarded each other. I clutched my head, trying to get my vision to stop blurring. After a tense minute, one of the cloaked men came up to me and knelt down in front of me.

It took me a few moments to realize that he was offering me his hand. Numbly, I reached out and grasped it, and he helped me to my feet.

"Are you all right, Miss?" he asked.

I looked at him sharply. The first thing that caught my attention was that he hadn't mistaken me for a guy. Wow. That sounded really, really pathetic, didn't it?

At a second glance, though, I took notice of the prominent nose and heavy brow, the dark, intent eyes that scrutinized me. Those eyes made me feel really uncomfortable. They reminded me of coal mines; they were cool, dark, and deep. Like the mouths of dark tunnels that snaked twisted into a convoluted maze that led to who knows where.

I am never that eloquent about people who mistake me to be a guy. Let that be a lesson to you 'tards. A first impression can make all the difference in the world.

The others grouped around the man, and I soon realized that he was their leader. They all waited for him, alert and menacing.

"Um..." I said slowly. "I think I'm okay. Thanks."

He stared at me. "What is your name, girl?"

They were all staring at me. I could hear the crowd murmuring, but I had no idea what they were saying. It was like trying to listen to a swarm of unnerved cicadas, humming and whispering in the summer heat. In a heartbeat, I remembered Kuba's warning to flee. I had bad vibes about these guys.

"Sorry I got in your way," I said, dodging his question. "Um...it was nice of you to help me up. I'll...just be going now."

I turned to leave, but was startled to see two more cloaked men blocking my path. I blinked, wondering if it was something more than foreboding that made my heart sink into my stomach like that.

Slowly, I turned to face the leader. "Is something wrong?"

He smiled, but it was a cold smile. "It's not very nice to leave without introducing yourself, young lady. I asked for your name."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. The two men behind me came closer, and as they did this I could hear various phrases from the crowd. They weren't bothering to keep quiet anymore, it seemed.

_"Is that her...?"_

_"Splitting image of the..."_

_"Can't believe it! After all this time..."_

I looked around at the people surrounding us. Some looked confused, others merely curious, while others looked simply flabberghasted. I stared at each face with a sense of rising alarm. Did I run into some kind of cult recruitment meeting or something? What was going on here?

"Girl? Your name."

"Julie," I finally squeaked. Then, I coughed, trying to bring my voice down a few octaves. "Julie McVay."

The man smiled at me. Now that I had given him what he had wanted, he seemed downright pleasant. The change was abrupt and unsettling.

"A pleasure," he said. "You may call me Delun."

I didn't want to call him anything. I just wanted to get the hell out of there. These people were really starting to freak me out, and I saw no way of pushing through the crowd. There was no escape. I felt trapped.

"I admit, when I first saw you, I thought you might have been someone else. In fact, you bear a striking resemblance to our Red Lady."

"Who?" I said, distracted.

"She is our patron spirit. She watches over our brothers and sisters of the Crimson Lotus."

"And I assume that you're...um...a part of this...Crimson Lotus."

"We just call ourselves the Brotherhood for short. But let's not talk here. Perhaps you would like to join us for dinner?"

I remembered Kuba's warning, and shook my head. "I...um...I can't. Actually, I'm supposed to be meeting someone else. I should have been back a long time ago."

Delun put his hand on my good shoulder, stopping me from retreating. "I _insist_ that you join us, Julie."

Only an idiot would have missed the implied threat in his voice. His face was calm and even slightly hospitable. But his eyes remained cold and black. It was like they were stealing the warmth out of my body. I shivered involuntarily, tried to back away, but felt his hand like a vice, holding me still.

"Maybe later," I said, squirming against his hand. Strangely, I felt weak.

"Why not now?"

"My...my friend is waiting for me."

"I'm sure your friend will understand."

I sucked in my breath, panic starting to take hold of me. I summoned my force of will and made myself look away from him. Then, I jerked myself out of his grip. The moment I got away from him, I felt warmth return to my arms and legs.

Okay, weird.

"I _said _I don't want to go with you," I snapped. "Now leave me alone. Or else."

Delun didn't say anything. I glanced warily at him and saw that he looked surprised. Within the tense thirty seconds that followed, I saw his bemused expression mingle with a menacing scowl. He made a single gesture, and the rest of his cloaked grunts closed around me like curtains. I was surrounded.

The men took another step closer, when all of a sudden a plume a flame rocketed through the air. It snaked over my head and crackled over Delun like a whip. The men had to stagger away from me to avoid being burned.

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice barked.

I wheeled around on the spot, relief flooding through me. It was Zuko and Iroh. They had found me.

Shen-Long and Bo-Fen were with them too, and among the four of them it was easy for them to force their way through the crowd. The Brotherhood goons were now several paces away from me, eying us in apprehension. They stood by, waiting for Delun's instructions. But he didn't give them any. Instead, he just stared and stared at me.

I shuddered.

Zuko stalked over to me. "Where were you?" he demanded. "You were supposed to be back hours ago!"

I couldn't take my eyes off of Delun; not while he was staring at me like that. It was so creepy. When I didn't answer him, Zuko followed the direction of my gaze and sent a glare at Delun.

"Is there a problem?" he snapped at him.

Reluctantly, he met Zuko's gaze. "None at all."

"Then why were you attacking my servant?"

There was a beat. I gave Zuko a scathing look. "_Servant_? I'm not your _servant_, you dolt!"

He didn't even credit that with a response. He kept his golden eyes locked on Delun, who seemed to be sizing Zuko up. Apparently, he didn't want to take his chances; not with Iroh and the others there too. I saw him motion to the others to leave.

"This was merely a misunderstanding," he told Zuko. "But if you like, we'll be willing to buy your servant. I assure you, we can pay whatever price you deem fit for her."

I was outraged. First the bastard tried to act like my friend, then he tried to kidnap me in front of a crowd of people, and _then _he was trying to bribe Zuko to look the other way while he snuck off with me. Of all the damn nerve! I couldn't believe anyone could be so freaking two-faced and ruthless.

Zuko kept his face blank, but I could see that he didn't warm to the offer either. "No deal. I don't have time to make business transactions with the likes of you, anyway." He gave me a brief, annoyed look. "Come on."

I paused only to give Delun the finger before following him back to the docks.

The whole way back we were dead quiet. I wanted to say something, anything in my defense, but strangely no one brought up my misdemeanor. Even Iroh was eerily silent as we walked up the boardwalk, but he smiled reassurance at me when I gave him an inquisitive look. So I guess I wasn't in trouble or anything.

Man, I really missed this old rustbucket. Anything was better as long as it was far away from that Delun guy.

"Are you hurt?" Zuko asked me suddenly, shooting me a quick, furtive look.

"What?"

"The man who kidnapped you," he said. "Did he hurt you?"

I assumed he was talking about Delun. But for some weird reason, Shen-Long and Bo-Fen both went still, listening intently to our conversation. Zuko didn't seem to notice, but I could have sworn that Shen-Long had a vaguely guilty expression on his face. Bo-Fen, of course, looked impassive as always. Her poker face.

"I'm fine," I said. "I don't...I didn't mean to be late."

"It wasn't your fault," he replied, surprising the allmighty crap out of me. I had expected him to be a real prick about this. "Bo-Fen explained everything. But you didn't tell him about...you know..."

I looked at him, confused. "What? You mean the Avatar? No. Why would I do that?"

He ignored the question. "Don't say his name on these docks," he snapped. "And make sure that you keep your mouth shut, like before. The last thing we need is for other people to realize that the Avatar has returned. Uncle, the same thing goes for you."

Iroh nodded, but I gave him an infuriated look.

"Is that the only reason why you didn't sell me back there? Because you thought I'd rat you out?"

Zuko didn't look at me, but I could tell that my accusation had disgusted him. "Look," he said, "once the word gets out, every Firebender will be getting in my way. I can't afford that right now. There's too much at stake."

I opened my mouth to reply when suddenly I was cut off.

"Getting in the way, of _what, _Prince Zuko?"

We all turned in tandem and found ourselves face to face with none other than Captain Zhao.

* * *

**A/N: Another long chapter, but I wanted to tie this in with the next episode. Julie's adventure ends abruptly as Zuko comes to the rescue. And now they find themselves confronted with Zhao. Dun, dun, DUN! How will Julie and Zhao react to one another? Will things go awry when the Gaang visits the Southern Air Temple? And just where in the name of Agni is Momo? MOMO!**

**Man, what a weird author's note. But, meh. Review!**


	22. Mistaken Identity Part II

**A/N: This has been a complicated week for me. Sorry for not updating right away. But I swear, I put as much fun in this chapter as I could. Finally, we've got Zhao on board, and, as a bonus for you romance nuts, I threw in a bit of Kataang and a hint of Zuko and Julie (anyone got a good idea for a name for their pairing? I mean, if they even get paired up. It's still up in the air...)**

**Yeah, right. I can probably count the number of readers who _don't _think Zuko and Julie are a pairing on one hand. Though I don't think it's possible to go into negative integers on one hand. I can try, though.**

**Anyway, the roof of my apartment is leaking a weird, amber-colored liquid. I don't know what it is. I don't think I _want _to know what it is. My upstairs neighbors are waiting for Rotor Rooter to call them back. Being the responsible person that I am, I immediately ducked out of my apartment and disappeared to the library. The hell with sticking it out. I don't want to watch unidentifiable liquid dripping into a freaking bucket for the next several hours.**

**The jarring contrast between my reality and my fanfictions is actually kind of funny. Ironic too. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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* * *

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Chapter Nineteen: Mistaken Identity Part II

Okay, seriously? What gives? I just had the shittiest day ever, and I had to deal with Zhao now too?

Uggh.

**(A/N: Yeah, this is the part when I found that weird crap leaking out of my ceiling. Nuff said.)**

Zhao was standing there with his arms casually folded behind his back, the naval at-ease position. His eyes were intently focused on the surprised Zuko and his amiable Uncle Iroh. The corner of his mouth curved upwards into the faintest of grins; if you had never met the man in your life the sight of his smile might fool you into thinking he merely had good intentions.

Well, maybe he did have good intentions. Those intentions just happened to be exclusive to one person. Himself.

"Captain Zhao," said Zuko dryly.

"It's Commander now," he said dismissively, brushing his old title aside as though it were a gnat on his shoulder. "And General Iroh..." he added, pausing to bow to the older man. "...great hero of our nation."

I glanced at Iroh to see how he would handle this.

"_Retired _General," he said modestly.

No change from the show dialogue whatsoever. It was nice not to have to drag in the plot by the earlobe for a change, and I took advantage of this lapse in responsibility to scrutinize Zhao. One might wonder if there was any point in my staring. I mean, I had seen plenty of assholes before, but Zhao had the novelty of being a cartoon supervillain on top of it all. So I figured this deserved at least a cursory glance.

Unfortunately, our eyes happened to meet. Zhao had initially passed me over in his gaze, but then did a double-take. I saw his eyes narrow as he got a good look at my hair.

"I don't believe I've seen you before," he said. "Who are you?"

* * *

I suppose you're all probably wondering what happened to Team Avatar. The fact that I hadn't even mentioned them for several chapters had only just now occured to me. For your sake, reader, I have decided to include snippets of their adventure; as much as I was aware of, in any case. But this is strictly paraphrased. I wasn't there to witness it, after all.

To which I can only say, _Le Damne!_

Appa glided leisurely over the Southern air currents, glad to stretch his muscles after spending all that time on that cramped deck. He was still a little stiff after being wrapped up in chains, so he wasn't going as fast as he wanted to. Aang, sensing his friend's discomfort, tried to pick out the softest winds to ride. But he was distracted as they neared the Batola Mountain Range.

"We're almost there," said Aang excitedly. "Wait until you guys see it. It's amazing."

Katara and Sokka exchanged solemn looks. "You want to say it, or should I?" Sokka asked.

His sister just sighed. "Listen, Aang...about the airbenders..."

"Yeah?"

"Well..."

Aang looked so happy, so alive with energy that Katara couldn't find it in her to be a downer. Gently, she tried to find the right words to soften the...um...was disappointment the right word here? Or imminent grief?

"I just want you to be prepared for what you might see...I mean, the Fire Nation killed my mother. For all we know, they could have done the same thing to your people."

Aang just shook his head, finding the thought to be absurd. But at the same time, he remembered the dream he had; the dream where he had met me on Appa's back.

_"So you're the Avatar, right?"_

_"The Avatar? Me? I'm not the Avatar. I don't know what you're talking about!"_

_"Dude...you're an Airbender. I can tell from that arrow thingy on your forehead. There are no other Airbenders left, so you have to be the Avatar..."_

But that couldn't be right. It just couldn't be! Aang felt a lump of dread and foreboding in the back of his throat. It felt the same way it did the day he found out he was the Avatar; the day he learned that the monks were sending him away from Gyatso. It was the same feeling he got before something important to him was taken away from him. His friends, his family, and now his people too?

"Aang? Are you okay?"

"They can't be gone, Katara. Trust me. Firebenders can't fly, and that's the only way you can reach the Air Temples." He steeled his expression, looking determinedly optimistic. Stiffly, he forced himself to smile. "It'll be great. You'll see. I just wish Julie could see it too."

Katara nodded sadly. "I hope she's okay. That was a really high fever..."

"Look," said Sokka irritably (mostly because he had missed breakfast, and was craving some seal jerky). "If there's one thing we learned, it's that the Fire Nation don't say die easily. Julie will be fine."

"Julie isn't Fire Nation," Katara snapped, looking angry at the comparison.

"Yeah, Sokka. She helped us escape. She's one of us."

"And that Bo-Fen woman helped her. And _she's _Fire Nation. Besides, what else _could _she be?"

Katara didn't answer. Neither did Aang. They didn't seem to know what I was. I hadn't ever gotten around to telling them that I was from another world. I'm not really sure if they'd believe me, anyway.

"Let's not worry about it," Sokka sighed, uncomfortable with the doubt in his friends' faces. "I mean, what good will it do?"

"I guess you're right..." said Aang, looking glum. But then, he perked back up. "At least we have the Air Temple to look forward to. That'll cheer us up."

"Whoopie," Katara muttered.

She was dreading the day; dreading what they might find when they reached their destination.

* * *

I blinked at Zhao, temporarily at a loss for words.

Thankfully, before I could say anything, Zuko had put himself in front of me. It was as though he was trying to block me from Zhao's view. But the movement was calculated to seem casual. From what little I could see of Zhao's face, I could tell that it hadn't fooled him.

"She's just a passenger on my ship," Zuko muttered. "A peasant."

"I wasn't aware that you had become a ferryman." It was amazing that he could insult Zuko without bothering to take his eyes off me. "What's your name, girl?"

I was tired of introductions from all the ones I had made in the last chapter, and Zhao's condescending attitude was kind of irritating me. Besides, I didn't like the way he made that jab at Zuko. At the moment the right to piss off Zuko was resting on my shoulders, and on my shoulders it would happily remain.

I looked up at Zuko.

"Should I be talking to this clown?"

I saw Zuko and Iroh both stiffen in surprise.

Zhao forced a smile. It looked as though he had just sipped lemon juice.

"How charming. Where _did _you find this girl, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko looked sullen. "South of here," he said quietly. "Her one-man craft hit an iceberg, and on top of it all this idiot couldn't even swim."

Huh. A lie.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not even here," I snapped.

I tried to sound annoyed, but really I was just surprised; surprised at the extent of which Zuko was able _and _willing to lie for me. Clearly he wanted to get Zhao's attention off of me. Was he really that worried that I'd blab about the Avatar? What kind of person did he take me for, anyway?

"There's nothing down South except for ice, snow, and the Southern Water Tribe," Zhao commented. "And, no offense, but none of those things seem to suit this girl. In fact, she doesn't look even remotely Water Tribe..."

Everyone looked at me.

Iroh attempted to address the unasked question. "She says she is a nomad, and that she was sightseeing."

Zhao raised a single skeptical eyebrow. "Really? A nomad? But I thought the Air Nomads were all extinct."

Shit. Exactly the wrong kind of conversation to be having with Commander, soon-to-be-Admiral Zhao. The last thing I wanted was for him to cart me off to the Boiling Rock just because of the way my stupid hair made me stand out. I would have been less conspicuous than Elmo should he have been standing next to me at the moment.

I saw Zuko stiffen beside me. Clearly he was thinking something along the same lines, only minus the Elmo part.

"Do I look like an Airbender to you?" I asked flippantly.

"No one has seen an Airbender in about a hundred years. No one alive would be able to tell what an Air Nomad looks like. And, _no offense," _he said, clearly meaning otherwise, "...you're a bit peculiar-looking."

"Sorry," I said, managing to smile. At the same time I pictured myself sending some nasal cartilage into Zhao's frontal lobe, curtesy of my spiffy new boots. "But I'm just an _ordinary_ traveler." Major emphasis on the ordinary.

"Oh, I would hardly call you ordinary. Not many people would have the motivation to visit the South Pole, after all."

I shrugged. "I have a _really _bad sense of direction."

That lie fell completely flat. It was almost funny, except for the very noticable fact that Zhao was eyeing me the way a cocaine-addict would eye a stack of genuine hundred-dollar bills. Or the way that Jabba-the-Hut would eye a gift-card to Applebee's.

"Even so, it must have been quite a trip, Miss..."

There was a loaded pause.

"Julie," I supplied reluctantly.

Zhao smiled, as easily as if we were old friends or something. It was vaguely repulsive, but I was too afraid to break eye contact with this guy. I didn't trust him for a damn.

"Julie," he repeated. "An interesting name for an interesting girl. Perhaps you could regale me with the thrilling details of your adventure over a drink." He looked up at the carefully blank expression Iroh was wearing and Zuko's blatantly outraged one. "Of course, both of you are more than welcome to join us. In fact, I insist upon it."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I told him bluntly. "You're creepy."

Zuko glanced at me, then looked at Zhao. "We have to leave, anyway," he said, with stiff cordiality.

"Now both of you, show Commander Zhao some respect!" Iroh then turned to Zhao, to my chagrin. "We would be honoured to join you for a drink. Do you have any ginseng tea. It is my favorite."

To my supreme irritation, Iroh and Zhao began strolling down towards the far side of the dock, where a mass of Fire Nation tents clustered over the planks. They were temporary settlements. I wondered if Zhao was here for supplies too.

Next to me, Zuko was breathing fire through gritted teeth. Clearly his day wasn't going so good, either.

"Hey," I whispered. "Keep your cool. Zhao's probably on to us."

He glared at me. "This is all _your _fault...you and your stupid supply mission. You're nothing but trouble."

I bit my lip and turned my face away from him. Fine. If he wanted to make Zhao even more suspicious with his foul mood, it wasn't my problem. It wasn't like we were friends or anything. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. The only reason he bothered to come looking for me was so I wouldn't tell anyone that Aang was alive. And you know what? I didn't care.

I didn't! See? This is me, not caring!

"What happened to keeping your cool?" Zuko asked irritably, watching me fuming at the ears.

"Shut up."

There was a long silence. I could hear Zhao and Iroh discussing the war front now. Something about the Earth Kingdom rebels and their sloppy formations, and the inevitable destruction of Ba-Sing-Se. I huffed and looked away from them only to find that Zuko was still glowering at me. Strangely, he had stopped breathing fire.

"What?" I demanded gruffly. "What did I do _this _time?"

"Don't answer any of Zhao's questions. And let me do the talking."

"I won't tell him, all right?"

"It's not that. I just don't like the way he looks at you," said Zuko. He looked away and shot the Commander a dark look. "He's way too interested in you."

I followed his gaze and took a mental note of Zhao's swaggering gait. A frown flitted on to my face as Zuko's words bounced around in my head. Sure, Zhao had looked at me funny, but that was just because of my hair and the fact that I looked like a boy. Of course he was going to stare. Everyone did.

So why did it bother Zuko so much?

We walked for another five minutes before we found the most ostentatious excuse for a tent I had ever seen. It was red and appeared to have gold thread stitched into the very noticable embroidery of the Fire Nation insignia on the flap. Barely able to swallow the bile that had risen in my throat, I ducked in after Zuko and Iroh. I felt like I had just crawled into a rattlesnake's hole. It screamed at me like only a trap should.

I was so focused on this _very_ blatant trap that neither I nor anyone walking with me noticed the cloaked men who had been following us from a careful distance. They seemed to be very good at blending in, in spite of the maroon-colored dresses they had on.

"Master Delun, are you certain she is the one?" the first one asked, clearly a grunt.

"Hmmm...I can't say for sure. But I don't think it's a coincidence that this girl appeared to us today...and on _this _day to boot."

"Our Lady's birthday."

"Indeed. I still think she should be watched until we're sure."

"Shall I tell the others to keep an eye on her?"

"No need," said Delun, wearing the vaguest hint of a grin. It looked like the kind of smile Freddy Krueger would wear. "I'll do it myself."

The crowd suddenly seemed to grow thicker. When everyone had gone through the docks, the two men were gone. Just like that.

* * *

The Southern Air Temple was majestic and amazing and very, very tall. I sure as hell couldn't see it, but I'm pretty sure it was tall. And how epically glorious it must have been for the Gaang when those towering spires loomed into view. Sunlight glinted off the jagged peaks, dazzling the trio on Appa's back.

"Um...wow," said Sokka.

"There it is. The Southern Air Temple."

"Aang," Katara breathed. "It's amazing...!"

A warm, nostalgic smile emerged on his face. He swallowed the dread he had been feeling before as he patted Appa on the head.

"We're home, buddy," he said. "We're home."

Appa let out a bellow and took and made a swift beeline towards the temple. Aang laughed.

"I think somebody's a little homesick," said Katara, scooting up to sit beside him.

She smiled down at Appa, who briefly glanced up to blink at her. What was this person doing on his head?

Appa waited for her to move, but when Katara settled down for what the sky-bison deemed to be an indefinable period of time, he rumbled in resigned acknowledgement. After all, it wasn't as if he _minded _having the Waterbender around. Look at how happy she made Aang. And anyone who made Aang so happy couldn't possibly be bad. Right?

"We both are," Aang replied. "But everything will be fine now."

Her smiled faded. "Aang..."

He glanced up at her. The words stuck in her throat. Seeing the look on her face, Aang's smile became sad.

"I know it's been a long time. A hundred years...wow..."

"I bet a lot has changed," she offered weakly. Her good mood had evaporated like a fine mist.

There was a brief pause.

"Well, look at it this way..." Aang met her gaze, his grey eyes bright. "...whatever _has _changed, we can figure it out together. We're a team."

"Hey," Sokka piped up, not bothering to hide his eavesdropping on the conversation. Katara shot her brother a look, which was ignored. "I just realized...if we're a team, and we're trying to save the world and stuff, we'll probably have to be in disguise at some point or another. Shouldn't we have code names?"

"Code names?" Katara repeated in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You know. All the big shot secret agents and assassin types have code names, and we're kind of like secret agents. And if Aang ever runs into the Fire Lord, then chances are we'll be assassins too."

Aang jumped in alarm. "I thought I only had to _defeat _the Fire Lord. Since when do I have to kill someone?"

"Defeat, kill, tomato, rutabaga," said Sokka. Just then, Katara, who had somehow ended up beside her brother during the course of this conversation, _accidentally_ kicked him in the shin. "OW!"

"Ix-nay on the ill-kay," she hissed, looking pointedly at Aang. The boy monk had a severely traumatized look on his face, something that should have had anyone with half a soul diving for a box of tissues.

"But even agents in the_ Fire Nation_ have code names. Ever heard of the Rough Rhinos?"

"I'm not disputing the code names. Just shut up about you-know-what, okay?"

They locked gazes for a moment, a silent battle of wills. Eventually, Sokka caved, partially out of remorse for having upset Aang, but more so out of the fear that Katara would bludgeon him with his own club. He knew it had been a bad idea to let her polish it. By the Spirits, he would never allow himself to be that lazy and/or stupid again.

"Can we pick code names without the killing part?" Aang asked.

Sokka opened his mouth, but Katara kicked him again.

"Sure, we can," she said, all sugar and spice.

And just like that, the rest of the time of their trip to the Air Temple became occupied with a complicated discussion; one in which Aang and Sokka discussed the pro's and con's of various code names. Katara just looked from one to the other, surprised at how seriously they were treating the topic.

Well, at least they were happy. And no one was talking about death. But who knows how long _that _would last.

* * *

"..._and blah, blah, blah, the Fire Nation is awesome, and blah, blah, I am a humongous asshole_," Zhao concluded, taking a refined sip of his tea.

I might have been paraphrasing a little. But that was the gyst of his monologue, as I saw it.

"The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war," he added, looking significantly at his audience. As if this news should have stirred them. As if his saying it would somehow make it true. What a complete moron.

Iroh smiled politely as he moved around the room. I saw him pretending to examine the various knick-knacks and decorations, but I had a feeling that he was listening intently to our conversation.

Zuko just sulked. "If my father thinks that the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," he said.

I could hear the implied insult. _And if you think it'll be so easy to win this war, then _you_ are a fool, Commander Zhao._

Zhao, of course, wasn't the least bit ruffled. "Indeed? Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue." He gave Zuko a condescending look that made me want to claw his eyes out. But then, abruptly, he turned to me. "Julie, you've been very quiet...what do _you _think about all of this...?"

What did I _think? _Oh, man...he had no idea. No freaking idea. I opened my mouth, ready to tell him just how stupid I thought he was. But I caught Zuko's menacing look and stopped myself.

"Why do you care what _she_ thinks, anyway? She's just a peasant."

I glared at Zuko. Suddenly, I wasn't so eager to claw anyone's eyes out but his. Why had I been about to stick up for him again?

_Stupid ass_, I thought bitterly.

"She's also a nomad, isn't she?" Zhao challenged.

For a moment, there seemed to be some silent tension between Zuko and Zhao. The way they stared at each other made me think of the kinds of competition kindergardeners had; you know, the silent game, the staring contest...but I wasn't sure what the point of it was.

After a while, Zhao turned to me again. "I'm sure you've seen quite a bit of the world, met a number of people...and learned quite a bit of things worth knowing. I'm eager to hear all about your...travels."

What the hell was he implying? That I had information to sell about the Earth Kingdom? As if.

I looked over at Zuko, waiting for him to jump in. But he just glared at the floor. Clearly he wasn't going to be of any help to me. It looked as if I had no choice but to come up with a coherent lie on my own. But just what was it that Zhao wanted from me?

I forced myself to look at him, trying to read his face.

"There's not much to tell," I muttered, stalling for time.

Zhao smiled like a shark. "Don't be modest, girl. Perhaps you can tell me what it was that made you want to see the South Pole."

Wait a minute. He wasn't asking me anything about the Earth Kingdom. Maybe he thought I had been spying on the Southern Water Tribe. Was that the kind of information he wanted?

"I...I already told you. I was lost."

Understatement of the year. I was so lost I wasn't even in my own dimension anymore. Paging Toto: we are no longer in Kansas. Repeat, we are no longer in Kansas. And unlike Dorothy, I had very little motivation to find a way home. If it weren't for Jessie, it probably wouldn't even be an issue...but there it was. Dorothy had Auntie Em. I had Jessie.

Maybe it wasn't so much as going home as it was being with the people she loved that got Dorothy moving. I say this based on the fact that Dorothy lived in a freaking shack in the middle of Dust-Bowl Kansas during the Great Depression.

"But I'm sure you had some reason for being _near _the South Pole," Zhao persisted, cutting into my bizarre mental tangent. "Were you looking for something or someone, perhaps? Maybe you were looking for Waterbenders?"

I just stared at him. Was he talking about _Katara_? But...he hadn't met Katara yet. Besides, he should know that the Fire Nation already cleaned out the Southern Tribe of all of their Waterbenders (all except one, that is). Did he think that I knew otherwise?

I felt like I was being backed into a corner. I felt myself getting angry.

"I was just there, okay?" I snapped. "I wasn't looking for anyone. I just _ended up there_. Okay?"

Zhao smirked at my temporary burst of temper. It sounded like guilt in his ears, that much was obvious. Hastily, I tried to get my feelings under control, but it was hard. Everything Zhao said or did seemed to have the intent to infuriate. And he did it quite well, too.

"I doubt she'd find any Waterbenders even if she wanted to," Zuko commented. "She's completely hopeless."

Well, screw you too, Zuko. Butthat snide interjection reminded me that I wasn't the only person with something to hide. Whatever the consequences, Zuko and I were in this hotseat together. Too bad we made such a sucky team.

"Do you travel alone? Or were you with others."

"Before I met Zuko and the General?"

"Yes."

"There was only me. I don't get along with people," I told Zhao with a slight grin. After all, I was kind of stating the obvious. "And I don't like you very much, Commander."

"What a shame."

There was no trace of regret in his voice. It seemed that we were on the same page now. No need for bullshitting anymore. It was actually a bit of a relief.

"So, how is your search for the Avatar going, Prince Zuko?"

The question came abruptly. So abruptly that it caused Iroh to tip over a stand of weapons on the far side of the room. I saw Zhao's eyes flicker to him, and in the confusion he had missed Zuko's surprised reaction. Nice cover, General!

"My fault entirely," said Iroh, feigning embarrassment. Though for all I knew, it could have really been an accident.

Zhao watched him for a minute before looking at Zuko again.

"We haven't found him yet," he said in a low voice.

"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago, along with the rest of the Airbenders..."

The two had another staring contest, which I found to be very annoying. What was it with men and their freaking staring contests? Seriously, there should be a law limiting testosterone levels in such a confined space.

Zhao's gaze cut to me, but he was still speaking to Zuko.

"Unless you found some evidence that the Avatar is alive..."

Zuko followed Zhao's gaze. I saw his brow furrow in confusion. But before long I found myself staring back at the Commander. It was obvious that he was implying something, but I'm not sure what I had to do with any of this. Aang was the one he wanted...and what did I have to do with him?

Besides the whole breaking-him-out-of-jail thing, I mean. Zhao couldn't have possibly been talking about that. _Zuko _didn't even know about it.

"No," said Zuko quietly. "Nothing."

Zhao looked away from me and inspected the Fire Prince's face again, searching for deception. Slowly, he rose from his chair.

"Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an _ounce _of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you've found."

Again, he glanced pointedly at me. What the hell? Why was he looking at me like that? Did he seriously think what I thought he was thinking? That I had some kind of connection with Aang? Just because I was _weird-looking_? What kind of a stupid reason was that, anyway?

It pissed me off was what it did. So, without thinking, I pushed myself out of my chair and glared right into Zhao's hateful eyes.

"Are you freaking deaf?" I snarled. "He just said he didn't find anything! So why don't you just give it up and crawl back into the slimy hole you were born in?"

It was dead quiet in the room. Even Iroh had gone completely still at my outburst. Zhao didn't even flinch, but I saw a sadistic glint in his eyes as he, most likely, contemplated the various ways he could dispose of my corpse once all the blood had been drained from it.

"You're saying Prince Zuko didn't find anything?" he said with a note of amused skepticism. "Well, I happen to disagree."

No shit. But the thought was driven from my mind in a blind panic as Zhao got right into my face. The cunning smile was gone, and he looked so menacing that I almost flinched at the hard look he had given me. Almost.

"He found _you_."

* * *

Aang raced ahead of Katara and Sokka, savoring the crisp mountain air in his lungs. His two companions weren't looking nearly as energetic, but feigned it the best they could. Or, at least, Katara did. Sokka had other things on his mind.

"So, where do I get something to eat?" he half-asked, half-groaned as he held his empty stomach.

Katara glared at him. "You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to _ever _visit an Airbending temple, and all you can think about is food."

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs."

All of a sudden, Aang stopped dead in his tracks. As the two Water-Tribe siblings eyed him in confusion, he looked warily around him.

"Did you guys just get the feeling like we were being...I dunno...watched?" Aang asked.

Katara moved to stand beside Aang. Her crystal blue eyes skimmed the mountains and the roofs of the temple spires. Slowly, she brought her eyes towards the many windows that peeked out at them. Not a person in sight. She turned back to her shorter companion and shrugged.

"I didn't see anybody," she said.

Aang looked back at the tallest tower, frowning contemplatively. "Maybe...it's an Airbender..." he said slowly. His face brightened instantly. "Maybe they _did _survive after all!"

"Aang, wait!"

Katara reached for him, but he shot through her fingers like a greased hog-monkey. Clenching her teeth, she darted after him, determined to stay close to his heels in case they found something...unpleasant. Like a pile of dead Air Nomads.

Sokka groaned as they disappeared inside the temple. "Why is it that I always end up running on an empty stomach?" he asked no one in particular.

_"It's better than running on a full stomach," _said a woman's voice.

The Water Tribe warrior froze. For the life of him, he hadn't been expecting a reply. Snatching his club, he wheeled around to face the stranger. But when he turned around, there was no one there.

The wind swayed the strands of his wolf-tail innocently, but it left him feeling eerily chilled. Shuddering, he turned back around and shook his head. He was hearing things. Probably hallucinating from starvation. That had to have been it.

Heaving a frustrated sigh, he took off after Katara and Aang. Maybe he'd find some food somewhere inside the temple, while he was at it.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I through in some spooky stuff too. The Brotherhood goons are tailing Julie, Zhao is on the warpath, and a ghostly stranger is following the Gaang around the Air Temple. What weirdness could possibly ensue as Aang explores his old home? What discoveries will be made on this search for the truth? And how will Julie get out of Zhao's mental line-up for suspicious characters?**

**Any guesses on what Zhao might be thinking about Julie? I probably made it really obvious. I mean, I dropped about twenty hints in this chapter alone. I have as much subtlety as a blunt axe.**

**Anyway, did you like it? If so, REVIEW! REVIEW NOW!**


	23. Mistaken Identity Part III

**A/N: MY ROOF...IS FIXED!**

**Heh. I just wish I had noticed it leaking _before _that unidentifiable liquid made an eerie white stain on my grey-speckled carpet. Yes, you heard me. White. How you get white from amber, don't even ask me. That's for an obsessive-compulsive chem or forensics major to figure out.**

**I am going to try to Resolve the crap out of it tonight, but...uggh. I kind of wish it wasn't there. And my ceiling tiles now have these nasty brownish-yellow stains on them. It's a bit nauseating. I mean, how do you clean a freaking ceiling tile?**

**

* * *

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**Chapter Twenty: The Mistaken Identity Part III**

The rest of the time in Zhao's tent went by in a blur. But that's typically what happened when I got really mad. It's like my brain shuts off, and I'm not even aware of what's happening around me. My mouth keeps running, and when everything is said and done, I usually end up in a heap of shit about the size of a small mountain.

Today was no different.

"You have quite a mouth on you, girl," Zhao sneered. "No wonder, considering who you've been traveling with." He shot Zuko a single, disparaging look. "Still, it's a wonder you've survived as long as you have with a sharp tongue like that."

I glared at him.

"But then, I guess the Avatar _would _be lucky in some aspects."

There was a rippling silence, marred with the edged points of several question marks erupting from my skull. What? What? What the _hell?_

Zuko looked like someone had smacked him in the face with a half-dead mackrel. Disbelief was the most prominent expression, then confusion, then more disbelief. Judging by the way he kept shaking his head, I got the impression that he thought he had misheard Commander Zhao. It was almost funny to watch, except for the fact that I was livid.

"You...you think that..._I'm _the Avatar?"

Zhao quirked an eyebrow. It seemed to be a favorite expression of his.

"_Are _you the Avatar?"

"NO!"

He smirked. "Well, in any case, we shall find out. As a Commander, I can hardly allow a mere peasant to get away with speaking to me so rudely...just because she _might _be the Avatar."

I just stared at him. For a moment, the wind had, metaphorically, gone out of my sails. I couldn't think of a witty comeback (or any comeback) because I wasn't entirely sure what Zhao was talking about anymore. This was insane.

"We shall have ourselves an Agni Kai, girl," said Zhao curtly. "At sunset tomorrow. Consider it a way to test your survival skills...and possibly a way to teach you some manners."

Oh, snap.

Suddenly, Iroh was paying very close attention. He had turned away from his knick-knack watching and was staring openly at Zhao.

"Commander Zhao, I think you might be mistaken. Julie is just an ordinary traveler. She isn't even a warrior, let alone a bender. Don't you think it's a bit...extreme to challenge her to an Agni Kai?"

"From the moment Julie set foot in my tent every move she has made, every word she has spoken has been an act of complete disrespect. Even if she is not a bender, as you tell me, I can hardly ignore it."

"I'm sure that she is _very _sorry," said Iroh hastily, grabbing me by my good shoulder and forcing me to sit. "_Aren't you, _Julie?"

I just stared blankly at Zhao. Sorry? I didn't even know what was happening anymore.

Zuko looked frustrated and torn. His golden eyes swiveled from one face to the other, and his hands were clenched tightly into fists. "She isn't the Avatar!" he snapped. "And even if the Avatar _was _alive, how could it possibly be her? She can't even use chopsticks!"

I felt a vein in my forehead jump dangerously. While it was certainly nice to see Zuko and Iroh jumping to my defense, I was starting to wish that they'd...I dunno...stop helping. Because it didn't just stop with chopsticks. It continued into an extended list of all of my flaws, both physical _and _mental.

"She's so scrawny," said Zuko. "The real Avatar would have more muscle than that. And he should have been about a hundred years old by now. Julie is _my _age."

Huh. So Zuko was implying that Aang, a twelve year old boy, had more muscle than me. Well, that wasn't very encouraging. But I had to admit, that age thing was a good point. Too bad Zhao wasn't buying it.

"She _is _rather clumsy," Iroh admitted. "It took her several days just to be able to walk from one end of the ship to the other without falling."

Stupid ship. Stupid water. It wasn't my fault they were both conspiring to kill me.

Zhao smiled evilly. "Maybe she feels more comfortable in the air. Or underground. It would explain why she was in the South Pole. Looking for a Waterbender to teach her. Even the Avatar would be clumsy until properly trained."

"You're an idiot!" I blurted.

Iroh groaned. So much with the apologetic BS he was trying to spin.

Zhao, on the other hand, looked like he was about to sample a particularly delectable piece of chocolate. "Sunset tommorrow," he said smugly. "If you're the Avatar, you might stand a chance. If not...well...at least you might end up having _something_ in common with Prince Zuko..."

"!"

It happened so fast that I barely had time to react. Apparently that last cut had been the straw that broke the ostrich-horse's back. In any case, it sent Zuko lunging out of his chair, his hand clenched into a fire-covered fist and his face locked in a snarl. I flinched as the metal scraped against the floor and instinctively ducked out of the way, shielding my face with my hands. But it turns out that Zuko wasn't aiming for me.

I was still hiding behind my hands when I heard them struggling.

"Let me go, Uncle!"

I peeked out. Iroh had restrained Zuko's wrist and was staring him in the eyes. "Put out your fire, nephew. This isn't helping."

In response, Zuko just snarled and struggled harder to break free. I had never seen him this angry before. Not even the time when _I _had made that comment about him being a scar-faced mutant. Somehow, this was more personal.

Zhao just looked amused. "General Iroh, you may escort them out of my tent now."

Iroh just gave the Commander a long, sideways look. With a sigh, he half-led, half-dragged Zuko out the door. I hesitated only long enough to glance over at Zhao. The look he gave me was so evil that I didn't want to be alone in the same room as him. Shuddering, I flung myself out of the tent and into the night after Zuko and Iroh.

* * *

After Aang had spotted...well, sensed the mysterious observer, the tour of the temple had abruptly ended. He and Katara had run through the entire building with Sokka on their heels; barely noticing how time had caused much of the building to slip into a state of disrepair. Though some of the rooms and statues had been left eerily intact. As Sokka tried to keep up with them, he felt a chill run up his spine. This place was genuinely creepy.

Night had fallen. No Airbenders had been found. Aang was suitable pooped out and collapsed on the ground next to Appa.

"There's no one here," he said glumly.

Katara put a hand on his shoulder. "You probably just saw one of the statues. They look pretty real from a distance."

"Gee," said Sokka irritably. To hell with keeping Aang happy. "Maybe we were all just hallucinating from a _lack of food._"

If he had expected to receive some rations after a comment like that, he was sorely disappointed. Especially when all he got were sour looks from his two companions, though Aang's was half-hearted at best. The young Airbender only gave a brief glance before tucking his head back in between his knees with a sigh. Katara looked away from Sokka and frowned sympathetically at Aang.

"I'm sure we'll find something in the morning. In the meantime, let's just get some sleep."

"Sleep," Aang muttered. "Sure. I can _definitely_ sleep at a time like this."

"Actually," said Sokka, "I kind of agree with him. No offense to you Air Nomads, but this place is really, really creepy."

"What?" said Katara with a roll of her eyes. "Afraid the spirits will get you? Or ghosts?"

"I don't believe in ghosts. And just because there might not be any Airbenders here doesn't mean that there isn't something uncuddly hiding in the ruins. I'm just saying we should be on our guard."

"Fine," she said. "You can have the first watch."

Sokka jumped. "WHAT?"

"Hey, thanks Sokka," said Aang, smiling in relief. "I was worried we'd miss something if we went to sleep. But now I can rest easy knowing that you'll be awake to tell me if the Airbenders come back."

"Or something else," Katara reminded him.

"Yeah," the young Airbender cheerfully agreed. "Or something else."

Sokka just stared from one face to another. "Fine. I'll keep the first watch. But the only thing I'll be looking for is something to eat."

* * *

It turns out that Zuko is really freaking scary when he gets mad. No joke.

He didn't say a word to me after we left Zhao's tent. Iroh tentatively released him when he stopped trying to set things on fire, but he still looked murderous as we made our way back to the ship. The moonlight cast dangerous-looking shadows on his beautiful, angry face (crap, did I just say beautiful? I must have been high!). His golden eyes seemed almost feral and yellow in the night.

Like I said. Scary. Attractive as hell (though I'd sooner amputate my own left hand than _admit _that to anyone), but frightening. For both reasons.

We stopped when we got to the ship. Zuko was very still as he stared at nothing in particular, his thoughts capturing the full of his attention. He looked furious and vaguely haunted. Apparently, all the times I had annoyed him in the past had been mere bunny slopes compared to this jagged peak of rage I was witnessing right now. I had never made him seriously angry before.

Until now. Shit.

"Nephew...?" Iroh began. But before he could get a word in edgewise, he was interrupted.

"Prince Zuko! General Iroh!" It was Lieutenant Jee.

His search party had returned an hour ago, empty-handed. Apparently no one had told him that I had been found. When I saw his eyes flicker to me, I was very surprised to see him look relieved. Relieved? Huh.

"You found her. Is she hurt?" Then, he got a look at Zuko's face, which was still borderline raving psychopath. "What happened?"

"We had a minor setback," Iroh supplied. Then, quickly, he explained everything that had happened to me today; starting from them saving me from those Brotherhood goons, all the way to my unfortunate encounter with Zhao. All the while, Lieutenant Jee listened quietly, saving all of his questions until the end.

"...and apparently Julie is going to be fighting in an Agni Kai tomorrow at sunset," said Iroh.

Lieutenant Jee's eyes moved down to meet mine. "Why am I not surprised?" he asked dryly. He sighed. "Oh, well. I'm sure we can get this straightened out...somehow..."

"I'm not so sure. She's supposed to be fighting Commander Zhao."

"Holy Spirits!" the Lieutenant cried. "How in the name of Agni did _that _happen?" Then, after a pause, he added. "Zhao got promoted? Again?"

At this point, Zuko apparently decided that the universe had crapped on him enough for one day. Leaving us on the gangplank, he turned and made a swift beeline for the stairs. He was in full-on sulk mode, but it was much scarier because he was really, really angry. The logical part of me told me to stay where I was, to leave things where they stood. But something much more overpowering made me want to follow him.

I know it was stupid. But I had already done plenty of stupid things today. This shouldn't be very surprising to anyone, least of all myself.

"I want to be left alone," Zuko said quietly. He sent me a glare that spoke for itself, or tried to. But now he just looked tired. Very tired. "No disturbances."

Iroh looked uncertain. I felt strangely uneasy at the thought of him leaving. After all, I was going to be fighting for my life tomorrow. And wasn't this supposed to be _his _Agni Kai? It didn't make sense for me to be fighting this battle. This was supposed to have been Zuko's fight.

After all, it hadn't been _my _honor Zhao had just dragged through the mud. Especially with that parting comment. Sure, he had been trying to scare me, but I had a feeling that I was being used, somehow at Zuko's expense. My brain couldn't entirely wrap around that notion, but it was just a feeling I had.

So, perhaps stupidly, I followed him. As quietly as I could, I padded after him. I was careful to keep several paces behind him, hanging close to the shadows. Zuko made no indication that he knew I was there, but his shoulders were tensed. From little I could see of his face from the light of the flaming sconces on the wall, he looked torn.

I didn't reveal myself until he had reached his room.

"Zuko," I said.

He stopped. He didn't look surprised to find me behind him, but he didn't turn around either. "I _said_ no disturbances."

"I...I just..."

He turned around and stared at me. I could see that he was just as angry with me as he was with Zhao. Maybe even more.

I took a deep breath.

"Look," I said quickly. "Zhao's a jerk. He shouldn't have...he shouldn't have said those things to you."

Zuko's expression didn't change, except that his eyes narrowed just a millimeter. I barely noticed it in the darkness. "What do _you _care?"

"Because I...because he...he's a...oh...! Idiot!" I blurted out in frustration. Didn't he get it? "He thinks he _owns _the whole damn world just because he's a Commander. He walks all over people to get what he wants! I hate him! And he had no right to talk to you like that!"

Tentatively, I met his gaze and nearly flinched at the heat and acid that burned in his eyes. His expression was as hard as stone.

"That doesn't justify anything _you_ did or said in there. You should have kept your mouth shut like I told you to."

My mouth snapped shut when I heard that. It was ironic. _Now _I could keep quiet. But that was because I couldn't think of anything to say. Not with Zuko looking at me like that. It was strange too, how a week ago I would have preferred to have him hate me like this. When did it suddenly become so...unpleasant? How had this changed?

I screwed up my brow, trying to think. Apologies weren't exactly my thing. Anything that wasn't a direct confrontation felt alien to me. I looked up at Zuko, trying to form the words that would somehow fix everything. I had already admitted that I had been wrong...but...beyond that, I didn't know what to do.

"I hate that bastard Zhao," I muttered. "I hated him from the moment I met him."

And long before that. But that wasn't something Zuko could understand, and I wasn't about to alert him to such a startling revelation about his universe at a time like this.

"Look," I said. "I'm sure it's kind of obvious by now, but I'm not like other girls. I can't just sit still and look pretty when someone does something that I don't like. And I can't pretend to like someone when I don't. It's just not in me."

Zuko didn't say anything. I didn't look at him.

"When I get nervous or upset, I just...I get really angry. And I never really think straight when that happens. I just react. I know it's stupid and reckless, but...I really suck at hiding what I really feel." So much for the apology. "And I don't care if you hate me for it. I have bigger problems right now."

I turned to leave.

"I don't hate _you_," said Zuko quietly. "But I hate this."

I sensed him moving behind me. He was like a man-shaped sun. I was constantly aware of the heat of his gaze, and the raw anger made that heat blaze ten times stronger. I couldn't move or think or breathe.

I turned my face away. What was the _matter _with me?

"Fuck," I muttered. "I don't get it. I thought I was getting what I deserved."

He made an angry noise.

I squeezed my eyes shut and stood perfectly still. I don't know why I did that. I guess I must have imagined Zuko wrestling with what little patience he had left; and subconsciously, I must have thought he was going to lash out at me. Obviously, Zuko wasn't _that _much of a jerk. But my subconscious mind wasn't all that rational.

Ever since I was a little kid, anger had always led to swift, painful retaliation. It was the way I was born and raised. It was the bread I ate; the air I breathed; the ever-present weight on my back. Sad to say, but it pretty much summed up my internal philosophy. No surprise that every word Zuko spoke had me flinching.

I waited for him to strike out, but he never did. Obviously. Zuko wasn't like that. He just got loud. That was almost worse because it was I was so wound up and expecting something completely different.

"You idiot!" he yelled. "You're not a warrior! The thought of you being in an Agni Kai isn't just ridiculous; it's insane!"

All of a sudden, I felt stupid and weak. My mind was paralyzed at the shock of Zuko's anger. I was still waiting for him to hit me. It seemed cruel to me for him to draw this out for so long. If he hit me, at least then it would be over. Right?

"Zhao calls this a matter of honor, but all he's doing is targeting a girl who couldn't fight back if her own life was at stake. I just can't figure out _why._" I felt his eyes burning against my back. "You're not the Avatar. You can't be!" Zuko must have noticed my tense surprise. I saw his shadow on the floor, and I watched as he ran his hand across his scalp in irritation. "You may be a pain in the butt, but that doesn't make you a threat. You're too..."

"Weak?" I muttered.

I don't know where I found the courage to speak. It must have just been pure, dumb luck that forced my lips to move.

"Innocent," came the reply.

That stopped me dead in my tracks. Did I _hear _him correctly? Innocent? Zuko thought I was innocent? Did he even _know _me?

Of course not. He didn't know. He had no way of knowing about my past. More importantly, he didn't even suspect me of helping Aang escape from his cell. And I was going to keep it that way.

There was an awkward pause as I considered all of the implications of that last remark Zuko had made. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who suspected Zhao of having alterior motives to this bloodbath of a duel. But that didn't stop Zuko from being angry at me. I had just made it easier for Zhao by caving in to my temper.

I heard the door to his room creak open.

"Go get some sleep. That's an order, peasant."

I wheeled around, but I only caught a glimpse of the Fire Prince as he ducked inside his room and locked the door. I stared at the door for a long time before I realized that I was losing feeling in my legs. How long I had stood there like a complete idiot, I had no clue. But all of a sudden, I felt Iroh's hand on my shoulder.

I jumped. How long had he been there?

"I think Zuko is right. You should get some rest," he said.

I tried to smile, but the result was disasterous. I let my expression sink into a grimace. "Okay."

* * *

Sokka thought that his day had been lousy enough with the constant hunger pangs. Now he was being stalked by a ghost on top of it all. Not that he believed in ghosts. But there was _something _that kept darting in and out of his field of vision as he sat up and stood watch over his friends. At first, he thought he was just imagining it. But no, there it was again. That same, weird-shaped shadow crawling along the ground, just far enough away to be unrecognizable as anything human.

But then, Sokka wasn't so sure. What _was _human these days, anyway? He was traveling with the Avatar of all people, and his younger sister. He had long since decided that girls weren't human (or at least, not in the same way as their saner male counterparts). And Aang kind of defied classification.

This was bad. Sokka only got this philosophical when he was starving.

"Hello?" he said tentatively. Talking to figments of his imagination. _Definitely _not a good sign.

The shadow scuttled farther away. With a sigh, Sokka drew his club and cautiously moved in for a closer look. It definitely wasn't a human shape, but he couldn't decide if it looked more like a rabbit or a bat. The shape, as though aware of Sokka's presence, darted away with a single twitch of its giant ears.

Sokka felt himself relax. Just an animal. But wait! Animals were food...and food meant having a full stomach. Sokka hadn't been truly full in a long time; and dammit to hell, he was long overdue for a good meal.

He glanced back at Katara and Aang. They were sound asleep. Surely they wouldn't notice if he wandered off for five minutes. A phenomenal hunter like himself should be able to catch that...thing long before then. They wouldn't be mad that he left during his shift. No, instead they would be thanking him for the fresh meat.

Well, maybe not Aang. Aang was a vegetarian. All the more reason for Sokka to get his meat on the sly. Although the young Avatar had never voiced an argument about Sokka's chosen lifestyle, the fact that he openly disapproved left Sokka with an aftertaste of guilt every time he bit into a piece of seal jerky.

Though it quickly went away once the satisfaction kicked in.

"All right, meat," Sokka muttered, following the strange little shadow. "Time to _meet _your maker. Heh, heh...meat...meet. I crack me up."

_"Do you always make such bad puns?"_

Frozen. Sokka gulped and resisted the urge to look behind him. That would only confirm that he was hearing voices and, therefore, that he had officially gone insane. Sokka especially prided himself on being more sane than everyone else.

"I'm not turning around because there's nothing here. Just me and the meat."

The strange voice seemed to sigh. No, wait. It was only the wind. There was _nothing _behind him!

Sokka saw the shadow crawling inside the temple. What had Aang said about this building again? He hadn't been paying that close attention, but he _did _recall his bald companion babbling about some kind of animal sanctuary. After a hundred years, the prospects of finding anything still _living _in the sanctuary seemed slim...

...but now that something was actually going inside, Sokka wasn't so sure.

He licked his lips in anticipation. His quarry crawled along the far side of the wall, and Sokka silently stalked its shadow. He wasn't sure what it was, but it looked huge. Probably not as big as Appa, but pretty freaking big. Maybe it was a baby sky bison, and if that were the case Sokka knew he would have to capture it, either way. Either it was food, or evidence of surviving Airbenders. Personally, Sokka was hoping for the first scenario.

He counted to three before leaping forward with a savage yell. As he turned the corner, though, he got a very good look at what he had been hunting. His arms slumped in disappointment.

It wasn't a baby sky bison, or anything nearly as big as its shadow had promised. It was just a lemur.

**(A/N: Hey, everybody! It's Momo!)**

The lemur blinked at him curiously, twitching its ears as it turned its face Sokka's way. For a moment, man and beast regarded one another before the latter looked away. It glanced down at the nut it had been about to break open and decided that it wasn't worth being stalked by this strange, hulking figure in blue fur.

The nut was promptly thrown in Sokka's face.

"Aw, man. I can't even make a decent breakfast out of _that,_" he complained. "No wonder everyone here was a freaking vegetarian."

The lemur's fur suddenly bristled, like a cat's when it's sufficiently frightened (or just very annoyed), and took off. Sokka stared at it for a minute, wondering if his offhanded comment had somehow offended the animal. Pretty intelligent for such a small sack of meat with a tail.

Shrugging, he turned to leave. That was when he saw her.

"!"

_"I thought you would never turn around," _she said with a note of frustration in her voice. _"You're a strange one. I know you could hear me. Why didn't you talk to me?"_

Sokka was flabberghasted. "J-Julie?"

The figure tilted her head to the side in confusion. Upon closer inspection, Sokka realized his mistake. The girl standing before him was more lithe and graceful than I was in my clunky armor. Her eyes were softer and her hair was much longer, billowing down to her waist. However, the color of her hair was a darker shade of red than mine, and her body had an ethereal look to it. She was dressed in a long, but simple-looking kimono that suited her well.

A spirit.

_"Julie? Who is Julie?"_

"Um...sorry," Sokka muttered. "It's just that you...you look just like someone I met not too long ago. Your faces are exactly the same."

_"I've never met anyone who looked like me before. And my name isn't Julie. It's Ayla."_

"Er...um...well...my name is Sokka." He was careful not to mention Katara and Aang in case this spirit turned out to be an enemy. But he shouldn't have bothered. This girl had a gentle demeanor about her, another major difference between her and me.

_"It's nice to meet you. I haven't spoken to anybody in a very long time. And I can only come out after dark."_

"So you're a spirit then?"

_"I'm not sure what I am anymore. I don't remember anything about myself...except my name...that's really it."_

Huh. An amnesiac spirit. Not something you tended to see everyday. Against his better judgment, Sokka felt himself getting more and more curios about this Ayla person.

"How long have you been here?"

_"I don't know. A while. It's hard to keep track of time."_

"Why don't you just go to the Spirit World or something? I mean, if you exist, and you're a spirit, that should mean there's a Spirit World too. Not that I believe in that kind of thing," he added. "I'm just stating the obvious logic here."

Ayla looked a little frustrated. _"I just told you. I don't know what I am. And I can't leave. Something keeps holding me back. I've tried to leave dozens of times, but I guess I'm bound to this place, for better or for worse. It's like being married, only without all the good bits like sex and companionship."_

Sokka narrowed his eyes. For a spirit, she was pretty...um...blunt. "I'll _talk _to you, if that helps. But don't expect anything else out of me. I don't hop in the sack with something I refuse to believe in. It goes against my principles."

Ayla rolled her eyes. A silly grin splayed across her benign features. _"I'm only kidding. Besides, you aren't really my type."_

"Gee, thanks. Well, I think I'm done being taunted by a figment of my imagination." Sokka turned to leave. "See you."

_"No, wait!" _Ayla froze in mid-protest as a freckle of sunlight appeared just over the lip of the mountain. _"Oh..." _she sighed. "_I have to go now. But please, try to set me free, if you can. I don't want to be trapped here anymore."_

"Wait a minute! How am I supposed to do something like that? I'm only human!"

Ayla turned to face the rising sun. _"I don't know. But I'm counting on you..."_

Sokka's jaw dropped as the dazzling light ate through the spirit's body like acid. Her eyes were closed solemnly as the rest of her dissolved into nothingness. The wind carried her parting sigh as a final momento, making it impossible for him to simply ignore her final request. After all, she had seemed so...sad.

"Counting on me, huh...?" he said to no one in particular.

With a sigh, he sheathed his club. It was cold on the mountain peak, escpecially at dawn. Even dressed in his seal fur skins, Sokka felt an eerie chill at the base of his spine. But as the sun rose higher in the sky, a machismo sense of purpose took hold of him. After a while, he was able to smile confidently at the new dawn.

"Good thing I'm such a nice guy," he said. "And, real or not, you couldn't have picked a better last resort than Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe!"

On that rather optimistic note, Sokka turned and headed back to the camp site. He had a lot to tell the others when they woke up.

* * *

**A/N: I know I changed things in the episode. The whole spending the night at the Southern Air Temple just seemed like a really fun idea, so I went with it. Plus, it makes a heap of sense once I thought about the timing of the episode; a _very _important point that I shall explain in greater detail below. If you guys really care about those anal details such as time.**

**In any case, I figured I should probably attempt to explain _some _of the timing discrepancies that are starting to pop up in the plot. So here they are, in all of their glory:**

_-Aang and co. made their escape from Zuko's ship about a day or so later than they should have.-_

_-Still being a day late, Zuko's ship was headed to the nearest port (the one that was infested with a heap of Zhao). But since the ship **wasn't** damaged, it was moving at a greater speed, and actually managed to arrive on time.-_

_-Julie's misadventure with the Brotherhood set Zuko's plot back a few hours. So they didn't meet Zhao until sunset, which is the time when the Gaang managed to reach the Southern Air Temple.-_

_-Julie's talk with an angry Zuko occurs during the night, around the same time Sokka runs into Ayla's spirit.-_

**So, there you go. Sorry this took so much space, but these are important notes in the story. I'm a bit worried that I didn't make them very clear in the chapter. Again, I know the story should be able to explain itself. Still...well, no fanfic is perfect. Mine is far from it. I'll admit that now. But DAMN, do I love writing this fic! ^-^ Okay, so now that you got to read it, REVIEW!**


	24. Things Worth Trying

****

**A/N: Have you ever had one of those days where you just wonder, "Why is it that only the creepy people hit on me?" **

**Seriously, I am but a simple cashier. It's not my fault I'm so cheerful and outgoing. I really don't need creepy old guys saying things like, "Are you married? Because I really want you to marry my son..." or "One day, you're going to make a man really happy on his pillows, what with all that enthusiasm..." I mean, seriously! What is freaking _wrong _with people? Can't they just let me ring up their freaking groceries and let me get on with my life? And since when does being friendly suddenly mean that its time for me to receive an off-color comment like that? Geez!**

Plus, it's like all the cute elible bachelors end up on all the other check-out lines, leaving me with all the old-as-dirt, creepy-assed perverts. I mean, come on!

Oh, btw, thanks for all the reviews. That really cheered me up.

* * *

**Chapter Twenty One: Things Worth Trying**

"So, let me see if I get this straight," said Katara slowly. "Last night you were out _hunting, _and somehow you managed to run into a spirit that looks just like Julie? And she told you that she was trapped here somewhere?"

Sokka folded his arms and sighed. "_Yes._"

"I thought you didn't believe in spirits."

"I don't. I still refuse to believe that she's a spirit...but she wasn't human, either. That much I'm willing to accept."

Katara just narrowed her eyes at Sokka. It was actually kind of ironic. The group's optimist and the group's resident skeptic appeared to have switched roles, and at this most inopportune moment. Sokka really didn't think he could just leave without trying to help Ayla-the-very-very-odd. And for some reason, Katara was refusing to believe that Sokka saw anything at all last night.

"Sokka," she said in a low voice. "If this is your stupid way of getting back at us for running out of seal jerky, then cut it out. Because Aang is really...well, keyed up. If he thinks that something is _haunting _his old home, he's going to think something bad happened here."

"I thought you wanted him to face facts."

"I just want him to be happy. And I don't want to hurt him if I don't have to, so please just drop the joke before he hears you."

"It's not a joke," he insisted. "Come on, would I lie to you about something like this?"

Katara just stared bleakly at him. Sokka felt a tad offended.

"All right, so we don't tell Aang. But you're going to help me, right?"

"Sokka, we really need to be moving on. And I don't want to stay here longer than we have to just because you thought you saw something. I mean, this is really hard on Aang."

Sokka had a sinking feeling in his stomach. This really wasn't working out like he had planned. In his mental vision, he would have told Katara what had happened, Aang would have stepped in and given his sagely Avatar advice, and then Sokka (using his _keen intellect_ and _sharp intuition_) would immediately come up with a solution. His two companions would look at him with renewed respect and awe, and Ayla would be so grateful that she would magically produce a way for him to remain in his happy state of denial regarding the supernatural.

That was how things would have worked out if there were _any _justice in the world. Instead, Katara was being uncharacteristically skeptical, and Aang was completely oblivious to the situation. And if Sokka were to spill the bean to said Avatar, he knew that Katara was going to cut his throat at the next opportunity.

Life was so unfair.

"Please," he said, abandoning all sense of dignity and kneeling before his baby sister. "Just one more day. Just give me one chance to prove that Ayla is real, and I'll do anything you want."

Katara looked a little worried. It looked like she was starting to think that something was seriously wrong with her brother; like maybe he _wasn't _joking. No, maybe he was just deranged.

"I thought you hated this place," she said. "You kept going on about how creepy it was. And now you want to stay _another _night?"

"Katara!"

"I..." she bit her lip. "Okay...fine. I'll just tell Aang that...well...I'll tell Aang _something_. But you seriously owe me for this, Sokka."

"Yes!" Sokka leapt up and pulled Katara into a bear hug. "You...are...the best sister EVER...!"

He really was relieved. Sure, he could have just given in to the tempting offer Katara had made; just leave the Temple and forget that any of this had ever happened. But then there was that thing he had called a conscience. It was very inconvenient, but it didn't sit well for the Water Tribe warrior in-the-making to just ignore a cry for help, even from a figment. Now at least he had a slim chance of saving his sense of skepticism without feeling like a complete douche-bag.

Katara patted him awkwardly on the back. The look on her face said it clearly: _Did our mother drop him on his head when he was a baby?_

"Sokka, I can't breathe..."

"Whoops," he let go of her. "Sorry. But seriously, I appreciate this, Katara. I mean..."

She held up a hand. "Hold on a second. I'm taking you up on that favor you owe me. In return for this, you can't tell Aang anything; and I mean, _anything_. And you have to make him happy today."

"Sure," said Sokka. "No problem."

"_All_ day. I don't care what it takes. If he wants to show you the old manure pens from where the sky bisons used to be kept, then you are going to roll around in it like there is no tomorrow, or so help me, Sokka."

He cringed. "Um...sure."

Had he known what would be in store for him today, Sokka might have reconsidered. But then again, maybe not. His conscience had a funny way of roping him into things a sane person would give a ridiculously wide berth. Damn his conscience!

* * *

Needless to say, I didn't get any sleep last night. It was one of those nights where you lay in bed, and you stare at the wall wondering why the hell you aren't asleep yet. Hours passed, and I still couldn't nod off like I wanted to. So when I finally rose from my stiff little cot in the hold, it really wasn't all that surprising that I looked like something out of _Night of the Living Dead._

I didn't meet anyone as I went to scrounge up some breakfast. Not that I had much of an appetite, but I knew that Iroh would want me to eat something whether I was hungry or not. Besides, it wasn't a good idea to exert yourself on an empty stomach.

The galley was occupied by about six of the dawn-shift soldiers. They had been engaged in a heated discussion, one that had been instantly hushed up the moment I had entered the room. They gave each other some uneasy glances and gave me a wide berth as they fled the room.

"Huh," said a voice behind me. I jumped, turning on the spot to find Bo-Fen standing there with her hands on her hips. "They must think you're infected with the plague or something."

"Why do you feel the need to sneak up on me all the time?" I asked. "And for that matter, where were you and your brother last night? After we went off with Zhao, you two just...vanished."

"We had things to do," she replied. "'Sides, hon', we weren't invited to that tea party."

"Uggh."

"I heard about the Agni Kai. What are you going to do about it?"

I gave her an incredulous look. "What do you mean, what am I going to do about it? I'm getting the hell out of here, that's what. Duh."

"You're going to try to escape?" To my irritation, there was a hint of amusement in Bo-Fen's voice. "Zhao's got men stationed on all ends of the dock. You'll never be able to leave without him knowin' about it. Besides, where do you plan to go on the off chance you actually manage to get away?"

Okay, a few minor setbacks. I mean, seriously, it wasn't like this was going to be impossible. Just really, really, really difficult. And anyway, the alternative was standing in a ring and getting fire chucked at my face. If I stayed and fought my odds of survival were nil. But if I tried to escape...well, there was the slight chance I might actually get away.

"I think I have a place to hide," I told her.

I would head towards Kyoshi Island. That was where I was most likely to find the Gaang next (since there was no freaking way I'd be able to get anywhere near the Southern Air Temple). I figured that even if the Kyoshi Warriors threatened to feed me to the Unagi, I'd have Aang to vouch for me...well...maybe. I wasn't entirely sure.

"Besides, I could always wear a disguise," I added as an afterthought.

Bo-Fen raised an eyebrow.

"What disguise are you planning on using? Because, no offense, you stand out like a sore thumb."

"Not with a helmet on," I protested. "With a suit of armor like yours, I can really pass myself off as a soldier, easy."

Bo-Fen, as a means of reply, took off her helmet and plunked it on my head. There was a long, awkward silence as she regarded me.

"Okay, how stupid do I look in this?"

"Pretty stupid."

"Shit."

"Evasive action may be out of the picture for you, hon'. You might consider asking the General for help."

I groaned. I had a bad feeling that I was running out of Iroh-Intervention coupons, and that a fresh supply wouldn't be forthcoming any time soon. Not if Zuko stayed mad at me.

"He already tried to get Zhao to call off the Agni Kai, but he wouldn't listen. For some stupid reason, he thinks I'm the Avatar."

Bo-Fen just burst out laughing. As though the thought of me being anyone even remotely as important as the Avatar was just absurd. As though I were a hamster trying to pass myself off as a pit bull. I felt a bit annoyed.

"Nuh, uh," she said, once she had regained control over her breathing. "Zhao can't seriously think that. He's probably just messing with you. Maybe he figures you know something he doesn't, and that you'll trade this information in exchange for your life."

God, I hoped that wasn't it. I mean, even though it would be an easy solution, could I really do that to Zuko? Especially after what he said to me last night? He seemed genuinely worried about me...angry, but worried. I couldn't just betray him like that, could I?

Wait, what was I thinking? Why should I care if I sell him out? It wasn't like we were friends or anything. In fact, Zuko was the one who frequently made my life on this ship a living hell. He was always going out of his way to make me feel small. At every opportunity he would comment on my eating habits, provoke me with his snide remarks, and nose his way into my personal business during our tarot sessions. He had no business asking so many questions about my past, but he went and did it anyway.

But then, hadn't he tried to help me when I was sick? Even though I had tried to punch him in the face and called him a scar-faced mutant? And hadn't he stuck up for me when Zhao accused me of being the Avatar? He could have just as easily let Zhao take the bait and let the real Avatar remain his little secret. But he didn't.

If Zuko of all people didn't sell me out to Zhao, how could I just go around and do the same thing to _him_?

"Julie?"

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I was just thinking."

No, I was being stupid. My life was at stake. When had Zuko ever risked his life for me?

"You look like you're standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down," she told me. "A copper piece for your thoughts?"

I didn't even look at the coin she held out to me. I knew without having to look that it would be fake. "I don't want to just give Zhao what he wants. The thought makes me feel sick to my stomach."

"A feeling I can sympathize with whole-heartedly."

"So, I have to escape. It's my only option."

"Okay."

We stood there for a minute or two, not moving. I looked at her and she looked at me. "Are you going to help me?" I asked.

"I might. If I had the right motivation."

"I'm going to _die _tonight at sunset," I said in astonishment. "What more motivation could you possibly need?"

She rubbed her two forefingers against her thumb, a sign that another payment was due on my Bo-Fen's Fool-Proof Assistance insurance policy. With a sigh, I reached to my coin pouch, which was much lighter than it had been yesterday, and forked over what was left of my cash. I figured that I wouldn't need it after sunset today, anyway. Not if I didn't make my swift exit from the scene. Zhao would probably kill me.

"I think I have just the thing," she said.

* * *

"Man," said Aang happily. "I can't believe you wanted to take another tour of the Air Temple, Sokka."

Sokka just sighed. "Neither can I..." he muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Let's just get this over with."

"Oh, okay." Aang shrugged, turning back towards Katara, who was perched on Appa's back. "Katara, are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

The young Waterbender had made a show of being very busy. She had one of Sokka's shirts out, and looked as though she were preparing to sew it. "I'm sorry, Aang. I just can't put this off until tomorrow. But don't worry. I already saw plenty of the temple yesterday, and I'm sure we'll be back one day."

Aang brightened at the comment. This idea appealed to him. "Yeah," he said. "Definitely."

"Can we go now?" Sokka asked, a tad impatiently. Then, seeing the glare Katara was giving him, he quickly changed his tone. "I...I mean, I want to see everything before it gets too dark to see anything. You know?"

And so off they went. For the next several hours, the Water Tribe warrior-in-the-making found himself dragged up seemingly endless flights of stairs (_"These are easier to climb if you're an Airbender...sorry, Sokka..."_), led across the most haphazardly frail rope bridges (_"Doesn't look like anyone's fixed these in a while...but then again, we always had our gliders. Flying's way more fun, anyway..."_), and repeatedly dropped from staggeringly high ledges. Aang had warned him about sudden pitfalls, but this was ridiculous.

After they had crossed their third bridge, Sokka had to stop to pluck the splinters of a broken plank out of his boots. Aang sat beside him and chattered on and on about "the good ol' days" with his friends and Monk Gyatso. Sokka was starting to wonder if the Airbenders had been even remotely sane. After all, what kind of sane person would willingly live in a house full of death-traps?

But Sokka had a method to this madness. During the full course of their "tour," he kept his eyes out for clues as to what could possibly trap a wayward spirit like Ayla. Unfortunately, this meant asking Aang questions.

"Aang, when you were living here, did you see many...um...spirits?"

Aang just glanced at him in confusion. "I thought you didn't believe in spirits, Sokka."

"Katara was wondering, and I thought I'd ask for her."

"Oh. Well, no. At least, I've never seen any. But I remember Monk Gyatso telling me that spirits don't usually come to our world unless they have some reason for being here."

Sokka frowned. _But Ayla didn't remember who or what she was. She doesn't know why she's here. But she's trapped._

"Okay, then," he said, trying to sound casual. "So, hypothetically, what if a Spirit got into our world by accident? What if it didn't have a reason to be here, but somehow ended up in our world? And what if it couldn't leave? What would...cause that?"

Aang stared at Sokka. This conversation was starting to get strange. "I don't know. I'm not really an expert." Then, he hesitated. "Um...Sokka...why is _Katara _suddenly so interested in spirits...?"

Sokka couldn't really find a good answer to that question, seeing as he didn't really know himself. And Katara had all but threatened to disembowel him if he told Aang anything. So he hastily changed the subject.

"What is this place, anyway? Why are there so many statues around here?"

"Oh, those." Aang relaxed a little bit at the new topic. "Those statues outside the building represent important Southern Air Monks, the ones who made an important impact on the world. They stand outside the Air Santuary almost like sentries. Cool, huh?"

Cool wasn't the right word in this case. Each of the statues wore absolutely no expression on their rigid stone faces, and stared blankly at the two young men before them. If cool had meant creepy as all hell, then Sokka probably would have agreed with Aang. In this case, however...

"I guess. What's this Air Santuary for, anyway?"

Aang became serious for a moment. "Monk Gyatso told me a long time ago that I would meet someone here who would help me, someone who would teach me how to be the Avatar."

Sokka just looked at him. "But that was over a hundred years ago. How do you even know that they're even here."

"I have to check...just to be sure."

Just then, a weird thought popped into Sokka's mind. What if Ayla had been the one Aang was talking about; the one who was supposed to teach him? What if she had been waiting for him for so long that she lost all of her memories? And since she hadn't found him yet, she couldn't leave the Air Temple. That would explain a lot.

But Ayla had told him that she couldn't come out during the day. So that meant waiting for the sun to set. How was he going to keep Aang occupied long enough for her to reveal herself?

"Nothing's ever easy," Sokka complained.

Aang nodded, even though he had no idea what the older boy was talking about. "That may be true, but it still doesn't hurt to try," he said.

* * *

Bo-Fen's plans seemed to be getting weirder and weirder. At least, that much became apparent to me when she went and got Lieutenant Jee and Shen-Long to help us. Knowing now what I didn't know then, I realize that I probably should have just gone through with the Agni Kai and died with my dignity intact. It would have saved me this...humiliation.

"So, you're telling me that you want to escape this Agni Kai?" Jee queried. "But I would have thought that such a reckless endeavor would appeal to a tomboy like yourself. Guess I was wrong, huh?"

"Look," I said, annoyed. "I may not be a girly girl, and I may prefer learning how to fight to learning how to curtsey and walk gracefully, but that doesn't mean I'm suicidal. If I fight Zhao, I'm not just going to lose. I'm probably going to _die_."

"I see. And you want _me _to help you? Why?"

That was a very good question. I wasn't sure why Bo-Fen had dragged me to Lieutenant Jee's study of all places, and some part of me was pretty sure that I didn't _want _to know. Still, my life was on the line, so...

"We need you two to give Julie a makeover," said Bo-Fen, somehow keeping a straight face.

"..."

Wait a minute...WHAT?

"A makeover," Shen-Long repeated, also confused. "How is a makeover going to help her survive an Agni Kai?"

That's what I was wondering; well, wondering in between the time my lips were turning white, that is. Seriously? A friggin' makeover? WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING? Was this some kind of sick joke? Part of me was starting to think I had been ripped off when I had forked over the last of my gold. But then, it wasn't like I was going to need it after the Agni Kai. After all, I'd be dead.

Hmmm...make-over or death...? I still couldn't figure out the worse fate.

"Julie won't be fighting," said Bo-Fen. "Look, you and I both know that it's impossible to make a complete martial arts n00b into a top-class warrior before sunset, so we're not going to waste time trying. Instead, we're going to do the smart thing and help her escape."

"That's the smart thing? Wouldn't the smart thing be to barter for her life?" Lieutenant Jee asked.

Yeah, like I would really want to make a deal with Zhao. Besides, I couldn't just stick it to Zuko like that. I mean he was a huge pain in the ass, but...well...wasn't he kind of my friend? Okay, maybe friend was stretching it, but...I dunno. We were _something_. And people who were something didn't just go around stabbing each other in the back.

Shut up. It made perfect sense at the time.

"Barter? With what?" Bo-Fen asked with a bark of laughter. "We've got nothing that Zhao wants...nothing that Julie's willing to give, anyway. So we need a good enough disguise for her so that way she can leave the docks unnoticed."

Lieutenant Jee smiled, as though he had finally understood what Bo-Fen was getting at. "And we both agree she'd make a piss-poor warrior. So we'll have to disguise her as something more...believable. Something gentle and unimposing."

Oh, snap. The man had turned his back on us and was now fishing around in his trunk, looking for something. After a minute or so he emerged holding a moss green kimono with a pink obi-belt in his hands. Oh, for the love of crap...! Where the hell had he gotten a hold of something like _that?_

"I made a detour while we were looking for you," he told me. "I had a feeling you'd end up buying something completely unsuitable for a young lady, so I took the liberty of procuring something more appropriate." Then, to Bo-Fen, he said, "We'll make her into a lady."

"I refuse," I said immediately. "I'd rather die."

"Really? Because if you can't pass yourself off as a respectable young woman before sunset, you'll never be let off the docks. In short, you _will _die."

Shit. When he put it like that...it was much easier talking about dying than actually going through with it. And, truth be told, I still kind of wanted to live. I mean, if I died here, Jessie would never know what happened to me. She'd worry herself into an early grave. Hell, she was probably doing it right now. I felt another stab of guilt, realizing that I hadn't been trying all _that _hard to find a way home. I was a terrible friend.

So I had to live, at least until I figured out what to do.

"Fine," I huffed. "Do your worst."

Lieutenant Jee smiled. It was supposed to be a gentlemanly smile, but the glint in his eyes more so resembled Doctor Frankenstein as he was digging up the severed body parts for his monster. At least, that was how I saw it.

"Then, let's get started."

* * *

The sun had just reached its zenith as Delun finished making his round along the docks. He wasn't concerned about the guards Zhao had stationed everywhere. They were merely human, after all, and humans were generally unobservant. In any case, Delun knew how to blend in, even in the maroon cloak he was wearing. At a distance, one might mistake him for another Fire Nation noble in that color. But as a habit, Fire Nation preferred bright red to the color of blood.

Delun didn't even blink when two people seemed to emerge from the shadows behind him. "Did you discover anything?"

"The girl is to fight the Commander Zhao at sunset," said one of the grunts. "Everyone is buzzing about it."

"And do you think she can win?"

"No. We've been watching the girl like you told us. They didn't even see us on board the ship, and she didn't even suspect she was being followed so closely. She's too easy a target. She doesn't stand a chance."

"I guess this means her true potential has yet to be unleashed...that is, if she is what I think she is."

"Master Delun," one of the grunts spoke up. "It could be merely a coincidence that she resembles our Lady so closely. Perhaps she is merely an ordinary child. Otherwise, she would have sensed us following her."

"Well," said Delun, "I think it is better to be safe than sorry in this instance. After all, we are talking about the potential reincarnation of Lady Ayla. I for one, do not intend to take chances."

The grunts were silent, stupefied at their leader's casual use of their Lady's name. As though sensing their disbelief, Delun laughed quietly. He turned and saw very clearly the confusion in their eyes; though they kept their expressions rigidly blank, as they had been trained for years to do when in the presence of a superior.

"You think I am out of line by speaking her name?" he asked.

Neither of them answered. Caution urged them to remain silent.

"Yes, it is better that you remain quiet. After all, I have been blessed with the right." And with that, he showed them his right hand. As though burned into his flesh, a scar shaped like a massive bird leered back at the startled acolytes. "So now you see?"

Mutely, they nodded. "W-what are your orders...Master Delun?" one of them croaked.

He smiled, pleased by their meek obedience. "We'll keep watching this Julie. I think we'll learn quite a lot by this little Agni Kai. If she shows any signs of potential, then I think it would be worth the risk of interfering with the duel." His smile grew into a frightening grin. "And then we'll take her training into our capable hands."

"The...the other clans might not like this," a grunt warned him. "They might all demand a hand in unlocking her power, if she is Lady Ayla."

"That won't be a problem. Once we have Lady Ayla, we won't need our sister clans anymore. We'll shed them like old feathers and burn them into ashes."

The two grunts exchanged significant looks, but neither of them said a word. Silently, the trio walked off and vanished into the shadows from whence they came. None of them seemed to notice the small figure croached by the heap of garbage they had passed. The little person waited until he was sure they were gone before emerging from his hiding place.

It was Kuba.

"That girl doesn't know what she's gotten herself into," he muttered to himself. "I still can't believe she thought she could teach me anything. She's hopeless!"

The wind whisked by, as though sighing in agreement.

"Aw, whatever," he said, burying his hand in his unruly black hair. "She _did _get me some food. I suppose someone should warn her. It's only fair."

With that said and done, the boy ran off towards the ships, being extremely careful not to step into the light. It didn't matter who caught him; soldiers or Brotherhood goons. If he was seen, then he was history. Plain and simple.

* * *

The Air Sanctuary was designed with a major emphasis on space. No surprise there, seeing as it was designed by a bunch of Airbenders. Space and freedom instictively crept into all of their projects and designs. Still, Sokka thought it was kind of impressive (from an architectual point of view) the way they made so many statues fit in one building. He had expected more Airbenders, like the ones outside, but to his surprise he seemed to be looking at the stone resemblances of people from the other three nations: Earth, Fire, and Water.

"This place is huge," he muttered.

"It has to be to hold so many statues," said Aang. Then, he frowned. "Hey, do you think these guys are...Avatars from the past?"

"That's what I was thinking. But they're only statues. They can't really directly teach you anything..."

As he was talking, Sokka walked along the line of statues, scrutinizing each one.

"But indirectly, I suppose you can learn a lot. The type of stone that was used, the posture of the statues, the expressions on their faces, those things are telling me a lot about the people who made them."

"Wow," said Aang. "You sound like a real detective, Sokka."

Sokka smiled to himself. "Well, I don't like to brag or anything, but...hey, did you see that?"

"What?"

A dark shadow had just darted in and out of his field of vision, making a zig-zag path along the spiraling row of Avatars. Sokka had only just caught sight of it out of the corner of his eye.

"Over there. By the last statue. What is that?"

Aang had already taken off after the shadow. Sokka blinked for a second before joining in the chase. It only took him two seconds, having a longer stride than the Airbender, to catch up to him. Together, they scrambled after the elusive being that had followed them inside. It was close to impossible to get too close to their quarry, having to dodge around a myriad of statues and being careful not to break anything. But eventually they herded it to the spacious center of the room, and Aang triumphantly tackled it to the ground.

"Huh...?" he blinked down at the furry creature he was holding. "It's a flying lemur."

Sokka would have asked if he could eat it, but he had long since given up on a good meal. It was clear that he was fighting a losing battle on that particular front. And in any case, it was very difficult to think about food when the floor somehow crumbled away beneath them.

"What the...!"

That was the only thing Sokka had time to say before he started to fall into the inky blackness of the hole. Fortunately, before he went to far, Aang snatched his shoulders and rocketed over the mouth of the hole with a gust of air. They collapsed onto the floor just as the last of the stone dissolved, revealing a dark, gaping abyss.

The moment Sokka felt the air returning to his lungs, he rolled into a sitting position and grabbed Aang. "Don't make any more sudden moves. The rest of the floor could have pitfalls like this one."

"This is...weird..." Aang gasped. "What could make the stone just crumble like that? I didn't think we were that heavy."

The Water Tribe boy frowned. "That's because it wasn't an accident. Look, see the way the mouth of the hole is so rounded and smooth?" Cautiously, he crept to the hole and felt the edges tentatively. "The stone around it feels sturdy, but I'm finding splinters of wood. I'm guessing that there was only a thin sheet of rock on top of a wooden door. It must have rotted away by now."

"Airbenders didn't make this," Aang muttered. "You need an Earthbender to make the rock smooth like this...maybe it was one of the Avatars?"

"I dunno. But I don't like the looks of this."

Sokka looked out towards the entrance. The sun was getting lower in the sky, but it wasn't dark enough yet for Ayla to come out of hiding yet. Still, he had his priorities. Necessity almost always won out over promises made to figments of his imagination. His conscience would just have to learn to deal.

Unforunately, he didn't have time to voice his decision. The lemur (who had managed to wriggle out of Aang's hands) had decided that the hole was way cooler than his new companions. In a single lithe bound, the little guy flew into the darkness below and disappeared.

Aang looked at Sokka and Sokka sighed. He knew what _that _look meant. "All right. We'll go after the lemur." _Besides, maybe we'll find something to eat down there. Or something about Ayla. What's the worst that could happen?_

He had no idea. The universe had a sick sense of humor.

* * *

**A/N: Sokka's field trip at the Air Temple has led him and Aang to a mysterious trap door in the Air Sanctuary. And the clock is still ticking as Julie prepares for her escape, so desperate that she even succombs to Lieutenant Jee and Shen-Long's makeover. Will the facade be enough to sneak past Zhao's men? And just what does Delun have planned for Julie? Will Kuba be able to warn her in time?**

**The bird etched on the back of Delun's hand is a raven. The sister clans he was referring to all belong to the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus, and we'll learn more about them as the story progresses. I'm not saying any more than that. Anyway, m****y head is starting to spin from all the plot threads. Weaving them into a story is le bitch, but it's really satisfying to look back and admire a completed chapter. I feel way better now.**

**Not much Zuko and Zhao this chapter, but they'll play a key part in the next chapter. Well, obviously. And we might have some fluffy bits to enjoy, whether Julie manages to get away or not. I'm evil like that.**

**If you don't want an "accidentally-on-purpose" hiatus, then REVIEW!**


	25. Fight or Flight Part I

**A/N: Okay, guys. I just noticed something a bit...um...startling about my fic. And if I, the oblivious author, have noticed it, then I'm sure most of you have too. So let me just throw it right there in the open for you.**

**MY FIC IS OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND WORDS LONG! AND I'M NOT EVEN PAST EPISODE THREE OF SEASON ONE! ACK!**

**Naturally, it occured to me that this fic is only going to end up being waaaaaaay longer than novel-length. So I was thinking of breaking this fic into three parts (one for each season). Just to make it easier on the eyes. Well? What think ye, oh, loyal readers? Should I just keep this as one massively long fic? Or should I make it a saga? Because I do plan on covering all three seasons (and then some). **

**Also, does it feel like a long read? Is this a bad thing? I was just wondering. Anyway, thank you guys for your continued support and reviews. You shine upon my day like epic sugar fairies of spiffy and win. So there. ^-^ Enjoy the chappie!**

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**Chapter Twenty Two: Fight or Flight, Part I; Flight**

"There," said Lieutenant Jee proudly, taking a few steps away from me to admire his own handiwork. "Perfect."

Perfect? I didn't feel even remotely perfect. In fact, I felt like a bomb waiting to go off. So far, Bo-Fen had forced me into that green kimono, then she made me sit still while Lieutenant Jee told Shen-Long exactly where and how much make-up to apply to my cringing, unwilling face (_"If you don't relax more, I'll have to start over, and this will take even longer,"_ he had threatened). I wasn't used to all these girly rituals, and part of me was deeply concerned that Shen-Long of all people was better at applying eye-shadow than I was.

I sulked in my chair, wanting to chew on my lip except for the fact that it was hidden under a slightly darker shade of lipstick. "I'm going to stand out even more looking like this," I complained.

"Not when you put on your wig," Jee replied, holding out what looked like a scalp full of a long, pin-straight black hair. "Not even Zhao will recognize you once that hair is taken care of."

I flinched away from his hands, tipping over my chair as I staggered to my feet. "Oh, no! No, no, no, NO! You never said anything about my hair! You are _not _touching my hair."

"It's not like he's shaving it off," Bo-Fen commented. "It's just a wig."

I felt my back muscles tense up drastically. "Then let _me _put it on. No one touches my hair," I said darkly.

The trio exchanged incredulous looks. I could hardly blame them. I probably sounded like a total nutcase, but that didn't stop the panic from seizing me every time someone reached a hand anywhere near my scalp. Why else would I keep it so damn short, if only to keep people from touching it? It sure as hell wasn't to make a statement.

I had very good reasons for not wanting anyone messing with my hair...

Before any of them could comment, I snatched the wig from Lieutenant Jee's hands and (with some difficulty) managed to get it on my head. Furiously, I combed out the kinks with my fingers and turned to glare at them.

"Happy?"

They all stared at me. "Um," said Shen-Long. "You...look nice."

I made an irritated noise in the back of my throat and stalked past him towards the desk.

"Deranged is more like it," Bo-Fen muttered. "What's gotten into _her?"_

_

* * *

_

(Katara's POV, third person)

Katara had abandoned her sewing the minute Sokka and Aang were out of sight. She slid deftly off of Appa's saddle and immediately began roaming around the grounds of the temple, her blue eyes alert as she scanned the snow and rubble. Sokka may have promised to keep Aang occupied all day, but (unfortunately) Katara didn't hold too much faith in her brother's patience. Either way, it would only be a matter of time before they returned. And the longer they stayed here, the more likely it would be before Aang spotted something...unpleasant.

For this reason, Katara was planning on keeping herself busy: searching for evidence of a Fire Nation attack and quickly hiding it the best she could. She didn't waste time asking herself if she was doing the right thing. What did it matter so long as Aang was happy?

For the longest time, Katara didn't have people her own age to talk to, her brother excepted. She was so used to the gloomy backdrop the war had presented her that she hadn't even realized how much it had aged her. She was so used to looking after the young ones of their broken-up tribe, so used to being the mature, responsible one...she had almost tricked herself into thinking she was older than she really was.

Aang had reminded her what fun was. She hadn't even remembered the last time she had gone penguin-sledding before he showed up. Whatever Sokka might have said about the young Airbender, there was an almost unshattering, pure quality about him that made him able to hold on to the good things in life...all of the good things that was still left on this war-torn planet. Katara admired that in him.

Whatever it might cost her, Katara was going to protect that purity, that sense of hope.

"I guess I'll start outside and work my way in," she said to Appa, who was watching her curiously. She glanced at the snow and considered using her Waterbending to melt it.

But what if Aang came back and saw that there was no snow?

_I'll just tell him I was practicing,_ she thought. _He'll believe that..._

With a pang of guilt, she realized that he would believe anything she told him. And she would be lying to his face.

_It's for his own good, _she told herself as she got in her bending stance. Taking a deep breath, she focused her chi into her fingertips and mentally _pushed _at the mound of snow until she could feel it melting.

_Relax, _she told herself. Waterbending meant going with the flow, feeling the push and the pull of the water. Forcing it to move the way she wanted would only result in pointless struggle. It would be like swimming against a current. Bad idea.

And speaking of bad ideas...

Katara made the mistake of opening her eyes and shuddered at the sight of a frozen Fire Nation corpse. Mere bones by now, but there were still icy tatters of flesh clinging to some of those bones. Having never seen a dead body before, she found herself frozen herself in morbid fascination. She was horrified, but she couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried.

_Oh, spirits..._

Thank La that Aang wasn't around to look at this. This was terrible. Though the eye sockets were empty, she imagined a pair of eyes leering at her. She could feel bile clawing its way up her esophagus, but she managed to swallow her revulsion in time to avoid losing her breakfast. Looking away, she melted the snow into a small wave, which she used to push the body off the nearest cliff. She repeated the process with the three other bodies she found in the pile of snow.

For a moment, she felt guilty that she hadn't buried them. But then, did these nameless soldiers deserve it? They were Fire Nation. They, along with countless others, had destroyed Aang's home and taken Katara's mother away.

She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. She would not feel guilty. She refused to.

Unfortunately, while Katara was busy not feeling guilty, she failed to notice a patch of black ice as she moved on towards the next pile of snow. Her eyes widened as her foot slid out from beneath her.

"...!"

Had she not been standing so close to one of the hidden pitfalls around the Air Temple, she might have gotten away with a broken ass and a dent in her pride. As it was, the mere stumble shouldn't have been enough to send her plunging into the unnoticed gap in the floor. But Katara could have _sworn _she felt something...push her.

She didn't even have time to scream before she landed with a thud at the bottom. She felt the jarring of the impact before the pain rushed over her, sucking the air out of her lungs.

_Aang...Sokka..._

And then, she thought no more. Darkness had mercifully claimed her.

_

* * *

_

The plan should have been simple: I was dressed up as a lady of modest income. My story was that I had just arrived at port, and was waiting for my retainers to take me to my new home in one of the Fire Colonies, somewhere deeper in the Earth Kingdom. I didn't have to keep up the facade once I was off the docks. I just had to be believable long enough to get myself a ship to Kyoshi Island.

"Why Kyoshi Island?" Jee had asked.

I didn't look up as I straightened my wig in the mirror. It still creeped me out how different I looked with it on. I felt almost...I dunno...prettier with it on. That, the make-up, the kimono, it made me look prettier, but I still didn't feel like myself.

"Isn't it neutral territory? I figure I can hide out there as long as I have to. I don't have to tell them that I've been traveling with the Fire Nation. Plus, I don't really look Fire Nation, do I?"

"Not in the least...well, maybe with the wig on, but...in your normal attire you look almost like a clown."

I winced. Asshole.

"Zhao will probably be watching the ship," Shen-Long told me. "So we'll need some way to cover you leaving."

"Don't worry," said Bo-Fen, making everyone in the room instantaneously concerned for their own personal well-being. "I've got this."

There it was: her catch phrase from hell. Every time I heard those words leave Bo-Fen's mouth, I instinctively found myself expecting the worst. It went without saying that Bo-Fen's plans usually were fitted to suit her the best, and left everyone else scrambling for cover. The Mast Incident had not yet left my mind and I was not eager to repeat the experience of being dangled upside-down, about fifty feet in the air.

Just an example, but still. For all I know it could have been forthcoming.

"What are you going to do?" I asked nervously.

She smiled wickedly. "Shen and I are goin' to distract the men."

Shen-Long jumped in alarm as his name fell into the conversation. "I'm, _what _now?"

"Shut up and be a man for a change."

"I'm a man, but I'm not stupid. You've got something notorious up your sleeve."

Bo-Fen just smiled. It was the most evil smile I had ever seen. I only had a split second to be grateful that she was, somehow and inexplicably, on my side. Considering the way she treated her friends and allies, I could only imagine the pain in store for her enemies. And the craziest part about all of this was that somehow I _liked _that about her. I thought it was pretty ballsy, to tell you the truth.

Shen-Long must have felt the same way. It wasn't long before he gave up protesting and resigned himself to bemoaning the unpleasant fate in store for him. "If you weren't my only sister, I'd..._mumble, mumble, mumble..._"

"I didn't catch that, Shen," said Bo-Fen.

"Nothing," he said. "Nothing you want to hear, anyway."

"Then let's cut the crap and get goin'." As she and Shen-Long moved towards the door, Bo-Fen paused to clasp me on the shoulder. It was my bad one, and it had been taken out of its cast for the sake of preserving the disguise. Fortunately, her grip was firm, yet conscious of my old injury. It didn't hurt.

"Take care of yourself, Julie," she said seriously.

"Yeah," I said, wishing I could swallow the lump in my throat. I was nervous as hell. "Right. You too."

"I'm never careful. That's what keeps me alive."

On that enigmatic note, she left the room, her brother in a tow. He had no words for me, only a single glance that told me everything. _Don't do anything stupid._ _Don't let Zhao get you_.

Right. Easier said than done.

* * *

"I'm only going to ask you once," muttered Shen-Long as they moved towards the ramp of the ship. "Will your plan result in any kind of permanent scarring, either physical or mental?"

Bo-Fen gave him a look. "Only if you're a wuss."

That couldn't have been a good sign.

They were starting down towards the ramp now, and were in plain view of Zhao's men. At a glance, they could see a good ten or so watching the ship alertly. Bo-Fen was careful not to move her lips too much as she gave her brother one final piece of advice.

"Follow my lead and cover your balls."

_Definitely _not a good sign.

Shen-Long would have cut and run right then and there, but it was his ill fortune that Bo-Fen was already putting her distraction through the motions. And he was trapped, like a mouse in the talons of a messenger hawk with ill tidings strapped to its feet. But then, he shouldn't have been surprised. This was his _sister _after all.

"_What_ did you just call me?" she demanded angrily, wheeling on him unexpectedly.

He gaped at her like a fish out of water. "I...I...erm..."

"Didn't think I'd hear you, huh? Well, I've had enough of your cowardly sniping to last me a lifetime. Your ass is mine, you fucker!"

And then, to his supreme horror, Bo-Fen drew a knife on him.

"W-what do you think you're doing?" he gasped, taking a few cautionary steps away from her. Conveniently, this placed him farther down the ramp, and closer to the line of soldiers; who were now all simultaneously eyeing the two in interest. It wasn't every day you got to see a public squabble with _weapons_ drawn.

"Carving a piece of your ass to send home to Mom," she snarled.

That was a low blow. Their mother had been dead for a long time. Shen-Long felt a wave of indignation sweep over him as he drew his own knife, if only to parry with hers. Bo-Fen always did know which buttons to push.

"You come after me, and you'll regret it, sister."

"Heh. At least now you're serious. For a second there, I thought you didn't even have the balls to defend yourself. Let's see what you got!"

And then they flew at each other, both hell-bent on slicing each other up. Ah, sibling rivalry. Wasn't it adorable? At least, one might think that giving some of the things the men on the docks were saying to each other. If anything, one might have thought they were watching a couple of children having a slap-fight. It was a bit surreal, but then, I wasn't Fire Nation.

"Me and my brother were the same way," said one of the guards fondly. "I remember this one time, Renji came at me with one of our father's daggers after I ate the last of the Fire Flakes. It was beautiful the way I kicked it out of his hands and went after him with a meat cleaver our Mom had left on the counter..."

"That's nothing," said another guy. "One time, _my _sister tried to set my bed on fire when I sold her pet rabbit to foreigners. Best twenty copper pieces _I_ ever made...! Though my hair never grew in right after she burned it all off."

* * *

About twenty minutes later everything was in place. Jee and I waited by the back of the ship, near one of the bow windows. The Lieutenant was keeping a sharp lookout for Zhao's guards. Seeing none, we waited in silence for Bo-Fen's distraction.

The silence was awkward though. For all I knew, this could be the last time I would ever see Lieutenant Jee. I don't know why I felt so bothered by this, especially after he went and tried to marry me off to the highest bidder. Not to mention all of those hours wasted trying to mold me into something I wasn't.

Still. In spite of all that, I felt a hollow ache as I thought of leaving him and the Zu-crew behind. When had I gotten so attached to these guys? They were pains in my ass, and I couldn't wrap my brain around this sense of loss, but there it was.

"It's a shame," said Lieutenant Jee quietly. "You would have made a pretty bride."

I looked up and saw a flash of pain in his eyes. This separation was eating at him too. Huh. I guess he didn't hate me as much as I thought he did. Not that it helped, now.

"I didn't want to get married anyway," I told him. "Why were you so hell-bent on interfering, anyway? It's like Zuko says; I'm just a peasant. You don't have any reason to be upset if I grow up to be an old spinster with a million cats in my basement."

Jee didn't look at me. He didn't say a word, but he looked like he was grieving inside. He kept his gaze firmly focused out the window and wouldn't acknowledge me, even if I were to set fire to my wig and do the macarena.

"Look," I said. "It's not your fault. I mean...really, it all comes down to what we all knew all along. I don't have the right temperment for this sort of thing. Even if I didn't shoot my mouth off at every little thing, no guy would find me attractive; no matter how much make-up you put on me. I look like _a boy_."

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Jee muttered. "You may resemble a boy in the clothes you like to wear, but that wouldn't make you an _ugly _one. Hell, if you grew your hair longer and dressed a bit more tastefully, I bet you'd even get Prince Zuko to admit you're a girl. Incidentally, that kimono really does bring out the color of your eyes."

"Flattery and lies will get you no where," I replied. Though inside, my head was buzzing. "And Zuko wouldn't admit I'm a girl if you were holding his feet to the fire. Not that I care or anything, but I hear he has a girlfriend back in the Fire Nation."

Jee rolled his eyes. "I _doubt _that. That boy is even more stubborn than you are, and twenty times as frustrating. I can't see many women being able to tolerate him. Anyway, it's about time someone stood up to that brat. And, to tell you the truth, I think he's become less insufferable to be around since you showed up. You have no idea how surprised I was that you actually got away with your supply run."

"Yeah, well, I had to aim below the belt for that one." I said, looking up at Jee.

The Lieutenant didn't say anything. He looked vaguely pained again, but it was for a different reason.

"Be careful with what you say," he warned me. "If I didn't already know the details, I'd have thought your comment meant you were being intimate with the Prince."

It took a minute for my mind to process that one.

"EW!"

"Sorry. That was a bit untoward of me to say, but I thought you should know."

The various nasty things I wanted to say to Jee were immediately driven from my mind as we heard the shouts coming from outside the ship. I felt Jee's hand press against my back, pushing me towards the window.

"That's your cue," he said.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Thanks, Jee. Tell Zuko and Iroh good-bye for me, okay? And...and the others. I'll miss you guys. Really."

"Go!"

Not wasting another second, I climbed over the sill and pushed myself over the edge. The moment my feet touched the ground, I took off at a dead sprint for the nearest alley. When I emerged at the other side, I would even up my pace and pretend to look like I was looking for someone. And then, I would wander as far from the docks as I could get before changing my disguise.

I half glanced over my shoulder and saw Jee watching me from the window. I was both surprised and touched by his concern.

The moment I had disappeared in the alley, I found a small pair of arms grab my legs. I nearly tripped over the person in the dark. As it was, I stumbled a good couple of feet before falling on my ass. But, remembering my etiquette lessons, I fell as gracefully as I could.

Oh, who the hell was I kidding? I was no lady. If anything, I was exactly what Zuko was always accusing me of being; an uncough peasant girl. I sat there, stunned for a few seconds before a blur of messy black hair and tattered clothes tackled me again. "Gurk...!" I gasped as the smaller pair of arms closed around my torso.

"Julie? Julie! It _is _you. Where in the Spirits did you find _that _get up?"

I blinked at the boy in my lap. "Kuba?" I said incredulously. "You're okay!"

Kuba quickly got up and dusted himself off, which was kind of a futile effort given the "healthy layer of earth" that kid had on him. "Duh. But I can't say the same for you. I leave you alone for one day, and look at you!"

I found the corners of my mouth curving into a rare smile. It was kind of bizarre that this little kid acted as though _I _were the one who needed babysitting. But then, I guess I did undergo some drastic changes since I had last seen him. I mean, hell, I was in a freaking kimono!

"The dress and wig are only temporary. See, I'm kind of trying to escape, so I have to wear a disguise."

Kuba did what I could only describe as a mental hand-slap. Or, at least, it looked that way judging by the look on his face. "Crap! That's right, I forgot...!" He grabbed my hand, and with a surprising amount of upper body strength for a kid his age, he hauled me off my butt and onto my feet. Huh.

"We need to go," he told me as he urgently towed me towards the other end of the alley. "I don't have time to explain, but there are some really bad people after you. If they catch you..."

"What?" As far as I knew, Zhao had yet to learn of my escape-in-progress. "Who?"

Kuba shot me an incredulous look. "Remember the guys in the cloaks yesterday? The ones that almost took you away? They were the Brotherhood! Didn't I tell you to stay away from them?"

Okay, did anyone else think it was kind of weird the way I was being chewed out by a nine-year-old? Man, I had seriously misjudged this kid when I first met him. Apparently, not only was he street saavy (or, at least, way more street saavy than I was), but he also seemed to be a little-boy version of Jessie. Kind of.

"Yeah, I know," I said, heaving a sigh. "But I didn't realize you saw all of that. I thought that the crowd had swallowed you up or something. Or that you ran away."

"Are you kidding? If I left you, who knows what those bastards would have done to you. Sheesh, Lady, s_omeone's_ got to look after you."

"Well, technically, I did have someone looking after me," I muttered, thinking of Zuko and Iroh.

I felt strange to think about those two as guardian figures. Still, it was kind of cool the way Zuko had come to my rescue like that. And if the shoe fits...wait a minute. No, dammit! Was I high? He had only come after me to stop me from blabbing about the Avatar! I had no reason to consider him as anything more than...well...Zuko. No reason at all.

Iroh, though. He was cool. I'd definitely miss him. But NOT Zuko.

"You mean that guy with the scar and that old fat man? Why aren't they with you now?" Kuba wanted to know. "I would have figured they'd want to come with you."

"I didn't exactly give them the option," I replied. "But back to business, you're telling me that the Brotherhood is after me?"

"They've been watching your every move. They're waiting for this Agni Kai thing you're supposed to be doing, and they were going to grab you when you had let your guard down."

Wonderful. More enemies to deal with. What was _with _these Brotherhood freaks, anyway? What had I ever done to them? There was no reason for these dudes to be stalking me. No reason that I was aware of, anyway.

As my mind conjured up the image of Delun's face, I felt a cold shiver run up my spine. That man was just plain scary. No matter which way you looked at him, there was something subtley lethal about him; maybe it was the way his eyes glinted in the light, or maybe it was the silent but rigid command he held over his grunts. Either way, I knew I didn't want to run into him in a dark alley any time soon.

And speaking of alleys, I should probably be hauling ass out of this one before someone found me here.

"Well, shit," I said. "Okay, then. We need to get our butt moving to Kyoshi Island pronto."

Kuba blinked at me. "You want to hide there? You'll never get a ship off of _these _docks. We'll have to leave town and find another port along the coast. And then we have to find a ship _going _there. Honestly, there aren't all that many that go to Kyoshi Island. It could take us a couple of weeks to find a ship, and by then the Brotherhood will have caught up to us."

Huh. Pretty insightful for a nine-year-old. I was starting to suspect that there was a lot more to Kuba that met the eye.

"I have to go there. I have someone who might be waiting for me there. Friends of mine," I explained.

"Well...okay, then. If you're sure."

We stopped mincing words. Kuba took my hand and led me out of the alley. For a moment, I stood blinking in the afternoon sunlight. The streets were alive with merchants and their customers, and a few Fire Nation soldiers were idling at some of the stalls. Hastily, I forced my shoulders to relax and walked along like I had business here.

But the fact of the matter is that even though I was dressed like a noble, I wasn't exactly carrying myself like one. I could tell because people were giving me these weird looks. Plus, I seemed to have a street urchin as a watchdog. Kind of unusual for a young noble-woman to be seen with one of those.

Kuba stiffened suddenly. "We're being followed," he muttered to me.

I turned to look around and caught a brief glimpse of a couple of guys in maroon cloaks before Kuba grabbed my arm and jerked me back around. The heck? He was either really persistent, or stronger than a normal kid should be. That, or I was just really weak. Shit.

"Are you stupid? Don't go _looking_ for them. We can't let them know we know they're there."

I felt heat rush into my cheeks. "Well, sorry. I'm not exactly used to being stalked, you know."

"It's common sense. Or...street sense. Whichever. I still can't believe you wanted to teach _me _something."

He had a cheeky smile on his face now in spite of the situation we were in. He was looking at me like I was a kitten or something equally as helpless. There was a weird fondness reflected in his eyes when he looked up at me, one I couldn't quite identify with. But, man, he was a cute kid. One day, he was sure to break a girl's heart if he wasn't careful.

"You're hopeless," he said.

"And you're a runt," I replied. "But I suppose neither of us can help that. So what do we do about these guys, anyway?"

Kuba opened his mouth to reply when all of a sudden, we heard a shout from behind us. People around us stopped and stared at something behind us, so naturally we turned and followed suit. We got a really good view of a squadron of Fire Nation soldiers as they attempted to force their way through the crowd. Towards us.

"Um...shit," I said. "RUN!"

"Stop that girl!" one of the guards yelled. "She's a criminal!"

People were starting to realize that they were talking about me. Before they could do anything, though, Kuba and I were pushing our way past people and hauling ass towards the other side of town. We let the soldiers chase us for about a quarter of a mile before the crowd started to get thick again. I thought we were toast, but Kuba surprised me by grabbing my arm and dragging me down another alley.

"This way," he said.

We only went about a couple of paces before our path suddenly had people in it. People in maroon cloaks. It was like they just walked out of the shadows, but probably they were just hiding behind a dumpster or something. Either way, Kuba and I didn't see them until it was too late.

"Halt," one of them said in a gravelly monotone.

"Fuck," Kuba swore. "It's them!"

We abruptly turned tail towards the mouth of the alley. To our horror, we found _that _path blocked by the soldiers we had been running from. Oh, for the love of crap!

"There's no escape for you!" the leader of the squadron yelled.

Okay, options. Obviously I could not fight my way out of this. The whole reason I was escaping in the first place was because I had absolutely no combat experience. So this meant either handing myself over to the Brotherhood (who were insanely creepy and _might _want to kill me, though I had no idea why) or I could hand myself over to Zhao's men (who would give me to Zhao, who _definitely_ wanted to kill me).

The natural inclination was to take my chances with the Brotherhood, but some gut instinct told me to stay away from these guys at all costs. Plus, Kuba was downright terrified of them. From what little I knew of the kid, I knew that he wasn't the kind that got frightened very easily.

The hell with handing myself over. It was like trying to decide whether I should be drowned or burned alive. Neither option was good, so why waste time wrestling with the lesser of two evils?

"Just come with us," said one of the Brotherhood goons. "We won't hurt you."

"They're lying," Kuba whispered, clinging to my arm. I think I was losing circulation in my fingers. "Don't listen to them...!"

"You there," the lead soldier barked at the cloaked men. "Back away from the girl. We're taking her into custody."

"The hell you are!" I snapped.

The Brotherhood didn't move an inch. They had an aura of calm confidence surrounding them, and stood perfectly upright. The way they looked at me, one might have thought that it didn't _matter _to them if I went with them or not. But it was clear that they weren't going to budge on the matter. And they sure as hell weren't about to listen to Zhao's men.

"This is your last warning," said the squadron leader, correctly interpretting their nonaction as defiance. "Step back, or you'll be guilty of aiding a fugitive. You'll be taken along with the girl."

"Kuba," I said quickly, realizing what _that _meant. "Get out of here. It's bad enough that they'll get me, but that doesn't mean they have to capture you too."

He glared at me. "I...I'm not scared of them!"

"Dammit, listen to me! You're just a kid, you can't..."

Before I could finish my sentence, Kuba pushed me aside and took what could only be described as an _Earthbending _stance. And then, right before my eyes, the kid I had mistaken for a shrimp summoned a small boulder. The soldiers all jumped in alarm as the massive projectile hurtled towards them.

The guards were blasted out of the alley like a bunch of bowling pins hit by a wrecking ball. My jaw dropped in sheer dismay.

"You...you're an...an _Earthbender_...!"

But Kuba had grabbed my arm and was dragging me out of the alley. We ran past the soldiers, most of whom were lying in a stunned heap. The ones who hadn't been hit were immediately after us. But to my surprise (and discomfort), the Brotherhood thugs didn't follow us. It made me worry, like they didn't _have _to chase us. It was like they knew they would get us in the end.

Over my dead body.

We found ourselves ducking as bout after bout of flame streaked over our heads. Shit! The bystanders around us started screaming and giving us a wide berth; which was a good thing, since we didn't have anyone getting in our way anymore. It seemed like now we stood a good chance of escaping.

But the soldiers weren't letting up. We had only been running for five minutes when Kuba swore again. "In here," he said. "We can hide by the...by the...dammit!"

We found more soldiers waiting for us down our intended detour. We realized in a heartbeat that we had been herded into a trap by the Fire Nation soldiers. Guards in front of us, guards behind us, and only one pint-sized Earthbender to defend my sorry ass. This was NOT good.

Kuba growled and got into his stance, but I put a hand on his shoulder. I knew we were beat, and I didn't want him getting hurt trying to protect me. He was a good kid. He didn't deserve this.

"I'll come quietly," I told them, putting my hands in the air. "Just don't hurt Kuba. He's innocent. I made him help me."

"He's an Earthbender. We'll have to take him into custody."

And then, before we could change our minds, the soldiers were upon us. Our arms were grabbed and bound behind our backs. Kuba was snarling and kicking at his captors, and I felt like copying him. But then, I was exhausted from the chase. I just closed my eyes and wished I could sink into the stone and vanish.

_Now what?_ I asked myself morosely.

Should I have been very surprised that I didn't have an answer to give myself? But that was just my luck.

* * *

**A/N: Holy crap! Julie got caught, Katara's been in an accident, and Kuba's an Earthbender! Honestly, I wasn't originally going to make Kuba an Earthbender, but I thought it just worked with the situation, and it suited his personality really well. Obviously he doesn't like people to know what he is. He just uses his power as an extra ace up his sleeve.**

**He's not a master Earthbender, so don't even get the idea that he's some kind of boy-version of Toph. He's just...Kuba. That's all I can really say.**

**Oh, and if you're wondering about Zuko, don't worry. I know I was supposed to put him in this chapter, but I couldn't fit him in without going insane on the word count. So he'll show up next chapter, along with Sokka and Aang. I hope you're looking forward to it.**

**Okay, nuff said. REVIEW!**


	26. AN2:

**Author's Note:**

Yeah, sorry to post something so soon after my last chapter, and an Author's Note on top of it all. It really can't be helped though. See, I'm making some **_noticable changes _**to Happy Endings, and I wanted to make sure all of the people who read and enjoy this story get a heads up where they can actually see it. I will also post this on my profile, but, again, I'm not confident that it will be noticed there. I don't really think too many people look at my profile anyway.

So here you go.

First and foremost, the reader response for the last chapter was very encouraging. All of you guys who've been following Julie on her misadventures in the Avatar World seem to be enjoying the ride. To which I can only say, thank _God_.

On the other hand, you all seem to agree with the fact that** THIS STORY IS REALLY FREAKING LONG**. So I'm going to follow your advice and make Happy Endings into a saga. I'm not necessarily limiting it to three parts. Probably I'll break _each season _into two parts and post them as I write them. That means at least six fics. I hope that doesn't seem intimidating. I know some readers tend to get scared off by long stories.

Still, I thought it would only be fair to warn you guys. You had better keep enjoying the ride if you dare, because it _will _be long. It _will _be bumpy. Things will happen to the characters that you might not like. Just thought I'd get that out there.

That being said, I will now tease my precious readers with **the new title of the story you are currently reading**, as well as the titles of the future books in this saga. Here they are:

**Happy Endings, Book I: The Drifter (This is Season 1, Part 1)**

**Happy Endings, Book II: Crossed Hearts (This is Season 1, Part 2)**

**Happy Endings, Book III: Outlaw Rising (This is Season 2, Part 1)**

**Happy Endings, Book IV: The Labyrinth (This is Season 2, Part 2)**

**Happy Endings, Book V: Missing Pieces (This is Season 3, Part 1)**

**Happy Endings, Book VI: Return to Origin (This is Season 3, Part 2)**

As if _that _wasn't enough reading for you guys to choke on for the next year or so, I also am hoping to post a companion to the series. It'll be mainly **light-hearted omake one or two-shots **that I just feel like writing for whatever reason. They'll take place **during the story**, but they're not integral to the main plot and are therefore omitted from the main fic.

**But I'll ONLY write this side-fic if reader response demands it. THAT MEANS REVIEWS! **Not that this has been a problem, given that all of you genuinely seem into Happy Endings. However, I'm expecting to **lose readers **after posting this author's note, and **I don't want to seem presumptuous in posting this. **I want honest opinions here, folks.** If Happy Endings won't survive as a saga, then let me know before I humiliate myself trying. **

Not that I won't try anyway. I'm stupid like that. But still, I want to know what you guys think. Okay, nuff said. I'll let you guys ruminate on the long, long, and longer-still road ahead, and I hope that I'll still be seeing you guys in the reviews. Like I said, it would be a shame if I lost readers over this.

Until then, **BYEZ!**


	27. Fight or Flight Part II

**A/N: ...**

**... ^-^ I friggin love you guys. Seriously, I got so many supporting reviews, and the chapter was an _author's note_. Damn! You guys must really love this story. And, note taken, I'll definitely do the omake fic now. I figure that if I put all my bizarre ideas into that one, I'll be able to cut to the chase in Happy Endings. That means more plot, less side-crap. **

**I still can't believe how long this fic is. I might have to re-write the earlier chapters and cut down on the excess. But for now, it's staying the way it is.**

**Without further ado, you awesome, bad-ass readers, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

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****Chapter Twenty Three: Fight or Flight, Part II; When All Else Fails...**

(Zuko's POV, third person)

_Stupid peasant..._

Heaving a sigh, Zuko sat up slowly; closing his eyes and squeezing them shut as his fingers massaged his temples for the umpteenth time. Damn that girl. This was all her fault; both that he didn't have the Avatar AND that Zhao was detaining them. Because of her flighty temper, his entire crew was going to be under scrutiny until this mess could get cleared up.

Or until the Agni Kai. But Zuko knew that if it came down to a duel at sunset, they were all screwed. Julie may be a fighter, but she's definitely not a warrior. Zuko doubted she could beat up _anyone_.

"She's such a pain," he muttered. "That stupid girl...Julie..."

He didn't like using her name. It would really show just how far gone he was if he started acknowledging her by name. Granted, it was getting harder to hide now that they were no longer enemies...and even he had to admit that he was content with her company at times.

Joining her at meals and making her do tarot readings for him had only been ploys to learn more about her, to make sure that she wasn't a threat. But he had expected the task to be close to unbearable. To his surprise, it was just the opposite_._

Zuko couldn't remember exactly when things had changed. Maybe it had been when he found her playing with the Avatar's bison; when she listened to his troubles with something akin to sincere interest. Her eyes, watching him talk about his banishment; while wary, they hadn't been _judging _him like they should have been. That was more than he had expected from anyone, let alone an annoying, trouble-making peasant girl.

He felt a head-ache coming on. "At least she can't get into any _more_ trouble..."

At once, there was an urgent knock at the door. The Fire Prince felt himself stiffen at the disturbance, already sensing the cause. Iroh poked his head inside, but hesitated when he saw the _look _on his Zuko's face.

"If this has anything to do with that girl, then I don't want to hear about it," he said quickly.

Iroh chose to ignore that; or perhaps he had no choice in the matter at all. "Julie has attempted to flee the docks, and was captured by Zhao's men along with a young Earthbender."

Zuko digested that for a moment, trying to make sense of his topsy-turvey emotions. Foremost was anger. It was clearly impossible for her to go through a single day without causing him undue stress and aggravation. But he also felt stung that she had been going to leave him and his Uncle. He had no idea why _that _should have bothered him, but it did.

"Where is she now?"

"In Zhao's tent. You might want to come help straighten things out. The Commander is accusing our crew of assisting in her escape. He is calling us all traitors."

Zuko cursed. "All of _this _over a peasant! I just don't understand it, Uncle. Zhao _has _to know that she isn't the Avatar! Why is he doing all of this?"

"Perhaps it is merely a matter of pride. Julie, a girl of no rank or station, has insulted the man to his face. And in front of you, the Fire Lord's only son."

"His only _exiled _son."

"Even so, Zhao is very ambitious and obviously dislikes you. My honest opinion is that he is using her as an example. Even _he _was bound to notice how protective you were acting before. In punishing her, he must think that he is punishing you."

Zuko sputtered. "I...she...that's ridiculous..."

"Is it?"

The two locked gazes for a heated moment. Nothing else needed to be said.

* * *

The soldiers quickly dragged me back to Zhao's tent. When they wouldn't let me walk on my own, I spitefully dug my heels into the earth. The silk shoes that Jee had given me were now completely ruined, but I figured that it was worth it. These guys were all jerks.

"Move!" the guard on my immediate left growled, jerking me roughly.

I ended up losing a shoe just as we reached Zhao's tent. The flap of the tent was held open as I was thrown inside. For a moment I listened to Kuba kicking wildly at the soldiers holding him. He couldn't Earthbend the way his arms had been bound, but he was damn well trying to. It all proved futile when he was thrown inside and hit the ground beside me.

For a minute, we just stared at each other.

"Well that sucked. A lot."

Kuba didn't reply. He looked bitter and refused to acknowledge me. His shoulders were stiff as he tried to get his cuffs off, without success.

"Want some help?" I asked, edging closer.

Kuba scowled, but nodded. Since my arms were also tied behind my back, I scooted backwards until we were sitting back to back. Then I strained my wrists trying to get a good feel of the cuffs. Unfortunately, I was not Toph Bei-Fong; but I think I managed to arrange them so that they weren't digging into his wrists the way they had been before.

"They won't budge," I told him.

"S'okay. That feels better, anyway."

We both fell silent as the flap to the tent opened again, and Zhao entered the room like a cold breeze.

"So, we meet again," he said smugly. He looked down at my disshevled kimono and smirked. "I like the dress. I think this suits you much better."

Hastily, I tucked the hem of the kimono over the one leg I had exposed and glared at Zhao. I watched him warily as he came over to me and flinched when he gently took a strand of black hair in his fingers.

"And I like the new hair-do."

"You're such a creep!" I snapped, feeling my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

"Sticks and stones." His voice held a note of dismissal. Carelessly, he let the hair fall out of his hands and gave Kuba a searching look. "I don't believe I've had the honor of meeting your little friend here."

"He's not my friend," I immediately denied. "I don't know why your men brought him along too. I don't even remember seeing him near me."

"You're a terrible liar, Julie."

He gave me a twisted, amused little smile. Seeing it made me feel sick to my stomach.

"My men tell me that you're an Earthbender," he said to Kuba. "How old are you?"

Kuba had stopped glaring. The look he was giving Zhao was pure, blank indifference. "Nine."

"So young to be on your own. Where are your parents?"

"Got none."

"I see. And did you know you were aiding an enemy of the Fire Nation, boy?"

I felt Zhao grab the back of my dress as he hauled me on to my feet. I tried to swat at him, but it was hopeless. My arms were still bound behind my back. Bizarrely, I got the mental image of someone holding a cat by the scruff of its neck and dangling it in the air.

"Let go of me!" I snapped.

Zhao dropped me unceremoniously to the floor. I felt my legs buckle and I ended up kneeling in front of Kuba, who was watching me with wide, nervous eyes; the same eyes he had worn when he had nearly stabbed me back in the alley. Zhao was scaring him.

"I never met her in my life," Kuba muttered. He averted his gaze so that Zhao couldn't see the lie in his face. "I just wanted to mess with the guards. I wasn't trying to _help _her or nothing."

"You were Earthbending at my men. I consider that to be a very hostile act. If I wanted, I could easily have you executed for that."

I felt the air leave my lungs. _He can't...!_

Five feet away, Kuba stared back at me, equally as horrified. "Executed...?" he choked.

_He can't do this! I can't let him do this!_

But I didn't know what to do. I was helpless, and Zhao knew it. Not only did he know it, but he was loving every second of it.

"However, I am not an unreasonable man," he said. He paced the room as he smugly eyed the prey sprawled at his feet. "I can even be generous towards people who show me due loyalty." He turned and gave me that old, _let's be friends _smirk. "I'll be blunt. I know that Prince Zuko is hiding something. And I know that you know what it is. So I'll give you one last chance to tell me what it is."

I just stared at him. "What?"

"If I find your answer to my liking, I might just call off this Agni Kai of ours, girl. We can just forget any of this ever happened. And I'll even let the Earthbender child go. How does that sound to you?"

I looked at Kuba. He stared back at me, eyes wide.

Zhao was offering me a trade. A life for a life. That's what it was going to take to keep me alive. Not just me, but Kuba too. What was I going to do? I couldn't betray Zuko, but I couldn't just let Kuba _die _either.

"Do you promise you'll let him go?" I asked quietly. "I tell you everything, and you'll let him go? Just like that?"

"Of course."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Unbind his chains first. I won't say a word until his chains are off."

Zhao glared at me. "You're not in the position to be giving orders, girl. This is your last chance. I suggest that you tell me everything I want to know before this deal comes off the table."

I bit my lip. I had a nasty decision on my plate.

* * *

Zuko fumed all the way to Zhao's tent, muttering things like, _"Irresponsible..." _and _"thick-headed..._" It didn't take a rocket-scientist to figure out who he was angry at. As he strode furiously down the docks, Iroh right behind him, he continued uttering dark promises under his breath. The passerby could almost swear that he had been breathing fire.

The only thing he stopped for was to pick up a single woman's shoe that had been carelessly dropped not far from Zhao's tent. It only took two seconds for everything to click into place in Zuko's mind; and when he _did _realize who the shoe belonged to, he felt another spike in his foul mood.

"Damn that girl," he muttered. "She'll be the death of us both."

Iroh didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

There were two guards stationed outside of Commander Zhao's tent, and neither of them were being very cooperative. Simply put, they were barring Zuko and Iroh from entering. The seconds were ticking by, and the Fire Prince's mood was growing increasingly sour by the minute. He was just about ready to snap when he received the same reply for the _third _time.

"I'm sorry, your Highness. But Commander Zhao's orders were clear. He wanted to interrogate the prisoners alone."

Zuko's patience had all but run out at this point.

"There is _nothing_ to interrogate her about," he snapped. "Now stand aside before I do something you regret!"

"I suggest that you listen to him," Iroh warned them. "I'm afraid that my nephew isn't the most understanding person when he is angry, and..."

"We have our orders," said the guard, though there was muted alarm in his voice as he eyed Zuko. He could have sworn that the lad was breathing _smoke _out of his nostrils.

That was all his mind had time to process before Zuko grabbed him by the front of his armor and _threw_ him away from the door. He followed up with a bout of flame aimed at the other guard's face. The man parried the blow, but ended up getting pushed back by several feet and falling flat on his butt.

Zuko stormed inside the tent, not sparing the guards a single glance. Iroh only paused to bow apologetically to the fallen men. "My sincerest apologies. Prince Zuko can actually be quite amiable at times. He just has a bit of a temper."

The guards blinked at him, bemused as the Dragon of the West followed Zuko into the tent.

* * *

I looked from Kuba to Zhao, to Kuba again. I had no idea what the right thing to do was.

"Tick, tock," said Zhao, reminding me that it was only a matter of time before his offer was revoked.

I felt my lips trembling as I opened my mouth. But before I could get another word edgewise, Kuba scrambled to his feet and locked furious gazes with Zhao. I tried to stop him, but he darted out of my reach and stood toe-to-toe against the Commander.

"You coward!" he yelled. "What kind of man bullies a weakling like _her _by taking a hostage?"

Zhao didn't bat an eye. He just reacted. In one swift movement, he grabbed Kuba by the neck and boxed him across the ears. I cried out as his fist slammed into his head, propelling Kuba's small body into the floor. The small boy was stunned, and it didn't help when Zhao pinned him to the ground with his foot, pushing the air out of his lungs.

"Stop it!" I screamed. "Leave him alone!"

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the tent.

I felt my gut tighten as I heard the sounds of a squabble. Zhao frowned, and took his foot off of Kuba as he turned towards the flap of the tent. To our surprise, Zuko of all people stomped into the room, followed by his uncle. My heart literally flew when I saw them. Zuko and Iroh; they wouldn't let Zhao torture us for information. At the very least, I could get them to help Kuba. Then I wouldn't have to betray anyone.

_We were saved!_

However, a tense silence followed; during which Zuko's gaze slid down to where I had slumped on to the floor. I realized that he was staring at my outfit...namely, the dress. Suddenly, I felt very self-conscious. The kimono, besides the fact that it was ruined with dirt and streaks of mud, felt silly and girly. I thought I would die of embarrassment.

"What is the meaning of this?" Zhao demanded angrily.

Zuko's attention was dragged away from me, but only for a moment. He seemed to be at a loss for words as he gaped at my girly wardrobe.

Jee had told me before I left that I looked like a delicate blossom, petals open in bloom. This was more a testament to his keen eye for pretty outfits than a compliment. Even so, I didn't look so good now. At my best, I must have looked like a crappy origami flower that someone dragged through the mud. No wonder Zuko was speechless. He clearly wasn't expecting to have to deal with a muddy flower.

Iroh put a hand on Zuko's shoulder. The Fire Prince quickly looked away and flushed red for some reason. "Why is she...like this?"

"She refused to come quietly, so my men had to bring her back by force."

"No. I mean why is she wearing a wig and a dress?"

I scowled. "It was a disguise." In disgust, I ripped the wig off my head and tossed it into the corner."Do you honestly think I'd dress like this if my life weren't at stake? Or maybe you thought Zhao has some weird kick for geisha girls."

Zuko turned even redder, sickened by my lewd suggestion.

"I hate to repeat myself," Zhao said, the outrage soft in his voice. "Prince Zuko, state your business before I lose my patience with you."

Zuko, still choking on my insinuation, could only make a strangled sound of fury before sinking into the nearest chair. Iroh patted him on the shoulder, a sympathetic gesture. I think I would have laughed, only I was starting to wonder if I had just screwed up any chances of being rescued. Zuko didn't look like he was in the position to breathe, let alone save anyone.

"You'll have to give him a minute," said Iroh. "My nephew has been a bit high-strung lately."

"Unfortunately, I don't have a minute to spare. I was in the middle of something."

Zuko forced himself to recover, even though he was clearly suffering from a bout of _that's what she said_. "My business is with my servant. I didn't consent to this interrogation. I demand that you release her at once."

Zhao merely quirked an eyebrow. "No."

"You have no right to hold her here!"

"Julie was attempting to violate the conditions of our Agni Kai. And she's been caught with an Earthbender. Do you honestly expect me to just release her?"

For the first time, Zuko noticed Kuba. He took a good look at the bruise that was forming on his face. Seeing it made him pause as a strange expression flitted in his eyes. It was one of pained recognition. But that only lasted a few seconds before his gaze trailed back to Zhao.

"Why don't we keep her in custody on our ship?" Iroh suggested. "We only have a few hours until sunset, anyway."

"I wanted to question her about the Earthbender."

"I already told you" I growled. "I don't know this kid. He's just an innocent bystander." I turned to Zuko, my eyes pleading. "You have to do something! Zhao won't stop until he kills him!"

Zuko didn't look at me. He was still brooding over something, but I didn't know what it was.

"We'll keep them _both_ in custody," he said quietly. "I'll personally escort the prisoners back to the ship, if you don't mind."

"Actually, I do mind. I don't think Julie could have gotten past my men without help. And she herself just admitted that the boy was just a...what was it again? Oh, yes. A bystander."

"So, you think my men are responsible for this?" Anger colored Zuko's tone a vibrant red.

"I just don't think we should take any chances," said Zhao smoothly. "After all, traitors come in all shapes and sizes, Prince Zuko. It's important to weed them out and _eliminate _them."

Not even a retarded horse could miss the insinuation the Commander made. I felt an tremor of guilt. What if Zhao figured out who snuck me off the ship? Could Jee be executed for this? Shit! I hate make-overs as much as the next sane-minded girl, but I wouldn't kill anyone over it!

Zuko looked like he was going to burst into flames and singe Zhao into a black smudge on the floor. But Iroh intervened, yet again.

"I can assure you that every one of our men is honest and trust-worthy," he said. "However, you may station your own guards to keep an eye on Julie if you feel it is necessary."

"That would be acceptable," said Zhao grudgingly. After all, Iroh still out-ranked him, even as an ex-General.

I still thought it was kind of bogus the way Iroh could get away with _this, _but somehow had no power to interfere in an Agni Kai. I was told later that not even the Fire Lord had the ability to nullify an Agni Kai once the challenge had been declared (except, of course, when it was convenient for him; people tended to look the other way if you were the Fire Lord). How stupid.

"Very good," said Iroh, rather calmly in spite of the situation. "Prince Zuko..."

Zuko didn't wait for his Uncle to finish. He immediately knelt down beside me, moving to pick me up and throw me over his shoulder like last time. But I think he thought better of it when he noticed the dress again. Scowling and flushing angrily, he took out the shoe he had found outside; _my _shoe.

"This is yours, right?"

I just stared at him and gave him a stiff nod. Silently, Zuko pushed the shoe on to my bare foot and dragged me to my feet. Then, abruptly, he turned his back on me and started walking out of the tent. I realized that I was expected to follow him. I only waited long enough for Iroh to collect Kuba before I staggered after Zuko.

We walked in silence for a while, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking. It made me nervous when he wouldn't look at me, wouldn't say a single word to me. For some reason...that made me sad.

"Zuko...?"

He slid his gaze to meet mine. "What?" he asked coldly. "Are you going to apologize? Don't bother. I wouldn't accept your apology even if you meant it."

"I do mean it."

Zuko just stopped short. "You don't even know what you're apologizing _for_, do you?"

I bit my lip and looked at the ground. "Well...I'm sorry that you're mad. I didn't want to...I was trying to..."

"To save your own skin. And then you would leave this mess for me and my Uncle to deal with while _you _ran free. You don't even care, do you? I mean, why would you care? You're probably used to someone else solving all of your problems for you."

That felt like a slap in the face.

"That's not fair!" I cried.

People around us stopped and stared at us. Hastily, I lowered my voice, but it didn't stop the rage from spilling out of me.

"I stuck up for you before!" I hissed. "I could have told Zhao everything to _save my own skin_. But I didn't! I kept my mouth shut like you _asked _me to, you jerk!"

Zuko tried to keep up his angry facade, but my comment seemed to have caught him off guard. "What?"

I gave him a bitter look. "Zhao offered to call off the Agni Kai if I told him the truth. And you know what? I almost did it. He was threatening to kill that kid, and he said he'd let both of us go if I told him what he wanted to know."

"But you didn't take his offer?" he said, dumbfounded. "Why would you do something like that?"

I just stared at him. "I dunno. I guess I thought that we were friends."

Zuko couldn't keep the bewilderment off his face. As though the thought of him being friends with a _peasant _was too ridiculous to comprehend.

"I know. Pretty stupid, huh?" I muttered.

Before he could answer, I pushed myself past him into the girdle of guards that Zhao had ordered to escort us; preferring to surround myself with these indifferent strangers. At this point, I didn't see much of a difference except that I could tolerate looking at these guys. On the other hand, I doubted that I would ever want to see Zuko's startled face again.

* * *

A few hours later I was locked away in the ship's dungeons. Don't get any stupid ideas, either. There's nothing darkly alluring about a dungeon. Because guess what? Dungeons are cold. They're dark. And they smell horrible. No one bothers to clean them, and there are elephant rats _everywhere_.

Zhao's men had been about to put me in shackles too, the ones that were attached to the wall. But I had thrown a fit because of the elephant rats. Mercifully, Iroh had let me have the cell with a bunk in it. I sat on the stale bedding and swung my legs over the side of the cot, looking morosely at the General as he poured himself a cup of tea. He was keeping me company during my final hours.

"So I still have to fight this stupid Agni Kai?"

"I'm afraid there is no avoiding it, now," he said somberly. "We only have half an hour left until sunset. Zhao refuses to change his mind. He says you will fight or be severely punished."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. In spite of the fact that the General was with me, I still felt lonely and cold. I hadn't seen Zuko since I left him at the docks. Strangely, painfully, I found myself actually missing the jerk. So much for holding a grudge.

"What do you think Zhao has in mind?" I asked.

Iroh didn't answer me. He was trying to spare me the details.

"So I'll have to fight then," I muttered. "If I just take the punishment, I'll die. But...if I fight...I could win, right?"

My eyes went to the General's searchingly. He didn't look all that hopeful at my chances of success. His visiting me in the cells was starting to remind me of prisoners in Death Row who, I hear, got a clergyman of their faith to visit them before their execution. To help them into the "Great Beyond." That was assuming there _was_ a something after. I wasn't sure what I believed in at this point.

After all, that night on the bridge, I was pretty sure I was dead. I had been hit by a car and thrown over a bridge. Instead of facing a watery tomb, I ended up here. I got to meet Zuko and Iroh; Aang, Sokka, and Katara; Shen-Long, Bo-Fen, and Lieutenant Jee. Hell, I'd even miss that jerk-face Chaang and his idiot goons who made me climb the mast. I'd miss everyone.

I thought about Jessie. I'd never see her again.

"I never even tried to go home," I said quietly. "I never...really tried. I abandoned her."

"What?"

I jumped. I had forgotten Iroh was there. We stared at each other, and I wondered if I should tell him the truth. About where I came from, about...well...everything.

"I mean to say...well...I'm not from here."

Iroh had an intrigued expression on his face. "Honestly, I had gathered that on my own. I assume that by here, you mean that you are not from the Earth Kingdom. You seemed fascinated when we were about to dock there, as though you had never been there before in your life. Hard to believe from a so-called nomad."

I blushed. _Oops._

"And it was obvious how little you tolerated the cold environment of the South Pole. So I gathered that you weren't Water Tribe either. But you were completely unfamiliar with the customs of the Fire Nation. It was almost comical, except that it was so strange. Neither I nor my nephew could figure out where you came from."

He looked at me, clearly waiting for a response.

"Well..." I said slowly. "I...I..."

I tried to push the words out. _I'm from another world. I don't belong here._ But I couldn't. They seemed stuck inside of me. I don't know why I was so afraid, even now, to tell Iroh my secret. What was I so afraid of, anyway?

I opened my mouth to try again when the door to the dungeon creaked open. Iroh and I both looked up. Zuko glowered at us in the doorway; it was clear that he hated to see me like this, a condemned prisoner. But he didn't comment on it as he made his way towards us.

I lost my voice again. I couldn't say what I wanted to now; not with Zuko looking at me like that.

"It's time," he said quietly.

Gritting his teeth, Zuko forced himself to step aside while Zhao's men poured through the doorway. He turned his face away as they pushed into my cell. Iroh also looked pained as they grabbed me by both of my arms and dragged me towards the room's only exit.

_No...!_

My hand, the one that could still move, the one that wasn't connected to my brain; it reached out and caught the frame of the door. Zuko's gaze shot towards us, and our eyes met for that split second. Somehow, that look changed everything; shattered his calm. I heard him yelling as the soldiers finally pried my fingers off of the door.

"Julie!"

It was the first time I had ever heard him say my name. But the darkness of the hallway quickly swallowed the sound of his voice.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so maybe I made this a tad bit dramatic. But whatever. Agni Kai is up next chapter, and we'll learn the mystery behind Ayla. Hopefully. I'm not very good at sticking to my chapter outline skeletons. **

**And now, for you lucky readers, I have an offer you CAN'T REFUSE! For the special person who gives me my two-hundreth review, I'll let you pick the theme for the VERY FIRST CHAPTER in the omake fic. I'm writing one chapter for every hundred reviews. I figure this way I won't be wasting time neglecting one story for another. **

**If you are the two-hundreth reviewer, I'll let you know. _DON'T just start leaving your ideas in my review box_. When I figure out who the winner is, I'll send them a PM. Then, in a reply PM, you can submit your idea. But make it good. Please.**

**Oh, and that being said, REVIEW!**


	28. Fight or Flight Part III

**A/N: Wow. Still no two hundreth review. I guess I'm not surprised. This chapter should do the trick, though. ^-^ I have to say, though, more than ten reviews for the last chapter? Freaking awesome! Thanks everyone!**

**Okay, so this is the moment you've all been waiting for. THE AGNI KAI! Will Julie win? Does she even have a plan? Will Zuko be able to sit still while Zhao is chucking fire at her? And just what is Sokka going to do about Ayla? THE ANSWERS ARE HERE! Get ready for one of the most bad-assed chapters in the history of EPIC WIN!**

**Yeah, as you can tell, I really enjoyed writing this. I hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter Twenty Four: Fight or Flight, Part III: ...FIGHT!

The sun hung low in the sky, looking like one of the glowing red paper lanterns I had seen in some of the rooms on Zuko's ship. That was the very first thing I saw after I had been plucked out of my cell and thrown on to the deck.

I was wearing my old outfit, the one I had bought at the marketplace. The men joked that they would save the kimono for my funeral pyre as they handed me my clothes. I barely had time to snap on my light armor and secure my "weapon."

That was Zhao's so-called act of mercy. Since I "allegedly" wasn't a Firebender, he would allow me to have a weapon of choice. So, while I was waiting in my cell, I had asked Iroh to have Lieutenant Jee bring me something that I had kept in my backpack (something that I had hoped he hadn't thrown away when that bag was first searched). In all honesty, I wasn't even sure if the bag and its contents were still around.

I was very surprised and a little relieved to see that the item of choice had been kept since the time I had been under suspicion; and after all that fuss with the pirates and the Avatar happened, it had just been left in a drawer and forgotten. But I had it now. Holding it in my hands, I felt the tough-as-nails city girl in me rising to the surface.

_I'm not going down without a fight, motherfucker._

The guards' smiles were monstrous. They were looking forward to watching Zhao kill me slowly. I tried not to show them how scared I was. I kept my eyes on my shoes as I walked down the gangplank and into the circle that had been drawn for our Agni Kai.

"Are you ready?" Zhao asked me, forcing me to lift my gaze from the ground. He was dressed in sparring clothes and spoke casually, as though this farce wasn't going to end in death. But his eyes revealed what lay beneath his curteous mask: a confident predator.

"Actually, I was hoping I'd have time to compose an epic poem to commemorate the occasion," I said dryly.

It was a small comfort to know that my old defense mechanisms were still well-oiled. My natural-born instinct to turn my cold fear into blistering anger; my tendency to regard terror with biting sarcasm; both were alive and well. Ironic given that I was about to die. Bravado wasn't about to save my life, but at least I'd be dying with a few shreds of dignity.

Maybe.

Zhao sneered. "We'll see if you have the same cheek after a few rounds, Julie. Assuming you last long enough to feel remorse."

"Look," I said. "It's bad enough you're challenging a sixteen-year-old girl who's untrained in combat to a duel. You're probably going to kill me easily. So what's with the pointless intimidation and bravado? Overcompensating for something, Commander?"

He glared at me and didn't say another word.

Feeling slightly vindicated, I glanced towards the ship. Zuko, Iroh, and Lieutenant Jee were making their way towards the sparring ring. The General and the Lieutenant both looked grim. I don't know how Zuko's face looked because I looked away the moment I realized who I was staring at.

I felt my cheeks get warm, remembering the sound of his voice when he said my name for the first time.

_Stupid! Don't think of that! _

"Commander Zhao," Iroh spoke up. "There has never been any doubt of your superiority over Julie, both in rank and in combat. There is no need for this Agni Kai. I implore you to drop your challenge before you stain your honor with her blood!"

Zhao looked bored. "The girl needs to be taught respect. And pain can be a very good teacher."

He looked pointedly at a spot to Iroh's left, where I knew Zuko was standing. I imagined Zhao's eyes tracing a path to his scar, his expression sardonic and mocking. A wave of anger broke to the surface, but even then I couldn't bring myself to look at Zuko. I was a coward.

_What's the matter with me? Why can't I face him now?_

I was about to fight for my life. I should have been considering a strategy. But I was distracted when I heard Zuko speak. The sound of his voice echoed across the sparring ring, vibrating with anger.

"Julie isn't the one you have a quarrel with!" he snarled. "You're too much of a coward to face me yourself, so you're forcing a servant girl to take my place!"

Zhao's face flushed. "Let the Agni Kai commence," he said cooly, as though Zuko hadn't spoken. His back was stiff, and his entire body seemed tensed with rage; rage that he would soon be taking out on me. I tried not to flinch as he moved past me towards his end of the ring.

"This is outrageous!" Zuko yelled, pushing himself into the ring. "This is my fight, not hers!"

But the guards immediately got in his path. Before I could stop myself, my gaze flickered to him. I saw Zuko's teeth clench, gritting himself to fight them. The guards looked equally as annoyed at his interruption.

"Get back," one of them snapped, moving towards him. His partner took the other side, preparing to back him up if need be.

"Who do you think you're speaking to?" Zuko demanded angrily. "Out of my way!"

Zhao turned slightly to watch the scene. I expected him to be irritated by the scene, but I was caught way off guard when I actually saw him watching the brewing conflict with interest. It looked like he was calculating something in his head. Then, to my horror, he smiled.

I was beginning to think that every time Zhao smiled, it meant that a puppy somewhere back in my world got run over by a bus. Repeatedly.

"Why don't we let Julie decide who will fight this battle?" he said.

Everyone froze at the suggestion.

"I will consent to let someone else take her place," Zhao continued. "However, if Julie fights me and wins, I'll reward her. I think she'll find the motivation to defend herself when she sees my..._prize."_

He motioned for his men to step forward. Trapped in their grip was Kuba, his head slack and eyes dull. His arms and legs had both been chained, and I suspected that he had been drugged into compliance. There was no way for him to escape.

"If you fight me," Zhao told me. "I'll let the boy go. If you win, I'll drop all charges against the two of you. But if someone else fights for you, then the child will be sent to the Boiling Rock. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

Kuba sluggishly lifted his gaze to meet mine. He tried desperately to speak but his lips trembled. He couldn't lift them.

It took me a long time to realize what I was seeing. My reaction was slow, but intense. When I finally understood, I was literally shaking with blistering rage. He was using Kuba as a hostage! A fucking hostage! He knew I couldn't deny his challenge now.

"Do you agree to my terms, _girl_?" Zhao asked.

I was so angry I was blinking back tears. "You're going down, you bastard...!"

"Julie," Iroh's voice cut in like a whip. "Please! Let someone else take your place! You can't beat Zhao!"

I refused to answer him. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth, I would end up agreeing with him. And I knew that I couldn't just let Kuba die after he had risked his neck to help me escape.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong hands gripping my shoulders, twisting me around to face their owner. Zuko, his golden eyes burning with frustration, glaring down at me. I felt my heart skip a beat; he was holding me so tightly I thought I'd lose feeling in my fingers.

"You...can't...do this!"

I was startled by his anger, but I refused to let the edge of my own anger fade. "I thought I was too used to letting _other people_ solve my own problems," I said, throwing his words back in his face.

Zuko shook me, making me flinch. "He's going to kill you, you stupid peasant! Do you think I _want _that?" For a moment, his anger broke, and I saw that _lost _expression on his face again; the one I had seen after he had captured Aang, and still couldn't figure out why he wasn't happy. "Do you think I _want _an innocent girl to die fighting _my _battles?"

For a moment, I couldn't say anything. Why did Zuko care? My head was spinning in confusion.

"If I don't do this, that boy will die," I finally whispered. "I can't walk away from this, and you know it!"

He was so stricken by my argument that his grip slackened, and I was able to wrench myself free. I took deep breaths and tried to keep myself calm, but it was impossible. I felt like I was going to cry and it had more to do with Zuko than it did with the Agni Kai.

I blinked back my tears and forced myself to concentrate as the guards motioned me towards my spot. Zhao had taken the east end while I had been given the west. I had two advantages here: one, Zhao's Firebending would only be at half-strength once the sun had fully set; and two, the light of the setting sun _might _just get in his eyes.

Yeah, okay. Like _that _will ever come in handy. So I tried to think of other episodes that featured Zhao. _Think!_ What did I know about him that I could use as a weakness? I felt my heart hammering as I knelt and waited for the Agni Kai to start.

Let's go by episode. _Winter Solstice Part II? _Zhao's a jerk, but a cunning jerk. _The Blue Spirit? _Zhao is a ruthless, ambitious, Yu-Yan archer fanboy. _The Deserter? _Zhao lacks discipline over his Firebending, and ends up burning down his entire fleet like a total dumb-ass. _BINGO!_

"Begin!" the referee called.

I stood, turning to face Zhao. I wasn't confident, and I was still shaken by Zuko's reaction to my decision, but at least I had a strategy. I wasn't entirely helpless anymore.

"Bring it, bitch," I muttered, reaching for my "weapon."

* * *

_Aang...Sokka...Aang...uggh..._

Katara stirred as a drop of melted snow hit her on the face. Her brow cringed, and the mantra her mind had been chanting ended abruptly. This caused such a state of disorientation that it jolted her awake. Her entire body shuddered as the icy slush slipped off of her cheek and hit the floor. The pervasive chill was the first thing she became aware of for the last couple of hours.

_Where am I?_

She blinked rapidly, her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness around her. The only light came from above, from a hole maybe twenty feet over her head. Frantically, her mind tried to conjure a memory that would explain this place, or how she had gotten here.

"Uggh...my head..."

Katara moved a hand through her tangled hair. Her forehead throbbed as she tried to move. Cautiously, she moved the rest of her body, checking for broken bones. When she realized she didn't have any, she gingerly pulled herself up into a sitting position.

All at once, she remembered the others. A quiet gasp shook her.

"Oh, no! Aang! I have to get out of here!"

Hastily, she tried to fight her panic and nausea.

_Okay, Katara. _She tried to give herself a pep talk._ Calm down. You found a way in here, and you're going to find a way out. It's not impossible._

But Katara knew without having to move that she couldn't reach the top of the hole, and the walls were too slick to climb. Looking around, she saw a tunnel leading deeper into the mountain. It was dark and cold looking.

She frowned, trying to sift through her priorities. On the one hand, Aang and Sokka could be looking for her right now. They could be worried sick. But then, what if this led to a hiding place for the Airbenders? What if she found some? Think about how happy Aang would be then. Katara imagined Aang's excitement and realized that she had made her decision.

Katara pulled herself to her feet, swallowing her foreboding and facing the tunnel. Her legs were shaky, but she found she was more than capable of walking. This strengthened her resolve.

"Guys...just wait for me a little longer," she whispered.

* * *

"How much longer is this tunnel going to stretch for?" Sokka complained for the umpteenth time.

Aang didn't say anything. He was keeping his eyes peeled for the lemur, or anything else that might have been strange. Secretly, he was hoping to find his mysterious mentor down here. Maybe it was a surviving Airbender. Or maybe it was a spirit.

Aang was excited. Sokka was...not.

They had been walking for almost forty-five mintues and still hadn't reached the end of the tunnel. It was a cool, dark place. And curiously, it sloped downwards, deeper into the mountain where the Air Temple had perched.

But Sokka had lost interest in the architecture a long time ago. Any hope of finding clues about Ayla were also fading fast. He was bored and tired, and wished Aang would consent to turning back. He was anxious about leaving Katara alone for too long, not entirely convinced that the Air Temple was safe. And he was tired of holding the damn torch.

"Hey," said Aang. "The tunnel forks off here. Which one should we take?"

Sokka shrugged. He would have suggested splitting up, but the chances of getting lost down here weighed on his mind. He didn't want to wander inside a mountain forever, and alone to boot.

"I don't like the looks of the left one," said Sokka. "See the rubble? It looks like it might cave in at any moment."

"Huh," Aang murmured. "The left fork goes back up. Maybe it's an exit."

Sokka opened his mouth to reply when, abruptly, a silhouetted figure loomed into view, its shadow elongated by the flickering light of his torch. It crept towards them, coming from the left fork. Seeing it, the two young men froze and stared with rising trepidation.

"Stop!" Sokka called. "Who's there?"

The figure froze. "Sokka?"

"Katara?"

There was the frantic sound of pebbles scuttling across the stone floor as the Waterbender waded through the rubble. "I can't believe it!" she exclaimed. "What on earth are you two doing down here?"

Aang grinned sheepishly. "We could be asking you the same question."

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "Are you _limping_?"

Katara's face flushed in embarrassment. "Not much. You try walking on nothing but rubble for twenty minutes and see what it does to _your _feet."

But if she thought that the Water Tribe warrior could be distracted from his younger sister's welfare so easily, then she was even more absurdly optimistic than usual. In any case, Sokka refused to let the matter drop.

"How did you get down here, anyway?"

Katara sighed. "I _fell, _okay? I slipped on some ice, and...well...I woke up down here. I've been trying to find a way out. But...what about you guys? I thought you were going to the Air Sanctuary."

"Well...we did," said Aang. "And we found a trap door..."

"Did you hear something?" Sokka interrupted, leering towards the other fork in the path. The right one.

The trio fell silent as they stared at the empty corridor. Slowly, they could see a dim glow pulsing from _somewhere _down that hallway. Obviously, it hadn't been there before, otherwise they would have noticed it. What was even more suspicious was that it was coming from _deeper _into the mountain.

All at once, Sokka remembered the time. "It's past sunset, isn't it?" he said, excitedly.

"Huh?" said Katara.

"Sunset! Is it past sunset?"

"I...I guess so...why?"

Sokka didn't answer. To Aang and Katara's utter shock, the most skeptical, and yet also the most paranoid member of their group was now suddenly running blindly down the right fork, rambling about _spirits_. The day Sokka would believe in spirits would be the day Aang decided to gnaw on a turkey leg. Never.

"Sokka!" Katara yelled. "Where are you going?"

"Come on!" he called over his shoulder. "Otherwise you'll miss her!"

They stared numbly as Sokka disappeared down the hallway.

"Miss _who_?" Aang wondered out loud. He turned to Katara and saw her biting her lip guiltily. He frowned at her. "Hey, are you all right?"

His curiosity and concern turned into suspicion when he saw his friend jump. Her blue eyes darted to his face in alarm, and though she forced the rest of her body to relax, he could still clearly see the tenseness in her gaze.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Let's just...go."

And then in an air of nonchalance, Katara started limping after her brother. Aang stared after her in confusion. He had the feeling that there was something she wasn't telling him. But in the interest of this mystery on their hands, he shook off his concern and followed the Waterbender down the tunnel.

* * *

"Begin!" the referee barked.

I turned to face Zhao. Bare-chested and heavily muscled, it was clear who had the advantage; and that was excluding the little detail that he could chuck fire at my face. Wonderful.

Before I had time to think, Zhao _moved_. His fists jutted out, sending flame after flame swooshing at me. I yelped, skittering sideways with barely enough time to avoid getting my feet burned. He let out a callous laugh. It must have looked like I was doing an insane daredevil version of Riverdance. Or trying miserably to tap dance.

Replace the words tap dance with survive and you could sum up my current predicament to a T.

"Watch your step, Julie," he said tauntingly. "You wouldn't want to trip, would you?"

And then, before I could think up a retort, he sent another wave of fire at me; this time aimed at my face. I ducked and threw myself into a roll, ending up on my knees. I'm not usually this coordinated in gym class, but I guess it's different when you're trying not to die. Survival is a hell of a motivator, let me tell you.

Zhao let me kneel there for a minute, smirking. He watched as I winced at my sore knees. "Normally, I'd take advantage of your lack of action...but I'd hate to roust you from your natural place. _On your knees, at my feet_."

"And what's _your _natural position?" I snapped. "Bent over in front of a convict?"

Okay, probably not a good idea to taunt Zhao. Whatever. He practically _walked _into that one.

"I'll burn your tongue out of your mouth!" he snarled.

Then, he moved so quickly that my eyes barely caught him as he performed a complicated Firebending kata. One that involved hurling an X-shaped plume of flame at my head. I _meeped _and ducked; the heat from the attack was excruciating. I could feel it burn the back of my neck as it fooshed over me.

"Julie!" Lieutenant Jee yelled. "Your hair is on fire!"

"What?" I said dumbly.

Then, realizing that he was right, I cried out and tried frantically to stop, drop, and roll. As much as it hurt to grind my burned scalp against the dirt, I did it without hesitation until the fire had been put out. From the sidelines, I heard Zuko groan in exasperation. It was drowned out by the guards' taunting laughter.

Zhao looked slightly mollified as he eyed me. "You look ridiculous."

"I still look better than you," I shot back. In a sense of random bravado, I tried to grin, but failed miserably. "I bet your own mother can't look at you without vomiting in her mouth."

If you're wondering if I had lost my mind, then I should probably explain. In mouthing off to Zhao, I was making him mad. And I was hoping to pull an _Aang_ and get him so worked up that he would make a mistake. And then, right when he dropped his guard, I would...um...I would...

Actually...let me get back to you on that one.

"Ugly and blind," I said. "I can't believe you didn't score a direct hit on me by now. Seriously!"

Zhao gritted his teeth, breathing through his nose. Uh, oh...

I scrambled to my feet and got ready to dodge. Just in time. The Commander's bout of flame now scorched the patch of earth I had been kneeling on mere seconds ago. And he didn't give me time to register that fact, either. Zhao kept me on my toes, shooting blast after blast, trying and failing to hit me.

I may suck at everything else, but at least I'm fast. For the moment, it was the only thing keeping me alive.

"And those side-burns? They'd look better on a commodo-rhino!" I yelled over my shoulder.

"What is she _doing_?" Zuko muttered to his Uncle in frustration. "She's not even trying to attack. It's like the only thing she knows how to do is _provoke _him into delivering a killing blow."

But Iroh was watching me alertly, his eyes analytical. "Have you noticed that Zhao's attacks are becoming less focused?" he said. "Certainly, he is delivering more force to his blows, but he obviously isn't bothering to _aim_ properly."

The General was right. At this point, Zhao was so mad that he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at point blank range. Unfortunately, he was still in way better shape than I was. Zhao could keep up the fire blasts longer than I could keep dodging. Eventually, I had to give.

_I'm not going to win if I don't attack_, I thought in frustration. The flames were keeping me at a distance; and I could only use my secret weapon if I got close enough to use it. And then, there was only a fifty-fifty chance it would work right. I had to time this just right.

"Maybe you should have had someone take over for _you_," I sneered, trying to hide how exhausted I was. "Maybe _they'd_ actually be able to hit me...!"

That seemed to do the trick. Zhao threw his head back and spewed forth the largest fireball I had ever seen. It was roughly the size of a boulder and looked like it could incinerate me on the spot. I felt a numb spasm of panic. I forced myself not to run away; to wait and watch Zhao's insanely determined face.

Waiting for him to actually throw the fireball. But it had become so wide that I doubted that I could dodge it. Quickly, I changed plans, bit back my nausea, and made a swift beeline for Zhao.

The massive flaming sphere was launched directly at me. I made a wide arc, feeling the heat sizzling my arms as I spun around the edge of the fire. The bizarre-looking pirouette thing planted me almost directly in front of Zhao.

I felt a wonderful stab of triumph that made its way through the fog of pain lacing through my burned arms. "I win," I said sweetly.

And then I whipped out the ginormous can of pepper spray I had been hiding and emptied its contents into Zhao's face!

_"GAH!" Zhao yelled, only to get a mouthful of the horrid substance. His eyes immediately turned a violent shade of red, magnified by the severe pain he felt as the burning gas entered his lungs. He collapsed on the ground in severe coughing spasms. He could barely breathe, and every breath he _did _take only made it worse._

"..."

Yeah, I wish.

Because you know the thing about pepper spray? It isn't all that reliable when there's a breath of wind. I began to realize this when Zhao didn't seem to be doubling over in excruciating pain, like I had been hoping.

I really began to notice how unreliable pepper spray was as a weapon when all of that released gas was sent directly to the sidelines. So, to my extreme mortification, everyone who had been watching the Agni Kai was now an unintentional casualty. Zuko, Iroh, Lieutenant Jee, the guards, Kuba, all of them breathed in enough pepper spray to knock over a small elephant.

It wasn't a pretty sight either. I think I'll spare you the details.

But my attention was brought back to Zhao as his hand suddenly closed around my wrist. With a single twist, the pepper spray fell out of my numb fingers. He smiled cruelly at me, having finally secured me in his grasp.

"Oh...snap..." I murmured, feeling myself shrinking inside myself. I was _SO_ screwed.

* * *

Sokka stared dumbly at the dead end. He was so dumbstruck that he didn't hear Katara and Aang come up from behind him.

"I guess...there's nothing here," Katara said quietly.

"But what about that light?" Aang asked.

Sokka didn't say anything. It was strange how light seemed to hang inside the end of this closed chamber. He had searched every corner and couldn't figure out where that light was coming from. It didn't seem to have a source. It just...was.

"Well, this is weird," he muttered. "As far as I can tell...Katara's right. There really isn't anything here. But logically, something should be making this light. It doesn't make any sense!"

The trio fell silent, trying to think of an explanation. That was when they heard it. No, not it. _Her._

"_It's so dark," _she sighed. "_And cold._"

Sokka jumped. Then he looked down. He swallowed as it finally sank home. "Ayla?"

Aang stepped forward. Looking around cautiously, he moved to stand beside Sokka. "Who's Ayla?" he asked.

All of a sudden, there was the light, whisping sound of a gasp that reminded the group of a fresh breeze. The cold feeling turned to vaporous ice, sending chills down their spines. Katara and Sokka both tensed, but Aang seemed strangely calm. Still.

Silent.

Slowly, the Avatar turned on the spot. His eyes were closed, and he was breathing evenly, as though he were asleep.

"Aang?" Katara started forward nervously. "Aang, are you all right?"

The arrow on his forehead began emitting an ethereal blue glow as his eyes slowly opened. But they weren't grey anymore. They were sightless and flooded with a cosmic energy. He took a few more deep breaths before closing his eyes again. Abruptly the light turned from blue to a vibrant green as he opened his eyes again. He stared blankly at his friends.

"_Sokka,_" it was Ayla's voice that came out of Aang's voice. "_You're close by. I can feel it._" Then, Aang frowned. "_Why do I feel so...solid?_"

Sokka barely stopped his jaw from dropping in time. "Um...I think you got yourself stuck inside the Avatar, Ayla."

"_The Avatar?_" her voice rose an octave in surprise. "_I can't believe it!_"

The Water Tribe warrior looked like he was going to be ill. As his gaze slid to his younger sister, who looked no better than he felt, he managed to mutter, "Neither can I."

Katara seemed to finally understand. "You're Ayla," she said.

For the first time, Ayla seemed to notice the Waterbender. Turning in her direction, she smiled with Aang's mouth and nodded. The way she carried herself was like a noble. Katara got the impression that the good posture and delicate movements were deeply ingrained habits.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

Ayla/Aang frowned. "_I don't know. I can't remember how I got here. All I know is my name...and...a few memories. That's it._"

"She asked me to help her get free last night," Sokka reminded her. "And I've been looking for clues all day. You're not really making this easy you know," he added, looking back at Aang...er...Ayla.

"_Sorry. I didn't have time to tell you everything last night. I was worried you would be gone when I woke up again. Sometimes, I stay asleep for weeks and weeks and never notice the difference. But I figured it out when I went to sleep one summer and woke up during a snow storm."_

"Lucky you," said Sokka. "I'm still here. But listen. Can you tell us what this tunnel is or why it's even here? It doesn't seem to lead to anywhere."

"_It goes somewhere. I can get in because I'm...well..._usually_ I'm not solid. I can go through things. But the wall right here,_" she said, touching the wall behind her with Aang's hand. "_It's thin. From what I can tell, it's some kind of sliding door made out of stone._"

"We'd need an Earthbender to move it," said Katara with a sigh. "But what's on the other side?"

"_Some kind of tomb, I think. It's weird. I go in sometimes, but as soon as I enter the room, I just feel...scared. Restless. I don't want to go in there if I don't have to. Actually, I haven't been inside for almost two years...I think._"

The siblings exchanged glances, clearly thinking the same thing. That maybe this was _Ayla's _tomb.

"Wait," said Sokka quickly. "Can you move it?"

"_Huh?_"

"Well, think about it. You're in the body of the Avatar. Technically, he's an Earthbender. So couldn't you just have him Earthbend the rocks away...? _Are _you an Earthbender?" he added.

For the first time, Ayla looked nervous. And upset. "_No_," she said curtly. "_I'm not an Earthbender. I'm not...you don't want to know what I...what I used to be able to do. Just trust me, please._"

Sokka tried to think. "Well...could you get out of Aang so we could have _him _try?"

"_I...I don't know how._" For a second, the look on Aang's face tightened into a look of constipation-induced concentration. "_I...I'm stuck!_"

"Sokka, she can't _stay _inside of Aang," said Katara, alarmed. "We have to get her out!"

"One thing at a time!" he snapped. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look, the way I see it, if we can free Ayla from whatever's binding her to the Air Temple, she might be able to leave Aang's body."

"We need to get inside that room."

"Let me think," said Sokka. "This isn't impossible. I mean, some things are impossible, but not this. Honestly, there's a greater chance of us getting inside that room than the odds of us running into you."

"_True,_" Ayla assented.

But Katara had a different idea. "Hey...you know how Aang is an Airbender, right? Well, maybe Ayla isn't bound to the temple. Maybe...maybe she's bound to the Air Nomads. Maybe if we can find one..."

"_I don't remember. But it's possible. I've never woken up _inside _someone before. It would explain why I'm inside the Avatar. I mean, I've never seen an Air Nomad before..._"

Katara looked crestfallen. "So...so there aren't any Airbenders here? None at all?"

"_A lot of skeletons...but no living Airbenders, I think,_" said Ayla sadly. Then, Aang's body went rigid, pain creasing his face. Abruptly, his arms wound around his shuddering body. He looked as if he had suddenly been doused with ice-water. "N-no...!" he whispered in his own voice.

"Aang?"

His eyes squeezed themselves shut as the blue light warred against the green. He gritted his teeth as tears leaked out of the corners of his eyes. "It...it isn't true...!" Anguish. "They can't all be...gone...!" He struggled for a while as a green momentarily flashed out of his arrow. "_Sokka! What's...happening to me...? It...it hurts...!_"

Katara gasped. "He must have heard us!"

"_It feels like...someone is tearing me apart...!_" Ayla cried.

And then, like a tidal wave, Aang's Avatar State broke to the surface.

* * *

**A/N: So Julie's Agni Kai seems to be ending in EPIC FAIL. And Aang has gone homicidal kill rage on his very bewildered friends. Will they be able to calm him down? Will Ayla be set free from her newest, most ridiculous prison? And will Julie survive now that Zhao has her in his grip? Only the next chapter will tell you.**

**Yeah, sorry to end it on a cliffy. I mean it when I said that I don't want to lose readers. ^-^ Whatever it takes, though, right? Anyway, this was plenty entertaining to write. I'm really proud of this chapter.**

**Do you agree? Let's see if I can get that two hundreth review! (Yeah, I'm shameless. I think all this popularity is starting to go to my head.)**

**REVIEW!**


	29. The Song of Retribution

**A/N: First and foremost, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!**

**Oh, and the results are IN!**

**Okay, as you know, I've been waiting for my two-hundreth review to start my Omake fic. After the reviews have all gone in, the prize goes to Alluring Alliteration. Her idea is currently in the works (and believe me, it's going to be a good one...) and should be up hopefully before New Years. Hopefully. I want to get this chapter posted first.**

**Speaking of deadlines, let me just warn you guys now that I won't be doing any writing on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or the day after. Por que? Well, the library is going to be closed over the holidays (so no internet) and I'll probably get stuck with work on Sunday (which means, you guessed it, no time para la biblioteca). I'm as depressed about it as you are. THREE WHOLE DAYS WITHOUT WRITING? And I have to spend TWO of those days with my FAMILY?**

**I'm going to die.**

**Anyway, you all really seemed to enjoy the Agni Kai in the last chapter, so I'm more than happy to tell you that the action is only just beginning. Aang's still in a vicious mood, and Zhao is about to claim the victor's spot in the duel. But what is lurking in the shadows? **

**Well? I'm not going to tell you. Read if you really want to know! And enjoy!**

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* * *

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**Chapter Twenty Five: The Song of Retribution**

The Avatar State was terrifying, if only because of its intensity. And since it was Katara and Sokka's first time in witnessing it, the effect was no less than overwhelming.

The siblings could only gape as their goofy little friend suddenly threw up his head and became a literal eye of the hurricane. Tumultuous winds pushed them backwards, sending sharp pebbles and rocks flying at them. Sokka grabbed his sister by the waist and threw them both to the ground, sheilding his face with his other arm.

"Aang!" Katara yelled.

"He can't hear you!" Sokka raised his voice just to be heard over the dinn of the wind. "We have to get out of here! This tunnel could collapse any second!"

The mountain itself seemed to tremble in Aang's wake. The ceiling started dribbling fragments onto their heads, emphasizing Sokka's warning. A cave-in seemed imminent.

"We can't just leave him!" Katara insisted, trying to squirm out of her brother's grip. "It's his Avatar spirit! Finding out the truth must have triggered it! I'm going to try to calm him down!"

"Katara, no!"

But she didn't listen. Elbowing him to the side, the Waterbender forced herself to her feet and sheilded her face with her hands as she tried to reach the grieving Avatar. The winds were powerful and caused her to stumble a number of times. But Katara gritted her teeth and kept going. She knew deep down that this was her own fault for trying to hide this from him; for giving him false hope. The truth was devastating.

She cupped her hands around her mouth and called to him.

"Aang! I know you're upset!"

Aang seemed oblivious, suspended in his own shell of wailing chi. Katara wondered if he could even hear her anymore. But she had to try.

"I...I know how hard it is to lose someone you love," she continued, blue eyes fixed on his face. "It hurts more than you can ever imagine. You feel so alone and confused...and angry. I know because I went through the same thing when I lost my mom!"

Was it her imagination, or did the wind feel slightly softer against her face?

"Aang...I knew how much it would hurt. This entire time I was afraid that you would find out what I already knew, deep down inside. That the Firebenders came and attacked the temple. I didn't want you to feel what I had felt; to feel what I still feel, even now."

Katara's face showed just how torn she felt. Could Aang see the sadness and loss in her eyes?

"You told me how scared you were when you found out you were the Avatar. You said you felt alone. That's why you wanted to come here so badly. You wanted to make sense out of everything; to find someone who could give you the answers you needed. But you only ended up finding a tragedy...

...but Aang, you're not alone!" She screamed this last part as loud as she could, praying that her words would reach him. "Monk Gyatso and the other Airbenders may be gone, but...you still have a family! Sokka and I, _we're_ your family now!"

Aang's face turned towards Katara. With a sigh, the air became still.

The Avatar slumped to the floor, exhausted. His arrows were still glowing blue, but he didn't look like he had the strength to push his grief any further. Katara ran forward to catch him, Sokka hot on her heels.

It was just then, that a second explosion took place.

Without warning, cause, or explanation (known to the Gaang at least) the wall at the end of the tunnel suddenly cracked. Green light started flooding through, bathing the trio in an ominous glow. Then, as assaulted by the world's most volatile explosive, the wall shattered violently, sending jagged shards flying everywhere.

Sokka pressed Katara and Aang into the dirt, sheilding them. In retribution, some of the rocks sliced through the arms of his parka. Fortunately, the skins were thick, and protected him from most of the damage.

The Water Tribe warrior looked down when he heard Aang gasp. There was a flash of green, and a single jet of light was propelled out of his body and into the pulsing abyss at the end of the tunnel. Then, the mountain itself started to shake.

"Cave-in!" he yelled. "We need to move!"

Katara helped carry Aang, and together, they ran back the way they came. Rocks started falling, threatening to crush them instantly. More than once they took another step, only to find a piece of the earth embedded in the ground where they had been mere seconds ago. Sokka felt himself running out of breath and felt a stab of hopelessness.

"We're not going to make it," Katara gasped.

Sokka couldn't swallow. He knew she was right.

"Hold on to me," Aang muttered quietly. "Tight."

"Aang?" Katara looked down at the boy in her arms. "You're all right!"

"Just grab a hold of me, quick! We don't have much time."

Sokka, who had since learned to act first and ask questions later (especially during a cave-in), twined his sister's arms around Aang's torso. He followed suit. Having done this, the Water Tribe warrior felt that he had earned the indulgence of a question.

"What are you going to..."

With a single, yet massive puff of air, Aang proceeded to gust him and his friends the rest of the way. Sokka's question died prematurely, trailing off in a startled scream. They barely avoided the crumbling ceiling, and Aang barely had the foresight to turn off at the fork in the road. He darted down the tunnel Katara had found; the one that supposedly led to the surface.

"We're almost there!"

Katara tightened her grip on her brother, who seemed about to faint. Her face fell. "The hole is really high up. Can you reach it?"

Aang didn't answer. But his face said, _I hope so_.

* * *

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but Zhao has these really big hands. They easily caught my wrists and held them tight enough that I thought they would break. Before I had time to say, _"Shit,"_ I found myself twisted around, my knees on the ground. With one hand, he kept a firm grip on my wrists.

With the other, he lit up a flame.

At this point, the spectators were still gagging on the pepper spray. The guards had gotten the worst of it, but Zuko, Iroh, and Lieutenant Jee all had red watering eyes to show from the unpleasant experience. However, they had recovered enough to realize that I had lost my Agni Kai, and was about to face the consequences.

"Oh, no," Lieutenant Jee exclaimed quietly.

At the sight of the fire in his fist, I immediately started to struggle. I tried to push myself on to my feet, but then I felt Zhao's foot on my back, pinning me. I gasped, knowing from experience that it would leave a deep muscle bruise.

"Let go of me!" I squeaked.

Zhao's smile was cruel. "You know the terms of an Agni Kai," he said. "Your life is in my hands now."

Crap! Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP!

"Zhao, stop!" Iroh yelled. "There is no need to do this! The victory is yours!"

"There is a precedent that must be upheld, General Iroh. Do I look like the kind of coward who is too weak to deliver the final blow?"

Turning to me, I could see the ruthless enthusiasm in his eyes. I'm guessing he was still kind of miffed at my calling him a 'prison-bitch' in the last chapter. Still, it is my sincerest opinion that Zhao was being an immature shithead. Imagine him holding a grudge like that. I mean, we all say things we don't mean in the glow of battle, right? No reason for him to burn my face off.

RIGHT?

Oh, who the hell was I kidding. I was _so_ fucked.

"On the other hand," said Zhao suddenly, letting the flame go out in a puff, "I'm also capable of appreciating the art of compromise. Are you familiar with it, Prince Zuko?"

Zuko's expression was murderous. His eyes, which were still red and watering from the pepper spray, looked absolutely hateful in the face of the Commander.

"You don't compromise!" he spat. "You coerce and blackmail those weaker than you! You're the worst kind of coward!"

Zhao was unfazed. Tightening his grip on me, he met Zuko's gaze in cold indifference.

"Oh, really? Would a coward do..._this_?"

His hand became shrouded in a heavy flame. I yelped as he brought his burning fist dangerously close to my face. I flinched at the intensity of the heat, feeling my skin bead with sweat. It was so hot that it was unbearable.

With every second that passed, his fist inched closer and closer to my cheek. When it got so close that it was a hair's breath from making contact I started freaking out. I struggled and kicked at him like a wild animal caught in a hunter's net. Now picture that trapped animal during a brush fire, and you could imagine what it felt like being in Zhao's grasp.

"Stop it!" Zuko yelled.

He was struggling to get to his feet, but had to lean on his uncle's shoulder for support. He was still somewhat incapacitated thanks to my poorly-timed attack. Still, it was clear that he was planning on fighting Zhao himself, if only he could get himself into the ring.

But then, all at once, Zhao extinguished his flame, allowing his hand to brush against my face.

His touch was gentle; a mocking caress. I knew he could feel me quivering as he smirked at my fear-stricken expression. His hand was still very warm from his recent display of Firebending; the feel of it was unnervingly intimate and I wanted more than anything to pull away and stomp on his face. The mental image of my foot going into his nasal cavity contrasted jarringly with the softness of his fingers.

Fear and hatred circled each other in a cataclysmic dance. But that one touch was all it took to shatter my bravado; to reveal me for the weak, cowering little girl that I was. I wanted to scream a number of insults at the Commander, but it was all I could do to keep myself from choking on my own tongue. Frightened noises escaped me as I wrestled against the snare of Zhao's grip.

"There, there," he sneered. "I'm not going to hurt you...that is, unless Prince Zuko gives me no choice."

"Don't touch her!" Zuko snarled.

He pushed himself away from Iroh, who was coughing uncontrollably into his sleeve. The old general was so distressed that he was having trouble warding off the aftershock of the spray. Zuko clearly was just as badly off as his uncle. He could only stagger a few steps before collapsing just a few inches outside the ring.

Zhao gave him an apprasing look. He smiled, basking in his position of superiority. "I'm a generous man. I've given you both plenty of opportunities to avoid this outcome." The smile vanished, and his expression became ruthless and cold. "But my patience is wearing_ thin_."

Suddenly, his hand pulled back a few centimeters, and the fire was back. I flinched, so much so that I ended up wrenching against Zhao's unwavering grasp. Pain shot through my wrists at my involuntary jolt. But that was nothing compared to the pain I'd be feeling if I let that flame touch me.

"Do you think I won't do it?" Zhao asked Zuko, who was watching us in horror. "Do you think I'm too much of a coward to deliver a morsel of punishment to an insignificant little worm like her?"

The hand holding my wrists suddenly became white hot. Like a iron burning against my skin, Zhao's hand squeezed my wrists until they were red and blistered. Before I could stop myself, I threw back my head and screamed.

The sound of my voice seemed to have an effect on Zuko. I couldn't see very well as I squinted through my tears, but I could hear him yelling at Zhao, words that just blared in my ears and didn't make any sense. In the haze of my pain, I wondered about the point of this seemingly senseless exhibition. Why torture me in front of Zuko like this? What good would it do? He had already won!

"Please, stop!" Zuko yelled. "I'll do anything, just stop it! She doesn't deserve this!"

The burning stopped.

Zhao suddenly gave off a casual ambiance, holding me just enough to keep me from slipping free. I knelt in front of him, limp and exhausted from my suffering. I barely had the strength to keep myself from crying. I hated myself for screaming, for giving that bastard Zhao the satisfaction.

"See, now? Was that so hard?" he said. "Compromise isn't such a difficult concept to understand once you get the hang of it. Now, I have something _you_ want..." Zhao jerked me around, like a cur on a leash, to emphasize his point. "...and you have something that_ I_ want."

Zuko gritted his teeth in surrender. "Name your terms," he hissed.

"I want to know whatever it is you ordered your crew to hide from me. I want to know the status of your...mission. After interrogating your crew, I've come under the suspicion that you may have found evidence that the Avatar is still alive." He let out a callous laugh. "For a moment, I had indeed contemplated the possibility that _Julie_ here might be the Avatar...but she is clearly a weakling."

"Bastard...!" I snarled quietly. "Zuko doesn't know anything! The Avatar is gone!"

Zhao didn't hesitate as he kicked me into the dirt. As I laid there, kissing the dust, I could feel my tears streaking mud onto my cheeks. Then, Zhao's fingers wound themselves into my hair, jerking my head up so I could see Zuko's face. I let out a sharp cry of pain.

"So, Prince Zuko?"

If you're wondering what Zuko's reaction to this was, I'm sorry to say that I can't remember. My vision had went to black the moment Zhao had his hands in my hair. He was pulling it, trying to hurt and restrain me. The feeling was so painstakingly familiar that it triggered a memory I had tried my hardest to forget.

Suddenly, I was eight years old again. I was about to relearn what it was like to almost die.

* * *

_Rain splattered against the walls of the bus shelter. It was a cold autumn afternoon, and I was shivering inside the thin windbreaker jacket covering my aching shoulders. The sky was getting darker and darker as I waited over forty-five minutes for the bus._

_I knew I had probably missed it, but I stupidly wanted to wait it out; just in case another bus came. But as the minutes passed, it became more and more obvious that there was no other bus. I would have to either walk home, or wait for someone to steal my money and/or cut my throat._

_My Dad would probably do the throat cutting himself, but I didn't want to die in the rain. So, biting my lip, I pulled up my hood and ran out of the bus shelter. With every step I took, I felt like a rabbit trying to get away from a hawk. I felt weak and helpless, and before five minutes had gone by I could feel tears and rain dripping through my windbreaker._

_I hated myself so much. But that was nothing compared to the feeling I got when I saw Dad's car in the driveway. _

_It took an eternity to reach the front door. At this point, I was shaking, both out of fear and from the cold. With unsteady hands, I picked up the key from under the mat and unlocked the front door. I pushed it open as quietly as I could, wishing I could stop dripping water on the floor when I stepped over the threshold._

_I pulled off my hood and took a moment to wring out my ponytail. My hair was long; I liked it that way. Jessie did too. She said that all the Disney princesses wore their hair long. But besides that, I had a feeling that my mother would have had long hair if she were still alive. _

_I shook the thought from my mind, moving towards the stairs. That was when I heard Dad calling me._

_"Julie, come in here a minute," he said. His voice was deceptively calm. "Daddy's got a bone to pick with you."_

_I resisted the urge to bolt. I knew from experience that whatever punishment I had in store got ten times worse if I tried to run or hide. And there weren't any locks on my bedroom door after the time I shut myself inside. Dad went and busted the doorknob (he was really shit-faced that night), and then he busted me. I wasn't eager to repeat the experience._

_"Hurry up, dammit! What, you afraid of your old man? Sniveling crybaby..." At the sound of his cold laugh, I felt chills running up my spine. His unsteady vocal patterns made me instinctively aware that he had already gone through a bottle of scotch. Probably scotch. It was his favorite next to whiskey._

_Gritting my teeth to keep myself from shivering, I dragged myself into the living room. My feet felt like lead. _

_"I...I'm home."_

_I had to duck. The empty bottle shattered against the wall behind me. Quaking with terror, I looked up in time to see Dad lumber into view._

_"You know what time it is?" he asked. The stale smell of alcohol lingered on his breath. I flinched away from him without thinking, trying to make a beeline for the stairs. Before I took two steps his meaty hand snatched my ponytail and jerked me back into the room. His fist belted me across the face, and I collapsed on to the floor._

_I sniveled and sobbed at his feet. My Dad growled. "Freaking crybaby. I'll give you something to cry about...just like your damn mother."_

* * *

Delun watched the unfolding scene with an impassive eye. The roof of the ship office had proved to be an excellent spot to watch the Agni Kai. Unfortunately, it was proving to be a...disappointing event. But his dark eyes kept their focus on me as I struggled to break free from Zhao.

Behind him, his two subordinates were shrinking back, trying their hardest not to be noticed. But their blatant discomfort tainted their aura. Delun found it irritating and distracting.

"You've done well to keep her from fleeing," he told them. "Stop cowering like fledglings begging to be stepped on."

The two cloaked men took several paces back, but wouldn't (or couldn't) erase their fear. Delun sighed. Mortals.

"This Julie is resourceful...and to a certain extent, resilient," he continued to himself. "But she lacks any combatative skills. I'm starting to think that I was wrong about her."

No one said anything. In the quiet, they could hear Zuko shouting, Iroh's pleas for Zhao to release me. Meanwhile, I was on the ground, my face blank and my eyes distant. It was like I had become deaf and blind to the happenings around me.

Delun scrutinized my expression. He had no trouble making out every detail of my face, even from that impossible distance over a hundred feet away. The longer he went without blinking, the sharper his vision became. Simultaneously, the bird-shaped scar on his hand was glowing. It made his grunts increasingly nervous.

"But I can sense a distortion in the girl's aura. I wonder..."

* * *

_I was on the ground, trying to sheild my face and ribs. I found myself gasping at the raw bruises that were forming all over my back, my arms and legs. I felt broken and useless as I struggled to find the strength to crawl away._

_My Dad didn't relent, and begging only made him ruthless and determined to inflict pain. Whatever his hands fall on is used to pummel any resistence out of my small, defenseless body. I can only close my eye and try not to choke on my own fear and vomit. I found myself thinking that it couldn't get worse than this, that anything would be better than being used as a punching bag by a stupid drunk._

_I hated him. And I hated myself. It was the first time I felt anger instead of fear. I had spent all of my fear on the first blow, and this rage that was filling me had finally started to spill over._

_"Bastard," I snapped. "Ugly, stupid, fat, drunk!"_

_Another stinging blow. Then another. I could hear a distinct ringing sound in my ears as I screamed at him._

_"Let go of me or I'll kill you, you son of a fucking dipstick! Let go of my freaking hair!"_

_I was just a little girl; my voice was shrill and did little to inspire terror. The best it could do was give someone a headache. But I wasn't just screaming anymore. I was kicking and clawing and aiming everywhere I knew I could reach. I heard my Dad curse. His hand tightened into a rigid fist around my hair, sucking the air out of me._

_"You little..." His one free hand fell on a half of the broken scotch bottle. I felt a sudden lurch as the glass pierced through my stomach and twisted its way into my intestines. It was cold and sudden. I had no way to brace myself from the pain._

* * *

THUNK!

Like a tube through a chute, Aang pushed as much air between himself and the floor as possible. The three were pushed upwards, out the hole, and up into the air. There was a deafening roar as the mountain seemed to sink in on itself. All of the air whisked out as the passage beneath them became sealed with rocks, dirt and snow. It sounded like a sigh.

Then, everything became still.

Aang tried to float Katara and Sokka to the ground. But he was exhausted; both from the cost of going into the Avatar State and from the sheer effort of getting them out of the collapsing tunnel alive. He passed out before they could safely touch down.

So they hit the ground with a heavy thud. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

"Ow...!" Sokka complained, rubbing his backside painfully. "How come I always take the brunt of the fall?"

No one answered. The mountain was shaking again. Oh, snap.

CRAAAAAAAACK!

The green light was dazzling as it was belched from what used to be the tunnel. Sokka and Katara were speechless as it formed a single throbbing orb. It was so bright that it almost made the night look like day.

It started to take the shape of a young woman. Sokka squinted. "Ayla?"

The glowing girl smiled. "When your friend's chi skyrocketed like that, I was thrown out of his body and through the wall. It's funny...going that far into the room frightened me so much. The wall is completely destroyed now, along with the rest of that tunnel...I feel lighter now. I think...I think I might be able to leave now."

"Well, that's...nice." Sokka honestly didn't know what else to say. "Glad I could...um...help?"

Ayla laughed. "You have a good heart, Sokka. I'm glad I met you and your friends. Maybe we'll see each other again." Her smile faded, replaced with a look of panic. "I'm being pulled away by something...something strong! So angry...and so sad...and so afraid too...I...I can't stop it!"

The outline of her body blurred into a nondistinct beam of light. Before anyone could say or do anything, there was a final, overwhelming pulse of green. It took a long time for the light to fade.

Sokka blinked. "She's...gone."

"But where did she go to?" Katara asked. She looked unnerved. "The Spirit World maybe?"

Aang slept on in her arms, completely oblivious.

____

* * *

_I was lying on the ground in a puddle of my own blood. There was nothing but pain all around me; hair, skin, fingernails, all screaming that one word. My eyes were open, unseeing as my vitality pooled around my broken body. It was warm, almost soothing, like a mother's embrace. But there was no peace. Only suffering._

_I don't know how long I laid there, not moving, barely breathing. Time had lost its meaning. I felt my entire world swirling into a red fog that I couldn't escape no matter which way my eyes looked. It thickened until I couldn't see anymore._

_It was strange. I thought that when a person died, they saw darkness. So why was I seeing nothing but...red?_

* * *

"Interesting," said Delun softly, smiling for the first time in hours.

It was a terrifying smile.

* * *

_I felt hopelessly trapped. My body wouldn't move. There was nothing but crimson fog, and it was such an overwhelming presence that it clouded all other senses. The only thing I could feel was his brutish hand tangled in my hair, holding me still._

Zhao's hand. Buried in my hair. The other one was aflame, ready to burn me.

"I'm sorry Prince Zuko. I'm still waiting for your answer."

"Coward," I murmured.

_"Freaking crybaby. What's the matter? Scared of your old man?"_

Zhao tightened his grip on my hair, pulling my chin up as high as it would go. I thought he would pull my hair out of my scalp if he tugged any harder. "I've heard enough out of you, girl! You're lucky. I haven't even begun to teach you the real meaning of the word _pain!_"

What, was he kidding me?

Pain had always been my teacher since I was old enough to walk. True, I had never been given third degree burns on my face like Zuko had. The thought of Zhao doing that to me honestly scared the shit out of me. But something had changed. My fear had switched off, and anger was the predominent emotion.

_The bottle, twisting its way into my stomach. And then...blank emptiness where my memory should be. I couldn't remember what happened after that. Only that I had somehow survived. Had it been a dream?_

_No. I still had the scar on my stomach. But stab wounds don't just heal up in one night. Something...had saved me._

I visualized that red fog, the embodiment of my anger, consuming me. I didn't realize it then, but it wasn't only _my_ anger. It was the burning negativity of everyone around me. Zuko's frustration, Jee and Iroh's despondency, Zhao's sadism and ruthless ambition, it all seemed to throb and sing in my blood. The darkness showed in their chi, feeding my own recklessness.

"Let go of me!" I snarled. "You son of a bitch!"

"You worm..." Zhao sneered. "Your tongue just cost you..._dearly._"

"No!" Zuko yelled. "Wait!"

His hand reached out, as though trying to stop Zhao as he brought his fire to my face. This time, there was no mere psychological torment. He seriously meant to burn me. The clarity in this intent was brutal and crisp. It was so real it was almost like I was feeling it myself. Like Zhao's sadism had become mine somehow.

Inside of me, something _snapped_.

His hand flinched as the fire abruptly became more intense. It blazed like a miniature star as Zhao howled his fury. Wait...no. That wasn't fury. There were many things I heard in his voice, and rage was only a small part of it. Rather, it was the _pain_, _fear_, and _confusion_ that stood out in his cry.

His grip on my hair loosened and without thinking, I kicked my leg backwards as far as I could get it. In one furious movement, I wrested myself free and flung myself away from him. But rather than feeling relief at my having been freed, I only felt _malevolent_. There was a burning need to be vindicated that went back years before I even started watching the show.

I wanted to take it out on Zhao. But apparently I had to get in line because now his entire arm was on fire, and Zhao couldn't seem to control it anymore. I sat in the dirt watching the fire, feeling strangely exhilerated yet horrified at the same time.

I don't know why I felt so afraid. It wasn't like _I _was doing it. Right?

"What's wrong, Zhao?" I sneered, the words coming from somewhere deeper and darker inside of me. "Afraid of your own fire?"

That was the last thing I could remember. My strength suddenly failed me, and my vision faded to black. The only thing I could hear was the _huff _of the fire abruptly going out.

* * *

**A/N: So? Any reactions to the...erm...outcome? What's happening to Julie? Where did Ayla go? What will Zuko and Iroh do now that the Agni Kai has reached its unexpected conclusion. Or...maybe not so unexpected. You all were saying things in your reviews, wondering if Julie would end up being a Firebender. Well, let me nip this in the butt right now. JULIE IS NOT A FIREBENDER.**

**And no, she's not an all-powerful, God-modding Mary Sue either. Everything she describes in the Agni Kai CAN and WILL be explained in later chapters. Of course it's not going to make any sense now. It's too soon to spoil the plot.**

**If you guys want to blow the whistle on me after you find out what's going on, feel free to do so. But for the moment, just enjoy the show. Oh, and review! Please REVIEW!**


	30. AN: 3

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**A/N: Hello. As you can see, this is not quite the chapter you were expecting. I really was expecting to have a chapter to post today, however, it seems as thogh once again all my hopes and dreams have been completely and totally shot down, drowned, then set on fire (in that order). I bet you're all really curious about what could have prevented me from updting on my weekly basis... Well, it's a very long tragic tale that would make Oedipus the king seem like community theater. Actually, I might be exaggerating just a little bit, but it's still pretty freggin' sad.**

**It all started about a week ago, when that HUGE fregging blizzard hit the east coast (not saying where in the east coast because I value my life). As many of you may know, I'm without a car or a computer with internet (ALAS! LAMENTATION!) This means that in order to get ANY writing done, I'd have to truck about a mile and a half, on foot, through snow, to the library where they have public internet access. **

**Every day.**

**This makes updating a chapter a very slow process, but one I found to be entirely worth the effort.**

**However, it is now 2011, and today when I trucked all the way out to said library to give you oh so loyal readers the much awaited omake fic and/or the next chapter of Happy Endings, I was devastated to find that the library was closed. YES, CLOSED! Of all the heinous ways to begin a New Year! Furthermore, I found, to my horror, a little sign tacked onto the door informing me quite bluntly that the library will remain closed until January 18th.**

**And that is why if you're wondering how I'm typing this, you're not wrong. I'm currently on the phone with my dearest friend who is typing it for me. Say hello to the readers, Jessie. (Don't say my name! And you're breaking charater.) See how paranoid she is? Isn't it cute. -Pokes the Jessie's face- (I'm gonna rip your hand off and eat it if you don't get that thing away from me.) Don't tempt me... Anyway, the bad news is that I'll be taking a temporary hiatus until the library opens again (January 18th.) The good news is, that when I finally will be able to update, I'll have a lot to give you seeing as how I now have a lot of time on my hands. I sincerely hope this will not affect your enjoyment of this fic, and I apologize for any and all incovieninces. That being said, happy New Year!**

**Hey, Jessie, you think they'll buy this?**

**(Oh, sure, they'll believe it. Or they would have...)**

**Wait, you're not typing this, are you?**

**(Of couse not. What do you take me for?)**

**Thank God for half-assed excuses.**

**(Yeah, like about why you didn't get me a birthday present.)**

**Yeah, exactly lik-Wait, you're not still angry about that, are you?**

**(Oh no... Not anymore.)**

**Oh, good.  
**


	31. Aftershock

**A/N: Okay, I apologize a thousand times for not updating on the promised January 18th. In my defense, even though the library was _open _on the 18th, I didn't get any days off until today, the 25th. Plus, editing is le bitch. I should probably warn you guys right now, though, this chapter is REALLY long. See? I care so much about not depriving my readers that I made this update almost record-length, word-count wise.**

**Furthermore, you can all put away your torches and pitchforks; it is time to rejoice. I have also (for your reading pleasure) posted the first chapter of the Omake fic. It should be up on my profile right now. The fic is titled "Happy Endings: The Deleted Scenes." Just as a warning, the first chapter skips ahead a bit in the story. I hope it doesn't give too much away. And, with any luck, it should be good. Really good. **

**But enough said. ON WITH THE FIC!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twenty Six: Aftershock**

(Zuko's POV, third person)

Zuko had never felt so powerless in his entire life. Not even when he had to face his father in the Agni Kai.

At least then, it had been his decision not to fight. He had spoken out against the old generals in the war meeting, disrespected his father, the Fire Lord, and had willingly accepted his punishment. A permanent scar over his left eye and a life-long banishment that could only be lifted by bringing home the Avatar.

Even then, Zuko had felt some level of control. Of course it wouldn't be easy. The Avatar hadn't been seen in a century, and not even Fire Lord Sozin had managed to track him down. But then, Sozin didn't have the motivation that Zuko did. He was determined to succeed where his ancester had failed. That determination banished any doubts in his mind.

But now, as he stood on the sidelines, watching Julie struggle against Zhao's grip on her arms, he wondered if he even knew the meaning of true courage. It was either that or sheer bullheadedness that drove the girl to fight a battle she knew she couldn't win. All to save that child.

And now she was paying the price for it. There wasn't a damn thing he could do to help her...not without a heavy cost, at least.

_If Zhao learns the truth about the Avatar, he'll try to steal my last chance at regaining my honor_, his thoughts warned him. _Your honor is on the line._

Zhao pulled Julie's head back by the hair, forcing her to meet Zuko's gaze. It pained him to see her like this, beaten and burned, waiting for the finishing blow. He would have given anything to be able to throw himself at Zhao and have at him, but the burning gas had left him completely useless. In the beginning, he thought he had gone blind. And now, he couldn't get his eyes to stop watering.

But that was nothing compared to the world of hurt Julie was going to be in if he refused Zhao's offer.

_Where's the honor in letting that girl die for you? This isn't her mission. It's yours. Why should she have to pay the price?_

"I'm sorry, Prince Zuko. I'm still waiting for an answer."

And yet, try as he might, Zuko couldn't quite get his lips to move. All he had to do was tell Zhao that he had the Avatar in custody for a few days. That was all it would take to save Julie. So why couldn't he speak?

"Coward," Julie mumbled.

At first, he thought she was talking to him. But as his eyes scanned her tear-stained face, he realized that she wasn't looking at him anymore. Actually, her eyes seemed to be directed inward, as though lost in her thoughts...or something else. Zuko wondered if her mind had shut down from the combination of pain and terror.

Zhao didn't seem to care either way. He savagely tightened his grip on her scalp and jerked her up. "I've heard enough out of you, girl! You're lucky. I haven't even begun to teach you the real meaning of the word _pain_!"

Julie's face looked like the wall of a cave after a landslide. It was almost frightening to see the anger that flooded into her eyes. Her face became flushed as she tried to force herself out of Zhao's grip. At this point, she didn't seem to care if he ended up ripping her hair out of her skull.

"Let go of me!" she snarled. "You son of a bitch!"

Zuko was frantic. _No, you idiot! Can't you see you're making it worse! He'll kill you!_

"You worm..." Zhao sneered. "Your tongue just cost you...dearly."

_No. No, please, no._

His hand lit up in a savage flame. Zuko could feel the insidious intent burning in the palm of Zhao's meaty hand. He could almost see himself at thirteen years old, seconds before his father's flame-cloaked hand belted him across the eye. Julie didn't even look frightened. She wasn't even going to try to save herself.

"No!" he yelled. "Wait!"

_Please, stop! Not again!_

What happened next defied any explanation, and Zuko didn't think he could find words to describe it.

One second, Zhao was about to send a fire blast into Julie's face. The next, his fire sputtered and abruptly intensified.

Zuko could only recall an incident that occurred about a year ago, an engineering accident. The man he had hired had been using a new technology for nonbenders, a sort of jellied accelerant kept in a metal container. When it was left too close to the boiler, the small tank had burst, coating the man's arm in flaming jelly. It couldn't be doused with water, and the man ended up dying from his wounds.

It was a terrible sight. But this was worse.

Zhao's fire was beyond control. It shot past his hand and streaked up his arm, burning the brightest along a few specific points along the way. Those spots seemed to be giving off their own fire, adding fuel to the insanity. Zuko watched, horrified, as Zhao howled, flailing his arm around. He had released his grip on Julie, and she instinctively flung herself away from him.

He wanted to go to her, worried that she would get touched by the fire. Zuko managed to inch his way closer as Zhao dropped to the ground and attempted to use dirt to smother the flames. His fire...wasn't listening to him.

It was unnerving. Not only that, but the feeling Zuko got as he dragged himself closer and closer to Julie. He could feel it, the steady pulse of chi that he normally only felt in fire itself; and it was coming from her.

_She isn't bending the fire_, he thought. _I should be able to feel her chi manipulating the fire. It's like...Zhao's chi just exploded._

"What's wrong, Zhao?" she sneered quietly. Zuko was close enough to see that it was all bravado. Exhaustion lined her face. "Afraid of your own fire?"

Then, her eyes rolled back into her head. He barely managed to catch her before she hit the floor. He snatched her up, startled to find her body cold to the touch. He immediately searched for a pulse and was relieved to feel a faint heartbeat.

He paused to take a breath.

_You scared me...stupid peasant._

Slowly, reluctantly, Zuko brought his eyes up to Zhao. The fire had died the moment Julie had passed out. At the moment, the Commander was getting medical attention for his injuries, which were...severe. His entire arm had a charred look to it. The flesh was grotesque; blackened bits of dead skin covered the useless limb, and the parts that were still somewhat alive were an alarming shade of red. Definitely third-degree burns.

Iroh had come up from behind him. The older man looked visibly shaken, and was having trouble walking due to that...weird spray Julie had used. Oh, spirits, that stuff was horrible.

"I think this match has been decided," said his uncle quietly.

Zuko could only swallow.

* * *

Things only got weirder from here on in.

Julie had been brought back into the infirmary, and was being watched attentively by the healer. The only thing that seemed to be visibly wrong with her was the nasty burns on her wrists. At first glance, Zuko was sure that there would be permanent scarring, but he was surprised to find that after a few hours passed the burns seemed...fainter. Like they were healing faster than they should be.

She hadn't stirred once since she collapsed in the ring hours ago. Her skin was still as cold as marble, which Zuko did not take to be a good sign. It was like she had fallen into some sort of coma.

"I don't know what's wrong with her," the healer admitted reluctantly. "None of this makes any sense, dammit...unless it's some sort of spiritual illness."

Zuko felt irritated by the lack of concrete evidence for Julie's condition, and dismissed the ridiculous notion. His patience had exacerbated even more when the Earthbending street urchin kept hovering near her room. In agreement to Zhao's terms, the boy had been cleared of all charges, and Iroh had brought the child on to the ship to recover from his ordeal.

Damn his uncle's generosity. Zuko was not in the mood to babysit.

"Why don't you go...play or something," he snapped after the fifth time he had caught him near the infirmary. "Julie doesn't need you here."

The boy, who Zuko learned was called Kuba, glared at him. "You're not the boss of me."

"I'm in charge of this ship, and while you're here you're going to abide by my rules. Got it?"

In response, Kuba blew a raspberry at him. Honestly, Zuko liked him a lot better when he had been drugged senseless by Zhao's men.

"Give me one good reason why I should allow a child in here," he said, rubbing the temples of his forehead. Make allowances for youth, his uncle would have told him. Infanticide is not honorable.

Kuba narrowed his eyes. "I may be a child, but I'm not stupid. Julie's completely hopeless without me. For all I know, you'll do something creepy to her while she's sleeping. You look like the type."

Zuko sputtered, his face turning a very drastic shade of red. "What kind of...just who do you think you're talking to, anyway?" He was so outraged that he was actually stammering. In front of a child no less.

But seriously, what kind of child made insinuations like _that_?

"Doesn't matter who you are. I'm not leaving Julie...not after she got hurt trying to keep me out of jail."

Zuko opened his mouth to retort when all of a sudden a messenger knocked quickly on the frame of the open door. Snapping his head towards the intruder, he barked, "What is it?"

"Prince Zuko, there are men here who want to speak with you...about the girl, Julie. They say it's a matter of great importance."

Zuko frowned. "Men? What men?"

"They were wearing dark red cloaks, Sir," the messenger replied. "They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus."

Kuba seemed to freeze. Zuko didn't seem to notice. His thoughts were focused on the day before yesterday, when he had arrived just in time to prevent a group of cloaked men from whisking Julie away. Come to think of it, the whole incident had been beyond weird. At first, he had merely assumed that they were spies looking for information on the Fire Nation. But now...

The memories of Julie's Agni Kai came rushing back. The sudden rush of the flame, the acrid smell of charred flesh...the weird power Zuko had sensed moments before Julie collapsed. All of a sudden, he thought he understood now why these men were interested in her.

_They know something about her...something I don't._

Whatever their intentions, Zuko needed answers. And this was the only way he was going to get any.

"Make sure they aren't carrying anything dangerous and show them into the galley. Tell them I'll be with them shortly."

"Yes, Sir."

"And have the guards keep an eye on them until I arrive."

The messenger bowed and retreated. Zuko paused only to give Julie a parting look. She looked small and withdrawn, huddled up in the sheets and blankets the healer had provided for her. Nothing seemed to bring any warmth back into her body. She looked worse and worse by the hour.

"Prince Zuko?" the healer spoke up.

"Alert me if her condition changes," was all Zuko had to say.

He turned on his heel to leave when he felt a small pair of hands grab his arm. Stopping abruptly, he scowled down at the child clinging to his hand. The boy looked frantic.

"You can't let the Brotherhood near Julie," he said urgently. "They're bad! Really bad!"

Zuko frowned. "Who exactly is this Brotherhood? And what do they want with...with that girl?"

He still couldn't say her name out loud.

Kuba was suddenly hesitant. "I...I'm not allowed to tell anyone. Outsiders can't...can't know who we are."

Epiphany. "You're one of them."

"I don't want to be, though. I ran away. They're monsters. They make us do terrible things, all in her name..."

Zuko knelt down and looked intently into Kuba's eyes. "Who's name?"

There was a long silence. Kuba seemed to be wrestling with himself, as though unsure of what the right thing to do was. He looked everywhere his eyes could find, anywhere to avoid having to meet the gaze of the Fire Prince.

"Her name," Zuko repeated impatiently. "If you won't tell me, then I'll get the answer somewhere else."

"Ayla," Kuba muttered. "Lady Ayla. The Red Lady. She's...a spirit, I think, but...she's like a goddess to them. They worship her, but in really bad ways. They kill and torture people who get in their way, anyone who's an 'enemy of the clan.' And..."

"And what?"

Zuko saw the boy bite his lip. "Lady Ayla was supposed to have had red hair..." Here, Kuba's gaze drifted pointed towards Julie, who was still sleeping in the other room. "Like Julie's...except Lady Ayla's hair is supposed to be longer, I think."

It took a moment for the Fire Prince to digest that. While it was rather troubling to hear that Julie bore some resemblance to the figurehead of a religious cult, Zuko doubted it was the only reason they were stalking her now. There was more to this story that he didn't know.

"Why do they worship her?" he asked. "What did this Ayla person do that was so great?"

Kuba pursed his lips and shook his head vehementally. Zuko decided that he wasn't going to get any more information out of him.

"Stay out of trouble, then," he snapped. Snatching his arm out of the child's grip, he stormed out of the room and went to get his uncle. He would see what the wise ex-General thought of this so-called Brotherhood.

And then, he would figure out what to do.

* * *

"So? What did I tell you?"

The freakishly huge man with the red and white cloak nodded absentmindedly. He fingered the sword at his hip thoughtfully as he looked down at the ship where the girl was.

"Not bad, but it was kind of wimpy if you ask me. And that Commander Zhao seemed like a real putz."

"Well, Ni'itsu, we can't all live up to your expectations...can we?"

The man, Ni'itsu, brushed some strands of his dark hair out of his face and rubbed the tip of his nose. He was starting to get bored. "I suppose you think I'm looking for another baka deshi to take on, Koichi."

The old mask-seller grinned. "You have to admit, the resemblance is uncanny."

"Hnn..."

"Bo-Fen and Shen-Long told me that Ayla had died, but something about this girl reminds me a lot of her. Did you see how light her feet were in the ring? Quick, nimble and lithe..."

"She's a runt. I doubt she'd last long through any real training."

The old man looked defeated. He knew that once Ni'itsu made up his mind about something, nothing would change it...well, nothing short of a giant cask of the world's finest sake, that is.

"I see you've made your decision, then," Koichi sighed. "What a shame. The Brotherhood's clans are bound to fight over her now that she's appeared. Like a scrap of meat thrown about by several pairs of ravenous jaws, eager to feed..."

"You wax eloquent on tragedy, my friend."

"Does it not bother you, then?" the mask-seller inquired. "That girl doesn't seem to know what she is. It seems cruel to leave her to fate under these circumstances."

Ni'itsu didn't say anything. He merely shifted his shoulders, as though stretching. The huge man squinted down at the ship one final time, as though sizing it up.

"In any case," he muttered. "I've got better things to do. Let the runt fend for herself. Maybe she'll get stronger that way."

* * *

The atmosphere was tense in the galley of Zuko's ship. Under strict orders, the soldiers had searched Delun and his men for anything unusual, then seated them at the large rectangular table in the middle of the room. The guests patiently endured this indignity and kept silent as Zuko entered the room, followed by Iroh and Lieutenant Jee.

By now, the effects of Julie's pepper spray had worn off. The men stood erect, locking gazes with the brutish strangers at the table.

"You said you had information," said Zuko in a low voice, breaking the silence. "About my servant..."

For a moment, no one said anything. The two grunts were perfectly still, but the man seated between them rose to his feet. His dark eyes did a swift scrutiny of Zuko, his gaze lingering on the scar across his left eye.

"I do," said Delun. "But first, let me explain who we are. My comrades and I belong to a very low-key organization of peaceful scholars. You may or may not know our name..."

"The Brotherhood," Zuko replied tersely. "And I _do _remember. You tried to kidnap my servant a few days ago."

Only an idiot would have missed the accusation in his voice. Delun addressed that issue immediately.

"Not kidnap," he corrected. "We were merely encouraging the girl to enter one of our clans. You see, I saw at a glance that Miss Julie had great potential as a disciple. She would go far if she were allowed to join our ranks...if she were allowed to _learn _our ways..."

"What ways?" Zuko demanded. When no one answered him, he menaced them with a glare. "You said you were a group of _peaceful _scholars. What exactly is it that you study? And why is it that your so-called discipiles look better suited to a battlefield than a library?"

Delun simply smiled. "You ask a great number of questions...but I can assure you that all will become clear in due time. However," he added briskly, looking towards the door, the one that led in the direction of the infirmary, "...I believe something more important is at hand. As we speak, Julie's chi is declining at an alarming rate. Don't you think you should give her the treatment she _needs_?"

"You know what's wrong with her?" Lieutenant Jee spoke up. "Our healer is completely at a loss..."

"How did you learn about that girl's condition?" Zuko cut in sharply. "No one on this ship was authorized to give you that information."

Silent as a stone, Delun continued to smile smugly at the Fire Prince. Iroh watched the man with the intent stare a chess player would save for his opponent's pawns. The ex-General's face was carefully blank as the seconds ticked by.

"We do quite a bit of studying, Prince Zuko, contrary to your belief," the cloaked man said ambiguously. "Now...in answer to your question, Lieutenant," he said, turning to Jee. "Julie's case is a simple one to fix, but dangerous if left to its own devices. All of her main chakras have been ripped wide open...picture a dam breaking, and you can clearly understand what is happening. All of the girl's chi is spilling out of her body faster than it can be replenished. At this rate, she'll be completely drained by the time the sun rises."

"Interesting," said Iroh, speaking for the first time. Immediately, Delun's dark eyes swiveled to him. "So you are implying that some sort of shock...perhaps the strain of the Agni Kai, caused this anomaly."

"It is no anomaly, General Iroh," Delun replied. "In fact, it is a very common condition for a young, untrained Energybender to have."

There was silence in the room. "Energybending?" Zuko muttered. "What in the name of Agni...? What are you talking about?"

"So you are not familiar with the term. That is no surprise. After all, Energybending is, in fact, a very obscure, very ancient art...one that predates even the existence of the Avatar." Delun smiled at Zuko the way a professor would smile at an overly-curious child. "You see, Energybending is simply the ability to manipulate the flow of chi...either in oneself, or in another."

Zuko went very still. Immediately, his thoughts went back to the Agni Kai. He remembered the look of agony and confusion etched on Zhao's face as he grappled with his own fire, the very element he had once controlled, the element that was now rebelling against him. Zuko remembered the sound of the man's screams as that very same element happily ate away at his entire arm...

"You're saying that Julie is...an Energybender?" he said slowly.

"Precisely."

Zuko turned to his uncle and Lieutenant Jee. Both men wore expressions of extreme disquiet. Neither one of them seemed able to reply as they digested this very troubling information. Seeing that he would get no help from either of them, the Fire Prince turned back to Delun, staring him down.

"She hasn't woken up since the Agni Kai ended," he told him. "If we were to somehow close her chakras again, would she recover?"

"There is no need to worry, Your Highness. My men can easily awaken the girl from her coma if you let them...but it will come at a price."

_Of course, _Zuko thought bitterly. "Name it," he said, without hesitation.

Delun came around the table, coming closer until he was towering over the Fire Prince. "I want her. The girl. You will consent to her admission into the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus...you will let her accept her destiny as a master Energybender." His tone was blunt, inflexible.

Zuko's eyes widened in outrage. "What makes you think you can walk in here and demand such a..."

"Julie must be quite talented indeed for you to show such an _avid _interest," Iroh put in unexpectedly.

Both negotiators turned towards the Dragon of the West, as though they just remembered the man was there.

"Well, Energybenders are extremely rare. For that reason, we choose to handle them with _care_."

"I see," said Iroh pensively. "So when you said that Julie's condition is a common one among Energybenders, you are implying that few survive to master their art...unless, of course, a master Energybender is present to monitor their chakras."

Delun nodded stiffly.

"So, you or someone among you must be a master Energybender," the ex-General deduced. "Perhaps can we have a demonstration? Just to verify your claims? After all, if Julie is truly such a prodigy, we wouldn't want her condition compromised by another's sloppy technique."

"You want...a demonstration?"

"If you don't mind. Perhaps on that nice strapping gentleman beside you," Iroh suggested.

Zuko saw immediately what his Uncle was up to. He wanted to see this Energybending for himself, to determine whether or not it was even safe before he considered subjecting Julie to its force.

Delun sighed, as though weary for some reason. "Very well. Yuan, come here."

The man to his right suddenly stiffened. "Y-yes, Sir."

Visibly nervous, the large man slowly pulled himself out of the safety of his chair and shuffled away from the table so that he was in full view of his audience. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, his jaw tight as he waited for something to happen. His back was pin straight, it was the kind of poise one had when expecting severe pain.

Delun turned towards Iroh. "A trained Energybender is capable of sensing movements and sudden shifts in a person's chi, or spirit. This ability can be used either to heal ailments in the chakras...or, to cripple an opponent at the weakest points in his or her body. This can be done by targeting a chakra, like _so_..."

To the surprise of all present, Delun's palms began to glow a deep, malevolent red. At the same time, Yuan went rigid, his eyes opening wide as a spot on his forehead began to pulse with that same eerie red light.

"At this point," Delun continued calmly, "the Energybender will proceed to either surpress or amplify the chi in the targetted chakra...although most Energybenders are only capable of _surpressing_ chi in other people. If they can amplify chi at all, it is merely theirs and theirs alone. However," he added. "I am capable of both surpression _and _amplification in both myself and others. So watch carefully as I proceed to show you the effects of both. I'm sure it will be..." here, he smiled charismatically (though the effect was quite monstrous). "...enlightening."

Zuko jumped as the light pulsing from Yuan's forehead intensified. Abruptly, the man's hands clutched at his temples, eyes wide as a choked cry gurgled in his throat. To his horror, red light began pouring from his eye sockets. With every passing second, the man continued to flail about in mute agony, finally sinking to his knees, succombing to the weight of his own amplified chi.

"Stop it!" Zuko yelled, but it was too late. With a final gasp, Yuan's eyes rolled up into his head. His body gave a few more jerks before it stilled...permanently.

"Effective, is it not?" Delun commented, as though the dead man on the floor were nothing more than an interesting sculpture. "Indeed, now you can see what happens to a person when their chi paths become so wide that it all spills away. Though, I admit, I may have helped it along a little..."

The shocked silence turned the atmosphere into ice.

"You...you bastard..." Zuko said in a low voice, unable to take his eyes off of the corpse. His face was chalk white. "You're out of your mind if you think I'll let you anywhere _near _Julie after what you just did."

"I think you missed the point of my demonstration, Prince Zuko. Do you not see? _This _is the fate of someone in Julie's condition. This is how dour her situation is. You have no choice but to let me close her chi paths."

Slowly, the Fire Prince lifted his gaze, looking coldly at the cloaked man. "_No_."

"Perhaps you need...a different demonstration," Delun suggested quietly. "A more _direct_ one, I think is in order."

And that was when Lieutenant Jee hit the floor. Both Zuko and Iroh jumped in alarm as the man's legs simply gave out beneath him. The floor shuddered from his weight, and the naval officer let out a low moan from the impact. Neither one missed the red light pulsing from the chakras in his legs. Lieutenant Jee himself, once he realized what was happening, stared down at his lower half, almost speechless with anxiety.

"D-do something..." he choked. "I can't move my legs...!"

"I think you made your point!" said Iroh quickly. He grabbed his nephew by the shoulder, keeping him from lunging at Delun. "Calm yourself, Prince Zuko," he whispered in the young man's ear. "Can you not see how fragile the situation is?"

"He can't do this, Uncle! I won't let him have his way with my crew!"

"_Look_ at Lieutenant Jee, nephew...! What do you think would happen if Delun were to target his Firebending chakras...? Stay silent and let me handle this..._please_."

Angrily, Zuko ripped himself out of his uncle's grasp and stormed out of the room without a word. The two men, four if you counted the remaining Brotherhood grunt and the incapacitated Lieutenant Jee, watched him leave. Iroh winced as the door slammed shut behind him.

"So, you will consent to let me look at the girl?" Delun asked silkily.

Iroh turned slowly and looked at him. His face was pale. "Do as you must. Only leave my men in peace."

A very complacent smile spread across the cloaked man's face. It was very much like a satisfied cat stretching itself out on a very plump pillow. "Excellent. Although, a bit of advice, General Iroh: It would do far better for you to control that nephew of yours. His temper could have _devastating_ consequences if he were to antagonize the wrong man."

The ex-General didn't say a word. Indeed, there was nothing to say.

"Now," Delun continued, looking quietly pleased. "Let's go have a look at our newest acolyte."

* * *

Kuba bit his lip nervously as he struggled to balance the unconscious girl draped across his shoulders. Of course, given his small height, he could barely stand with Julie leaning on him like this. He hated himself when his knees almost gave out.

"Damn," he grunted, shifting his own weight so he could hold her better.

He thought he would have at least been able to carry her off the ship, but, as Kuba was prone to do, he put way too much faith in his alleged Earthbender's frame. The truth was the boy was as scrawny as they come, but he'd sooner stand on a street corner in the shadiest part of the pier than admit this to himself. So, swallowing his body's protests, he heaved Julie off the bed and dragged her towards the door.

The healer was slumped on the floor, happily drooling over a bottle of hard liquor Kuba had been thoughtful enough to fetch for him. He was already too wasted to notice his patient being carried off by the street urchin.

_Good thing this ship is full of hooch, _he thought to himself as he half-lifted, half-dragged her down the hall. It was slow progress, but gradually he managed to reach the stairs.

It was there that Kuba found himself face to face with Prince Zuko.

"You were trying to escape with her," he stated.

Kuba stuck out his jaw obstinately. "If you get in my way, I'll kick your ass. Don't think I won't."

The Fire Prince stared at the boy. Immediately, he could see how Julie could be drawn to such an ill-mannered youth. They were almost a pair in a matched set, with identical scowls and stubborn brows. It would have been cute if it weren't for the murderous cloaked men hell-bent on taking Julie away. Besides, Zuko wasn't rarely in the mindset to acknowledge something as insignificant as looks.

But the similarity _was _striking.

Zuko knelt down so that he was looking him square in the eyes. "You were...right," he said grudgingly. "We need to get Julie out of here as fast as we can. There's no time to explain. Give her to me. I can carry her."

Kuba eyed him, as though reluctant to hand over his trust, and his charge, so easily. "If they catch us," he warned him, "they'll wait until Julie's awake. Then they'll torture us in front of her so she won't even think of going against them. Then they'll kill us...slowly."

There was an audible pause.

"I won't let them take her," Zuko stated darkly. He stared down the child. "Right now, I need you to put your personal feelings for me aside. We have the same enemy now. Help me save her, or stand aside."

Kuba frowned. "You...you mean it? You'll really help her?"

He averted his gaze, shooting a hateful look at the wall. "I owe her more than to let her get taken away by those..." But he trailed off. The words he was thinking to describe the Brotherhood were ones he did not think should be repeated in front of a child. "Let's go. We don't have time to waste."

* * *

Delun could barely mask his irritation as he eyed empty bed. "You said this was where the girl was being held?" he asked dryly.

The room was, of course, completely empty. The bed was a mess, as though someone had dragged its occupant away as quickly as possible, not even bothering to hide the evidence. The sheets and blankets had been pulled off the mattress and on to the floor. They were now stained in the pool of blood that dripped out of the now lifeless body of the healer.

It turns out that the Brotherhood have little patience when it came to drunkards and traitors.

General Iroh couldn't keep the revulsion off his face. "Perhaps she woke up and wandered off," he suggested quietly.

"The girl amplified enough of Commander Zhao's chi to fuel this ship for a week," Delun snapped. "Her own chi is still pouring out of her as we speak. There is no way she could possibly be awake now."

The Dragon of the West didn't reply. He had practically become a taciturn in the Energybender's presence.

Delun's eyes flickered around the room, as though trying to stare through the walls. Neither the subordinate nor Iroh would opt to break the silence, opting to look on attentively as he scrutinized every inch of the infirmary. Then, his nose scrunched up, as though something foul was in the air.

"A child has been here," he said slowly.

"Probably the Earthbender," the grunt supplied. "The one that was with Julie the other day."

"Find them," Delun said. "And teach them what happens when you play games with the Brotherhood."

Julie's head bobbed lifelessly as Zuko carried her, piggyback, up the stairs leading up to the deck. Kuba led the way, glancing back every so often to make sure that he was still being followed. Within seconds, they emerged into the open night air.

The wind whistled mournfully as clouds loomed on the horizon.

"Now what?"

Zuko tried to think. "The water's really choppy now. It'll be too dangerous for a small craft, but if we don't have enough manpower to take anything bigger."

"Suits me. We'll go by land," Kuba replied. "I hate ships. I can't do a damn thing in here."

"Ugggh..." Julie groaned, stirring on Zuko's shoulder.

Both froze as they turned to watch her, but to their disappointment she didn't do anything else. The small movement seemed to exhaust her back into unconsciousness. With a sigh, they turned back towards the ramp leading off the ship. Kuba seemed crushed that she hadn't been able to wake up, and Zuko was suddenly reminded of a lonely stray.

"She's really bad, isn't she?"

Zuko ignored the question. "We need to move. We'll find her a healer...once we leave the pier." There was bound to be someone who knew something about chakras...or so he hoped. He didn't want to think about what would happen to Julie if she continued to lose chi.

But part of him worried about his uncle too. He didn't want to leave him alone with that monster, Delun.

_Uncle can take care of himself, _he told himself.

Julie, on the other hand, was defenseless. That seemed to settle it for Zuko, no matter how reluctant he was in carrying out his decision. He couldn't allow himself to abandon the girl. Not after she almost died to keep the Avatar a secret from Zhao.

"Going somewhere, Prince Zuko?"

The two stopped dead in their tracks. Slowly, Zuko revolved in place, careful to keep a firm grip on Julie as he turned to face the speaker. His golden eyes narrowed hatefully as he locked gazes with Delun. Surrounding them were about ten cloaked men. Either Zuko had failed to notice them before, or they simply materialized out of the shadows. Neither thought was very reassuring.

Again, he felt a prickle of fear for his uncle. Where was he?

Kuba stiffened, like an alley cat with its back against the wall. He took a firm Earthbending stance even though they were on a ship. Zuko caught that movement out of the corner of his eye and silently approved of the boy's courage.

"I gave you my answer," Zuko replied. "Julie's staying with us. You can't have her."

Delun shook his head slowly. "What a shame. I was hoping you would be more...cooperative. Especially given the fact that you're outnumbered five to one. You have no chance of getting out alive."

At the wave of his hand, the Brotherhood grunts spread out, their postures poised and ready for violence.

"This is your last chance. Give us the girl, and we won't have any reason to hurt you or the boy...ah, do my eyes mistake me? Why, that can't be Kuba, now can it?" Delun smirked, his eyes alive with an unnamable emotion. "You haven't grown much since your treachery, little brother."

Kuba snarled quietly under his breath. There were no words; only an irrepressable rage.

"So it was fate and the Red Lady's will that caused you to slip away from us...I see now. Your destiny was to survive long enough to bring us Lady Ayla's descendent."

Zuko's eyes flickered to the boy. "He's your _brother_?"

"_Half-_brother. And I told you. I ran away. I don't belong to him or anyone else anymore."

The Fire Prince chose not to reply. Instead, he lowered Julie to the floor and took an offensive stance. Kuba, seeing this, decided that the time for words had passed. He moved so that he was standing in front of her, protectively. All the while, the redhead slept on, completely oblivious to the fight that was brewing right under her nose.

"So you refuse to yeild?" Delun asked. "And you too, Kuba?"

"Fuck off," the boy spat.

That seemed to answer the question. The cloaked man's smile became twisted in anticipation.

"Lady Ayla will feast on your blood tonight," he whispered. "There is no salvation for you ignorant fleshbags. No hope. No future. Prepare yourselves."

"Come and get us then," Zuko challenged in a low voice.

The clouds loomed closer and closer. A storm was about to break.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaaand, another cliffie. This shouldn't take too long to resolve, though. After the next chapter, we'll officially be into the Kyoshi Island episode arc, and it should be plenty ridiculous enough to capture your interest.**

**And, no. This is not a spoiler. Julie obviously isn't going to die. I made this apparent when I started the story in _medias res_. Le, whoops! Damn prologue! **

**But hopefully you guys are still on the edge of your seats, wondering how Zuko and Kuba are going to get out of this mess. Will they be able to defeat Delun? What happened to Iroh? And when will Julie wake up? I bet you guys have no freaking idea who Ni'itsu is, either. Hee. Well, he's not an OC, that's for sure. But, crap. I hope this doesn't end up turning into a cross-over fic. Those always give me headaches, you know?**

**If anyone has any idea who Ni'itsu is, PM me, and I'll give you epic bonus points. ^-^ I'm SO evil.**

**You can expect a really freaking epic fight scene in the next chapter. I honestly haven't had enough fights in this story, which is quite shameful given the fact that Zuko is secretly a ninja. So, good news, fangirls! You get some fan-service. It's the least I can do since I failed to update on time. **

**Was it good? REVIEW!**


	32. In Like a Lion, Out Like a WTF?

**A/N: Apparently I still have to get back into the momentum of chapter-writing. Alas, I am a spoiled, evil author who doesn't update when she should. And now I am paying the price. ONLY FOUR...no, wait, FIVE reviews!**

**Meh, I'm only kidding. It's only to be expected from a three week hiatus, right? Instead of complaining, I should be whole-heartedly thanking the people who enjoyed the last chapter enough to leave a review. So thanks, you guys! **

**Disclaimer: The character Ni'itsu is not mine. Soon, you will see why I feel the need to reiterate this fact...hee...! Enjoy!**

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* * *

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**Chapter Twenty-Seven: In Like a Lion, Out Like a...WTF?**

(_Still_ Zuko's POV, third person)

For a moment, everything was at a standstill. Zuko's eyes flickered from Delun to each of his men, waiting for one of them to move. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but he could barely hear it over the steady pumping of his heart. This was the tense-as-a-loaded-bowstring silence, the one that made a warrior's blood sing seconds before a battle began. But unlike most warriors who fought freely and without restraint, Zuko felt like he had his back against the wall. He was weighed down with worry for his uncle, and a nagging fear for Julie, who lay unconscious at his feet.

Then there was the Earthbending child behind him without any earth to bend. Zuko couldn't see him doing much in a fight, but at the moment he was the only ally he had. And despite the glaring difference in strength and numbers, Kuba refused to let his fear show. He kept his teeth clenched and his stance unyeilding, much like the element he controlled.

All of this flashed through Zuko's brain moments before two of the grunts came at him. His body sank into a defensive crouch, waiting for them to get closer. He narrowed his eyes, quickly calculated their distance, and...

...Kuba darted forwards. The Fire Prince could hear the rasp of a dagger coming out of a sheath. How long had the boy had _that _hidden up his sleeve? Seconds later, the first grunt let out a startled yelp as the knife cut into his leg. Speedy and lithe, the boy's motions succeeded in tripping up the cloaked man, as well as tearing up several of his tendons and ligaments. Dark fluid dripped from the edge of the dagger as Kuba wheeled to face the second grunt.

But Zuko had already dispatched him. Kuba only saw enough of the cloaked man to recognize him as such as he was thrown overboard. There was a sickening thud as he missed the water.

The two eyed each other. _Not bad_, their eyes said.

Julie was still curled up on her side, her red hair falling into her face. It obscured her expression. It was difficult to say if the sounds of the sudden melee that followed had any effect in rousing her. If it did, her body failed to respond. She lay there, as though asleep, heedless to any shouting and screaming that shook the stillness of the night.

The Brotherhood acolytes practically threw themselves at Zuko and Kuba. A pattern was formed as Zuko would engage two or more of the thugs, holding their attention long enough for Kuba to sweep in with his knife. Once incapacitated, the Fire Prince would finish them off, throwing them over the side of the ship. More than half of them ended up with broken necks and shattered skulls as they smashed headfirst against the unyeilding floor of the dock.

Not that Zuko had the leisure to feel guilty about it. The cloaked discipiles were unfortunately skilled in fighting, and it was all he could do to keep himself from getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers alone. Kuba's element of surprise was probably what gave him the upper hand.

All the while, Delun watched the combatants intently. He looked eerily at ease.

"You both have potential," he said after they had crippled or killed more than half of the acolytes. "No wonder that girl was drawn to the two of you...I can see you both have powerful spirits."

"Stop babbling nonsense," Zuko snapped.

Delun laughed. "Very powerful, indeed. But then, even mountains can be shattered with enough force. Let's see how you handle _this_."

And then, just like that, more acolytes appeared. They seemed to walk out of nowhere, but of course, logic told Zuko that this was impossible. He simply must not have noticed them.

That didn't stop him from feeling frustrated. The Fire Prince swore venomously under his breath.

Kuba glanced up at him. "What's the plan?"

Zuko didn't take his eyes off of Delun. "We need to take out their leader. These guys don't seem to improvise very well."

"What if we can't get to him?"

Golden irises glinted menacingly. "That's not an option," he replied through gritted teeth. "If you can't handle it, then run away. Go get help...find someone who's not afraid to fight."

Kuba just glowered at him. "Do I look scared to you?" he asked, holding up his bloodied knife.

* * *

Down below, the soldiers were completely unaware of the fight that had erupted on deck. They were happily enjoying their leisure time, playing cards, swapping gossip, and generally shooting the breeze. It was the tactical act of purposefully doing nothing, and it was a wonderful feeling for a soldier who had been caught in a nautical rut of constant shift changes and rigid schedules.

One of the messengers, the one who had announced the arrival of the Brotherhood to Prince Zuko (it just so happened) walked into the room, biting his lower lip in consternation. He looked so troubled that Bo-Fen, seeing him, promptly decided that he could use a drink.

"Hey, Huang," she called jovially. "Come join us. We were about to relive the most humiliating parts of Shen-Long's childhood over some warm sake."

"Wait, what?" Shen-Long yelped, having been blissfully unaware of this item on today's list of agenda until now. As it were, he was under the impression that they were celebrating Julie's miracle defeat of the universally respected but all-together despised Commander Zhao. Mere minutes ago they had received word that he was bedridden, and probably wouldn't be able to use his arm again save by some merciful act of the Spirits.

Like _that _would ever happen.

"It'll be great," Bo-Fen added, ignoring her brother's protest.

But Huang didn't seem to hear her. He sank down onto the nearest barrel, looking as though he might be ill. That got the female soldier's attention right away. Putting down her glass, she strode over to the smaller man and gave him the one-over.

"All right," she said quietly so only he could hear her. "Out with it. What's wrong?"

Huang looked up quickly. "I just...I have a really bad feeling...about those guests I brought to see Prince Zuko."

"What guests? What are you talking about?"

The messenger had the most miserable expression on his face. "You remember those guys in the dark red cloaks we see sometimes when we come to port? The ones always recruiting for whatever creepy organization they work for? Well, they showed up not long after the Agni Kai wanting to see Julie. They said they had to tell Prince Zuko something very important about her."

"Something...wait, you didn't actually bring them aboard, did you?" she demanded quickly. The cheer had fled from her eyes, having been carefully replaced with her best poker expression.

"I had no choice. Prince Zuko was...concerned that Julie wasn't waking up, and he thought they might know how to...well...help."

Bo-Fen froze. "Oh...shit," she murmured. "SHEN-LONG! Get your ass in gear! We've got trouble!"

Shen-Long looked up from the scroll his shipmate was showing him (the latest in a string of romance novels) and stared at his sister. "Something wrong?"

The irate female soldier jumped to her feet and grabbed her sword. Shen-Long was immediately on his guard. He still hadn't forgotten the last time his sister had a blade in her hands...especially the part when she swung said blade at his throat. But he saw at a glance that Bo-Fen's rage wasn't directed at him for a change. That made him pause.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"The fucking idiot let them on the ship! That's what's wrong! And that damn girl is still out cold!"

"Wait, you don't mean..."

"The Brotherhood, you fucking gimp! The Brotherhood!"

That was all he needed to hear. Within seconds his weapon was in his hands and drawn.

"Where's Lieutenant Jee?" he asked Huang, who was startled by the sudden change in mood. "Does he know about this?"

"Y-yes. He and General Iroh were meeting with them just now...but I haven't heard any word since."

And that was when Bo-Fen, deciding that she had heard enough, caught her brother by the arm and bodily dragged him out of the room and down the hall. Soon, Shen-Long had the presence of mind to use his legs and he and she were running to the infirmary as fast as they could. Clearly they were both of the same mind, that they had to reach Julie before it was too late.

But as they stood framed in the doorway to the infirmary and looked into the room, it was blatantly apparent to them that they _were _in fact, too late.

"We fucked up," Shen-Long mumbled, inching cautiously inside. He was careful to avoid the puddle of blood slowly seeping its way to the adjacent wall. "Healer Shim is probably dead by now...and it looks like they took her."

His sister didn't say anything. She was speechless with fury.

"They think she's Ayla," he continued quietly. "Or connected to Ayla somehow." Then, after a pause, he added. "Do you suppose they were watching the Agni Kai?"

Unspeakable anger hung in the air around Bo-Fen like a shroud.

"If I recall," she said bitterly. "_You _were the one that said it was just a fluke. You were the one who told me I shouldn't get worked up over a well-timed accident. Well, guess what? It _wasn't a goddamn fluke_! The girl was..."

Shen-Long gave her a severe look. "Don't say it!"

"...she was Energybending, you jerk! And don't you _dare _say that it's just a coincidence! A girl with red-hair practically drops out of the sky, acts so much like Ayla, and can _Energybend _like Ayla...what do you think that _means_, brother?"

For the first time in a long time, Bo-Fen was blinking back tears as she glared at Shen-Long.

"Tell me what it means," she demanded quietly.

"It means...we'd better go find out what happened to General Iroh and the Lieutenant," he replied, not meeting his sister's gaze. "And I _guess _Prince Zuko too, for that matter."

* * *

(Zuko's POV..._again_)

There was nothing worse than an enemy that refused to die. With every enemy Zuko and Kuba took out, another simply rose to take their place. It was like fighting an endless sea of religious fanaticism. Now the die-hard devotees were coming at them with weapons, and as the two lone warriors fought for their lives Delun continued to watch them as though they were pair of acrobats at a street carnival.

More than once, Zuko had been about to block an attack or make an attempt at Firebending only to find all the strength in his arm _sapped _out of him. This was how he had ended up with the light gash in his side. When he found that he couldn't Firebend at all for some reason, he barely managed to skirt backwards in time to avoid getting disemboweled.

Hissing through his teeth, he clutched at the wound with one hand, his eyes darting over to Julie. Too late, he realized that he and Kuba were being drawn away from her. Delun smiled as Zuko made this revelation. Then, with a infuriatingly untroubled air around him, the cloaked man simply walked over to the unprotected girl and scooped her up into his arms. Julie's head rolled to the side, her eyes closed. Even from that distance, Zuko couldn't miss how pale her face was.

His own had lost what little color had been left in it. "No...!"

"Julie!" Kuba yelled, and Zuko's head swiveled in time to see the child literally get swallowed by a crowd of red cloaks.

Cursing, the Fire Prince tried to go to the boy's aid, only to end up knocked to the ground. His face was being pressed to the hard planks of the deck by several pairs of hands; restraining him. The wound at his side stung as he was forced to kneel before the power-hungry man trying to take that peasant-_his _peasant-away from him.

For the record, there were certain things in Zuko's life that he considered _his_. They weren't much, and some of them were things he could do without. _His_ plain old cramped ship, _his _crew of worthless rejects, _his _long-winded, tea-obsessed uncle, _his _scar, etc., etc. Without even realizing it, Zuko had subconsciously added Julie to that list of things that belonged with him, if not _to _him. She was _his _annoying, upstart peasant, and no one else's.

Zuko learned early on in his life that he could not expect things to be simply handed to him. The throne, his honor, his place in the family, all of the above were things that should have been his too. But unlike his sister, Azula, who was born lucky, the lucky-to-be-born Zuko had to fight for mere glimpses of those alleged givens.

It was only natural, given those circumstances, that Zuko tended to fight just as hard for the things he _could _call his own. And as he locked eyes with Delun, the lunatic who killed one of his own minions and let several more die without so much as a second thought, the same man who seemed intent on snatching his annoying peasant away from him...Zuko began to get the feeling that Julie wasn't something he could take for granted. That she, like his throne and his honor, were things he had to fight to hold on to.

So he would fight, then. He could _not _let her go with this man. Even if she left for whatever reason, Zuko would personally see to it that it wouldn't be because of _this _monster.

"Julie..." he murmured, and her name was like a promise.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

Have you ever been in limbo before? And no, before you even ask, I'm not talking about that stupid game with the pole and the lame music that they make you play in elementary school and really bad wedding receptions. I'm talking about the _in-between _place. The one where you're not quite here, not quite there; or, if limbo was a verb, it would be the act of _being _somewhere without being anywhere at all.

This was the feeling I got as I lay there. My body felt small and far away, too tight, suffocating. Everything was dark and cold. The blackness folded around me like an envelope of a letter; it was so complete it was overwhelming. I felt it consuming me, this inevitable nothingness.

As the seconds passed, I felt more and more like a boat that had been ripped open by a giant rock, and now all of my precious cargo was floating away downstream. I was too numb to feel panic. Just tired and resigned.

That was when I saw...or _felt _the light. It flared so bright that I thought I had gone blind. The essense of the light slammed into me, squeezing into every available space left in my body. It was everywhere; packed inside my lungs, crammed into my skull, convulsing with the spasms of my heart. It encompassed every fiber left of my being and consumed it. It was worse than drowning, it was hotter than fire, and every second my body, silent in its agony, begged for the torment to cease. It would have destroyed itself if only it could be freed from the light.

_It burns..._

The light grew more intense by the second. Any second now, I had to die. I could not withstand anymore; I would break. I would dissolve into ashes. Something had to give...at least, I prayed that something would. Anything to make it stop.

_It...burns...!_

I remembered this burning feeling. I threw my head back and screamed as this memory that was not mine, the memory of unspeakable suffering swept over me like a tidal wave...

_Men in cloaks, grim expressions, blank eyes. They surrounded me, holding torches. They stood in this vast stone chamber, circling me as I struggled against the ropes binding me to the altar. One cord stretched across my neck, holding my face erect and forcing me to look down at this unholy congregation. My arms and legs were tied to the blackened stone, where several others met the same fate that was in store for me._

_"Lady Ayla," the leader said solemnly. "It saddens me to deliver this judgment upon you. Your efforts alone have brought the Brotherhood that much closer to Origin's gates...and yet your heresy cannot go unpunished."_

_"This...is wrong..." I choked. "You can't...you fools don't know...he'll...he'll destroy everything."_

_"You are deranged. There is no one out there. Origin lies beyond the Spirit World, past an insurpassable Void where not even Koh the Face Stealer dares traverse. And yet _you _claim that someone _there_ is planning to use us to erradicate all existence?"_

_"I...I'm not c-crazy...! I'm telling you, if you continue in this insane quest, Mesmer Prospero will be able to reach the..."_

_"Enough. It is clear that your mortal coil has been permanently soiled by these radical ideas. So we will save you, Lady Ayla. We will send you to Origin as our emissary, so that your Spirit may be cleansed."_

_I struggled against the ropes, more desperate as they brought the torches closer. "No...! NO! You can't do this! This is what he wants, you fools! If I die now...oh, Spirits, please..."_

_The flames touched the ropes. Having been thoroughly soaked in a very flammable oil, it took mere seconds for the entire length of the rope to go up. Fire crawled along the stone, carressing my skin and melting it. It covered every inch of my body, lapped at my hair and bones. I screamed and screamed until my vocal cords had been burned away and my lungs were too filled with smoke for me to cry out. I screamed until I had nothing left to scream with..._

_I had failed. And now...he could use me however he wished._

My entire body throbbed with this despairing thought. Sadness washed over me like a cloud of salt, making my wounds fester and burn. It was over. There was nothing left for me to live for.

"Julie..." a familiar voice hissed from the darkness.

No, I wasn't Julie...or was I? I had forgotten. This person I became in this memory and the person I was now had become trapped in the same shell. I no longer knew where _Ayla _ended and where Julie began. We were spinning in confusion.

"Let go of her!" _garble, garble, _"You can't take Julie!"

Wait a minute...that was Zuko's voice. Why did he sound so...scared? And angry? What was going on?

* * *

"Let go of her!" he snarled, pushing and shoving against the men holding him down. "You'll regret this!"

"Cease your struggling, Prince Zuko. You have lost. Acknowledge it now while you still have any shred of dignity left."

Kuba was howling somewhere to the left. Zuko tried to turn his head to look, but the hands held him painfully still.

"You should be grateful I'm taking the girl off your hands...and back where she _truly _belongs. In the arms of the Brotherhood."

"You can't take Julie!" Zuko screamed at him. Panic carved an edge into his hoarse voice. "Julie! Wake up, you stupid peasant! Julie!"

Delun sneered. "You're wasting your breath. She can't hear you. And even if she could, there's no way she could possibly...what's this...?"

* * *

"Julie! Wake up, you stupid peasant!"

Swathed in light, I grew jagged edges as Zuko's words revived some of my missing aggressiveness. That bastard. Who the hell was _he _calling stupid, anyway? I should go over there and beat him senseless. I could feel my being redefining itself. I could feel a warmth erupting from the core of me.

That ugly bastard had no _right _to call _me _stupid! Wait until I got my hands on him...!

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

A small moan echoed past the sleeve of Delun's dark red cloak. Everyone's jaw dropped in surprise as Julie scrunched up her brow, her expression vaguely irritated. Zuko felt a stab of relief to see her old scowl back on her face again.

"Hey, you stupid girl!" he shouted. "Are you going to just lie around all night? Lazy peasant!"

"Bastard..." she grumbled, only half-awake. "Ugly bastard..."

Delun gave a start as he realized what was happening. "Silence him, immediately! Cut his throat out if you have to!"

"You're an hideous, foul-mouthed, hormone-surpressed street girl!" Zuko screamed at the top of his lungs, just as the dagger was being pulled out of its sheath. Similarly, Julie's face seemed to flush a very angry shade of red. "You couldn't get a husband even if Lieutenant Jee held a knife to his throat! You can't even hold _chopsticks _the right way!"

Julie started squirming in Delun's arms. "Fucking son of a bitch...! Put me down!" Her eyes were still closed. It was as though she were in such a rush to murder Zuko that she had forgotten how to open them...or even the fact that she had eyes to begin with. "I said...put...me...down!"

The cloaked man had trouble holding on to her. "What are you waiting for?" he yelled at the disciples. "I said...OOF!"

That was when Julie's flailing leg clipped him in the chin. Staggering backwards, Delun's hands went slack, stunned by the blow. At the same time, the girl slipped right through his fingers...literally. She fell like a brick, her head smacking down _hard_ against the deck floor. As she collided against the planks, the shock of the impact sent her eyes _snapping _open.

But before anyone had time to process what had just happened, there was a commotion coming from the stairs leading below deck.

Lieutenant Jee, now able to stand and apparently no worse for having had his chi manhandled by Delun, kicked the door open and sent a blast of fire at the cluster of acolytes holding Zuko and Kuba. It was like setting a curtain on fire; it swept along the row, incinerating the devotees practically on the spot. The sound of their screams and the smell of their burning flesh marred the night.

Zuko pulled himself free. As he caught sight of a patch of black, he reached out and snatched Kuba out of the crowd of screaming lunatics before he could catch ablaze.

"Uhn," the boy groaned, scrunching up his nose in discomfort. "That sucked."

At the same time, a squadron of Firebenders streamed through the door, entering the melee. Shen-Long was foremost among them. Moments later, Bo-Fen appeared, supporting a very weak General Iroh. Zuko looked up, surprised and angry to see his uncle in such bad shape. The older man was having difficulty standing and looked extremely pale.

"Zuko!" he yelled, then fell silent as he stared, wide-eyed at something behind his nephew.

Zuko turned to look just in time to see the green light _erupt _from Julie's body.

Everyone froze. Several jaws hung open as the redhead slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, her eyes glowing green. Her head revolved to glare at the crowd that had gathered on deck. Not one person could deny that she looked seriously _pissed_.

"Lady Ayla!" the devotees began screaming. At once, several of them dropped to their knees and began worshipping her. Even some of the ones who were still on fire got down and started kow-towing at Julie's feet. "Lady Ayla!"

The girl grimaced, holding her ears as though in pain. _"Too...much...! Uggh...!"_

Zuko froze as the sound of not one voice emerged from Julie's throat...but _two._

Delun seemed most startled out of all of them, but recovered quickly. He sank down on to one knee, paying tribute to the girl he had moments ago been about to kidnap. "Lady Ayla...at long last. I am your humble servant."

Zuko could see the pain on Julie's face, the confusion. Her hands clutched her skull as though a swarm of flies buzzed in her head and were trying to escape. She squeezed her eyes shut, moving her head from side to side, trying to shake the sound of the chanting away. All at once, he knew he had to distract her.

"Julie!" he yelled. "Look at me, you brat! Over here!"

Hearing the insult, Julie's head swiveled up. "Zu...Zuko...?" she whispered, her eyes slowly opening. For a moment, she seemed herself again. "It's too much...! Make it stop! Make them be quiet!"

Zuko could almost understand what she must be thinking and feeling. Imagine waking up only to find yourself in the middle of a battle, in the arms of a strange man who wanted to hurt you. Bloodshed was still running rampant around them, swords clashing and men screaming in the heat of the fight. Some of the flags and ropes from the rigging had caught on fire and fell from the mast in a smoldering heap on to the docks. The wood caught fire immediately.

Julie looked frightened and confused. But very quickly that fear was twisting itself into frustration. And then, Zuko realized with a sinking heart, anger. He scrambled to his feet and started towards her, but someone else was closer...someone with nothing but ill intentions.

"I know this is confusing for you, my Lady," Delun continued quickly. "But put your trust in me. I will steer you on to the right path. I'll help you understand what it is that you're feeling."

"What I'm...feeling?"rage seethed in Julie's voice. _"None of you have _any _idea how I feel...!" _The second voice had returned, mimicking hers like a discordant echo struggling to emerge first.

"We can help you!" the cloaked man insisted. "We can give you things you never knew existed! Lady Ayla!"

"Her name is Julie!" Zuko snarled. Then, he lunged at Delun, his fists coated in his Fire. Quickly, the man wheeled and caught the prince by the wrists, only barely keeping the fire from touching his face. He gave the younger man a hateful look.

"You just don't know when to quit," he hissed. "_Do _you?" Red pulsed from the man's palms, and Zuko went rigid as his fire sputtered dangerously. With a jolt, the Fire Prince realized that Delun was trying to do to him what Julie had done accidentally to Zhao during their Agni Kai. "I can make you suffer in ways you cannot even imagine, boy. You should have just stayed down!"

Zuko froze at what felt like a pair of hands reaching _inside _his chakras. He knew now that he wasn't in control anymore.

"No!"

Julie's voice pierced the dinn of the surrounding battle. For a split second, Zuko felt Delun's grip on his chakras suddenly weaken before it ebbed all together. And judging from the shock on his face, this wasn't _his _doing, either.

"Lady Ayla? What...? Why?"

Zuko stared into Julie's face, hardened into vengeful marble, that was how pale she was. Her jaw was clenched tightly shut. Her hands were still deeply woven in her hair, and Zuko could see bloodless white knuckles poking out from the sea of red.

"It hurts..." she whispered. "It...hurts...!"

In one firm movement, Zuko planted his foot in the middle of Delun's chest and tried to kick him backwards. The man lunged out of range of the attack, placing himself closer to Julie. To his (Zuko's) outrage, the man grasped the sobbing girl by the shoulders, like a father would his own daughter.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Delun murmured gently into her ear. "The crushing weight of so much chi...so many spirits pulsing in tandem. That's what you feel, isn't it? Let it guide you, girl. Give in to its pull. Resisting it is what's causing you so much pain!"

Julie flinched away from the sound of his voice, bent her head low towards her knees. She shook her head back and forth, whimpering.

"Let your power destroy your mind...nothing will ever hurt you again!" Suddenly, he wasn't so gentle anymore. His voice had become cold and urgent, his fingernails digging into her shoulders, forcing her upright. "Can't you see that this is your destiny? Why are you holding back?"

But Zuko was suddenly there. He caught Delun in a full-body tackle, ripping his arms away from his peasant. As they both hit the ground, the Fire Prince cocked back his fist and slugged him as hard as he could. The first blow was followed by a second one. Then a third. The Fire Prince didn't know how many times he had slammed his knuckles into Delun's face before the man threw him over and pinned him to the floor with both hands. Held to the ground by his throat, Zuko choked and sputtered in a blind rage.

Then, all of his chi began to drain away. In seconds, his arms and legs went limp, refusing to obey him. "N-no...!" he growled weakly, his body trembling as he struggled to move.

Julie's eyes ripped themselves open. Murder beamed a lethal shade of green as she tilted her head up to the sky.

Unseen by everyone, the blazing netting that had fallen on to the docks were nothing more than ashes now. But the fire refused to die. The tongues of flame almost had a greenish hue as they stretched in all directions. Far more intense than should have been allowed, the small inferno snaked around all the way to a row of fuel kegs in front of the nearby delivery freighter that brought them there.

The resulting explosion shook the entirety of Zuko's ship. Now the entire docks were ablaze, several of the neighboring vessels had caught on fire, and the crews aboard them were jolted into action as alarm bells clanged. More screams rent the air as sailor, merchant, and soldier alike all awoke to this unspeakable chaos.

* * *

Under those circumstances, it was probably no surprise that _no one _noticed the hulking giant of a man in the red and white cloak suddenly appear on deck behind the struggling Zuko and Delun. He grabbed the two of them and pulled them apart, dangling them in the air like a pair of snarling dogs.

* * *

"Enough's enough," he sighed, shaking his head in disgust. Almost carelessly, he tossed Delun over the side of the ship, over his shoulder. The man fell screaming into the water. At the resounding _SPLASH, _Zuko suddenly felt life spawn in his limbs again.

"Holy shit!" yelled Shen-Long, who was sporting a nasty cut on his cheek. "It's Ni'itsu Kakunoshin!"

The very same. Still holding on to Zuko with one arm (so he wouldn't run off and do something unwise), the newcomer drew his sword. In a few short minutes, the battle had been anticlimactically drawn to a close. The soldiers were very confused to find the lethal opponents they were busy engaging suddenly dead at their feet as Ni'itsu swept through them, like a lawnmower cutting through a house of cards.

No one bothered trying to stop him. The man was clearly dangerous, and no one wanted a piece of him.

"Aw, fuck," Bo-Fen grumbled, causing Iroh to look down at her quizzically. "That arrogant bastard...he'll never let any of us live _this _down."

The ex-General frowned. "I've heard that name before. Ni'itsu Kakunoshin...isn't he a famous artisan?"

"He makes pots," the female soldier spat. "Fucking pots! The guy is freakishly strong, but all he does is sit up on his stupid mountain drinking sake and making those goddamn pots!"

"Hey!" Ni'itsu barked, towering over the sea of corpses. "Those pots are the highest quality you'll ever find on _any _market, thank you very much. Quit your pathetic bitching, Bo-Fen."

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"Feh. If it weren't for me, you'd all be royally fucked. This one especially," he added, shaking Zuko around like a weasel he had caught in his henhouse. "Man, you sure are weak. And I can't believe you were dumb enough to try _Firebending _at an _Energybender_."

Zuko, who still hadn't quite processed what had just happened, merely choked. Then, abruptly, Ni'itsu dropped the bemused prince to the floor, moving towards Julie, who was still kneeling on the ground, breathing shallow sobs. She was hugging her arms to her sides, as though trying to hide inside herself, the sensory overload finally too much for her to bear.

"Hey, runt," he said, nudging the girl with his toes. "You gonna sit there all night crying like a baby? Quit your bellyaching, already."

Julie's glowing green eyes narrowed as a supernatural rage took hold of her. Apparently not noticing or caring how many people Ni'itsu had just killed, she rose to her full height, a very menacing five feet, four inches.

_"Leave...!" _she snarled in both of her voices. _"Or we'll snap your neck and feed you your own fluids!"_

"That's cute," he replied. "But really, I have better places to be than here. I don't have time for your little temper tantrum."

Everyone present winced as a second explosion shook the docks. No one missed the how much brighter Julie's eyes glowed as her out of control Energybending fueled the chaos surrounding them. Iroh in particular narrowed his eyes as he watched her anger peak, and then turned his gaze towards the burning ship-yard, where the flames took on an almost greenish hue. Then, slowly, he brought his attention back to Julie.

"How is she doing this?" Iroh asked Ni'itsu. "You seem to be...erm...enlightened about the situation."

The giant glanced down at the General and grunted indifferently. "The kid's an Energybender. Those fires were made with Firebending, but she's been amplifying that chi from the get-go without even realizing it. Now that people are awake and panicking, their chi is being used to feed the flames." Then, he turned his eyes back to the furious redhead. "Not bad...not too many Energybenders at your level could affect so many spirits at once, but it's still kind of wimpy. You lack control."

Julie bared her teeth at Ni'itsu. _"Leave...us...alone!"_

Heaving a sigh, the man reached down and smacked the back of her neck with the empty sheath of his sword. Julie let out a quiet gasp as she sank to her knees, her eyelids drooping. Slowly, she slumped to the ground and passed out.

"Once you stop being so pathetic, you should come and pay me a visit," he said to the unconscious girl. "Who knows? Maybe you'll actually be worth a damn when I'm done with you..._maybe_."

And with that, Ni'itsu took up his sword and cut the ship loose from the docks. Then, paying no heed to the intensity of the fires (which had somewhat dimmed now that Julie had been knocked out), he swung over the side of the boat and landed on the pier like a freakishly huge cat. Everyone stared as he walked away, his low muttering about a certain _baka deshi_ being carried away by the wailing of the wind. Soon, he had vanished from sight all together.

For a long time, no one said a word. Slowly, Bo-Fen helped Iroh over to where Zuko sat in a numb silence, blinking at his surroundings like an idiot. They were soon joined by Shen-Long and Lieutenant Jee, who closed around Julie like a pair of curtains. None of them could quite articulate what they were thinking.

The wind blew a low note. Then, the calm was shattered.

"What the fuck just _happened?" _one of the soldiers shrieked.

No one had an answer. Especially not Zuko, who could only stare as the ship drifted farther and farther out to sea. He couldn't take his eyes off the wreckage they were leaving behind them. The fire crackled wickedly, almost as if it were laughing at him.

* * *

**A/N: I am laughing my ass off as I write this, imagining the expressions on all of your faces as you read the end of this chapter. Seriously, there's Zuko being all cool and tragically awesome, ready to (sort of) die for Julie...and then, out of no where, Ni'itsu Kakunoshin shows up and kills the mood...and everything else in his path. Could there be a more screwed up way to end such a scene?**

**Besides shaking Zuko around by the scruff of his neck like a "weasel he had caught in his henhouse," I mean? Lol. I freaking love that line. I almost can't believe I came up with it, but the imagery is perfect.**

**Since we're on the subject, let me remind everyone for the _third _time that Ni'itsu is not one of my OC's. In fact, he's not going to be a very prominent character in my story. While he's _necessary_ in certain places in the plot, he's not going to be swooping in randomly and kicking ass like he did just now. This was merely a demonstration of his...err...talents. At best, he'll be a sort of far-reaching mentor character who doesn't really give a damn about what's happening. So, there.**

**He's not an AtLA character either, so let's see if anyone can figure out what book, movie, anime, or TV show the man is from. Since I'm clearly doing this to increase my review-count (la, la, la, no remorse), you can ignore my previous request to PM your answers to me. GIVE ME REVIEWS, PEOPLE! I'm like an AA member fallen off the wagon, metaphorically speaking.**


	33. A Debt Unpaid

**A/N: Before I start, let me do some shameless advertising. I posted a Jetko parody one-shot almost a week ago, and it got only one review. It really put me in a bad mood...sigh. If you guys would go check it out and leave a review, please, it would really make my day. And inspire me. Did I mention the inspiration part? Anyway, the fic is called "A Misunderstanding." Read and review if you love me.**

**I have one last thing to get off my chest in regards to the last chapter...****"DAMN YOU, GOOGLE! DAMN YOU TO THE FIERY DEPTHS OF ZHAO'S BUTTHOLE!"**

**Ahem. Anyway...looking at the reviews for the one story people actually seem to _like_ (shuffles through a stack of papers), I can at least gather that everyone _enjoyed _the last chapter. Sort of. I mean...you certainly were surprised. Which, I guess is what matters...right? I mean come on, how many of you seriously saw _that _coming? **

**Not too damn many. Still...I'm getting the feeling that my attempt at a humorous anticlimax fell painfully flat with you readers. Do you agree? Should I go make a noose out of a belt loop and hang it over my lamp fixture in the ceiling, seeing as this story is so SUCKISH?**

**...just kidding. Seriously, don't mind me. My self-confidence as a writer is starting to veer dangerously towards _bipolar_. Like, either I'm totally freaking awesome Distant-Moon, bad-ass goddess of the Happy-Endings-verse..._or_ I'm just a talentless hack with a keyboard. Needless to say, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Debt Unpaid**

It was warm and cozy. My entire body felt the softness of the sheets, the heaviness of the blanket draped over me. It was a soothing feeling. It was utterly still and quiet in the room. I lay there in absolute bliss, curled up on my side, burying my face in the pillow and breathing in a spicy scent I couldn't remember smelling before. But I felt like I _should _know it.

It was nice. Maybe I had fallen asleep in Jessie's house again. Only that couldn't be because Jessie's room smelled like dryer sheets and gardenias from her mother's garden. Nothing spicy about it at all. _Huh._

_Don't let it be a dream, _I thought. _Let me be home...please? I want to see Jessie._

To my surprise, my thoughts actually _spoke _back to me. _"Who's Jessie?"_

I frowned against the pillow. _What the...? _

But then, I was distracted when I started to hear voices. They were coming from outside the room. Uggh. I wanted to block out the sound. I wanted to sleep some more, wallowing in this pool of safety and warmth. I wanted to go back to my dreams to where Jessie was waiting for me with a smile and a Disney rant. Why couldn't things be that simple?

The voices were getting louder. And then I could recognize them. _Zuko. And General Iroh. They're arguing. _I couldn't surpress the crushing disappointment I felt when I realized where I was. I had wanted it all to be just a bad dream. Zuko, Zhao, all of it. Just dreams.

"So what _do_ you want me to tell her, then?" the Fire Prince demanded roughly.

I could hear Iroh sigh. "I am not telling you to _lie_ to Julie, nephew. But think about how she'll feel when she wakes up. _If _she wakes up..."

"No, ifs. She _will _wake up. She's getting stronger by the day. Even you can't deny that." There was a stubborn but cold confidence in Zuko's voice. "She'll probably come back to us in a day or two. Troublesome girl."

The sound of the doorknob turning grated against my ears. Without opening my eyes, I cringed away from the unwanted noise, burrowing deeper into my little cavern of blankets. The spicy smell wafted into my nose again. I was starting to _like _it, the way it cleared my mind. Not overpowering and definitely not unpleasant; somewhat bitter but still refreshing. It reminded me of someone...

"How long do you plan to keep her here?" Iroh asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

Zuko's voice was strangely bleak for some reason. "I'm not putting her in the infirmary. It's not...clean yet."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but listening to them was starting to send little chills up my spine.

"Besides, there are too many wounded and no healer. It's chaotic down there."

"Probably better," Iroh agreed grimly. "That she doesn't wake up to _that_. It would alarm her, and that might not be wise for someone in her condition."

Without thinking, I released the heavy sigh I had been holding in. The two Firebenders at my bedside jumped at the sound, and someone (I think it was Zuko) smacked right into the nightstand table. There was a clatter as what sounded like the entire contents of a drawer fell open on to the floor. The sound startled me into opening my eyes with a gasp.

I lay there, blinking up at the ceiling. Then, slowly, I brought my gaze over to my visitors. Zuko stared back at me, holding a candle he had caught seconds before it could hit the ground. The light of it was hurting my eyes, so I squinted and looked away. Iroh looked sheepish and turned towards his nephew, waiting for one of us to speak.

"Well," I said slowly, my throat so dry that it made my voice hoarse. "This is getting repetitive."

There was a brief silence.

"You sound terrible," Zuko felt the need to comment. "You probably should drink something..."

"I'll go make some tea," said Iroh, somewhat predictably.

However, as he turned to leave, he shot Zuko a _look_. I didn't know what it meant, either. There was an awkward feeling in the air as the General shuffled through the door and snapped it firmly closed behind him. The sound couldn't have been any more final if he had turned a key in the lock and shut us in permanently. Suddenly, I wanted to hide under the blankets.

Because I knew that this would be the part where Zuko would tell me something I didn't want to hear. It wasn't what I had overheard just now so much as this _feeling _I had. It was something akin to dread. There was no logical reason for it, but there it was, weighing my stomach down like rocks.

Zuko pulled up a chair to my bedside, ignoring the various odds and ends still scattered around on the floor, and sank down into it. He clasped the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, breathing in deeply. I stared at him, surprised to see him so exhausted.

"You should get some sleep," I told him, startled to find my voice so faint. "You look...tired."

He didn't even look up. "I can't," he said quietly. "You're sleeping in my bed."

It took me a minute to process that.

"Oh," I exhaled quickly.

So that spicy aroma lingering in the pillows and blankets were..._Zuko_. I had been smelling _Zuko_. _This _was the room where he dressed for bed, went to sleep, and _dreamed_. This was where he woke up every morning, this was his pillow, his ceiling, his Fire Nation poster on the wall, and...why in the name of the Spirits was _I _here?

_Wait...holy shit!_ Because now it had hit me that Zuko slept _in _these sheets. Five bucks for the first person to guess which gutter my mind had rolled into.

"Oh," I said again, my voice weak and strangled-sounding.

Zuko glanced up at me, curiosity alight in his eyes as a vivid blush pooled languidly into my face. It was a hot air balloon; it was slow, but once you spotted it you couldn't miss it for anything in the world. Zuko's eyes made me feel almost exposed as he stared at my mortified expression. They raked over my face before his own sank into a frown.

"The infirmary was full, peasant. And...I didn't want you in the hold for a change."

I couldn't answer. Not right away, at least.

"Your bed is...warm," I said, feeling incredibly stupid. "And soft."

Zuko looked uncomfortable. He wasn't an idiot; he must have realized what I had been thinking before. "I figured it would be better than that cot you sleep on all the time. That's all. You can leave when you recover."

"Recover?" I squirmed and tried to sit up. I let out a muffled cry of surprise when that small effort left me exhausted. I slumped back against the pillows, my eyes wide and a little scared. "Wha..what's wrong with me?" I asked, my voice soft and tired. "I can't move...!"

It all hit me like a wrecking ball: _The Agni Kai...the sting of the fire I barely dodged...Zhao's sneering face and how it had made me want to spit in it...the feeling of his hand holding me down by the hair..._and then a huge cloud of red floated into my mind's eye. It was almost like that cloud was made out of little tiny molecules of pure lightning, the way it made my head stab with pain. I let out a tiny cry and grabbed my forehead.

Suddenly, Zuko's back went straight in that chair. "What's the matter?"

I felt my face go ashen. I was flipping through my memories, trying to remember what had happened after that. When I kept drawing blanks I felt my entire body went cold. Suddenly, Zuko's sheets didn't feel so nice and safe anymore. What had happened? Why couldn't I remember? Angrily, I pushed against the wall in my mind, trying to get it to budge.

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." _that weird Voice in my head warned me again. But I ignored it. I ignored it because it was ridiculous. There _was _no voice. It was just me and my thoughts personifying themselves due to the combination of stress and fatique. And I sure as hell wouldn't let it beat me.

Zuko was leaning over me, his hands circling mine as he pulled them away from my face. "What's wrong?" he demanded. "Julie...answer me."

"My head, it..._ugghn_...!"

My breath came out in a sudden hiss of pain. _"Well, I tried to warn you..." _my crazy head Voice sighed. Oh, shit...Oh, shit, shit, shit, this was _NOT _a good sign. Please don't actually let me be becoming a schitzophrenic now. Unless...I've actually been schitzophrenic this entire time, and this entire crazy adventure has been nothing but a...

"Holy fucking Christ!" I exploded as a sharp knife stabbed through my head again. "It hurts! Fuck!"

_"I don't think you're dreaming_,_" _said the Voice, sounding agitated. _"Now stop thrashing around. You'll hurt yourself."_

Zuko pushed me back against the pillow. "Lie still," he said gruffly. "You hit your head pretty hard before. You should rest."

"Screw rest," I snapped, half-whimpering as my fear finally broke out the floodgates in my eyes. "S-shit...what happened? Why can't I..._remember_?"

Don't tell me I was overreacting, either. Seriously, it's bad enough that my last waking memory was practically a near-death experience. Now, I was being held against my will in Zuko's bedroom for reasons that simply eluded me, and as an added kicker, I had freaking amnesia! What a wonderful morning _I _was having...

_"You get used to it," _the Voice gave its unwanted advice as though it were telling me the time. _"I don't remember much of anything, but _I'm _not crazy...at least, I don't _think_ I am..." _

...and it only gets better because apparently I had _lost my MIND _and was hearing this _voice _in my head...! It's not very reassuring, either, when said Voice feels the need to point out how sane it is.

"I'm going crazy," I breathed, too horrified to speak above a whisper.

Zuko watched me intently. "You're not crazy. Just...confused."

Understatement of the year.

"I know a lot of things don't make sense right now," he said slowly. "_I'm _still trying to understand everything that's going on...but you have to trust me. My uncle and I are trying to _help_. Anyway," he added. "You should be grateful. Now that the Avatar is back, I shouldn't be letting myself get so..._distracted_."

I knew Zuko well enough by now to know that he didn't mean anything _offensive_. His voice was offhand, matter-of-fact. But it didn't make those words sound any less cold, as if I were an extra burden he had picked up along the way. And I was. But deep down, I couldn't ignore this increasingly apparent _need _I had to prove myself to the bastard. On some level, I admired him. On many other levels, I still hated his guts. So I guess that meant that I wanted us to be friends.

Only now, it sounded as if we were anything but. It was all just his stupid chivalry kicking in several episodes too late. How very like Zuko.

"I don't want your pity," I said coldly. "For fuck's sake, I am just so _sick _and _tired _of pity. Hate me! Send me back to the hold! But don't keep me here because you feel _guilty _or _obligated_ you jerk...!" I could feel the color draining from my face as I forced myself to sit upright, glaring at him.

Zuko looked annoyed. "I don't pity you, peasant. I'm keeping you here as a _favor_...that's all. You risked your life fighting Zhao just to keep my hunt for the Avatar a secret. You helped me, and I'm helping you." He turned his face away. "It's not like I _care_, either way...but a debt is a debt."

Oh, that fucking...!

"Yeah? Well, I don't want your help! I'm fan-freaking-tastic right now, and I sure as hell don't need you!"

He turned his face away and clenched his teeth. "Then leave," he hissed. "Get up and get out of my room if that's how you really feel."

"Fine!"

"Good!"

At which point, Iroh decided that the time was ripe for his re-entrance. The door opened, and the kindly man came in carrying a steaming pot of his special tea...the one with the secret ingredient he wouldn't reveal to anybody. Zuko and I were still locked in a furious gaze, our arms folded and mouths pressed so tightly shut that it would take nothing short of dynamite to get us speaking to each other again. Seeing this, Iroh smiled.

"It is good to see things back to normal," he said, setting down the tea-kettle.

Zuko merely sniffed, not saying a word.

I rolled my eyes. "_He _started it."

"Of course he did," Iroh replied calmly, pressing a cup of tea into my shaking hands. "Be very careful, now. That's..."

"She _knows _it's hot," Zuko snapped. Then he shot me a _look. _"She doesn't _need _us, apparently. So there's no point in warning her. Knowing her, she'll probably drink it scalding hot to _prove a point_."

"Maybe I'll make _you _drink it scalding hot, you ugly bastard!" I shot back.

"Stupid peasant!"

"Arrogant prick!"

The name-calling went on for another two minutes or so with terms so increasingly vulgar that even the smilingly composed Iroh couldn't keep himself from blushing. It was hard for me to keep track of how long we were screaming insults at each other. All I know is that one second Zuko and I were fuming, the next _someone _knocked my cup of tea to the floor. It _could have _been Zuko, but to be perfectly honest it was more likely that _I _was the one who dropped it.

And, of course, that was the final straw for Iroh.

"That is enough!" he snapped. "Both of you, opposite ends of the room. _Now_."

We both froze. _Uh, oh, _our facial expressions said. Zuko in particular looked like a graffiti-artist caught in the headlights of a cop car, the spray can half-empty in his hands. And when it became apparent that the he couldn't move, Iroh _moved_ instead. Within seconds, he got a hold of Zuko and had him sitting in the corner. It was clearly a forced time-out, something the young adult crown prince found to be very undignified. That is, if the sullen but _bewildered _expression on his face indicated anything.

Then, the Dragon of the West turned slowly and fixed me with a gaze so menacing that it made me shrink deeper into the safety of the sheets and pillows.

"You are very fortunate that you are currently an invalid," he said flatly.

Um...holy, shit.

"But, of course, you're spilling the tea was an _accident_," he continued, trying to compose himself. "You are still very weak from that last ordeal. How unfortunate that you don't even have enough strength in your hands to hold a cup of tea." Iroh opened his eyes and glared at me. "_Am I correct?_"

Since I was not in any way suicidal, I nodded mechanically. That seemed to settle it for him, thank God.

_"Wow...he's scary when he's mad, huh?" _the Voice chimed, not helping my frayed nerves.

"No freaking duh," I said without thinking. Then, I froze. "Tell me I didn't just say that out loud."

Iroh fixed me with another _look_ and Zuko was staring at me like I had gone insane. Which, given the circumstances, I probably had. I mean, I had just replied to a voice in my head. Now, say it with me: Oh, snap.

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I...um...didn't mean it like that. What I was trying to say was...um..." plausible lie, plausible lie, "...of _course _I wouldn't spill your tea if I could help it. I mean, come on, what a stupid, wasteful thing to do...right?"

There was an awkward silence as the two regarded me with matching expressions of disbelief; Iroh's face was stern, but Zuko just looked confused and a little scared for some reason. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at the crown prince, but only because I was trying to look apologetic and humble. But either way, I think my efforts fell flat. I mean, they weren't _stupid_.

"Um...look," I said, hastily changing the subject. "Is _anyone _going to tell me what happened with the Agni Kai? Did Zhao...let me go or something?"

Iroh just frowned. He turned to his nephew for an explanation.

"She doesn't remember anything," Zuko said pointedly. I saw a ripple of understanding pass between them, something unspoken and very present in the room with the three of us. I scowled, angry that no one was giving me the answers I wanted.

"Oh," Iroh finally sighed. "Well, that is probably a good thing. It was quite a mess, let me tell you...but we managed to straighten everything out...I think."

"Straighten _what _out?" I demanded.

At first, no one said a word. As I stared from one solemn face to the other, a cold feeling slid into my lungs. Zhao's words came back to me, taunting and cruel. _Don't worry, I won't hurt you...unless Prince Zuko gives me no choice. _

"What's the last thing you remember?" Zuko asked. I saw him glance warily at his uncle before rising to his feet and edging out of the corner. Iroh didn't seem to mind now that he had successfully taught us both proper fear and respect for the awesome beverage that is tea.

I bit my lip. Zuko came back to my bedside, his golden eyes scrutinizing my expression. I had to turn my face away. For some reason, I didn't like it that he was so close. It made me nervous...self-conscious...it was hard to focus on anything with him so near.

"The last thing...?" I murmured, stalling for time. "I...I was fighting Zhao...and..." my brow furrowed as the memory flitted just out of my reach. "...I remember trying the pepper spray...but it didn't work, and Zhao...he grabbed me by the hair..."

I trailed off in a whisper, my voice going so thin that I couldn't find it anymore. I inhaled through my nose and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to shake away the horrible flashback that memory provoked. Suddenly, it was like I was still in the ring, and Zhao's hand was still tightly wound in my hair, holding me down...I hadn't realized that I was having trouble breathing until Zuko had grabbed my shoulder, as though steadying me.

"Focus," he admonished me. "Is that all you remember?"

"No, I...I remember..._something _else."

Zuko frowned. "What?"

An unspeakable terror washed through me. It clogged my throat, caused me to cringe inside myself, unmoving, unyeilding. I tried to swallow, but it didn't do me any good. I still couldn't utter a single word about that _dream_. It was vague, and I could barely remember it. But what stuck out in my mind was what it felt like to be tied down and burned alive. I hadn't just dreamed it...I had..._felt _it.

Suddenly, that Voice in my head was very still...silent. I didn't know what it meant.

"Julie?" Iroh was at my other side now. "What is the matter?" Tentatively, his hand reached out and touched my forehead. I flinched away from him, as though he were just another tongue of flame. His eyes turned sad for some reason, and a flash of remorse twisted my stomach into a knot.

I just shook my head, angry with myself. "N...nothing...!" I choked. "I fainted! Zhao was holding me by the hair, and I _fainted_. That's it! And then I had this...this..._nightmare_."

Zuko and Iroh exchanged glances over my head, but I saw them out of the corner of my eyes. I was watching them without looking directly at them; I was still afraid one of them was going to touch me. All I wanted was to be left alone...to just forget about the dream and deny everything. But I also knew that if I _really _wanted to know what happened after I blacked out, I had to tell Zuko everything I knew. I didn't want him to take the chance of him leaving something out in his explanation.

"There were these men...in dark red cloaks," I said quietly. "And they...they were calling me this _other _name. And then they took their torches and they...I was burned alive. And I...I couldn't get away..."

"The Brotherhood," said Zuko.

I looked up at him, startled. The name sent a thrill of anxiety down my spine. "What?"

"The men in the cloaks...they're called the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus. And they were here last night." He fixed me with a gaze so direct that I couldn't hide; all pretense of ignorance was stripped away by his searching eyes. "They came for _you_."

I felt like my bones had turned into these splinters of ice. My muscles were numb and rigid from this inescapable _cold _feeling.

"What...? You're saying that...that it _wasn't _a dream...?"

Zuko paused. "No one burned you, but...there was a fight. Do you remember the men who tried to kidnap you a few days ago?" I nodded slowly. "They were watching your Agni Kai, and when they saw you defeat Zhao, they became convinced that you..."

"Wait, wait, wait," I interrupted. "I _beat _Zhao? What the hell are you talking about?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm getting to that, peasant. Zhao was about to finish you off. He had his flame lit and was about to burn you. Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to lose control of it. His entire arm got burned to a crisp." He was quiet for a minute, letting me digest that. "_You _did that...or at least, that's what the Brotherhood was trying to tell us."

I just stared and stared at Zuko.

"They called you...an Energybender. They said you _amplified _Zhao's chi, causing him to lose control of his element."

Um...WHAT?

I looked at Iroh quickly. Any hopes that all of this was just a sick, stupid joke were banished from my mind when I saw the look on his face. Every feature, every inch of his expression was solemn and tired. I felt my insides go tight, like someone took a fork and wound my intestines up like spaghetti. I looked back at Zuko, shaking my head from side to side.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered. "You're saying that I'm a...a..." I shook my head again, as though I had water trapped in my ears. "Are you _retarded_ or something? If I were a bender, don't you think I'd have done something before that bastard got a hold of me like that?" I deflated a little, my face flushed. "I can't do _anything_! I'm just a weak, ordinary..." I paused, trying to find the right word. "..._peasant_."

"Don't deny it," Zuko snapped. "I was there, you stupid girl. I felt you..._bending _his chi!"

I closed my eyes and pressed my hands over my ears.

He was wrong. He was lying. He _had _to be. There was no logical way I could be a bender. I, Julie McVay, was just an ordinary girl; no special powers or talents, nothing to my name except my mother's tarot deck and an acerbic sense of humor. Seriously, were they _high_?

Believe me, if I _had _been able to do what Zuko claimed I did, do you think for a _second _that I'd have still been living with that drunk bastard I was forced to call my father? I'd have kicked his ass _way _before now. And then some. So you can imagine how offensive I found all of this; Zuko's blind persistence that I was a so-called Energybender; that I could beat a man like _Zhao _without even flinching. It wasn't just ridiculous. It was insane.

"Tell me the truth," I snapped. "I didn't beat Zhao! I couldn't have! I _lost _that fight!"

"Then how do you explain the fact that you're still alive? Why don't you have a scar...like _mine_?"

Slowly, I opened my eyes, looking up into Zuko's face. I felt so much smaller as my gaze drifted to the angry splash of red that covered his entire left eye. Hurt, betrayal, loss...it was all there, permanently emblazoned in the form of a scar for the entire world to see. I jumped when I felt his fingertips brush against my temple. His movement was pointedly slow as his hand slid down past my eye, resting on my smooth, undamaged cheek.

"Not a mark on you, peasant," he whispered.

I remembered Zhao doing the same thing to me once, during our Agni Kai. But there was a marked difference between his touch and Zuko's. Zhao's had been meant to inspire fear, to torment me psychologically. But Zuko's was straightforward. While it was also done to prove a point, he wasn't cruel. Never cruel. Only brutally, brutally honest.

And, there was one more difference. Zhao's hand on me made my skin crawl. But the feeling I got now was an inexplicable urge to sink deeper into Zuko's palm. My blood felt like it was boiling under his hand. The moment I realized I was lingering there on purpose, a hot flush streaked through my face. I jerked away from him and scuttled backwards, trying to stay out of his reach.

"Creep!" I spat. "That doesn't prove anything! You probably just made a deal with Zhao or something!"

Again, Zuko and Iroh exchanged glances. I saw the older man wince guiltily, and I decided that this told me everything I needed to know. I slumped back against the pillows and felt a head-splitting migraine coming on. It was like it took all of my strength to feel this amount of anger and confusion. I know it sounds really stupid, but it was true...or seemed true, which was all that mattered at the time.

"Even if you won't accept the truth," Zuko told me, "the fact remains; the Brotherhood came for you last night. They killed six of our men and let several of their own die trying to take you away. And now we have no healer. He's dead too."

My gaze flickered to him, startled. "What?"

"You were unconscious and wouldn't wake up. I was worried so..." Zuko stopped short, as though he had just confessed to something utterly unforgivable. Gritting his teeth, his turned his face away and continued. "When they came, I let them on board. I thought they could give me answers. But instead...they were ruthless. They almost killed everyone on the ship trying to take you away."

"Whether or not you can _actually _Energybend isn't relevent so much as the fact that this Brotherhood _believes _you can. And," Iroh added darkly, "they are very dangerous. They were more than capable of overwhelming us...they almost _did_."

Zuko shot him a _look_. "Our soldiers _died _because of this, Uncle. I highly doubt those men were slaughtered on a _whim_. Those bastards were more than sure of Julie and what she could do. I'd bet my left arm on it; the girl is an Energybender."

"I agree with you," said the General gently, trying to mollify the incensed prince. "I'm not sure if she's an _Energybender, _specifically. I've never seen one in my life until now. But what I am sure about is that Julie isn't an ordinary girl. And as such...we are more than certain to run into the Brotherhood again. It would be prudent to figure out what it is they want with her...and how we're going to stop them."

I watched, with rising indignation, as the two of them continued to discuss me as though I weren't in the room. I was all but ignored as they began, unceremoniously, to map out my future; needless to say, I wasn't consulted. Not even once.

Zuko made an irritated sound. "Obviously she'll need training. If Julie's powers run amok again, it could be disasterous for my mission. The last thing I need is for her to panic and kill the Avatar by accident."

Wait, what? Run amok? What was he _talking _about?

"It's a risky business," said Iroh. "After all, how many Master Energybenders can we ask to teach her? Perhaps Mr. Kakunoshin...he seemed to know a few things about Energybending. If only he hadn't left so suddenly..."

Who?

"We are _not _having that...that..._person_ on my ship!" Zuko spat. Abruptly, he turned and fumed, silently, at the prospect of seeing this...Mr. Kakunoshin. I had no idea who the man was, but he had my immediate respect if he could make Zuko _that _angry and _live_. Whoever he was, he had to have a good set of balls on him; that much I could see. "I don't trust him, Uncle."

"I think perhaps you are taking his...er...interference a bit hard. He was only trying to help."

"I was handling the situation just _fine_. He was just trying to show off in front of _this _one," he snapped, motioning with his head in my direction. "Not that she even remembers...it's still unforgivable."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "_Unforgivable_? Mr. Kakunoshin's showing off in front of Julie is...unforgivable, nephew?"

Zuko, realizing his mistake, glowered at the older man. I could almost see the vein in his forehead throbbing in aggravation. "You know what I mean! And I'm not having him here. That's final." He folded his arms, as though they were gates through which Mr. Kakunoshin was doomed never to pass. "She'll have to learn some other way. We can have her practice on some of the Firebenders..."

"That could be extremely dangerous, Prince Zuko. Julie cannot control herself. She could end up killing someone this time."

A lump formed in the back of my throat. I had almost..._killed _someone? No. This couldn't be...it couldn't be true.

"Then she'll practice on me," he snapped. "It'll be for the best, Uncle. If the Brotherhood attacks us again, we'll both be ready. I'll learn how to fight against Energybenders, and Julie won't be a sitting turtleduck like last time. Besides," he added. "Her bending could be useful against the Avatar..."

Wait, what? WHAT? He wanted me to fight _Aang_ now? What the fuck was going on?

Iroh frowned. "I would wager that the Avatar is just as powerful as the Brotherhood...it might not be wise to have an _untrained _Energybender fight the Master of all four elements. Imagine what she could do to those chakras..."

"Like I said, we'll train her first. I don't want to run the risk of her killing him."

"I can't kill _Aang_!" I blurted out, horrified. "I...I can't kill _anybody_! What's the _matter _with you people?"

Zuko and Iroh turned to me, looking surprised at my outburst. But I think it was more the fact that they just remembered I was there, which was just as insulting if you stopped to think about it.

"This is insane," I told them. "I'm not an Energybender! I can't be! I'm not even from this...I mean...I've never been able to do anything like...like what you said, at all, in my entire life! And now you're talking about me _fighting _your enemies? Like I'm just some kind of weapon...or a tool...? That's sick!"

"The Brotherhood are _your _enemies," said Zuko bluntly. "We got dragged into this conflict trying to protect _you_. You owe us, peasant."

"I won't do it! You...you can't make me!"

I was blinking back tears now. Pretty embarrassing, huh? But self-effacing humor aside, I was really freaking out right now. I had barely survived against Zhao, and now the gyst of what they were telling me was that I had to fight _more _people. And the _Brotherhood_? I still remembered those scary cloaked dudes from that encounter on the docks, and I hadn't liked the looks of them one bit. And now they're _after me? _

All I had to say was, what? What the hell did I do to deserve this? Which Spirit did I inadvertantly piss off to warrant such a heaping pile of shit in my life? I mean, come on! Enough was enough!

"You don't have a choice," Zuko hissed. He got right up in my face and glared at me, his eyes cold. "You have no idea how much trouble you're in right now. Those men, if they had gotten their hands on you...who _knows _what they would have done to you? Without my protection, you're vulnerable...weak..._alone_."

I looked at the wall, so angry that I couldn't even speak.

"You..._owe_...me. That's all."

"I hate you," I whispered. "You act like you're doing me this _huge _favor...like it's so _generous _of you. But you're not doing it for me. You could care less about me. I'm just a tool to you...a fucking tool."

I brought my eyes and met Zuko's gaze.

"I can't believe I wanted to be _friends_ with someone like you."

For a moment, there was a flash of indecision in his eyes. "Friends help each other," he said slowly. I could see the cogs turning in his mind. "I helped _you _before. I saved your life. I'm not even asking for much in return. Just your cooperation. It'll get me closer to my destiny, and it'll help me protect _you_. Isn't that what you want? To be safe?"

"What I want..." I growled. "...is for you to leave me _alone_! You make me _sick_!"

Iroh was watching us go back and forth, batting angry remarks at each other like a birdy in a ridiculously intense game of badminton.

Zuko snarled under his breath in frustration. "Why are you being so _difficult_? Can't you see that I..._hey! _Just where do you think _you're _going, peasant?"

If you're wondering about that nonsequiter, I had just thrown the covers away dramatically (though I was too weak to push them very far, so they just ended up flopping over with a sigh). I was now scooting my butt to the edge of the mattress and climbing out of bed. At the same time, I was praying that my knees wouldn't give out. It would kind of ruin my big exit, you know?

My head swam the moment my toes touched the floor. I saw my boots and armor lying in the farthest corner of the room (of course), so I had no choice but to swallow my nausea and stomp all the way over there. After all, I had paid good money for those, and I planned to keep them.

I only got five steps before I stumbled. Zuko grabbed my shoulders, more of a restraining action than a supporting one.

"Get back in bed before you pass out," he ordered.

"Piss off," I snapped.

Wrenching myself out of his grip took all the strength I had left. Dizzy and angry, I abandoned my things and threw myself out of the room as fast as my unsteady legs could carry me. The door slammed shut behind me, and Zuko and Iroh just stood there blinking in shock as the sound of my footsteps evaporated in the stillness of the air.

Slowly, Iroh turned to face his nephew. "I don't think she took that very well."

Zuko could only glare at him in reply.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was necessary for Julie to catch up on what she missed. Clearly there are a lot of blanks in her memory, and since it's no good to have a useless heroine in a fanfic, I thought it would help to have Zuko and Iroh fill her in on the fuzzy details. Of course, Zuko is trying to come across as accomodating and meganimous, but since he's also a huge-ass DORK he completely screws up. Julie misinterprets everything and storms off.**

**If you're wondering about Julie's reaction to Zuko's revealing her to be an Energybender, think of it this way: If you had spent your entire life in the domineering grip of an abusive drunk, forced into the mindset that you are weak and helpless against this person, wouldn't you be _somewhat irritated _to find out that you were never helpless at all? It's like that feeling you get when you have an argument with someone you really hate, and ten minutes after they leave you think of the _perfect _thing to say to them. **

**Plus, in my opinion, Zuko tends to be brutally honest. His gruesome description of Zhao's injuries, as well as his grim synopsis of the fight with the Brotherhood has left Julie shouldering a lot of frightening implications...not to mention the blame for the deaths of six or more people. It's kind of scary for her to deal with.**

**And we all know what happens when Julie gets scared. She can't shut up.**

**So, did you like? Next chapter, the Zu-crew _reaches _Kyoshi Island. Will Zuko be able to convince Julie to learn Energybending? What will happen when they run into Aang and the others? Will Julie have to fight the good guys, or can she stand up to Zuko? The only way you'll find out is if you review. Otherwise, I'll get bored and stop updating.**

**Don't tempt me. REVIEW!**


	34. A World of Empty Promises

**A/N: So finally, we are entering Episode Four of Season One. Dear God, this fic is already longer than ten short novels. I think I'm going to cry. It's moments like this that make me wonder if there are support groups for people like me. Like "Superfluous Writers Anonymous" or something like that. **

**Anyway, just to let you guys know, I updated my profile, and posted another Zuko-centered one-shot. All humor, of course. Go read if you want. Yes, this is shameless advertising, and no, I could care less about my dignity as a writer. I mean, come on. I'm writing the equivalent of a long-winded cliché...but then, I always _was _a sucker for clichés. In my opinion, clichés are made cliché for a reason, and can stop being cliché if done right. It's like how certain things come back into style: what's old becomes new, as they say.**

**Enough rambling. On to the cliché...err...chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: A World of Empty Promises**

(Zuko's POV, third person)

Night had fallen, but Zuko didn't bother bringing Julie back from the hold, which was where she had decided to sulk. After her blunt dismissal of him (on the grounds that he was being, in her words, "a manipulative creep"), he was pretty much disgusted with the girl's behavior and didn't want to see her for as long as he could help it. For the past couple of hours he had once again taken out one of her notebooks from my backpack (which she still didn't know he had) and flipped aimlessly through the pages.

_Stupid girl. What language _is _this, anyway? Not common tongue, that's for sure_...

He wasn't trying to decode the letters anymore, nor did he expect to find any clues. But turning over the strange-textured pages and seeing her handwriting gave him a strange feeling. _Most peasants can't read or write_, he told himself. But the notebook itself was an illegible testimony that nothing about her made sense...not her apparent literacy in this secret language, not the fact that she had admitted _for the second time _that she wanted to be friends with him, and especially not her bizarre reaction to being told she was an Energybender.

_She doesn't trust me_, he thought bitterly. _After all the trouble I went and risked my life fighting Delun...for _her...!_ And she won't even listen to the truth! Stupid girl...!_

After a few more hours of enduring restless hours of these see-sawing thoughts and emotions, Zuko was in a foul mood. So for Iroh, who eventually came in with his dinner, he had his most venomous glare reserved just for him.

"Your favorite," he said, offering the plate of fish to his nephew and ignoring the murderous look on his face.

Zuko took one look at it and sniffed disdainfully. "Uncle...that's _your _favorite. Besides tea. Anyway, I'm not hungry."

"Something is troubling you?"

He didn't answer. Iroh's eyes fell to the notebook.

"Ah. You are still thinking about her."

"She's the most frustrating person I've ever had the misfortune to cross paths with."

"Hmmm..." Iroh came to stand next to Zuko, making as if to examine the writing. "You must regret that meeting, then. Or am I wrong?"

The Fire Prince scowled. Again, no answer.

"Nephew, it may come as a surprise to you, but I am not merely here for the food...tempting though it is. Actually," he said slowly, "Lieutenant Jee and I were talking a while ago, and we were...well..._concerned _about Julie."

"She refuses to listen. So she won't learn Energybending. And then, when the Brotherhood show up again, they'll take her off my hands. Good riddance."

Iroh stared at him for a long time. "I don't think that's what you want, Prince Zuko. Not in a longshot."

Silence. Stubborn silence.

"Anyway, it was not the issue of Energybending that worries us, but...well...the crew. They already have...erm..._mixed _opinions about Julie...and surely you must have noticed what that battle has done to their morale."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at his uncle. "_And?_" he growled.

Iroh sighed. "The longshot of it is that they seem to blame _Julie_ for the loss of their comrades. Furthermore, they do not feel that she was...well...worth the casualties. There has been talk about _removing _her as a threat should the Brotherhood return."

There was a long silence.

"Who?" Zuko demanded in a low voice, his eyes angry. "I want names, Uncle."

"I'm afraid I don't have any. But Lieutenant Jee is more than sure that these threats were sincere." Iroh gave the young exile an insistent look. "For Julie's safety, I feel as though we should impress the importance of her learning to control her abilities. It would be prudent that she learn to defend herself from those who mean her harm. No matter how unwilling she is to listen," he added grimly.

Zuko turned his face away.

"And perhaps if she were kept occupied," Iroh continued, driving his point home. "...there will be less of a chance that she will loiter in the halls below deck...less of a chance that she will be ambushed while she is wasting time alone."

He waited for his nephew to respond. But when he finally did, it did little to reassure the former General.

"I'm not making any promises, Uncle," said Zuko quietly. "I don't think I can...even if I were so inclined, I couldn't do it. Julie is more stubborn than a panda-mule...and, for that matter, she doesn't trust me."

Iroh turned away, shaking his head sadly. "So be it, then."

He started towards the door when the Fire Prince unexpectedly broke the silence again.

"I'll try."

Two words. That was the spark of hope they needed.

"Anyway," Zuko grumbled, turning back to the notebook. "It's not like I have much of a choice. Damn peasant."

Iroh only smiled.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

The next morning, I showed up at Lieutenant Jee's study for my etiquette lesson smack dab on time. Under normal circumstances I'd take my sweet ass time getting there, but I had a bad feeling in my gut that if I lingered in the halls, Zuko would find me. I wasn't happy about the way he had messed with my head yesterday, and I wasn't eager to give him another opportunity.

The only thing that bothered me was _why_? What motive could the bastard possibly have for making me fall for this elaborate prank? And since when was _Zuko _the kind of guy to joke about _anything?_ None of it made any sense.

I had done my homework, too. Everything he had told me about the night I was unconscious not only happened; it was gruesomely accurate. I had stumbled upon Lieutenant Jee last night as he supervised the ceremonial cremating of the fallen soldiers. He hadn't lied about the death toll…which could only mean that he was telling the truth about the Brotherhood. They had come for me.

_Why? _

It couldn't be true. I couldn't be the one responsible for this...disaster. It had to be some kind of mistake. A sick, sick joke. I couldn't be an Energybender. I refused to believe it. The prospect of it was too frightening for me to face after everything I had gone through in the past week.

"_Energybending,_" the Voice in my head contemplated. "_That sounds familiar..._"

I sighed. _It's exactly what it sounds like. It's the bending of someone's spirit, or chi. The Avatar is going to use it against the Fire Lord and take away his bending, ending the Hundred Years War without having to kill anyone._

I know, it was sad that I was actually responding to my delusions.

"_That doesn't sound bad at all. Don't you think it would be nice to be able to win a fight without fighting?_"

_What do you care? You're not even real. I shouldn't even be talking to you._

The Voice seemed to huff. "_I _am_ real. And I have a name too, just so you know. It's Ayla. And you're not very nice at all._"

Not in the mood to justify my behavior to "Ayla," who may or may not have been real, I bit back my reply and knocked on the door. When I was told to enter, I pushed open the door and stormed inside. I expected to get dressed down by Lieutenant Jee for my unladylike stride; actually, I was sort of counting on it to distract me from the unwanted visitor in my head.

Of course, I should have known that Zuko would be there.

"What the...?" I choked, freezing in mid-step. "What are you, stalking me or something?"

The Fire Prince gave me a withering look. "I was informing Lieutenant Jee of the recent changes in your schedule, peasant. Believe me, if I could help it, I wouldn't be here."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "_What _changes?"

I noticed that Zuko wouldn't quite meet my gaze. "You won't be having your etiquette lessons in the morning anymore. Instead, you will be spending that time meditating...with me."

My jaw dropped. There were so many things wrong with this that I didn't know how to respond. If someone looked at my face right then and there, I probably resembled a fish out of water, its mouth agape.

"After that," he continued, as if my brain hadn't just _melted_. "...you and I will be sparring on deck for an hour. This will build up your stamina and technique...and it'll help me adjust my fighting style against an Energybender."

Holy hell! The guy was expecting me to _fight _him? Suddenly, I felt a very urgent need for a bucket so I could vomit up my intestines with dignity.

"You get a lunch break, which you will spend with my Uncle. For some reason he seems to enjoy your company."

Asshole.

"Later in the afternoon, you'll get your etiquette lesson. And after that, you will join me and Uncle for dinner."

"Excuse me," I said, finally having been pushed to the limit. "Why am I suddenly spending every waking moment with you and General Iroh? I'm just a peasant, remember? I should be eating with the crew in the mess hall."

To my surprise, it was Jee, not Zuko, who answered me.

"A lady doesn't speak to her betters in such an accusatory tone of voice," he admonished me. "And Prince Zuko is right not to want you around the rest of the men. It isn't safe for you right now, given your current condition."

I couldn't help but notice the almost evasive tone of voice he used, the way his gaze carefully rested on the floor, away from my face. I frowned at him, wondering if I was imagining things; though I probably wasn't. Sad to say, but I knew my track record well enough to know that I had a pretty good sense of these things...well, most of the time.

"What condition?" I said. "Am I pregnant or something?"

To my satisfaction, this caused Zuko to choke on his own spit. Jee grimaced, but I think it was to hide the grin he had cracked seeing the look on his face. He coughed into his sleeve, giving me a stern look.

"You're unstable. You're an Energybender who can't control her bending."

"The hell I am!" I growled. "And if you think for a second I'm going along with this, you've got another think coming!"

* * *

The very next morning, Zuko and I were sitting side by side in a dark room, staring at a candle. Slight correction: I wasn't sitting. I was _tied_ to a _chair_. Damn you, irony!

_Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! I can't believe those bastards snuck me in here while I was sleeping!_

"The point of meditation is to clear your mind," the asshole reminded me in a silky voice. "Save the violent thoughts for our sparring session."

"Screw you."

"I can keep you here all day if I have to," he warned me.

In response, I _hawked _up a loogie and spat it at the candle. Maybe it was some of that so-called Energybending chutzpah giving me super-accuracy, or maybe it was dumb luck. Call it what you will. I scored a critical hit on the wick, causing the flame to go out.

I probably shouldn't be gloating about it, though. Because of the stunt I had pulled, Zuko shut me in that dark room for two hours and made me skip lunch.

As if that weren't bad enough, the creep still made me go through with the sparring session. I admit, the moment I had woken up and found the ropes around my wrists I had been all set to try to beat the living hell out of Zuko. And to be perfectly honest, I would have chosen hand-to-hand combat training over learning how to sew and cook any day of the week.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Zuko can kick the crap out of me without so much as sneezing. In _my _defense, though, I was sufficiently distracted.

"Why do you keep holding your nose?" he demanded for the fifth time since we started sparring. "I'm just parrying your blows...not hitting you in the face."

You try fighting Zuko _shirtless _and not getting a goddamn nosebleed. But, obviously, I couldn't _admit _that to anyone, least of all Zuko himself. So, instead of answering him directly, I got back into my stance and threw myself at him.

In one fluid motion I was on the floor again. _Shit_.

"That was pathetic," he told me. "Why don't you try Energybending?"

"Maybe it's because I'm not a _goddamn Energybender, _you dumb fuck!"

"Good. You're motivated. Get up and try again."

I glared at him. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what Zuko was trying to accomplish, unless he had a secret ambition to have me cut his throat in his sleep. If that was a case, he was well on his way. In any case, he was right about one thing. I had more than enough motivation to keep lunging at his throat. Needless to say, Zuko floored me pretty much every time.

Tired and more tender than a banana, I finally escaped to my meal with Iroh. The General was kind enough to spoon-feed me my gruel (well, actually it was soup, but it sounds more long-suffering to call it gruel) before dragging my lifeless body to Lieutenant Jee for my etiquette lesson. I was so dejected that I didn't have any energy to argue with his sexist pap.

I think Jee found my catatonic state to be an improvement in my demeanor. Jerk.

It was a relief to be able to slip back into the hold at the end of the day. There, I found Shen-Long, Bo-Fen, and Kuba waiting for me. The only person I really cared to respond to was the Earthbender, who, during my disaster of a sparring session against Zuko, had taken to screaming insults at the Fire Prince. Bo-Fen tried to talk me into joining her and the shipmates for their weekly game of poker, but for once I was too exhausted to pick up a card.

Speaking of cards, I hadn't practiced my tarot in days. Once, I tried to muster up the strength to shuffle my deck and nearly ended up spilling all the cards. A single card slipped through my shaking fingers and landed face up on the floor at my feet.

"Shit," I muttered. "Not again."

The High Priestess card, and from where I was standing it was upside down. Fan-freaking-tastic.

* * *

Of course, there were things that were going on outside my little sphere of awareness, reader. Trouble was brewing on Zuko's ship, right under my nose, in fact. But I was too preoccupied with this sudden onslaught of responsibilities and expectations Zuko had dropped on to my shoulders to notice. Try going through such an exhausting routine every day for a week and see just how alert _you're _going to be. Throw in an alternate personality type thing named Ayla talking to your brain, and you've got a fog of insanity to thick to see through.

Shen-Long and Bo-Fen were swabbing the deck while Zuko and I sparred one afternoon. I, of course, was happily engaged in the activity of trying to close my fingers around Zuko's throat (don't even bother asking what he did _this _time; it was more the fact that he _existed_ if you catch my drift), and heard not a word of their conversation. But I found out about it later.

This was the gist of what was said.

"They're going to kill her," Shen-Long muttered.

Bo-Fen glanced up at him from her mop, quirking an eyebrow. "Quit being so fatalistic, Shen. I know the Brotherhood caught us off guard once. I admit, it was really stupid of us to just lose track of 'em after they tried taking her at the docks before the Agni Kai. But what's done is done. We're smarter for it; we won't make the same mistake twice."

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what?"

Shen-Long's eyes met hers solemnly. "Not the Brotherhood. They're dangerous enough, but they're not the ones...uggh...Spirits!" He stopped mopping and buried his forehead in his hand, massaging his eyes. "They look the same and now they're both Energybenders...you know that the Inner Sanctum won't let this go, Bo-Fen."

Like flipping a switch, Bo-Fen had her poker face on and loaded. "They already suspected..."

"_Suspected_. They didn't have any reason to kill her before...but now..." he trailed off, silent anxiety filling in the blanks.

"Mesmer Prospero probably wants her alive," the female soldier reasoned. "It's Dorian who's getting antsy. He thinks that SOB is plotting against him."

"Isn't he?" Shen-Long muttered tiredly. "I mean, do you really think it's a coincidence that the Brotherhood were recruiting at the very first port we found _at the exact same moment _we arrived with Julie? We always knew that Prospero had the Brotherhood in his back pocket..."

"Only three of the clans, Shen; the Raven, the Serpent, and the Shark. He never got the Bat and the Wolf."

"Three out of five is still a passing grade, sister. And don't forget the fact that Julie is even in this world at all...for all we know, Prospero could have found a way to send her here. He could have been behind that too. And if _that's_ true...Dorian is going to stop at nothing, and I mean _nothing _until that girl is sucked into the Void and dead at his feet. And then Ayla will be..." He stopped short, gritting his teeth. "I can't let that happen. Not again."

Hearing him say Ayla's name out of the blue like that made Bo-Fen go rigid. Slowly, she lifted her head up and gave her brother an incredulous look. "And what if Julie _isn't _a lost traveler like we originally thought? What if she'sbeing used for some kind of grand plot of Prospero's? What will you do then, Shen-Long?"

Silence. He didn't answer her. He wouldn't meet her gaze.

"You stupid bastard. You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking," she whispered, tightening her grip on the mop. No response. "Dammit, Shen! We made a _promise _to Ayla! Nothing should get in the way of that!"

"But...but if Julie _is _Ayla..."

"What the...? _You _were the one who refused to believe that!" she fumed angrily (though quietly, so that no one would overhear them). "Weren't you the one who told me not to treat Julie as though she were Ayla, risen from the grave? But now...now..." she shook her head, speechless. "You have the shittiest timing with your hypocrisy, brother."

"Don't," Shen-Long growled under his breath.

"You want to throw everything away because you think you can hold on to Ayla somehow...but she's dead, Shen-Long! She's dead, and even if Julie is linked to her somehow, you can't abandon the Inner Sanctum! Not until we finish our mission." She looked away, as though disgusted by the sight of him. "We owe Ayla that much at least...and I know for a fact that she wouldn't want you to throw everything away for her. She made her last wish damn clear."

"You don't know _anything _about what she wanted, Bo-Fen. Ayla never wanted to _die_."

"But she did. She gave up her life to keep Prospero out of this world. And she expects us to finish the job."

Silence as the siblings glared at each other.

"_Please_, Shen," Bo-Fen whispered through her teeth. "You know that nothing can bring back the dead. Let Ayla rest in peace."

"If she's dead," he replied in a low voice. "Then I will. If she's truly dead and gone, I'll do that. But if she's alive...if she somehow managed to carry on..."

He didn't bother to finish his sentence. Instead Shen-Long let his eyes supply his meaning as they trailed their way pointedly to me. I continued to attack Zuko, completely oblivious to his stare. But Bo-Fen saw it. She smoldered silently as he finally took his gaze off of me and met her eyes.

Before she could reply, though, another voice spoke up...the plucky tone of a certain Earthbending street urchin.

"_Who's _dead?" Kuba demanded, suddenly appearing behind Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. He had a half-eaten apple in his hands, pausing in mid-bite to question them. His dark eyes were alive with curiosity and a hint of suspicion. "What are you two _talking _about, anyway? I thought I heard you mention Lady Ayla just now."

The two turned in slow motion to stare at the boy. At the same time they frantically tried to piece together how long he had been standing there and how much of their conversation he had overheard. And, if he learned something he shouldn't, could he be bribed into keeping his mouth shut (well, okay, that was more Bo-Fen than Shen-Long, but still; the thought was there).

"How do you know about...?"

"I used to be in the Brotherhood," he said impatiently, cutting Shen-Long off mid-sentence. "And if you two know about the Red Lady, that means you were too." The boy's eyes narrowed. "Well? Am I right?"

Bo-Fen, surprisingly, stood her ground. "Dead wrong, kid. The Brotherhood were practically screaming her name that night they came and ambushed the crew. Shen and I were just wondering why they would think Julie had anything to do with their goddess."

Kuba frowned. "The way you were talking...it sounded like you guys knew her or something."

"Well, you're imagining it," she replied smoothly. "Now run along before we tell Lieutenant Jee that you've been sneaking into the food storage bin again."

He blinked. "How did you...?"

"We only get apples on Sundays, kid. Today's Wednesday." She leaned down and smiled into his face. "_Bye_."

Scowling, Kuba took an obstinate bite of his apple and turned away. He continued to glare suspiciously at them from over his shoulder as he took a seat on a nearby barrel. The siblings watched him for a tense minute before the child was distracted by the sparring match. Within seconds, he was screaming bits of advice at Julie while taking the time to properly boo at Zuko.

"We'll have to keep an eye on that one," Bo-Fen muttered. "He's too smart for his own good." Then, she turned back to her brother. "But, Shen-Long..."

His face turned to stone at the unspoken request.

"Things are different now," he told her. "You always knew how deeply I felt for Ayla. I would give up the _world_ for her...I would have then, and I will now. Don't you _ever _forget that."

She looked away. "Unfortunately for the both of us, I don't think I can."

* * *

Ambiguous and tantalizingly vague conversations aside, reader, this is still my story. Which means that, if you don't mind, I'm going to cut it off there and go back to narrating things I was actually around to witness. Thank you.

Anyway, as exhausting it was, I managed to drag myself through my new routine every day for a full week. And despite being happily occupied with making my life hell, Zuko still managed to run the crew ragged sniffing out Aang's trail. The only highlights in my day were when we would get reports about Avatar sightings. Once, we even caught sight of Appa headed West, but we weren't going fast enough to overtake the Gaang.

Zuko was getting increasingly frustrated and impatient by the day. To cope with the stress, Iroh suggested that he add an extra meditation session after dinner. Thank God he threw that shitty idea back in his uncle's face...

"I'm wasting enough time playing games with that stupid peasant as it is," he snapped. "Besides, meditating with _her _makes my stress worse, not better."

I was too tired to retort, so I just gave Zuko the finger. Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending on whose side you were on), Iroh caught my hand and forced it back on to the table before he noticed.

Ugggh.

On the morning of the seventh day, we had moved up to having four candles burning in the room instead of just one. Zuko and I were attempting to clear our minds and balance our chi's as usual when we were interrupted by a knock on the door. I peeked over at the exiled prince and saw his brow twitch a little in disdain. Without waiting for his nephew's permission, Iroh pushed open the door and stuck his head inside.

"The only reason you should be interrupting me," he said in a dangerously quiet voice. "Is if you have news about the Avatar."

I turned my head and watched Iroh shuffle into the room carrying a map.

"Well...there is news, Prince Zuko, but you might not like it. Don't get upset," the aged General cautioned him.

_Huh. I wonder why this sounds so...familiar._

"Uncle," said Zuko in a surprisingly calm tone of voice. "You taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now, whatever you have to say, I'm sure that I can take it." There was a brief pause as the meaning of his words floated around our heads like a gentle breeze. Then, abruptly... "Julie!" he barked.

I jumped, nearly falling over out of my chair. "W-what?" I squeaked.

Zuko didn't move an inch. "Why are you letting yourself get distracted? Focus on the candles, not on my Uncle...stupid peasant."

"Sorry, Zu," I grumbled. Then, in a flash of inspired vindictiveness, I added, "I can't help it. General Iroh is just way sexier than you are."

The flame of the candles jumped violently.

"Um...nephew?"

"Your news," he snapped, apparently at the end of the fuse. "And make it quick!"

"Well...okay then," said Iroh, somewhat doubtfully. He took a deep breath. "We have no idea where the Avatar is."

"WHAT?"

I flinched as the four candles suddenly flared. The light became so intense that I thought I would go blind. The flames shot up towards the ceiling; without thinking I threw up my hands to shield my face. As I cringed away from the fire, my mind suddenly jumped back to the Agni Kai, to my nightmare of being burned alive by the Brotherhood, and to my near-death experience.

All of a sudden, Zuko uttered a very startled-sounding curse word. "Julie, let go!"

My heart was in my throat. Every beat, every pulse of blood through my veins felt synchronized with the movements of the fire. I felt myself sink deeper and deeper into the sinkhole of my fear, this terrible abyss. The edges of the ceiling were starting to turn black. Zuko seemed frozen too, as though his entire body had been permanently glued into one pose.

"Julie," Iroh called, sounding like he was standing at the opposite end of a long tunnel. "Get control of yourself!"

Control? What did he mean? Did he think _I _was doing this?

All of a sudden, I heard Ayla in my head. Her voice was motherly, kind; I could almost imagine her wrapping her arms around me as though I were a child in need of comfort. "_Breathe,_" she whispered to me. "_If you keep holding on to his chakras like that, he won't stop Firebending. You have to breathe._"

I drew a shaking breath and held it. I don't know why I was listening to Ayla of all people, but her advice seemed to be helping. When I had oxygen in my brain, I could focus better. Slowly, I tried to see what she meant about "letting go."

At once, meditation exercises came to mind. Slowly, I relaxed my body, one muscle at a time. I focused on my breathing, trying to clear my thoughts. I pushed my fear and confusion to the back of my mind, concentrating only on the rhythmic pumping of my heart. _Inhale...exhale...inhale...exhale..._

"_You're doing it. Keep going._"

A few seconds later, Zuko seemed able to move. His head, at least. "Uncle," he rasped. "Put out the fire! If there's nothing for me to bend, she'll have to stop!"

There was a sudden _hiss _as fire went out; with it, went every ounce of warmth in the room. Without the flames of the candles, my skin felt like sheets of ice. As darkness flooded the room, I suddenly felt all my strength drain out of me. I slid out of my chair and hit the floor, a ringing noise in my ears.

I'm not sure how long I was out for. All of a sudden, my eyelids fluttered, and I caught Zuko checking my pulse. General Iroh had pulled a fan out of his robes and was fanning me down, trying to get me to revive. Seeing me open my eyes, I saw them exchange relieved glances.

"Wha...?"

Zuko looked at me. "Are you all right?" he asked quietly.

"Whassamatter...?" I muttered. "What...ugggh...what happened just now...?"

He furrowed his brow. "You were forcing me to Firebend. I had no way to take back control of my body..."

I shuddered weakly.

"Let me up. I...I don't want to do this anymore." I tried to push Zuko away, tried to pull myself up into a sitting position. His hands were gentle and firm as he held me still; I didn't have the strength to fight him.

"Don't push yourself. Spirits, peasant...you're so cold." For a second, he craned his neck so that he was looking at Iroh over his shoulder. "Go get her a blanket...or something that will warm her up. And leave the map here with me. I can't believe that _no one_ on this ship has a clue about the Avatar's whereabouts..."

Leave it to Zuko to stay focused on his pet obsession.

"Of course, Prince Zuko." He bent down and handed the young exile the creased sheet of parchment. Without a word, Zuko snatched it away, rolling it open and frowning at the mass of circled X's. From where I was lying, I could see the messy zig-zag lines stretching all over the place, seemingly at random.

Iroh went to leave, but paused at the door.

"As you can see, nephew, there have been multiple sightings of the Avatar. But he is impossible to track down."

"The blanket, Uncle," said Zuko impatiently. "Hurry up."

With a bow of his head, the Dragon of the West withdrew from the room. But not before shooting me a sympathetic look. The door snapped shut, closing the two of us inside. I lay on the ground, staring up at Zuko's face as he studied the map.

"Zu?" I said faintly.

His golden eyes flickered to me. "Don't talk. Rest."

"Can I see?"

"No."

"Please?"

His jaw ticked in irritation. "If I show you," he said slowly. "...will you stop harrassing me and try to rest?"

I nodded with all the sincerity I could muster. But I think it only served to irritate Zuko, who found my behavior rather asinine.

"_Fine_," he sighed. In one swift frustrated movement, he snapped open the map and held it up for me to see. I lifted up my finger and traced out the contours of a small island not far from the South Pole. _I wonder if that's Kyoshi Island,_ I thought. But my attention was captured by the messy dotted lines and splashes of red, indicating another sighting. It was starting to make my head hurt, looking at it.

"It's a mess," I told him, turning my face away and grimacing. "What, did he get _lost _or something?"

"Don't be stupid," Zuko replied in a huff. He took the map away and resumed staring at it. "He is clearly a master of evasive manuevering..."

* * *

"You have no idea where you're going...do you?"

Sokka looked up from his map to scrutinize Aang, who was perched on Appa's head. Katara was sitting on the other side of the saddle, sewing a pair of pants and biting her lip as she tried to rethread her needle. Frustrating business, all of the above. But the upshot of it was that none of them were any worse for their misadventure at the Southern Air Temple. And now, they even had a new member of the team.

Momo, the lemur, was chattering happily on Aang's shoulder. His large yellow eyes skimmed the ocean, his bat ears twitching in excitement.

"Weeeeell..." said the boy Avatar slowly. "I know it's near _water_."

Sokka gave him a flat look. "I guess we're getting _close_ then."

The Water Tribe warrior-in-the-making didn't realize the irony behind his sarcasm. For, looming in the distance, Kyoshi Island waited patiently for their impending arrival. The Gaang couldn't see it yet, but it was only a matter of minutes before Aang would spot the elephant koi and insist on landing there. Sokka had no idea that he would soon be meet and get his ass handed to him by his soon-to-be cannon love interest that very same day.

He also didn't know that this would be the place he and his two companions would meet me again. But then, at the time, I didn't know it either. That's a story for another chapter...

* * *

**A/N: So, as the more avid fans of the show may have noticed from the dialogue, "The Warriors of Kyoshi" has officially begun. I loved the opening scene of that episode with Zuko and Iroh too much to leave out, but I added my own spin on things with Julie's unexpected burst of Energybending. Also, in case it wasn't apparent in the chapter, Zuko is purposefully keeping Julie away from the rest of the crew because Iroh and Lieutenant Jee think that the crew will mutiny to have her removed from the ship. **

**We also get more intrigue with Shen-Long and Bo-Fen as they, again, bring up the Inner Sanctum and a vague promise they made to Ayla before she died. But, OH SHIZ! KUBA overheard them talking! Will he figure out the truth behind the Inner Sanctum and how it may or may not be connected to the Brotherhood? To Julie? And what will he do if he does?**

**As for the tarot card she accidentally drew mid-way through the chapter, it was the High Priestess card of the major arcana, and it was in its reverse position. I didn't bother elaborating at the time, but the High Priestess reversed indicates that the reader of the spread isn't listening to their "inner voice" and refuses to acknowledge what they intuitively know to be true. In this case, Julie won't accept that she's an Energybender, even though deep down she knows that its true. Literally interpreted, however, her "inner voice" could be referring to Ayla and how Julie is trying to ignore her. **

**But obviously, when she loses control of her bending, she doesn't have much of a choice _but _to listen. **

**So, what did you think? Do I even HAVE to tell you guys to REVIEW?**


	35. The Name of the Game

**A/N: I am really sorry about the slow update. Work has been poop, and I haven't been feeling so awesome lately. That being said, thank you everyone for giving the last chapter so much attention. A surprising number of people (to me, at least) were left squealing over the "Zulie" fluff, something I particularly found to be gratifying. I'm a sucker for romance, so this chapter plays around a lot with that theme. **

**Enjoy! ^-^**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty: The Name of the Game**

Energybending sucks.

Why? Well, for one thing, it was Zuko's excuse for making my life a living hell. It was the reason I wasn't allowed to hang out with Shen-Long, Bo-Fen, and Kuba anymore. The only time I ever got to see them was whenever Iroh invited them to join us for lunch, or if we passed them in the halls. Sometimes, though, Kuba would sneak in to see me. I thought it was a pretty ballsy thing for him to do considering that he was an Earthbending street kid on a ship full of Fire Nation soldiers.

I still thought the whole thing sounded fishy, though. Me not being allowed alone in the same room with any members of the crew, I mean. What, I couldn't go anywhere near them because I could _energybend _at them by accident? How did that explain why I was spending every waking moment with the _crown prince _of the Fire Nation and his esteemed uncle? That made no sense!

But what I hated the most was being babysat by Zuko around the clock. Or Iroh. Or Lieutenant Jee. But for the most part, they were too busy doing Zuko's evil-bidding; which meant that I had no choice but to become his Royal Jackass's proverbial shadow. He kept me at his side constantly, meditating with me in the mornings and sparring with me in the afternoons. I was around him so much that I began _looking forward _to the hour-long respite that was Jee's etiquette lesson.

It wasn't so much that _Zuko _was the problem. Sometimes, I'll admit that he could be tolerable, even...and I only say this to be perfectly honest..._pleasant _to be around...when he wasn't being a condescending ass, I mean; and that was rare. I know it sounds stupid; believe me, I _know_. Zuko was the most insufferable person in my life right now. But unlike a lot of people I knew, he didn't feel the need to fill every silence with mindless chatter, something I found refreshing. For the most part, he tended to brood over his mission, leaving me to my thoughts...my traitorous, traitorous thoughts...

And by that, I meant Ayla.

She had become increasingly vocal over the past few days. On the whole, I found her comments to be very unhelpful; more often than not I wished that I had the strength of mind to _ignore _some of them. Not because she was insulting or anything. Mostly it was because she was...well...a little _too _insightful, let's say. Rarely did she make any observations of her own, but chose, instead, to remark on something _I _had noticed.

And apparently, given the general content of her remarks, all I tended to notice these days was _Zuko_. Half of the time, I didn't even realize I was staring at him or thinking about him until Ayla spoke up.

For example:

"_Hey, I never noticed that about his hands. Does he _always_ fiddle with his chopsticks so much when he's annoyed_?"

...or...

"_Maybe he'd wear more sleeveless shirts if he knew how much you're drooling right now,_" she giggled. "_No wonder you lose every sparring match. You can't take your eyes off him._"

Like I said, very unhelpful.

For the record, I did _NOT _like Zuko. For as long as I had known the guy (almost a month now..._wow_...) the thought of romance had rarely entered my mind. I mean..._yeah_, he's pretty good-looking, even with the scar. And I had seen him shirtless enough times to know that he had a body to match. But I mean, come on! We weren't even _friends_...! And whatever happened to that girlfriend of his back in the Fire Nation?

Plus, the guy was a jerk, plain and simple...except...well...when he _wasn't _being a jerk. Then he could be kind of...well...I dunno..._nice_?

Uggh! What was I thinking? It was all I could endure not to strangle him to death every time he looked at me! That's how keyed up I got around him. Besides, just what did Ayla take me for? Some kind of slathering Mary-Sue fangirl?

Speaking of Zuko, I now had another reason to be pissed at him. He was dragging me along on (what I had been told was) an "unavoidable" detour.

"The weather looks clear," said General Iroh brightly as we stood on deck.

In a matter of minutes, we would reach the next port in our destination. The Dragon of the West was standing to my immediate left and Zuko completed the sandwich by taking the right side. I sulked in between them. I didn't want to be dragged along as they went to seek out and hire a new healer, but I had been told (quite bluntly) that I had no say in the matter.

"Agni only knows the trouble you'd get into without me to keep an eye on you, peasant," Zuko had muttered.

Even after I promised not to take the ship on a joy-ride, I had been shot down. The only consolation was that Kuba got to come along too. He was keeping his distance from the railing, keeping his dark eyes on the strip of land in front of us.

"Do you think the Brotherhood will find us here?" he asked.

Zuko's hands clenched into fists. I only noticed because I was shorter than he was, and he was standing so close to me. It surprised me how quickly the blood drained from his knuckles.

"That's what the disguise is for," he replied in a low voice, still refusing to look at me.

I shot him a look, which he either didn't notice or chose to ignore. I saw the faint discomfort in his eyes as he kept his gaze carefully pointed away, towards the shore. The disguise, in case you were wondering, was less gaudy than the first one I had worn. I was in a russet servant's dress that I had gotten from Bo-Fen (not hers, obviously, or it wouldn't have fit me). My red hair had been stuffed in another wig (where did they keep _finding _those, anyway?), and I had been made to look as plain and unassuming as possible.

I saw myself in the mirror before. Unless someone got a good look at my face and saw the foreign shape of my eyes, I stood a decent chance at not being recognized. But, just to look more convincing, I had been saddled down with some parcels and the coin purse. To any passerby, it would look like I had been hired to carry luggage.

It went without saying that I hated it. I pretty much hated anything as silly and impractical as a dress.

"By now word has probably gotten out among them that she's traveling with the crown prince of the Fire Nation and his uncle," he continued, as if to justify the wig and dress. "But she should be able to blend in long enough for us to find a new healer and get back to the ship. It shouldn't take long."

"It had better not," I said. "I feel ridiculous."

"You look just fine, Julie," Iroh mollified me. "Nephew, doesn't she look nice in that dress?"

Again, the expression of discomfort flitted across his face. I stared at Zuko as confusion started to win out over my annoyance. Under normal circumstances, the loaded silence would indicate a rather grim diagnosis. But I knew Zuko well enough by now to know that he wouldn't waste a second in confirming my worst expectations. He was always the first to comment on my faults, be it my bad manners or worse disposition.

But now, just an awkward silence. What did _that_ mean?

"I think she looks good," Kuba supplied since no one was saying anything. He scowled at Zuko. "But I think she'd look better with her own hair. It's pretty."

"She's wearing the wig, and that's that," Zuko snapped. "Besides, she isn't wearing it to look _pretty_."

"So you're saying that she has to wear a disguise because she's too pretty not to stand out on her own?" the boy asked innocently.

I blinked in shock as the Fire Prince's face flushed tremendously, his mouth working soundlessly as he tried to compose a dignified reply. When that attempt failed miserably, his golden eyes flickered to me for a split second, hardened, and looked away. He turned his back on me and stared at the ocean, his ears still faintly red.

"It's because she's so freakish-looking that she stands out so much," he said finally, having finally found his voice. "The girl is an eyesore."

I froze in shock, unexpectedly stung by his words. It was strange; Zuko insulted my appearance (among other things) on a regular basis. His favorite remark was to call me "scrawny," but I couldn't forget that one time he called me "hormone-surpressed." He did it so often that it became less and less offensive to me. But, as far as I could remember, he hadn't actually called me _ugly _before. Homely, maybe. But _ugly_?

Why should _I _care if Zuko thought I was ugly? Hmmph.

"You're one to talk," I snapped. "If I'm an eyesore, you'd make a girl wish she had gone blind just by looking at you."

Iroh winced, making quick slashing motions with his hands. But it was too late; the damage was done. My entire body tensed as I expected the mother-of-all-meltdowns to occur right there on deck.

To our surprise, Zuko didn't even bother looking at me.

"Says the girl who is so out of touch with her feminine side that she has to take lessons _from a man_," he replied in a low voice. "I can't take anything _you _say about women for a grain of salt."

My jaw dropped. Silently, I stared at the back of his neck, completely bewildered by his quick comeback. Iroh and Kuba were watching the two of us in some kind of morbid fascination...I think. As the silence wore on, I felt the impact of his words sink in; slowly, like the way water seeps into your socks when you step in a really deep puddle.

He had just..._dismissed _me.

"You...I just called you ugly," I stuttered, too bemused by his strange behavior to speak coherently. "Aren't you upset?"

Zuko turned his head a fraction of a degree. "Do you _want _me to get upset, peasant?"

I blinked at him. I couldn't answer him.

"Spending so much time around you this past week has been wearing on my nerves, but I _did _manage to learn something after all of our fights," he told me. "Getting mad doesn't work with you. And it's beneath me to argue with a commoner like yourself. Besides," he added. "You're not worth the aggravation."

Kuba glared at him. "You're worth even less. You're a jerk."

"Now, now," Iroh said, stepping forward before things could get out of hand. "There's no need for us to lose our tempers. Look...it's time to disembark. Let's be on our best behavior now."

I didn't listen to him, obviously. I was fuming quietly as I stared at the back of Zuko's head, hating him. I will get him for this. It may not be today...and it may not be tomorrow. But when he least expects it, expect it, reader.

It'll be a treat.

* * *

I'm sure you're as aware as I am that as this little exchange was taking place, the Gaang had finally arrived at Kyoshi Island. I had realized this yesterday, after I had nearly burned down Zuko's meditation chamber (allegedly) using my Energybending. Remember the whole, "Master of Evasive Manuevering" shtick? Believe me, I know a plot bunny when I see one; this was definitely "The Warriors of Kyoshi."

As it were, while Zuko forced me along on his little errand (God help me), the Gaang was being _kindly _introduced to the friendly villagers of Kyoshi...um...sort of.

Tied up, bound, and gagged, the trio lay at the feet of the town leader, Oyagi. At the wave of his hand, they were immediately tied to the pole in a fenced clearing, just on the outskirts of the town. The moment the ropes were secure their blindfolds and gags were removed. Stupefied, they blinked wordlessly at their captor and his entrourage of green-clad young women.

Sokka squirmed uncomfortably against the ropes binding him. "Who are _you_? Where are the men who ambushed us?" he demanded.

The leader of the girls stepped forward. "There were no men. _We _ambushed you."

As she moved closer, Sokka got a good look at her face. Her auburn hair was cut short in a bob and her eyes were fierce. The facepaint, which should have classified her as a warrior, was misinterpretted to be some weird ladies' fashion on the island. The mind of a chauvanist is a scary place indeed.

"Now tell us," she continued. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

An incredulous laugh erupted out of Sokka, causing Aang and Katara to stiffen beside him. They couldn't see anything humorous about their current situation, and wondered whether he had gone insane.

"Wait a second," he said slowly. "There is no way a bunch of _girls _took us down."

In response, the _girl_ grabbed Sokka by the collar and began manhandling him.

"A bunch of girls, huh? The Unagi's going to eat well, tonight," she threatened, shaking the Water Tribe warrior like a rag doll.

"No, don't hurt him!" Katara interjected pleadingly. "He didn't mean it. My brother is just an idiot sometimes."

Sokka was not having a good day. It was one thing to have been caught off guard and tied up by a group of girls (and those girls not even being fangirls, which are completely in a league of their own and of which Sokka only heard dark rumors). It was another thing to be at the mercy of said girls, threatened by them, and now being defended by his little sister. Talk about pride comething before the fall.

So he sulked, not even bothering to follow along with the conversation anymore.

* * *

This pier was a lot like the last one I had visited. There were a whole bunch of boats tied to the dock. A number of buildings loomed in front of us, but for the most part the streets were lined with booths selling their wares. Merchants hovered nearby their merchandise, barking out their prices while people swarmed in and around the stalls like termites. Zuko took one look at the crowd and wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Let's try the tavern," Iroh suggested. "We can ask around there...and we might just pick up a rumor about the Avatar, Prince Zuko."

Grudgingly, he agreed. But before we took another step further, Zuko wheeled around and confronted us.

"Let me make one thing clear to you two," he growled. "You are coming along to carry things. You will not wander off. You will not cause trouble. You will not draw attention to yourselves, and you will keep your eyes on me and my Uncle. You will only speak when spoken to. Understood?"

Kuba nodded sullenly. I just narrowed my eyes at him.

"Well, peasant?"

"It's _beneath _me to get involved in your stupid errand," I replied snippishly. "And your hair is stupid."

Zuko scowled and got right in my face. For a minute, he didn't say a single word. _Uh, oh_. I tried to stare him down, but, as usual, the weight of his golden irises was too heavy for me to withstand. I started to feel nervous under his relentless scrutiny. The silence made me uncomfortable and I began to edge away.

"_You know..._" said Ayla, speaking up for the first time in hours. "_You're right...his eyes _are_ kind of sexy. I notice you staring at them a lot._"

For the first time since I started hearing this voice in my head, I found myself praying she was telling the truth and that she wasn't just a figment of my imagination. Think about it: If Ayla was just a facet of my personality running amok for whatever reason...and if she suddenly felt the need to point out that Zuko, ZUKO of all people, was attractive...oh, God, kill me. Just kill me. I'd sooner drink a keg of cobra venom than to have _those _kinds of thoughts...especially about my mortal foe.

Abruptly, said foe reached out and flicked me _hard _across the forehead.

"OW!" I cried, jumping back. "What the hell was _that _for?"

"Stop being a brat," he responded. "Can't you do as your told for a change?"

I blushed, not quite sure why I was even embarrassed. Zuko frowned as he analyzed my expression. After a few seconds of me not meeting his gaze he decided that he had won that particular argument. I was relieved when he turned away.

"Let's go then," he said.

I was still dazed as he moved ahead, leading the group. It was no surprise that, given my lack of focus, I started to fall behind before two minutes had passed. My head was spinning in confusion.

Kuba looked up at me, his dark eyes stormy for some reason. "He likes you," he said, with all the bitterness of a child accusing a parent of choosing favorites. I actually stopped in my tracks and stared at him, wondering if he had lost his mind.

"Who does?"

"Zuko."

I scowled, annoyed that my face was starting to heat up again. "Don't even joke like that. It's not funny."

"I wasn't joking," he grumbled. "And you like him back..._don't _you?"

What the hell? Why does everyone keep insisting that I...I...UGGH!

"I do _not_," I insisted. "Just...just leave me alone right now, okay?"

My eyes flickered nervously at Zuko. For once, I had gotten lucky. The dinn of the crowd surrounding us masked the subject of our conversation, and he hadn't heard a thing...much to my relief.

Kuba just stared at me. Then, biting his lip, he moved ahead and took a spot beside General Iroh. He still hadn't warmed to Zuko (quite the opposite, in fact; he seemed to treat the Fire Prince like the Grinch after he had went ahead and stole Christmas), so it was no surprise that he ignored _him _as much as _I_ tried to. However, in spite of my terse, unfriendly mood, Kuba would occasionally glance back, just to make sure I was still there.

"I promised myself that I'd never feel that way again," I whispered to myself. _Never again...and especially not now_.

"_You're sad,_" Ayla said suddenly, her tone softening in concern. "_How come_?"

I scowled. _I just...remembered something I shouldn't have. Just forget it, okay?_

I felt her frown at me in my mind, but she didn't force the issue. Thank God.

* * *

It might surprise you to know this, but I actually did have a boyfriend once. His name was Ramon and he was the very definition of a hustler. And, for the record, he was the one who taught me how to play three card monte.

"Remember," he told me once. "The customers don't play the game. The game plays _them_. The more confident they are that they have your game all figured out, the easier it is to trick them."

All the while I would stare at his hands, watching him shuffle the deck like a demon.

I admit, the romance itself was more of an act of rebellion than anything else. The fact that I was sneaking out to see him, knowing that it would piss off Dad, it wasn't just defiant; it was dangerous. Dad never pulled his punches if he was annoyed, but by the time I was eleven I had stopped caring what he did to me. Now, I was starting to claw back at him. I hated him with every ounce of my young body and constantly tried to think of ways to hurt him before he could hurt me.

Maybe that was one of the reasons I chose to go out with Ramon. I knew Dad wouldn't like it; not just because I was breaking curfew, not because Ramon was two years older than I was, not because he had almost been caught _three times _at a drug bust (his older brothers dealt sometimes, that was all I cared to know), but because he happened to be two-parts Hispanic and one-part African American. Let's just say that Dad had his opinions and that I had no problem with exploiting them.

"Did your old man just call me a _beaner_?" he asked once, after eavesdropping on a phone call I got from my father. In short, Dad warned me that if I was still hanging around with Ramon, that I shouldn't bother coming home.

To my surprise, his voice was almost shaking with mirth.

"Um..."

And then Ramon let out a deep, low laugh. It was like the sound of an engine purring. "Babe, that's a new kind of stupid that was invented just now."

"I hope it doesn't run in the family," I joked.

Deliciously, he closed the gap, staring into my eyes. "Well," he said slowly. "It probably skipped a generation. And that's fine with me...who needs kids, anyway?"

Don't think that I only went out with Ramon just because of his race. There was genuine chemistry, mutual attraction, subtle (and not-so-subtle) flirtations as we painted our run-down urban neighborhood a bright red. The fact that Dad hated him so much was just icing on the cake. But the man himself was the entire cake with a chocolate fountain bar thrown into the mix. On so many levels he was wrong (and I don't mean wrong as in incorrect, I mean wrong as in _wrong_). Most of his hobbies happened to be illegal, and because of that our romance ended up being a string of flings as he got hauled in and out of Juvee.

All of the things that were "wrong" with Ramon were just right for me. I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that he was using me, but that was okay since I was using him too. We were a messed up pair. We glorified in just how fucked up we were; but nothing made it more satisfying than the fact that neither of us was actually in love with the other.

Then it all changed one day when I found out just how completely Ramon had screwed me over. That was when I realized that all along, when I thought we were playing the same game, I was just another dumb customer. That betrayal was something I never forgot. It stayed with me, even now.

Especially now.

* * *

I was so lost in my thoughts that I barely noticed when the crowd suddenly surged around me. Have you ever gone scuba-diving and found yourself surrounded by a school of fish? That was kind of what it was like, only in this case I think the fish were the smarter-looking bunch. I noticed several people clustered around what I could only describe as a gambling ring, kind of like the one I had dealt in back when I was a freshman. I half-smiled at the memory.

_"Sheep," _Ramon would probably have called them. They come in crowds with plump hides hidden beneath mounds of luxurious wool, a metaphor we liked to use for rich tourists looking to empty their pockets.

I paused to glance at the man running the ring. He was a short, skinny man with a fine mustache that looked all wrong on his feminine-looking face. His hands were slender, but quick. I saw at once that he knew how to deal cards. I knew at a glance at his shifty, calculating eyes that he was looking to make a profit.

"It's anyone's game," he called to his audience. "Find the Avatar and win a bundle. It's that easy."

I blinked. Three card monte.

I watched the man shuffle the deck for the benefit of his audience, going through extra lengths to reassure him that this wasn't a cheat (ironically, that was the dead giveaway that it was). He did a lot of elaborate hand motions, doing bridges and cutting the deck in eighths before putting the cards back together. This was to convince them that the challenge was real. I saw how easily the crowd was taken in, as easily as people were in my world. The game was the same, and so, I realized, were the tricks.

The only thing that was different were the cards themselves; the four suits I knew had been replaced with the four elements. Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, and Hearts were replaced with Water, Earth, Fire, and Air...though not in that order. I honestly couldn't say which suit corresponded to which element. Your guess is as good as mine. One thing I could see, though, was that the Avatar would take the place of the Joker.

Ramon's words echoed in my head. _"It's the game that plays them, Red, not the other way around_." Red was his nickname for me, an obvious reference to my hair. Once, I remembered him calling me his Red Queen, his Lady Luck. That alone should have tipped me off that I was just another card in his deck.

At once, I banished that memory from my mind. I turned away from the gambler and his sheep and went to continue following Zuko, Iroh, and Kuba. But as I looked around me, I found myself standing by myself in the middle of the street, the coin pouch heavy in my hands.

_Shit. They left me behind_.

"_Julie,_" Ayla interrupted me. "_What's three card monte?_"

I sighed. _Aren't you the least bit concerned that we're stranded in a crowd of strangers?_

"_People don't bother me. Actually...I find them fascinating. Like this one person I met back at the temple...he was nice._"

If I had known she was talking about Sokka, I probably would have pried the information out of her. But since I was preoccupied with the fact that I was lost and alone, I didn't really bother piecing her words together. I craned my neck desperately over the crowd, trying to spot Zuko and his dumb hair-cut.

"You there, young miss," the gambler called out suddenly. "You seem to have a heavy purse...but how would you like to make it heavier? Care for a game? It's so simple, even a child could do it."

I turned to him in irritation. "I'm kind of busy, actually."

"One game," he wheedled. "Come now, don't be shy."

"_It looks like fun,_" Ayla commented. "_One game couldn't hurt, right?_"

I had to bite down hard on my bottom lip to keep from screaming in frustration. _We are LOST and YOU want to play a rigged game? What's the matter with you?_

"_I'm bored_," she replied, much to my surprise. "_You don't talk to me unless you're angry or upset...and no one else can hear me. All I do all day is sit here in your head and watch you do stuff. I want to do stuff too, you know._"

I sighed. Slowly, I turned back to the gambler with the expectant eyes. Reluctantly, I reached into my coin pouch and pulled out the minimum wager, ten copper pieces.

"One game," I told him.

He nodded, a grin spreading his face wide open. I saw the spaces where he was missing teeth.

"Watch closely," he advised me. "Keep your eye on the Avatar. There are three cards here, miss. All you need to do is to keep your eye on the right card." And he held up the Joker for me to see. It was a decorated image of Avatar Yang-chen, smiling benevolently at me.

I felt Ayla stir as she focused on the cards in front of us. "_The Avatar wins...got it_."

_He's just going to cheat._

"_Well,_" she replied. "_You said you knew how to play this game, right? You know all the tricks. Just do what you need to do, and I'll help if you get into trouble._"

"Whatever," I said to them both.

This naive confidence of hers was a little irksome. What could _she _do, after all? She was just...well...actually, I wasn't sure what she was. It didn't matter. There was nothing she could do. Regardless, I did what she asked and watched the dealer's hands. That was the mistake many people made when playing this game. Instead of watching the person turning the cards, they stared at the cards themselves.

A simple sleight of hand will make you see what the dealer _wants _you to see. But by watching his eyes and his hands...you get a good idea of _when _he's going to make the switcheroo. The only time watching the dealer doesn't work is if he already knows you know his game. Then he'll do anything he can to trick you.

Intuition told me that I was being used as advertisement. By that, I meant that he would let me win a hand just to show the crowd how easy it was.

"Here we go," he said. I glanced down at the spot where Avatar Yang-chen was, back up at the dealer and nodded. And then his hands were a blur as he shuffled the three cards. I followed the card only for two-thirds of it before I noticed a pattern with the way he shuffled. Every dealer has a pattern.

_Two left, one right...one left, two right..._

Simple. I turned over the card in the center and came up a winner.

"What a sharp eye, miss," the gambler crowed, handing me my twenty copper pieces. "Care to try again? Your luck might give you double that amount...or even triple."

"_This is fun,_" said Ayla. "_Let's do it_."

I rolled my eyes and handed over my winnings. "Another hand please." I figured that once we lost a round, Ayla would lose interest.

But we didn't lose. Hand after hand, I came up with the Avatar. People around us were beginning to cluster closer to the ring, watching my winnings pile higher and higher. I kept my eye on the gambler and saw how calm he was. I knew then that he wasn't losing a thing. He was just trying to fuel my confidence so that I would take bigger risks. Metaphorically, he was fattening up another sheep...or so he thought.

_Remember, Red. You don't play the game. The game plays you._

I knew better than to think that the pattern would stay the same every hand. So, after hand after hand of repetitive card shuffling motions, I knew he was moving in for his sleight of hand.

"My, you are quite a lucky one, young lady," he said, waggling his finger at me. I scowled at him in annoyance. "I don't think I've ever encountered a quicker eye in all my travels. Tell you the truth, it makes the game exciting again."

"Uh, huh," I muttered, not interested. "Can I go, now?"

"Why so hasty? It just so happens your luck just reached its peak. I have a special prize with me today...one I only offer challengers of a higher quality. You seem to fit right in with them, so let me show you..._this_."

He raised his voice so that it was impossible for everyone _not _to hear him. From inside his rucksack, he pulled out what looked like a very large, red speckled egg. I heard the crowd draw in its breath at the sight of it.

"Um..." I said slowly. "What's that supposed to be?"

"An eelhound egg," the gambler announced. "As you know, they are difficult to breed, but well worth the effort. As a species, no steed are more fleet of foot, no hunter more intelligent than the eelhound."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know, that could just be a platypus-bear egg. That seems more like your style."

"No, no, I'm _quite _certain it's an eelhound egg. But I suppose if you don't want it, I'll have to find another challenger...one with a more discerning eye."

If Ayla was interested in the game before, now she was hooked. My head started to throb as she scrambled around for a closer look at the egg. Her excitement was a kind that couldn't be put into words, and instead translated into an unintelligable buzzing. I winced, clutching my temple.

"All right, all right!" I muttered. "I'll play one more round. Happy?"

"_Sorry...it's just...I _love _animals. Haven't you ever wanted a pet, Julie?_"

I hesitated for a split-second as I turned to the gambler. "How much to match the wager of your egg?"

The gambler smiled a crooked grin. "Eelhound eggs are rare, miss. Still...for a pretty girl like you, I think I can be reasonable. I'd say your small bag of gold should just about cover the bet."

I blinked. That was all of the money Zuko had given me to carry. I looked slowly down at the purse, then back up at the dealer.

It was one of those questions where you find a wallet full of money and you have the option of keeping it or handing it in to the police station. This was different, though. This wasn't some stranger's purse. It was _Zuko's _money. And if I bet it and lost, it would be all gone. When he got wind of what I had done, he would probably have a meltdown of epic proportions. He'd probably kill me.

That was all it took, seeing Zuko's enraged expression in my mind's eye. "Deal," I said, placing my money on the table.

"_Julie!_" Ayla cried, alarmed. "_What are you doing?_"

_What? _I replied. _I thought you wanted to play. Anyway, didn't I tell you I'd get back at Zu for dragging me along on this stupid errand? And then for leaving me behind? The jerk had it coming to him._

'And who knows?' I added to myself. 'Today just might be my lucky day...'

**

* * *

**

A/N: I know you all were probably expecting Zuko and his crew to be on Kyoshi Island right now, but I watched the episode over again and realized that they don't actually find out Aang's there until probably a week or so after he gets there himself. When I discovered that I had a time gap here, I decided to move a plot bubble I had been saving for later and putting it in this chapter. The eelhound egg. What mysteries lie within its red speckled shell?

**And will Julie lose all of Zuko's money? Hee...! Nothing like a game where you feel you have nothing to lose, right?**

**For the romance-lovers of this fic, we can see Julie's perspective of Zuko starting to change ever so slightly. Up until now, we knew exactly what Zuko was thinking about his frustrating peasant...but how does Julie feel? As her schedule now literally revolves around the Fire Prince, she realizes (with some horror) that she's more interested in Zuko than she originally thought. **

**As for her side-story about Ramon, it will be something that will resurface later in the fic. The ex-boyfriend. One of the reasons why Julie turns her nose at the thought of romance and true love. Just what did he do that was so unforgivable? Well? Did you think I'd tell you so soon? NO SPOILERS FOR YOU! RAWR!**

**Did you like? If so, REVIEW! **


	36. Not Your Average Family

**A/N: Yeah, I know. Last chapter sucked, content-wise. Hardly anything notable enough or thought-provoking enough to capture reader interest. I admit, again, that (in spite of the two or three plot points), it read more like filler. That being said, I will hurry the hell up and get the Zu-crew to Kyoshi Island like I promised several chapters ago.**

**Yeah, I suck with deadlines. Not much I can do about that. I have a lot of material to cover over three seasons. Please bear with me as I try to steer this fic back on to the road of relevency once more.**

**One more note, which I think is important that I address as soon as possible: Julie the Energybender is in no way stronger than Aang. I'm a bit concerned I painted her as this all-powerful being, and that is so far from the truth. If anything, the Energybending makes Julie more vulnerable because of her inability to control her gift. Remember, Energybending requires an unbendable spirit; unless your spirit is firm, you will be corrupted by the force of the surrounding chi. Also, don't forget that Aang is an Energybender too (remember, Season 3 finale?). If it came down to a contest between Julie and Aang's spirits, I'm pretty sure that the Avatar would win hands down.**

**This chapter should hopefully demonstrate some of the drawbacks of Energybending. ^-^ Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-One: Not Your Average Family**

"_Yay!_" Ayla cheered. "_An eelhound egg! We're going to win an eelhound egg!_"

_We haven't won it yet, _I reminded her tiredly, watching the dealer set up his cards. _And keep quiet. I have to concentrate if you actually want me to win this thing._

Obediently, the disembodied voice fell silent. However, I could feel her inside my head, alert, conscious of everything. She listened to my heartbeat, felt the air move in and out of my lungs as I waited for the game to begin. Watching him shuffle the cards made me think of a number of different things at once (namely my mother's tarot deck, Ramon's three-card ring, my secret desire to visit (and get banned from) Las Vegas, among other things) but I pushed them all out of my mind. I needed to focus.

"Are you ready, miss?"

"Deal them," I said with a sigh.

He gave me what was supposed to be an ameliorating smile. Since he was missing teeth, it fell flat.

"As before, the Avatar wins," he told me cheerfully.

And then his hands were a blur.

I saw immediately that his pattern was different; completely different. No surprise there. I knew he would try to catch me off guard with the change, and that he would take advantage of my confusion to make a sudden switch. Unfortunately, I _was _surprised by just how quick he was, and the fact that he didn't even look at his cards as he shuffled them. Instead, he was watching me so that his eyes wouldn't betray him.

The man was a professional. I had been duped.

_Shit_, I thought. _He knows I'm reading him. That's why he's not looking at his cards._

The sack of gold in my hands suddenly felt heavy. I felt a rueful twinge at the thought of losing it.

"_You can do this_," Ayla told me, matter-of-factly. "_I know you can._"

_Good luck dealing with disappointment_, I replied mentally.

I took a deep breath as I watched his hands. Every movement was lithe and speedy, practiced. I realized with some chagrin that this man was probably as good as Ramon was...back when we were still partners in crime (sort of). For some reason, that really offended me.

The one card I thought was Avatar Yang-Chen was being whipped around almost faster than I could detect it. Instict told me that it wasn't the Avatar at all.

Then, the cards were still.

"All right, miss," said the gambler. "Pick 'em."

"One second," I grumbled, narrowing my eyes at him. If I had any hopes of him silently telling me which card was which, they were crushed the moment I locked eyes with his face. It was like staring at a brick wall-carefully blank.

I looked back down at the dealer's hand. The card in the middle was the one I had been made to follow for the past two minutes. But I knew that given the man's abrupt change in pattern that it wouldn't be that easy. It was _never _that easy.

"_Let me help_," Ayla pestered me. "_I think I know how to do this...!_"

_Like hell you do. You didn't even know the rules before now. _

"_Trust me_," she whispered.

"Let me think for a second," I told the gambler, stalling for time. I saw him frown just before I closed my eyes. But it was hard to focus on the man's irritation; Ayla's insistance was starting to give me a headache.

_Okay, fine. Let's say that I trust you. How do you plan to figure out which card is the right one?_

"_You're an Energybender,_" she said, her voice quiet and amused. "_Remember? So, why don't you just read this man's chi?"_

_For your information, I don't know how to do things like that. Anyway...how would that even help? I'm looking for the right card, not a freaking aura._

"_A person's chi sometimes lingers around object that hold some sort of value to him or her,_" she replied. "_Well...I just thought that the Avatar Yang-Chen card might just have a trace of the gambler's chi. Well? Why not give it a try?_"

Um...maybe because I'm not an Energybender. I was barely accepting the fact that I could hear Ayla at all; there was no way in hell I was accepting this stupid bending farce on top of that. To say the least, though, it was more than troubling that Ayla seemed to know what an Energybender could and couldn't do. But now that I thought about it...

_Ayla...how do you even know this stuff?_

I felt her go very still. "_I...I...don't really know. But trust me. Please?_"

My hesitation was palpitable.

"Miss," the gambler spoke up after a minute. "Are you going to pick a card, or are you going to forfeit your wager?"

Slowly, I opened my eyes. "I'm not quitting. I just have a bit of a headache. Sorry."

"Well...just so long as you pick a card _today_," he muttered.

The crowd was starting to get restless.

"_Remember your meditation lessons,_" Ayla whispered. "_Synchronize yourself with the gambler. Look him in the eyes._"

I controlled my breathing, taking them deeper and slower until I could feel my heartbeat slow down. I counted the pulses and tried to clear my mind. It was hard though; harder than it was when it was just me and Zuko shut away together in a small, dimly-lit room. For one thing, there was more people, a hell of a lot more people than I was used to. It was difficult to block them out.

"_It's like buzzing, but keep your focus on the man in front of you. Pretend that he's a candle. Come on, Julie._"

Strangely, it seemed to work. I felt my mind stretch as I pictured the flaming wick in my mind's eye. Unconsciously, I tried to match my breathing with the pulsing of the flame...only...I wasn't imagining the pulsing feeling. I realized with a jolt that it was a similar sensation I experienced when I meditated with Zuko. All this time I thought I had only been imagining it. But if I was feeling it now..._actually _feeling it...

_Oh, God..._

"_That's his chi. You're sensing it. Now look at the cards._"

My head felt like it was spinning as I obeyed her command. I felt a wave of nausea when I felt a weak matching pulse echoing off the card on the far left. Closing my eyes, I pointed wordlessly at that one.

The gambler hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Just turn it over," I snapped.

The crowd drew its breath as the card was flipped. I opened my eyes and looked down.

Avatar Yang-Chen smiled up at me.

"Wha...? A winner...?" the dealer muttered, his face crumpled and sullen. "You...how did you...?"

Before he could get his question out, I picked up my gold and scooped the eelhound egg under my arm. The color was quickly draining out of my face as I turned around and started pushing my way through the crowd. Now that I had ripped my attention away from the gambler's spirit energy, the buzzing I hadn't noticed before came back in an overwhelming tidal wave. I felt my head swimming.

"_Julie?_" Ayla sounded alarmed. "_Are you all right?_"

"I'm going to throw up..." I groaned.

And, on that poetic note, I staggered to the nearest trash bin and vomited up my intestines. Or tried to. In any case, I don't think there was a physician on the face of the planet who wouldn't have given me an A for effort. Seriously.

* * *

Zuko was pissed.

"Ten seconds," he fumed. "I turn my back on that girl for _ten seconds_ and she disappears!"

The trio were standing outside the tavern, the noon-day sun showering them in the hazy light that one tends to see on cloudy days. Iroh and Kuba were both anxious when they realized that I was missing, but that was nothing compared to Zuko's reaction. From what I heard later on, he had gone ballistic; something that had undoubtedly made my little gambling trip even more worth it. I only regretted that I wasn't there to witness it.

"She can't have gone far," Iroh tried to console him. "Let's retrace our path. I bet she merely got separated from us in the crowd."

"It's my fault," Kuba muttered sullenly. "I knew something was bothering her, but...she just told me to leave her alone."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked sharply.

The boy fidgetted on the spot, very uncomfortable. His lips were pursed as his dark eyes swiveled from the prince to his uncle, his expression uncertain. "She has a crush on someone," he said reluctantly, after a long pause. "When I asked her about it, she got upset and told me to leave her alone...so I did." Kuba's jaw tensed, anxiety evident in his eyes. "I didn't mean to make her _leave_. But I just...didn't like it."

Iroh pretended not to notice how Zuko froze in the middle of his pacing.

"I don't think Julie is angry with you, Kuba," he said kindly. "If what you say is true, then she probably has a lot on her mind right now. She needs a good friend like you, someone she can depend on."

"But I...I screwed up," Kuba blurted. "I came along so I could protect her in case _they _showed up again...but that turned out to be a big joke. I'm not even all that _good _at Earthbending yet. I couldn't even keep her from wandering off."

Iroh knelt down so that he was looking the boy in the eyes.

"There are certain things we can't do, it is true. However, I think it says a lot that you are so...devoted. In the end, your willingness to try your best for another person is far more valuble than how big and how strong you are. That is a very precious thing to have in a friend...something I think Julie would appreciate."

Tentatively, Kuba lifted his eyes and met Iroh's gaze. "You...really think so?"

"I do."

"Why do you care so much, anyway?" Zuko wanted to know, staring hard at the child. "You met her only a week and a half ago...maybe. How could you get so attached to that peasant so quickly?"

"Time is of little consequence to the heart, nephew," Iroh reminded him gently.

But the Fire Prince ignored this.

"She...was the only person who wanted to help me," said Kuba in a low voice. He kept his gaze on his shoes, not blinking. "When I tried to cut her purse before, she didn't treat me like a crook; she gave me money and food. Then, after we got captured by that Zhao-jerk...she stood up for me. She risked her life to get me out of jail."

"She probably felt like she owed you," Zuko told him. "Because you tried to help her escape."

But Kuba shook his head. "No. You're wrong." He finally looked up, his expression earnest. "I know she yells a lot...and I know she seems like a trouble-maker. But she's _good_. And good people don't last long in a world like this. They get used...or scammed so often that they turn..._bad_. That's why I knew I had to help her...why I'll always help her, if I can. Julie could be dead right now. Or worse...a hooker."

Iroh paused. "I'm not sure if I should be more concerned that you are convinced she is going to prostitute herself, or the fact that you even know what prostitution is."

The boy scowled up at him. "I'm not stupid. I know all about that kind of stuff. I've seen a lot worse things on my own." He frowned. "I think Julie knows about that kind of stuff too."

"What makes you say that?" Zuko asked.

Kuba's face turned contemplative. "She just has this look in her eyes...like the entire world is against her. And sometimes she slips when she talks. She'll say something about _home_, and then she'll get really quiet. Or she'll make up some dumb lie." He frowned. "I think," he said with a slow certainty, "that she ran away from home for some reason. I think she's scared of something she left behind."

Neither one said anything for a moment.

"That's why she's special," Kuba told them. "She knows about the bad stuff, but she's good. Either way, though, she's _still _hopeless."

"Enough talk," Zuko muttered. "Let's find her."

* * *

Somehow, I kept a hold of the egg. The bulging sack of gold I had put on the ground near my feet. As I stood back up, wiping the spittle off my chin, I put on hand back on the bag and glowered menacingly at the passerby, most of whom were eying me like I was some kind of spectacle. And I probably was.

After all, I kept cringing from the nauseating waves of their chi. Damn Ayla. Damn her to the fiery depths of hell.

"Auugggh..." I groaned again, sinking to the ground.

"Uh oh..." I heard a man's voice speak up from the side. "Miss? Are you all right?"

I kept my egg on my lap and the sack of gold tucked in between knees; resting my forehead on my thighs and trying not to throw up again. A dark shadow fell over me as the stranger edged closer, cautiously. My body stiffened and I glared up at him.

"Fuck off."

The man was very tall, but not broad. Actually, he resembled a scarecrow. His hair was receding, giving him a very big forehead that reflected the light. But the rest of it was tied back in an old-fashioned queue. On second though, maybe he looked more like a tree than a scarecrow. He didn't look silly. Just calm...analytical as he stared down at my prostate form.

Without a word, he knelt on the ground beside me. "If you're throwing up, you should get out of the sun. The heat will only make it worse."

The sound of his voice bounced around the inside of my skull. Everything was too bright, and looking up at this stranger only exposed me to the sunlight, the current bane of my existence. But focusing my attention on him distracted me from the hum of chi swirling around us in a nauseating vortex. It was an unpleasant dilemma.

I decided to take my chances with the vortex. "Go away," I croaked, burying my face in my arms.

"It's goes against my principles as a healer to leave a sick person on the side of the road like this." With that lighthearted tone of voice, I could imagine him smiling ruefully. "You may as well stop arguing."

Something clicked in my mind. "You...you're a healer...?"

"One of the best." He rested a hand on my forehead as he checked for a fever. It took every ounce of self-control not to flinch at his touch. "The name is Shim."

"Julie," I whispered without thinking. Then, I froze. Belatedly, I realized that this person could be a member of the Brotherhood...except that I never saw them go anywhere without those dumb cloaks of theirs. Regardless, Zuko's paranoia had rubbed off on me a bit.

But Shim didn't seem to recognize the name...or care. He was engrossed in his diagnosis; he was in the middle of checking my pulse.

"Your heart is racing..." I jumped a little as he gently took me by the chin, tilting my face up. "Easy," he said softly. "I won't hurt you. Just look me in the eyes, please."

I shied away the moment I realized he was trying to examine me. Now, don't misunderstand me, reader. Shim wasn't doing anything creepy or untoward; in fact, his manner was nothing short of professional. But growing up with my father had given me a healthy paranoia of the entire medical institution. I couldn't afford to miss too many days of school and Dad avoided bringing me to the doctor whenever possible. It would have been too easy for them to figure out what was really going on at home.

Shim was apparently used to reluctant patients. He caught my chin easily, and while he ignored the discomfort I felt as he stared into my eyes, he was not oblivious to it. His face was rueful as he turned my face from side to side, checking my complexion.

"Pupils dilated...and you're very pale."

I cringed, hating the way his soft voice echoed in my mind as though it were a bottomless chasm.

"You said your name was Julie?"

"Y-yes..."

"Are you alone?"

I hesitated. "You're not by any chance affiliated with any religious cults, are you?" I asked weakly.

"Spirits," Shim muttered. "She's delirious too."

I was about to protest when I felt something stir on my lap. I almost ended up dropping the egg in surprise, and...wait a minute...the egg! The egg was moving! I went very still, surprised and unnerved at the unexpected presence of life inside the shell. Sluggishly, the baby eelhound inside squirmed in response to my body heat. The fear that I would somehow end up killing it by accident paralyzed me. I sat completely motionless, staring blankly and helplessly at the egg.

Shim's eyes followed mine. "The egg looks fine," he told me, correctly interpretting my silent worry. "Did it move?"

I nodded slowly.

"It'll probably hatch soon...maybe in a few days. You don't have to worry."

I opened my mouth, closed it, and nodded again. Words eluded me. After everything that had happened today, I felt like my insides had been rearranged. I had been forced to accept a very troubling fact about myself (the Energybending, I mean), and now I was responsible for this...unborn creature in my arms.

All because of Ayla. Because of a voice in my head. No wonder I felt so sick.

Speaking of which, she had gone very quiet the moment I started heaving biscuits in the garbage. What was _that _about?

"Julie!"

Both Shim and I jumped as Kuba's voice reached us through the crowd. I looked up and saw him racing towards us, Zuko and Iroh in a tow. My eyes met Zuko's for a split second, and that was all it took to tell me I was in very deep trouble.

Again.

Of course, I had no time to feel properly screwed. Kuba launched himself at Shim, making to draw his dagger from its sheath. _Oh, snap!_

"Wait!" I cried. "Kuba, stop! It's all right!"

Kuba's reflexes weren't quick enough to stop in mid-stab, but Shim seemed very alert. That is, if the way he nimbly dodged the blade was any indication. The man skittered back a few paces, his hand resting lightly on what looked like another sheathed weapon.

There was a tense moment as Zuko and Iroh reached us. Kuba and Shim stared each other down.

"Well..." said the healer slowly, straightening out of his crouch as he got a good look at my company. "Julie, I take it this is your...um...family?"

"Who are you?" Captain Emopants demanded roughly, moving to stand in between us. I glowered sullenly at his back, too disoriented to do much more than that. If I wasn't about to projectile vomit everywhere from all the sensory overload, I'd have dropkicked the bastard right there.

Thankfully, Iroh intervened. "Pardon my nephew," he said as he stepped forward. "He is a bit stressed out; we were all worried when we realized we had gotten separated in the crowd."

Shim bowed respectfully, the way a professional would (and should, if he wanted to stay employed).

"Forgive me for intruding. My name is Shim, and I stumbled upon your...um...friend here by accident as she was...erm...throwing up in the trash."

Zuko turned halfway, his golden eyes sliding to meet mine. "What's the matter with you? You were fine a few hours ago." Then, his eyes narrowed. "What in the name of Agni are you carrying, peasant? Is that...an egg?"

"No," I said sarcastically, choking on my nausea. "It's a goddamn Tsumgi horn. Uggggh..."

Kuba turned away from the others and knelt down beside me. "You look like crap," he said, half in childlike awe, half out of genuine concern. "What happened to you? Your face is turning _green_."

"Don't want to talk about it...can't...going to..."

I shoved the egg roughly into Kuba's arms and lunged for the bin again. The entire contents of my stomach crawled up my esophagus and splattered, in chunks, at the bottom of the tub. My knuckles were white from gripping the edge of the bin; my head was pounding.

Someone started rubbing my back with one hand, gripping my shoulder with the other. I think it was Iroh.

"I know her symptoms are rather...severe," Shim continued. "But I don't think it's anything worse than an anxiety attack. The heat from the sun was what intensified her body's reaction to the stress. Other than that, she is in adequate health."

"You are a healer, then," Iroh deduced. The hand rubbing my back paused.

"I am...well, _was_. I'm looking for work at the moment."

"Well, then I suppose it was both of our good fortunes that caused us to meet. We happen to be looking for a healer for our ship."

"What are your qualifications?" Zuko asked sharply, making me realize that he was closer to me than I originally thought. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him standing over me, his hand in between my shoulder-blades. As my muscles tensed up, he abruptly relinquished his grip.

He turned away from my bewildered stare, looking as though he were giving the healer his full attention.

"I have no evidence of my credentials," Shim replied. "Everything was burned to the ground when my village cast me out. I'm a Fire Nation colonist, you see," he added, noticing our inquisitive stares. "The Earth Kingdom rebels came and purged the town of any remnants of the Fire Nation, practically overnight. I barely escaped with my life."

"Damn," said Kuba, who was still clutching the egg. "That sucks."

"Yes," he agreed, rather cheerfully. "That does suck, doesn't it."

And on that pleasant note...

"You said you were looking for a healer," said Shim suddenly. "May I ask what happened to the last one?"

Zuko and Iroh exchanged glances.

"He was killed," said Kuba, matter-of-factly. "Our ship got attacked in the middle of the night."

"By pirates?"

Another long silence.

"We can discuss this matter further on our ship," said Iroh. "That is, if you are still interested in the job. I won't lie, it could be very dangerous at times."

"Well, of course. It is a Fire Navy ship during a century-old war. I wouldn't expect it to be anything _but _dangerous."

"True," the ex-General assented with a nod. Then, he turned to the rest of us. "I will work out the contract with Shim. Nephew, we should get Julie out of the street before she collapses...or draws more attention to herself."

Zuko just nodded. Slowly, he turned back towards me.

I was starting to feel a little better. Granted, I was still queasy, and if I let my thoughts drift too far the humming of the chi would swim in my ears again. I had been paying rigid attention to the conversation to avoid that unpleasant and overwhelming feeling. At the very least, I could stand up now. Sure, my knees were a bit shakey, but I felt that if I focused intently on my feet I could manage staggering back to the ship.

But I was caught off guard by the intensity of Zuko's searing look. He was mad. It was obvious.

"If you were sick," he growled, towering over me. "You should have said something earlier. And should I even ask how in the name of Agni I could leave you for maybe twenty-minutes at the very most, only to return to find you richer by five hundred gold pieces? And an egg, on top of it all?"

"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're asking."

Zuko leaned in until our faces were inches apart. I blushed, hating myself for it.

"I'm not asking," he said in a low voice. "I'm demanding that you tell me. Right now. What...happened...?"

Kuba looked up at me, interested.

"I...well, I...I..." Dammit! He was too close! I couldn't stop stammering like an idiot. "I sort of...won it."

"You were _gambling_?"

I edged away warily. "I prefer to call it a selective, slightly unorthodox investment of funds...which payed off, by the way."

Zuko looked, if possible, even more infuriated than before. "You _idiot!" _he exploded. "Do you have any idea how _worried _we were when you just disappeared? All this time we thought you had been kidnapped or captured, and instead you were playing games!"

That derailed whatever flippant comment I had prepared. "W-what?"

"Oh, just...shut up. I can't even look at you right now..." He grabbed me by the wrist, making me flinch in shock. Within seconds, I was being dragged away towards the ship. "And if you so much as say a single word to me, you won't get any dinner tonight. I swear to Agni, girl, you are in so much trouble..."

"Hey!" Kuba cried, looking angry as I almost tripped over my feet. "Leave her alone!"

Zuko didn't listen. He shot the boy a look so venomous that it made him instinctively freeze. The expression of caution was back on Kuba's face, and in that heated moment the Fire Prince ripped his gaze away and resumed stalking after Iroh and Shim. His hand felt like a vice around my wrist.

I could only blink in bewilderment. Kuba looked at me searchingly, waiting for permission to attack Zuko or something to that effect. But I couldn't say a word, I was so alarmed. As we moved farther and farther away, the young Earthbender eventually scrambled after us. He had to jog to keep up with Zuko's long, angry stride. People were starting to gawk at us, but he didn't seem to care anymore at this point. His previous pretenses at stealth had been abandoned in the wake of his fury.

It startled me, not because he was so angry, but because he seemed to angry for the wrong reasons. To me, at least.

_Zuko...was worried about me...?_ I thought. _Why?_

The only response I got was the elusive tingle of Ayla's presence within my mind.

"_Why do you think, Julie_...?"

I didn't know...and I wasn't sure that I wanted to know, either. And anyway, my head hurt too much for me to think straight.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is significant for Julie. After being goaded by Ayla into playing a high-stakes game, she has no choice but to trust her assertions that she is an Energybender. We see for the first time Julie consciously using her bending with Ayla acting as her teacher. This poses an interesting question: how _does _Ayla know what she knows? And is she being honest when she says she doesn't remember?**

**In case you were wondering, I gave this chapter this title because of the odd familial structure surrounding Julie at this point. Zuko and Iroh have become sort of pseudo-guardians over her (Lieutenant Jee too, only he wasn't in this chapter), and Kuba seems to look up to her like an older sister in spite of only having met her two weeks ago. Throw in the eelhound that will soon hatch, and you've got a very unusual bunch. **

**Not quite the Brady Bunch, but odd in their own way. And, yes, I know. I threw in another OC, but don't worry. He's strictly a minor character at best. I had to have someone to fill in the vacant position on the ship (though I liked writing his brief interaction with Kuba, strangely enough), and it seemed convenient to have Julie run into him through sheer (yet plausible) accident. **

**Anyway, what did you think? Is it too filler-esque for words? Did it suck? REVIEW!**


	37. Pride Cometh Before the Fall

**A/N: Not much to say going into this chapter. I'm just going to have to work harder to get this story done. I feel like I'm moving at a snail's pace...uggh. Anyway, as much effort as I put into this, I hope you find it to your tastes. Enjoy.**

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* * *

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**Chapter Thirty-Two: Pride Cometh Before the Fall**

"All right! Dessert for breakfast!" Aang fist-pumped the air in victory before dropping down in front of the massive tray of sweets. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar...!"

It had been a full twenty-four hours since the Gaang's capture, but man, did a day make a hell of a lot of difference. For the most part, the villagers were doing their damndest to make up for the whole "tying-up-the Avatar-and-his-accomplices-and-threatening-to-feed-them-to-a-giant-fish-monster" thing. In Aang's honor (well, actually in the honor of Avatar Kyoshi's current incarnation, if you wanted to get all techinical about it), the trio had been waited on hand and foot. As they feasted on lush delicacies that were the island's specialty (allegedly), Aang watched as two of the villagers buffed up the giant statue of Kyoshi.

Somewhere else on the island, Appa was getting the royal giant sky-bison treatment. As he was being groomed and fed the finest hay available, he lowed a happy bellow.

Even Katara was in relatively good spirits. She accepted Aang's offered sweet, nibbling it tentatively before her eyes lit up. "Mmmm..." she agreed. "Man, these are good."

"Sokka," Aang called over his shoulder. "What's your problem? EAT!"

As a matter of fact, the only thing that hadn't improved was Sokka's mood. At the moment, the Water Tribe warrior was hunched in the corner, a very sullen look on his face. His arms were folded as he stared indifferently at the adjacent wall.

"Not hungry," he mumbled.

Food was the last thing on Sokka's mind right now. Like a broken record, his thoughts kept jarring back to that humiliating scene yesterday. Every time he recalled the incident, the more incredulous he was that he had allowed himself to be ambushed by a bunch of girls. It was unforgivable. Just who did they think they were?

Especially that leader of theirs. Suki...or at least, that was what Sokka had heard Oyagi call her last night as they were getting them all settled in for the evening. She had to be the most arrogant girl he had ever laid eyes on, and that was saying something given all the time he spent around Katara.

He was so lost in thought he completely missed Aang's over the top reaction.

"What?" the monk exclaimed. "But...you're always hungry!"

"He's just upset that a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday," Katara commented offhandedly. Her words struck a little too close to home, as was typical for utterances of younger siblings. Sokka whipped his head up, annoyed.

"They snuck up on me!"

"Right. And then they kicked your butt."

"Sneak attacks don't count!" Sokka bellowed.

Enraged, he nearly tipped over his chair as he leapt to his feet. Katara and Aang watched in mild interest as their companion began pacing the room with nothing short of agitation on his face. Seriously, who doesn't enjoy watching a close friend get all worked up over a dent in their pride? The Gaang were no exceptions to the rule.

"Tie me up with ropes!" he ranted. "I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls."

Compulsively, Sokka began snatching sweets off the platter as he stalked around the table. It was as though his hands weren't attached to his brain.

"Who do they think they are anyway?" he muttered to himself. "And that Suki...uggh. She thinks just because she has a pretty face, she can boss a guy around!"

"Excuse me?" Katara spoke up, looking her brother's way for the first time. "I hope you aren't talking about that girl we talked to last night. She was nice. Polite. You were the one being the jerk."

"Of course she was being nice to you. It wasn't your manly pride she was trying to stomp into the dirt!" Sokka shook his head darkly. "She's a menace."

"I dunno," said Aang. "I think I'm going to have to side with Katara on this one. Suki seemed nice enough to me, and I'm a guy."

In response, the Water Tribe warrior gave them a sour look. At the same time, he stuffed a random sweet into his mouth, chewing with the tenacity of a garbage-disposal. He glared at them for a full minute before his expression dissolved into a mild epiphany.

"Mmmm...this is tasty."

"There are plenty more where that came from," the young Avatar coaxed him. He pushed the tray at Sokka temptingly. "I mean, look at this. The villagers are practically giving us the royal treatment here."

Katara frowned. "Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long."

Aang was about to reply when Sokka unexpectedly cut him off.

"Well, I for one am not leaving until I give those froo-froo warriors a piece of my mind," he declared. Absentmindedly, he took the entire platter off the table and carried it with him as he stomped out the door. The remaining two could only stare after him as the door slammed shut behind him.

"He...took all of it...!" said Aang quietly, his voice muffled in awe and regret. "Aw, man!"

Katara shook her head. "What is it with men and food?"

* * *

"What is it with men and food?" I asked Iroh as we sat down to dinner one evening.

Zuko carved into his fish with a righteous fury, as though he hadn't eaten in weeks. I had a feeling, though, that his mind was somewhere else as he stabbed relentlessly at the poor sea-creature, taking the time to disembowel it with his fork before taking the first bite. Call it crazy, but I was pretty sure he was still a little bit miffed about my gambling adventure the other day.

Just a hunch.

"I could say the same thing about women," Iroh joked, gesturing down at my untouched plate with his chopstick. "Your fish is getting cold."

I followed his gaze morosely, down to my dish. A whole fish stared up at me, its puffed lips pleading with me even though it was dead. At least...I hoped to hell it was dead. It was the most pathetic thing I had ever laid eyes on.

"It's staring at me," I told him. "How the heck do you eat something with eyes? And organs...?"

"Stupid peasant," Zuko muttered after swallowing his mouthful of food. "Are you trying to tell me you've never properly eaten a fish in your life? Its wasteful to throw out the organs."

I pushed my plate towards him. "Want mine?"

"You'll eat it and like it. You barely eat enough as it is," he added, much to my indignation. "You're too skinny."

I flushed angrily. Yeah, all right, I'll admit it. I'm flat-chested. I'm a twig. I don't have a figure and I probably never will. Was it really Zuko's place to bring it up all the friggin' time? I mean, I could just make a pointed reference to his scar every opportunity I got, but you didn't see me stooping to such lows.

...well, not every five minutes, at least.

"I eat just fine, thank you very much," I retorted hotly. "I just have selective tastes."

Zuko snorted. "You're picky."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Is it really so much to ask for the chef to cut the head off the fish before serving it? Or to clean the fish out first?"

"For you, yes; it is. You're lucky you're even getting this. You could be having the slop we give the commoners on the ship. Quit being difficult and eat your fish...before I lose my patience with you."

"What patience?" I quipped.

But Zuko didn't bother rising to the bait. He had resumed carving venomously into the remains of his dinner. I sighed and looked down at the plate.

"God has forsaken me."

Just then there was a quick knock at the door. I looked up in time to see the chef re-enter the room, a look of excitement painted on his face. He was rubbing his hands eagerly; at once I recognized the plot bunny for what it was. All right. It's off to Kyoshi Island! I had been waiting for this episode for quite some time, as it was one of my personal favorites.

More importantly, with Zuko sniffing after Aang's trail, he'd probably forget that I was in trouble for the whole gambling thing. At the very least, he wouldn't notice if I were too...erm...misplace my dinner. Like, say, over the side of the ship. I'm just saying, I'm not that into seafood.

"I have good news, General Iroh," he said, bowing at once.

I frowned over the top of his head. Huh. Why isn't he addressing Zuko?

"Is it about the Avatar?" Zuko demanded at once. I leaned forward eagerly.

"Um..." the chef fidgeted in discomfort. "No. Sorry, your Highness. Actually, I was told to report to General Iroh if a certain species of fish were to become available on the market."

Iroh's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "The incredibly rare rainbow dragon trout?" he exclaimed, rising from his chair. "You found one?"

"Apparently they're having an excellent breeding season," came the reply. "There's a glut of them in all the fish stalls. We'll be having fish every night for the next month at the rate they're being caught."

Oh, for the love of...

"Don't you have some other news," I spoke up, causing everyone to stop and stare at me. "Something that doesn't have to do with fish, maybe?"

The chef shot tentative looks at Zuko and Iroh, as though mentally deliberating the pro's and con's of answering me directly. All at once it came to me that he had no idea how he was supposed to address me. I mean, I was eating with the prince of the Fire Nation and the Dragon of the West (which had to meant I was somebody), but it was also common knowledge that I'm a peasant. It was clear that he didn't know how to handle this delicate situation.

"Um...no, miss Julie. May I ask what kind of news you were anticipating?"

I scowled at him. "Maybe something about the war. Or, like Zu said, about the Avatar."

Zuko shot me an indignant look.

"First of all, you will address me as Prince Zuko, not Zu," he said for the umpteenth time, trying and failing to inject some menace into his tone. I just rolled my eyes. "Secondly, since when do you care about my mission?"

"Don't sell yourself short," I replied evasively. "I mean, you may be a jerk a lot of the time, but at least you're more interesting than a bucket of fish. And if you're more interesting than a bucket of fish, imagine how interesting the Avatar is. Why, he might even beat out the entire ocean, as far as intrigue goes."

Zuko frowned at my blatantly sarcastic response. Thankfully, he didn't pursue the subject.

"Erm..." the chef's gaze flickered from me to the sulky bastard prince, hesitant to even continue this conversation (and rightfully so, given Zuko's notoriously short fuse). "Forgive me for saying so, but I just cook the meals. It isn't my business to stick my nose in politics; I wouldn't know any more about the Avatar than you would."

"_If they knew how much you really knew about Aang_," Ayla commented out of the blue. "_I bet Zuko in particular would shit a brick._"

_Yeah...let's not test that theory, 'kay?_

"Oh, but wait," said the chef, suddenly remembering. "There is one bit of news I heard that might interest you, miss Julie."

I looked up at him. "What's that?" I asked, lifting my glass of water to my lips. I was pretty sure that whatever the man had to say, it would be no big deal. I mean, he had interrupted us in the middle of dinner over a stupid fish. And, okay, General Iroh was asking, but still.

"It's Commander Zhao," he replied. "He's said to have made a miraculous recovery. He's on his feet and is actively resuming his duties as we speak."

The glass slipped out from between my frozen fingers. I think my heart stopped beating for a few seconds as water trickled off of the table and onto the floor. Iroh quickly dabbed it up with a napkin while Zuko just stared and stared at my face.

"Z-Zhao...?" I think my voice cracked a little. "Oh. That's..." I tried to swallow, but couldn't. "...what's he doing now?"

"I'm not sure. The most I heard was that he was alive and well."

I felt cold. I pushed my chair away from the table. "I'm not so hungry anymore," I said quickly.

I ducked my head and shoved my way past the startled cook and into the hallway. I kept my pace brisk and my mind focused on a mundane topic so that I wouldn't have to see Zhao leering at me in my mind's eye. Fish, I thought to myself. Think about fish. Only fish. It was embarrassing, but the man frightened me. I never wanted to see him again.

The weather was getting warmer as winter drew closer, something I found weird since I was from the northern hemisphere. Regardless, the warm air felt like ice in my lungs. Suddenly, I found myself on deck, utterly alone...or so I thought. I went over to the railing and hugged my arms to my sides, shivering.

"_He isn't here_," Ayla told me gently. "_He can't hurt you_."

"Be quiet," I whispered. "You're not real."

I felt her recoil from that and I knew I had hurt her feelings. I was too mixed up inside to feel any sense of remorse. I bit my lip and tried not to cry.

"Talking to yourself?" came a voice to my right.

I jumped. Shen-Long was standing there, a very nonplussed expression on his face. I flushed and turned away from him.

"No. I was...never mind."

"You look upset. Did something happen?"

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to talk, so I just shook my head no. I was really hoping that Shen-Long would take a hint and leave me alone. My body posture indicated all the signs of a foul mood, but either he was oblivious or ignored them. Or maybe it was the fact that I hadn't really gotten the chance to talk to him now that I was Zuko's Energybending apprentice.

He moved so that he was standing next to me.

"Julie," he said slowly. "I just...I've been wanting to be alone with you for a long time. There's something I...something I need to talk to you about."

I wouldn't look at him. "Is it important?"

"To me, it is. And I'm pretty sure it's important to you too."

Something in his voice made me pause. Shen-Long didn't sound like his usual self. I was so used to his resiliency and his inexhaustable patience that his brusque tone of voice made him almost unrecognizable for a few seconds. He took a few steps closer and I instinctively tensed up in reaction to his closeness. Suddenly, Zhao was far, far away from my thoughts.

"What's the matter?" I asked. "Why...are you looking at me like that?"

His blue eyes were solemn. "Ayla."

I froze. That name...

"What did you say?" I whispered, shock almost robbing me of my voice.

"I said, Ayla. Does that name mean anything to you, Julie?"

I didn't know how to answer. All this time, I had been keeping Ayla a secret from everybody. If they had any idea I was hearing a voice in my head, they'd have me committed to the nearest asylum in a heartbeat. The fact that Shen-Long of all people seemed to know her name, the fact that he knew anything about this at all completely threw me.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about..." I lied.

"What about the Brotherhood?" he persisted. "What do they mean to you?"

I shook my head, confused. "What's with the twenty-questions all of a sudden, Shen-Long?" I demanded quietly. I'll admit, I was stalling for time. It was fruitless trying to figure out his intentions by looking at his face; and I had no way of knowing what answers he wanted...or why he wanted them.

Inexplicably, he looked tired. Impatient. "Just humor me."

"I...I think that they...that they're creepy as hell," I said slowly. "I know that they killed people on this ship...because they wanted to take me away. I don't know why."

"You do know. Don't lie."

It was almost unnerving how Shen-Long's face could be so gentle and cold at the same time. His eyes were pleading with me, soft with an unnameable emotion; but at the same time they were indifferent to my reactions, uncaring in regards to my own thoughts and feelings. It was a jarring contrast. I felt a tremor in the pit of my stomach that had nothing to do with me missing dinner, or even the memory of the gasping fish on my plate.

"Because I'm...an Energybender?" I tried.

"Why else?"

I blinked. "Zuko didn't say anything else..." I frowned, though, when I remembered something Kuba had told me when we had first met. "But...I heard that I look like someone important to them." Something clicked in my mind. "Ayla," I breathed. "Her name was...Ayla."

Ayla didn't say a word. She was listening carefully, and when I tried searching for her I found a mental wall separating us. I pushed against it for a second, perplexed. She doesn't want me to know what she's feeling, I realized.

Suddenly, there were footsteps. Shen-Long gave a start, turning around just in time to see Zuko appear in the doorway. The moment he laid eyes on the two of us he froze rigidly in place. Shock flitted across his face before dissolving into an unnameable emotion. It was something tense and bitter-looking, something I couldn't put into words. But I felt like I should have known that feeling.

"_He's not mad at you_," Ayla told me, seemingly relieved at the abrupt change in subject. "_I think he's jealous_."

_Jealous? What for?_

To my surprise, she just giggled, though I could hardly see what was so damn funny. "_I didn't mean of _you, _Julie..._"

_Then who?_

I waited for her to elaborate, but she never did. Instead, confusion ate away at my patience as the silence stretched infinitely onwards.

Slowly, the Fire Prince seemed to thaw out from his rigid posture as he crossed over the threshold. His golden eyes narrowed as they swept over us, his gaze lingering on Shen-Long's hands on my shoulders. He stared and stared at us; it wasn't until thirty seconds of this eerie quiet that I realized what it had looked like, the two of us standing so close to each other.

Panic bubbled in my stomach; I immediately put as much distance between me and Shen-Long as I could before I found my back against the railing. Though why it should bother me so much that Zuko would get the wrong idea was something I just couldn't understand.

"Return to your post immediately," Zuko ordered in a lethal rasp.

The two locked gazes. I was surprised at the unstated violence that seemed to shroud them as they stared at one another. What made things worse was that I had no idea who I should have sided with. Maybe the underdog? Shen-Long was older than Zuko by a few years and possibly had more experience in a fight, but Zuko...well...come on. He was freaking Zuko. Neither relented for a tense moment.

Shen-Long gave me another quick glance. "Julie...do you want me to leave?"

Zuko stepped forward. "Don't make me repeat myself, soldier," he snarled quietly. "Leave the peasant alone...or else." He stared at Shen-Long intently, waiting for him to make a decision.

I blinked in confusion. What the hell was the matter with Zuko, anyway? Why was he acting like this? I mean, sure, he had his bouts of sour moods, but nothing like this. It just wasn't like him to get so riled up over...well...nothing. Besides, Shen-Long wasn't an enemy he had to protect me from...so why was he treating him like one?

And what about Shen-Long? How did he figure out about Ayla? And why did he care so much...? There had to be a reason why he was acting like this...something Ayla must know, if the absense of her blithe chatter was any indication. Gut instict told me it was.

"Zuko, wait," I said quickly. "It isn't...it's not what it looks like."

But he wouldn't look at me. My stomach twisted in a knot as I remembered the hard, angry look on his face from yesterday when he had been "worried" about me. It occurred to me all of a sudden that Zuko's reaction to Shen-Long wasn't so much defensive as it was...challenging.

They stared each other down for another beat.

"There you are," said a loud voice suddenly, causing us all to freeze like a bunch of graffiti artists caught in the headlights of a cop car.

Bo-Fen came sauntering forward, her eyes bright and her stride unaffected by the tense postures of everyone present. Seeing her, Shen-Long reluctantly loosened his stance and moved away from me. I saw the siblings exchange knowing glances, but Bo-Fen's had an ounce of sterness. Zuko scowled at her, and quietly stepped aside as the ticking timebomb was diffused.

"Did you forget, Shen?" Bo-Fen continued, jabbing him in the arm with what was meant to look like a friendly punch. But I saw her brother wince. "It's your turn to clean out the latrines. We drew straws last night, remember?"

Shen-Long tore his gaze away from his sister to give me one last parting look. Then, without another word he followed her back down into the bowels of the ship. I noticed that he wouldn't even acknowledge Zuko as he moved past him. The Fire Prince returned the snub without another word, letting them escape unscathed. Which was good since I didn't want them fighting to begin with.

"_That was scary_," Ayla whispered to me. "_I don't know why, but something about that Shen-Long just...makes me nervous. Like that room in the Southern Air Temple made me nervous before I met the Avatar..._"

_Wait, wait, wait a minute...WHAT?_

But before Ayla could reply, Zuko was suddenly towering over me.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked in a low voice.

I blinked up at him in bewilderment. Why was it that every time he turned those intense eyes upon me, I couldn't move? It didn't make sense for all words to elude me from a mere gaze. There was no reason why his closeness should make me forget to breathe the way it was doing. And then, the way his quiet voice made me feel hot and cold simultaneously...that was probably just my imagination. I couldn't actually be feeling that way. It wasn't...rational.

I could only shake my head, no, in response.

"You're face is pale," he observed. "You were frightened."

"Was not," I countered automatically. "I just don't feel well. I told you that before when I left the room."

"Actually, you said you weren't hungry, not that you weren't feeling well. You can't lie to save your life, can you, peasant?"

I hesitated. Timidly, I met his gaze.

"Am I...really that obvious?"

Zuko frowned, some of the anger ebbing away. "Only when you're trying to hide something. So, why don't you rethink that answer...? Were you frightened just now?"

I closed my eyes, hugging my arms to my sides. For the next couple of minutes, I wrestled with myself, trying to decide whether I could allow myself to trust Zuko with the truth. It wasn't even something I had acknowledged to Ayla, who seemed to be a part of me. Could I really tell Zuko what it was that had made me so afraid?

"Maybe a little..." I admitted quietly, turning my back on him. I stared out at the ocean, letting the sea-breeze catch the strands of hair that had fallen into my eyes. My hair was getting longer, something I hated, and it was a relief to be able to see clearly. "I try not to feel this way, but I...I can't help it. When the chef told me that Zhao wasn't going away, I just..." I trailed off, shuddering quietly.

Zuko's hands were on my shoulders. I tensed, but he didn't move.

"When I asked if you were afraid, I meant of Shen-Long," he told me in a low voice. "He looked like he was threatening you just now. Or that he was trying to get you to do something you didn't like."

"W-what? No...he wasn't..." I sputtered, completely taken aback by the accusation. I wheeled around and gave him a startled look. "Shen-Long and I are friends."

"Friends," Zuko repeated in a flat voice.

"Yes, friends." I scowled, not liking the suggestion in his voice one bit. "Why would you think that he was trying to hurt me, Zuko?"

He didn't answer me. Not right away. He just gave me that same, solid stare that rendered me motionless in all senses of the word. I think he was trying to convey that the answer should have been obvious enough for him not to tell me, but I wasn't giving him that satisfaction. Finally, he just sighed.

"Are you dense, peasant? I would have thought that even you would have noticed what everyone thinks of you now after the Brotherhood invaded the ship."

I had been trying not to notice, as a matter of fact. Most of the time I had been sufficiently distracted, my entire time being actively consumed by Zuko's outrageous training regimen. However, there were times when I would run into someone...times when I had been given looks so hateful that if I hadn't been with Iroh or Lieutenant Jee, they probably would have been followed up with something...violent.

It suddenly made sense why Zuko hadn't been letting me have a single moment to myself anymore. I hadn't understood it until now.

"You...you were..." I shook my head, practically speechless in the wake of this discovery. "You think Shen-Long is like the others? Is that why I haven't been allowed to see him and Bo-Fen? And Kuba? You think all of them want to hurt me?"

"I didn't want to take any chances. I'm surprised you would after you almost died...both during the Agni Kai, and then afterwards..."

"I don't need you to protect me!" I snarled.

I pushed against his chest with both hands and shoved him backwards. The motion surprised him, and he didn't resist as I stalked out of arm's reach and over to the adjacent rail. I grabbed it to steady the wave of anger I felt. I was so mad I was blinking back tears.

"You don't even understand what I need protecting from," I spat. "You're the one I want to hide from! I can never trust how I feel when you're around me...! I hate it!"

Zuko froze. His jaw set itself in a firm line.

"What is it that you feel?" he asked quietly.

I didn't look up. I was gripping the railing so tightly that my knuckles were a bloodless white. Below us, the sea churned and tossed the ship around in the arms of the unpredictable waves. The phrase tempest-tossed crossed my mind even though my thoughts were nothing more than an angry fog during a storm. It seemed strange to me that the sky could be so clear while there was all this turmoil inside of me.

"Angry..." I whispered. "Confused...afraid..."

Zuko's footsteps echoed in my ears as he approached me from behind. "You're afraid of me?"

No one said a word as the waves pushed the boat back and forth. I couldn't tell if we were moving forward or backwards anymore.

"And Shen-Long is any better?" he demanded suddenly, unable to take my silence. "You think _he's_ more trustworthy than I am? Just what has _he_ done for you, lately, peasant? Is _he_ the one who fought off the Brotherhood when you couldn't even move to defend yourself? Has _he_ ever cared so much about you...about where you came from? Has _he_ ever wanted to get to know you as much as..."

He stopped short, gritting his teeth in a smoldering rage. His rant had startled me so much that I had let go of the railing. I turned slowly and gave his face a searching look, but this time he was the one who turned away from me. The sight of his back was like staring at a locked door.

"Forget it, then. Forget everything. I knew it was pointless trying to waste my time with you."

My voice stuck in my throat as he stormed away. I felt something shatter inside of me as the door slammed shut behind him.

"_Julie...why didn't you stop him?_" Ayla murmured, as shocked as I was. Only for different reasons, it seemed. "_Why did you let leave before you could tell him how you really feel?_"

"I wasn't lying," I whispered to the darkness. "I really am afraid of him..."

It was true. But secretly, what I was really afraid of was this feeling twisting in the my gut, wrenching it and pulling it in several different directions. Things that he made me feel.

"_He thinks you hate him...that you can't stand him..._" she continued, aghast at my behavior. "_Don't you care?_"

I didn't answer. If I had told her that I didn't care...well...then I would be lying. And I didn't want to have to make that realization. I wanted to believe with all my heart that I didn't care what Zuko thought or did.

Deep down inside, I knew the truth. And I didn't like it at all.

* * *

Sokka was a man on a mission.

Having been kindly informed of the whereabouts of these so-called "Kyoshi Warriors," he had dragged his manly self about a half a mile through the forest until he came across what could only be described as a dojo. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the small house, knowing that inside, his adversary was waiting for him. Suki...that arrogant female, the one who had caused him such unnecessary embarrassment. He would show her just how they did things in Texas...

...er...I mean, the Water Tribe.

Tentatively, he crept to the door, peeking around the frame. Inside, the "girls" were going through their drills, their movements graceful even in Sokka's somewhat biased point of view. But he skimmed through the crowd, looking for his foe.

He found her. Suki was standing off to the left, supervising her warriors with a keen eye. She didn't even notice him hiding...er...waiting, in the doorway. Smiling to himself, he put out his hands and strode across the threshold.

"Sorry, ladies," he said arrogantly. "Didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson. I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout."

As he spoke, he started stretching his arms and waist, making sure that Suki was watching him flex his muscles. That's right...get a good look. This is what a warrior looks like. His smile grew broader as she stepped forwards.

"Well, you're in the right place," she said.

Sokka glanced up as he bent his knees and saw the green-clad girl standing over him.

"Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."

He smirked. "It's all right," he said flippantly, standing up to his full height. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seeing as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception..." A puff of the chest here...a rotation of the shoulder blades there...perfect.

Suki merely quirked an eyebrow. It was the very same look Bugs Bunny would give to Elmer Fudd seconds before his gun was due to explode in his face. Sokka had no idea just how swiftly the rug would be pulled beneath his feet. He probably wouldn't even see it coming.

How could he? His nose was sticking too high up in the air for him to see his shoes.

"I should hope so," she replied smoothly. "A big strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance..."

* * *

**A/N: Simultaneously, we see two separate interactions between Julie and Zuko, and between Sokka and Suki. I thought it would be fun to draw some parallels between the two pairings, but they ended up showing contrasting issues. Sokka's problem with Suki is more of an external issue, drawing from blurred gender roles and a genuine need to prove himself as a man.**

**Julie and Zuko's issues, on the other hand, deal more so with internal conflicts. I found it interesting that as all of this turmoil is brewing around her, the thing that worries her the most isn't the countless enemies that seem to be looming on the horizon (the Brotherhood...Zhao...just to name a few); even Shen-Long unearthing the truth about Ayla's presence takes a secondary role in light of her (still confused) feelings for Zuko.**

**She isn't in love with the guy yet, but she's dangerously "in like." That alone is something that will make her head spin for some chapters to come. And, of course, Zuko's reaction to Shen-Long isn't helping matters.**

**Don't forget about the Zhao plot bubble I threw in here. It hasn't quite popped yet. (Evil grin) So...reviews, anyone? REVIEW!**


	38. In Denial

**A/N: A lot of people were surprised by Julie's reaction to Zuko in the last chapter. So I'm going to address that first and foremost. I think we've all noticed throughout the course of the story that Julie is by far not the most rational person in the world. She tends to act and react impulsively, and given how confused her own emotions are regarding Zuko at the moment, it was inevitable that she would say what she said to him.**

**But no, she isn't really _afraid _of him; just of her own feelings. Of course, she didn't make that even remotely clear, so naturally Zuko went and blew it out of proportion. Thus, the Incident. It was meant to be dramatic, and it was necessary for the plot to keep flowing seamlessly forwards. That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter and REVIEW IT please. **

**Seriously, I'll cry if you don't. And who wants to be responsible for my tears...? That is, unless you're a mean, evil person who kicks puppies and likes to frighten small children. Don't be a jerk! READ and REVIEW!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Three: In Denial**

**(Iroh's POV, third person)**

When Zuko hadn't returned to his meal, Iroh wasn't immediately concerned. After all, given everything that was on the young man's mind, it was more than likely that he simply forgot about dinner. It wouldn't have been the first time he had to be reminded to eat something.

...especially given that he had gone chasing after Julie. Iroh smiled to himself as he recalled the interest and concern in his nephew's eyes as he wordlessly got up out of his chair and followed her down the hallway. He had remembered acting the same way back when he was that age, when he had met his future wife for the first time. As a matter of fact, she was the one who had gotten him so interested in tea. He chuckled to himself at the memory.

It was true, Julie didn't seem to have any wealth to her name. She also seemed to have a far-reaching list of personal quirks and unresolved issues that Iroh suspected ran as deep as the blood in her veins. However, given all of that, he couldn't help but notice the improvement in Zuko's temperment the more time they spent around each other. The more Julie provoked him, the less easily provoked Zuko became. The girl was teaching him how to be patient without even realizing it.

And, he reflected, Zuko seemed to be good for Julie in the same way. They had a lot in common, so the unintentional banter came naturally to them. Iroh noticed it more and more often. It came during meals, while sparring against each other...they were constantly batting words at each other like it was a contest.

His smile widened. _I'm starting to wonder who is the more stubborn of the two...Julie, or my own nephew._

Iroh heard the footsteps on the stairs and paused with his tea-cup on the way to his lips. He recognized Zuko's heavy tread on the metal and waited for him to come back inside; but blinked in mild surprise as the young man barrelled past the room without even a glance inside. In that split second, Iroh caught sight of the unspeakably hard expression on his face and felt his heart sink.

_Oh, dear. That must not have gone well..._

"Nephew," he called, getting up and following the Fire Prince down the hallway. "You haven't finished your supper."

"Forget it," Zuko snarled over his shoulder. "Give it to the bullsharks for all I care!"

"Um...did...something happen?"

There was a tense moment as the young exile stopped dead in his tracks. He shifted his attention to his concerned uncle; slowly, the anger drained from his face, leaving only traces of frustration in the midst of all the confusion and weariness. He didn't say a word as he looked away.

"I guess I can take that for a yes," Iroh sighed. He walked around so that he and Zuko were eye for eye, giving the younger man a searching look. "What happened with Julie, nephew?"

Just barely, his face twitched. "It doesn't matter. That girl is...she isn't worth all of this. I don't care what happens to her anymore."

"Did you two get into another fight?"

Zuko didn't answer. At least, not right away.

"I followed her because she looked...upset. About Zhao."

"I had gathered that much," Iroh replied gently. "And I take it that she wasn't in a very...receptive mood."

He narrowed his eyes, staring down at the floor. "If you have the right _face_, she is."

There was a pause.

"She trusts all the wrong people for all the wrong reasons," said Zuko slowly, his voice low and brittle. "People who haven't earned it...people who don't deserve it as much as..._other _people. Just because of this scar on my face, she thinks that I'm some kind of _monster_." He grimaced. "She said that I frighten her."

Iroh's sagely eyebrows went up. Way up.

"Um...well..." he coughed into his sleeve. "That's not good, I guess. But then, Julie does tend to say the opposite of what she really means. Even you have noticed it, Prince Zuko."

"I could care less what she really means. I'm done with her." He started walking again, this time at a more harried pace. "I was a fool to think she was anything but a lowly, narrow-minded, self-centered street brat. So I'm through with the distractions. At next port, she can get her things and leave...good riddance."

"Nephew...I am certain that she...that this is all just a misunderstanding. Perhaps you should reconsider..."

But Zuko had already reached his room. At the end of Iroh's sentence, the crown prince ripped open the door, slipped inside, and slammed the door in his uncle's face (as he was prone to do every now and then). The older man just sighed heavily as he stared at the slab of metal barring his entrance.

"They _definitely _have a lot in common," he murmured, running his hand across his forehead tiredly.

* * *

"Anything else you want to teach us?" Suki asked with a quiet laugh.

Sokka lay struggling on the ground, tied up with his own belt. His face flushed a dark shade of red as the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors gathered round and giggled at his helplessness. Hearing how he was being made light of, he narrowed his eyes, trying and failing to salvage what remained of his dignity.

"Let me up!" he yelled. "I'm warning you...you..._girls..._!"

"What are you going to do?" one of the so-called girls sneered. "Dance at us?"

More laughter. Sokka flushed even redder as he heard his own taunt about their "dance lesson" thrown back into his face. His brow furrowed as he struggled to find the notch in the belt to undo the strap. Either he'd get himself free, or accidentally snap his neck trying...which might actually be preferable, given his current predicament. As his fingers were searching, however, he was startled when Suki herself knelt down beside him and loosened the belt for him.

"Okay, that's enough," she called to her warriors. "I want to see all of you go through your drills at least ten times before sunset. Let's move!"

Reluctantly, the crowd of green-clad girls dispersed, leaving Sokka and the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors alone. She shook her head as she turned back to shame-faced Water Tribe boy.

"Good thing they're so disciplined," she commented. "If they were any rowdier, they'd probably all want turns hog-tying you."

Sokka glared. "That was just luck. I was going easy on you."

"How generous of you."

Hearing the unmasked skepticism in her voice, he flipped himself up into a sitting position. "You know what? You're lucky you're a girl! If I had been going all out against you, you wouldn't have stood a chance!"

Suki narrowed her eyes at him. "Maybe I _should _have let the girls hog-tie you," she said slowly. "Did it ever occur to you that women could be just as strong as men? Maybe even stronger?"

"They _could _be," Sokka conceded arrogantly, in spite of his current position on the floor. "But they _aren't_."

She scowled. "What's your problem?"

"I'm not the one with the problem. _You _are. Who do you think you are ambushing a guy and calling yourself a warrior?"

Her eyebrows shot up. She looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "_You _were the one swaggering into my dojo looking for a fight," she snapped. "I'm trying to be nice and give you the benefit of the doubt since you're friends with the Avatar...but you're being downright _insulting_. Not just to me, but to our heritage as Kyoshi Warriors...and _everything _we stand for...!"

"Oh, so it's _tradition _then to sneak up on people and attack in cold blood? Or is it just that time of the month?"

Suki's face flushed. "Get out," she whispered.

Tightening his jaw, Sokka rose dramatically to his feet, prepared to stomp right out of the dojo and never look back...that is, until he heard the titters erupt from the group of female warriors. As he felt the draft from the open door, he looked down and saw his pants swaddled around his ankles.

Suki stood up and twirled his belt innocently with her finger. But her eyes were still hard with anger, and it took all the playfulness out of the gesture. Sokka reached for the belt, but the Kyoshi Warrior easily kept it out of his reach.

"Are you deaf?" she said in a low voice. "I told you to leave."

"Not without my belt...!" he protested.

The resulting _CRACK _of the leather strap sent Sokka stumbling backwards as it missed his face by inches.

"OUT!"

Gulping, he hastily hiked up his pants and backpedaled out of the gym. All the way back to his room, he was assaulted with the curious stares of the villagers and the foul memory of what it sounded like to be laughed at by a group of fan-weilding girls. He never felt so embarrassed or ashamed in his entire life.

* * *

**(Julie's POV...finally)**

It was the morning after (what Ayla was calling) my "trainwreck-of-a-conversation" with Zuko. It was impossible for me to sleep all through last night. Every time I came close to falling asleep, my mind would automatically jump back to his face, to the sound of his voice when he had demanded to know if I was afraid of him. I kept wondering what I would say to him this morning; and like the coward that I was, I kept trying to think of excuses not to show up to this morning's meditation session.

But it was hopeless. After procrastinating as long as humanely possible, I finally had no choice but to drag myself out of the hold and down to the meditation room in the lower parts of the ship. I was a complete mess when I finally arrived there. I was pretty sure I was late too, on top of everything else.

"What the...?" I said, stopping in my tracks. "It's...empty."

Finding the room abandoned like this made my heart sink, slowly...like an egg yolk on the windshield of an SUV.

"_Maybe he overslept,_" Ayla suggested half-heartedly. I could tell that she really didn't believe this to be the case. I frowned, trying not to feel hurt at this blatant snub and failing miserably. "_Or maybe they found the Avatar...maybe he's just busy._"

"I doubt it," I replied, not even bothering to conceal the sound of my voice. At this point, I could care less who heard me talking to Ayla. "Anyway...it's not like I care or anything like that. Screw that."

Instead of waiting outside the chamber like a lost puppy, I decided that it was high time for me to have some fun. I forced myself to be enthusiastic at the prospect. After all, there was no reason this should have made me miserable. I hated meditating. I hated Zuko. Being rid of both of them should make my life much more pleasant and less like something out of a bad fanfic.

So I rejoiced. For the rest of the day, I made sure to do all the things I had wanted to do, but couldn't because of Zuko's rigid high-seas dictatorship. And first up on that list was spending some time with Kuba. He was the one person on this ship free of alterior motives; the only person I knew who wasn't out to use me for some grand plot. Up until last night, I had included Shen-Long in that roster; but his startling fixation with Ayla had me unnerved. And given Bo-Fen's sudden appearance at _just the right moment_, I doubted that she was ignorant either.

So that left Kuba. I found him skulking in the pantry, as usual, scrounging around for an extra bite to eat. I knew that this was because he didn't trust anyone enough to believe he would be fed every night; his snatching of rations was purely an insurance policy.

"You had better have saved some of that for me," I joked as I stepped inside, gesturing at the bag of fire flakes he was examining. He jumped, wheeling around with wide eyes.

"Julie?"

I grinned. "It just so happens I have the day off," I told him before he could ask where Zuko was. "Want to hang out?"

He gave me a broad smile. "Hell yeah. Oh! And I almost forgot...here..." he reached inside the sack tied to his back and showed me the eelhound egg I had given him to watch over. "It moves around a lot. I think it's going to hatch today...or maybe tomorrow."

I looked down, tentatively taking the egg and holding it close. I felt strange, being in possession of something so helpless. It made me somewhat anxious; what if I was holding it too hard and the shell broke? What if it accidentally slipped out of my hands?

"_It's fine,_" Ayla assured me. "_If you're really worried, check for his heartbeat with your bending._"

_I can do that?_

She seemed to smile inside of me. "_Try it._"

I sighed, rubbing the shell of the egg and trying, again, to block out the sound of her voice. It was hard to do given the fact that the egg itself was a visible reminder of what Ayla could do if she was motivated enough. That was one memory I'd never be able to repress.

I closed my eyes and let my breathing slow. I found it a lot easier to synchronize myself with the unborn creature inside the egg than the gambler I had won it from. It was darker and quieter on the ship, and the egg's chi didn't resist mine. Rather, it seemed to stir and respond to my probing. I sucked in my breath as I found a tiny pulsing heartbeat throbbing against my palms.

Hey. Maybe Energybending wasn't so bad after all. At least, when you're doing it on an animal instead of a person, it is. It wasn't anything like the last time, when I got violently ill after that one attempt on a human being. Actually, feeling the baby's pulsing chi was kind of...soothing.

"Do you think it's actually an eelhound in there?" Kuba asked, interrupting me. "I've never seen one before."

Reluctantly, I tore my attention away from the egg and shrugged.

"Either way, it'll be ours," I told him. "We'll raise whatever it is that's inside until it gets big and strong. Wouldn't it be cool if it was something like a dragon?"

"It's probably a platypus bear," the boy replied with his usual blunt realism. "But that's cool too. If it gets big enough, we can ride on its back and have it scare our enemies. I think that'd be great."

I smiled, though inside I didn't really feel like smiling. I had just considered leaving the so-called eelhound in Zuko's bed just to mess with him, and even an indirect thought about that bastard left me feeling depressed. Kuba seemed to notice how my smile didn't quite touch my eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Just a stomachache."

"Oh. Okay, then." He still stared at my face, looking for clues for whatever was wrong with me. "Um...well...I figured that since the egg is going to hatch soon, we should ask that Shim guy about how to take care of the eelhound. He seems to know about that kind of stuff."

I nodded. It was a perfect idea. A distraction was just what I needed right then and there.

You probably guessed by now, but just in case I'll tell you anyway. Shim accepted Iroh's offer, and is now our official healer-physician-type-person. He had been given the vacant room on the second floor below deck, back towards the infirmary. Lately, he had been happily swamped with work, fixing up the men who were still wounded from the Brotherhood Incident.

I felt a thrill at the idea of going near the infirmary, if only because Zuko had given me strict orders to stay the hell away from there. Remembering our conversation last night, I shook it off as more of his paranoia towards the crew; thinking they were going to cut my throat or something. Well, clearly he could care less now, and I really did want to be prepared for the egg's hatching. So I swallowed whatever reservations I was feeling and followed Kuba to Shim's quarters.

Kuba knocked, completely at ease. We waited for a moment before the door was pulled open.

"Oh, it's you," said Shim, smiling at the company. He stepped aside and gestured for us to come in. I hesitated, but Kuba accepted the offer without the slightest hint of worry or doubt. It really made me wonder, given that the _last _time I saw these two together, they had been facing each other with knives (well...Kuba's knife) drawn.

"He's okay, Julie," Kuba told me, pausing when he saw that I wasn't following anymore. "He's a bit of a weirdo, but he's not a creeper like some of the other people on the ship. He won't hurt you."

I looked dubiously at Shim. "You said the other day that you knew a thing or two about eggs?"

"I had a cousin who worked with animals. They were something of a fascination with him, actually. I just picked up a tidbit of knowledge here and there just by watching him go at his studies."

I frowned at his use of the word _studies_. "Um...he didn't _kill _the animals, did he?"

"Oh, no," Shim replied cheerfully. "He bred them. Tried to make new species out of pre-existing ones."

Ew. Hybrids. Still, that explained how he knew anything about the egg. I decided that I could afford to worry about the man's relatives and their personality quirks later. However, I was still cautious as I stepped over the threshold and entered the room.

Shim hadn't had much time to decorate, and he didn't have many possessions to clutter what little shelf-space he had. The room was actually a little cramped, so I quickly took a seat in a flimsy folding chair closest to the door. Kuba was already perched on Shim's bed, his legs swinging over the edge of the mattress. It was in one of those moments that I remembered, with a jolt, that Kuba was only nine. I knew it was crazy, but the kid sometimes acted like he was going on fifty.

Right now though, he looked around the room with a child's face, alight with mild curiosity. I felt myself smile at the sight.

"What did you want to know about the egg?" Shim asked, immediately dropping into his professional facade.

I blinked. "Well...for starters...could you maybe tell us what it is? I mean, the guy who owned it before was making it out to be an eelhound egg...but..."

"I see what you mean. Let me take a closer look, then." Shim put a hand on the shell and pulled it back, surprised. "It's warm...!"

I gave a start. "Is that bad?"

"No...just odd. Eggs can't put out their own heat. That's why they need to be incubated until they hatch. Right now, though...it feels like some kind of warmth is radiating through the shell." His eyes skimmed swiftly to me. "Did you do anything unusual to this egg, Julie?"

I thought about how I had Energybended to check its pulse, but I wasn't sure that I wanted Shim to know about that.

"Um...no. I didn't."

"Hmm..." he said slowly, scrutinizing the egg. "Well, eelhounds are rumored to be warm-blooded reptiles. That would explain the heat. Other than _that _anomaly..." he trailed off, knocking gently against the shell with his knuckles. He placed his ear against it and listened for a minute or two. "The shell is hard enough, which indicates that the occupant inside is strong and healthy...or at least, that the mother laying it was."

"Will it hatch tonight?" Kuba asked.

"Well...it's a possibility. If not, then definitely within the next few days."

"Um..." I spoke up, feeling stupid. "How do you...um..._hatch _it?"

Shim smiled at me. "You get a towel. It's a sticky business, hatching a newborn animal. You'll also want some fresh milk to feed it. That might be a problem, given the fact that we're currently out in the middle of the ocean."

Wonderful.

"When the creature hatches, you need to make sure its kept warm and feed it as soon as possible. You should send someone to get me when that time comes. I can't make any promises since I only deal with _human _ailments, but I can at least tell if the infant is healthy or not. We can decide what to do with it afterwards."

"Thanks," I said with genuine warmth. Slowly, I was being disarmed by Shim's casual yet friendly ambiance. "I appreciate the help."

"Please," he replied, brushing off my gratitude like a speck of dust. "Medicine is my passion. I should be thanking you for giving me something to work with."

I paused. That _almost _sounded creepy.

"You're...welcome...?"

Shim smiled at my discomfort, sensing the cause with the intuition of a healer. "I always have a habit of running into reluctant patients," he laughed. "I don't know why people get so worked up over such simple medical proceadures...but I can assure you that I always do what I can to help. Remember that if _you _ever need anything, Julie."

"Sure," I said, when really I was thinking _no chance in hell_. "Um...Kuba, we should probably go."

The boy shrugged and made his way over to the door. I got up from my chair and followed him, glancing back at Shim one last time before ducking out into the hallway. Seeing us leave, he had gotten up to gather what few supplies he had as he prepared to head over to the infirmary again. From what I heard, he was going to have to take a lot of late shifts for the next couple of days. That was how backed up the infirmary was.

Kuba tugged on my hand, bringing me back to the present. I sighed and let him pull me down the passage way while my mind see-sawed back in forth between my confused thoughts about Zuko and my worries about hatching a newborn eelhound. I fretted silently, not even noticing where we were going until I felt my guide stop short, listening to the muffled darkness around us.

I had, had time to grow adjusted to the constant blackness that enveloped the walls below deck, but it had taken me a while. Kuba on the other hand seemed perfectly attuned to navigating those dark spots, and did so with an ease that almost irritated me. Now, though, he looked unsure of himself. He bit his bottom lip as his eyes darted to the stretch of hallway behind us. His shoulders were tense.

"Did you hear Shim leave the room?" he asked in a voice barely below a whisper.

I blinked, then shook my head no, slowly.

"Damn," he muttered. "I think someone's following us."

I froze, turning to scan the pitch black we had emerged from. I couldn't see for a damn, but I was familiar enough with the layout of the ship now for this not to bother me much...until now. I had become so used to this place that it rarely occurred to me anymore to be cautious around my shipmates. Zuko's words played back for me in my head, making me shiver.

_"I would have thought that even _you_ would have noticed what everyone thinks of you now_..._"_

"A lot of people were..._angry _at you," Kuba told me quietly, as if reading my mind. However, he was still looking around for our stalker. "When the Brotherhood showed up, I mean. A lot of people got hurt trying to protect you, and half of them wouldn't have bothered if they weren't already following orders."

"I wasn't the one who _invited _them on the ship," I hissed back, angry in spite of myself. _Damn Zuko_.

"_He said that he only did it because he was worried about you,_" Ayla reminded me. "_He cares about you...more than you realize_."

I swallowed. I did not need to hear this now. Especially not now.

"Did you hear that?" Kuba whispered, wheeling around and looking in front of us this time. I felt my heart lurch from the shock of this sudden motion. We both waited in silence, freezing when footsteps suddenly reached our ears.

"Who's there?" I called out.

We both sensed that there was more than one person approaching us in the dark. I felt my heart as it started picking up in a frantic rhythm. Even Ayla couldn't ignore my fear. She didn't know what to do, either.

"_They're going to hurt us, aren't they?_" she whispered fearfully, cringing at the thought. I couldn't think of consoling her. I was too busy trying to remember how to make my legs move.

I squinted as a dark shape loomed in front of us. Kuba drew his knife while I stood there like a total gimp, holding my egg. All of the reasons I could come up with for them to spare me evaporated when I realized that by defying Zuko, I had all but rescinded any means of protection he had offered. It had never occured to me how vulnerable I really was without him or his Uncle.

"Let's make this quick," said a voice behind me. I flinched away from it, not realizing that we had been surrounded.

_An ambush._

"Whatever you're selling, we're not buying," I snapped, getting into the defensive posture I had learned from Zuko during our sparring sessions.

_No, don't think of Zuko. _Think of surviving. I needed to think of kicking the crap out of the guy in front of me and finding an ally...someone besides Kuba. I half-glanced back at him, wondering if he even knew how to use that knife he carried. At the same time, I knew if he _used _it on any of Zuko's men, he'd be as good as dead. No way would he escape unpunished.

It was a mistake to take my eyes off of my foe. The moment I had turned my head, he lunged. I only caught sight of his shadow lurching at me from the corner of my eyes. Then I felt the stinging blow as his fist collided with the back of my skull.

I don't remember what happened after that. I had blacked out.

* * *

**A/N: Soooooo...a couple of things I want to clarify as this chapter comes to a close. Yes, I know I made Sokka a total jerk. But the mental image of Suki chasing him out with his own belt kind of popped in my head, and I couldn't resist going with it. However, I felt like Suki needed the right amount of provokation to actually pull a stunt like that since she tends to be more collected than the rest of the Gaang. Fortunately it doesn't take much for Sokka to run his mouth or to push her buttons. Lol. I love Sokka!**

**As for Julie, she is in full-on denial. She knows she screwed up big-time with Zuko, but she refuses to even think about it. What you see here is a desperate attempt to have as much fun as possible...and failing miserably. Instead, she just ends up worried sick over her egg, and then ambushed by a group of unidentified assailants below deck. Alors!**

**And for the record, Zuko means what he says when he tells Iroh that they're through. He has no intention of fooling around with her anymore now that she seems to be judging a book by its cover. But will he regret his decision when he finds out that something happened to Julie?**

**Okay, nuff said. REVIEW! DO IT NOW! DO IT FOR THE CHILDREN!**


	39. Disoriented

**A/N: Holy crap muffins! So many reviews for the last chapter! Majorly epic, everyone, thank you!**

**I just have to warn you guys ahead of time that the first part of this chapter might be a little creepy. Actually, it's very creepy. I felt creepy writing it. But still, I tried to balance it out with a little humor in the later parts of the chapter. Please forgive the creepiness of this oh-so-creepy author and...well...look at the bigger picture. Yes, I'm purposefully being vague. If you want details, keep reading. But don't say I didn't warn you first.**

**Without any further ado, the next chappie. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Four: Disoriented**

I felt my body swaying back and forth. I was lying on a hard, uneven structure that sloped in a dome shape around my body. However, the sloping was subtle. I only realized it from the hours I spent draped over it, unable to move or open my eyes. I was only dimly aware of the people around me.

"We're taking them _there_?" a hard voice asked.

Sluggishly, I recognized the voice of the man who had knocked me out as he replied. "It's the closest place. And Prince Zuko is determined to keep looking for the Avatar. He won't stop to check every single island around here for a peasant. It'd be a waste of time."

I made no sound as the strange men revealed their intentions. They were going to dump me somewhere...but why? What was going on?

My mind tried sluggishly to think through the raw panic, flipping through what few memories I had of being ambushed. I remembered leaving Shim's room and following Kuba down the hallway...oh, fucking snap! Kuba! Where was Kuba? And the egg...? Hadn't I been carrying it right before I was knocked out? I felt a cold, slimy feeling in the back of my throat as I imagined the poor thing smashed on the ground...helpless.

Worry crawled through my stomach, but I had enough sense to stay still...not that I had any choice. I was dimly aware of the ropes binding my arms and legs, forcing me into an awkward position that strained my shoulders. For some reason, my hands were tied in front of me instead of behind my back, which common sense should have told them to do. Apparently they weren't all that bright. Still, this minor consolation prize didn't take away the painful crick in the back of my neck.

"Anyway, they say Kyoshi Island is hostile to outsiders," the second voice continued. "Rumor has it that they feed all suspected spies to this giant serpent, which means that there won't be any body for the prince to find...assuming he cares to look."

"Not after what _I _heard," a third, more familiar voice leered. "Last night he was so angry at the maggotflea that he said he wanted nothing to do with her. Sounded like he meant it too."

This should not have bothered me. After all, I had more pressing matters to worry about...namely, the fact that my life was in mortal peril...probably. I had no idea where Kuba was or if he was even alive. And yet as I lay there, barely conscious, I couldn't fight of the bitter, confused feelings that seemed to throb inside my heart, pumping throughout my body.

_Stupid Zuko._

I could only guess why these guys wanted me dead so badly...or why they were so reluctant to do the job themselves. I mean, they were more than capable of killing me. What was I, one weak, defenseless girl, to stand in the way of their murderous intentions?

Maybe they were trying to keep their hands clean for some reason. Maybe they didn't want to be linked to my...disposal.

"You don't think anyone saw us take the lifeboat, do you?"

"Nah. I know the guys on the midnight shift. They know better than to rat me out...and especially not over that maggotflea."

Lightning-bolt. That was Chaang talking.

In case you forgot about this guy, don't feel bad. He's barely worth mentioning...except for right now, given he's apparently plotting to make me disappear forever. He was the guy who cornered me on one of my first days on Zuko's ship and made me climb the mast...remember now?

Ever since that unpleasant incident, I had all but avoided Chaang and his thuggish friends. I had been relatively successful, but the downside was that I knew close to nothing about them except that they enjoyed lighting up their own farts. This left me very much in the dark as to why they suddenly wanted to kill me, and it was kind of important since, last time I checked, I had no intentions of dying here.

Or anywhere, for that matter.

"What should we do with the kid?" another voice asked, one less recognizable. But I think it was safe to assume that they were all soldiers. "Technically he didn't really do anything except try to stop us from taking the girl."

At his words, I felt a flash of hope. Kuba?

"I say we slaughter the little bastard..." someone else growled. "...and skin him like a cow-pig! The brat almost got me with that knife of his!"

"Nah. Let's just dump him with the maggotflea. I'm not in a stabbing mood today."

Mumbled assent. My heart thudded in my chest as I realized just how close Kuba had come to a horrible, gruesome death. Now, instead, he seemed to share the same fate that was in store for me...whatever that was. As selfish as it was, I felt a little better knowing that whatever would happen next, I wouldn't have to face it alone. I just felt terrible about the egg, but I figured that if I survived this mess, I'd get over it...maybe.

I felt something stir against my back. Oh...that was probably Kuba, waking up. Crud. What had I gotten us into?

The waves carried the dome (which I soon realized was actually the life-boat) for several minutes until finally there was a soft _thunk _as metal struck the sand. Seconds later, I felt rough hands grab me and haul me up. The sharp motion caused a spike of pain to lance through the back of my skull where I had been hit. I couldn't keep the low hiss from escaping my throat.

There was a pause. "She's awake," someone said.

_Crap!_

"Rise and shine, Maggotflea..." The hands started shaking me, roughly. I flinched at the sharp motions, gasping as my eyes flew open. I blinked rapidly into Chaang's sneering face. There was a flash of malevolency in his eyes that made him look almost savage. I flinched as I found myself dangling in the air, held there by the scruff of my shirt trapped in his meaty hands.

Then, abruptly, I was dropped on to the sand.

"Oof...!" I gasped, coughing at the impact. Tenatively, I glanced up at the faces surrounding me and saw nothing but malice and hate. It surprised me in spite of what I had been told. In my mind, I hadn't done anything to deserve their enmity.

Chaang stood over me like a hunter eying the prize doe he had just dropped.

"Perfect timing, as always," he muttered, and I knew he was alluding to his lost bet with Bo-Fen; the one where I had fallen at precisely the right moment to royally screw him out of his hard-earned gold. "I was hoping you'd wake up. It would have been disappointing if you died without knowing why. The boys and I got the impression that Prince Zuko and General Iroh have been sheltering you a bit...keeping you in the dark, so to speak."

Their laughter was gross. I felt slimy hearing it.

"I didn't do anything," I whispered defiantly. "The Brotherhood were the ones who attacked the ship, not me. It's not like we're _friends _or anything."

My eyes swiveled from one face to another. I saw no sympathy, only hardness. Only anger and bitterness.

"Funny how you went and mentioned _friends_," Chaang replied. "You know, _we_ lost friends because of you. People we grew up with. People we fought with for years."

"They were like brothers to us..." someone told me from the side. "But now they're gone!"

"And for what?" another person cut in. "An ungrateful, smart-assed little _brat_? It's a wonder you lived even _this _long..."

"The Prince _favors _her," Chaang reminded everyone. "Or he _used _to. That's the only reason you're still alive, maggotflea. We couldn't exactly make a move with him watching you like an eagle-hawk, now could we?" His face held a trace of humor as his eyes skimmed over me once or twice. "Not that there's much to look at, honestly."

"Maybe she's a lot more pleasant with the lights off," someone jeered. "And on her back."

I felt my entire body flush crimson at their lewd suggestion.

"Just what the hell are you implying, anyway?" I snapped. "I wouldn't touch Zuko even if you _paid _me! He's a creep!" _And not as much as you guys, _I added mentally. Any and all sympathy I might have felt at the loss of their comrades dried up like a salt mine the moment they made the insinuation that I was Zuko's personal whore.

As their dark laughter reached my ears, I realized I couldn't look at them anymore. I was disgusted to the point of speechlessness. As I averted my embarrassed gaze, I noticed Kuba lying on the ground not far away from me; and I was relieved to see nothing more than a few bruises on him. He was still breathing too. I swallowed the urge to crawl over to him, knowing it was more likely to provoke our captors into more cruelty.

I flinched back into awareness when I found the shadow hovering over me.

"Maybe someone ought to see what the Prince likes about you so much," Chaang said slowly. "Maybe there _is_ something nice underneath all that armor."

I froze, my lungs unable to push out the air I was suddenly holding inside of me. As I started edging backwards, his foot came down hard on my torso, pinning me and pushing all of the oxygen out of my shaking body. It was like someone squeezing a balloon until it was flat and empty.

"No," I muttered, barely able to speak. "Get away from me!"

"Not a chance. Come on, lie still, will you?"

In response, I grabbed a fistful of sand and threw it in his face. He lurched backwards, snarling as he tried to get the small grains out of his eyes. Quickly, I pushed his foot away and tried to escape. I only managed to crawl as far as the trees before the others caught up with me. I felt a sharp blow to my ribs (someone had kicked me) and I fell flat against the roots of the tree, gasping.

_Please, please, please don't let my ribs be broken, _I thought. I had, had broken ribs before, and believe me, it isn't fun.

"Hey, Chaang, we don't have time for this," one of the other soldiers grumbled. "Can't you just kill her and get it over with?"

Chaang picked himself up off the ground and glared at him with red, bloodshot eyes. "Oh, believe me, I'll get to that."

"I thought we were just going to leave her here and let the natives deal with her," someone pointed out. But that notion was immediately rejected by the group.

"That won't work now that she's awake. She'll just escape or something."

"Not after _I _get through with her, she won't," Chaang growled, stomping over to us. But the soldier closest to me held up a hand, as though trying to calm him down.

"Look," he said. "I hate her as much as you do, but if we take too long, someone will notice something's up. Besides, the last thing we want is for us to draw some unwanted attention to ourselves..."

Universal irony. Murphy's Law. Call it what you will. In any case, whatever it was that pushed those famous last words out of that guy's mouth, it was a beautiful, beautiful thing. I couldn't help but rejoice silently and bask in its brilliance.

Especially as a trio of greed-clad women suddenly leaped down from the trees and ambushed us.

_Perfect timing indeed_, I thought to myself before the combination of stress and fatique sent me hurtling into the vortex of a dead faint.

* * *

"Julie? Julie, wake up...!"

I grimaced. "Go away."

A cold, wet towel brushed along my forehead, pausing to dab some moisture against each of my eyelids. I flinched away from it and regretted it as pain stabbed through my head again. Just how hard had those soldiers hit me when they knocked me out before?

"Come on, Julie, rise and shine. Your friends are waiting for you," an older male voice chided me.

_Friends?_

Curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself slowly pushing my eyes open. Everything was blurry, but I could dimly make out the face of an old man I had never met before. I blinked at him in confusion, completely disoriented.

"Where...am I...?"

He put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from rising. "You should take it slow. You're still recovering from a concussion, but you're safe here." He smiled in a grandfatherly way down at my bewildered expression. "My name is Oyagi, the elder of this village. You're here on Kyoshi Island as an honored guest of the Avatar."

"Wha?" I muttered, squinting at him. "The Avatar? You mean..._Aang_?"

"Well, it certainly isn't Kyoshi herself," he replied. "Not directly, anyway."

I frowned, looking around at my surroundings for the first time. We were in some sort of hut that I could tell was reserved for healing. There were other beds forming rows along the opposite wall, and I could see a few other patients here besides me. As my memories sluggishly returned to me, I felt a spasm of fear for Kuba. I scanned the beds, but couldn't find him in any of them.

"Kuba," I demanded. "Where's Kuba?"

"Ah, the boy. He's been very worried about you. I got him to play with some of the children from the village, finally...but for a long time he insisted on sitting outside the door, waiting for you to wake up."

I sat still, letting that sink in. "Can I see him? Is he..._hurt_?"

"He's fine," Oyagi assured me. "You're both going to be just fine."

Just then, someone had pushed open the door leading to the adjacent room. A healer (I'm guessing) entered the room followed by Katara. The Waterbender had a tray of medicines in her hands and a very weary expression on her face. Seeing me awake, however, she nearly dropped the entire tray.

"Julie!" she exclaimed quietly. She hurried over to my bedside, leaving the medicines on a nearby table. My jaw dropped, surprised by her reaction. "Good, you're awake. We were all so worried when they found you on the beach like that...how do you feel?"

I blinked at her in shock. "I'm fine...I think. Just a bump on the head." I looked away for a minute, collecting my thoughts.

Okay, I was very obviously on Kyoshi Island. Old man Oyagi had just _said _so, and anyway, I recognized the green outfits my rescuers had been wearing the moments before I blacked out. But it was still very confusing waking up in a completely different place. Having done this at least three times in the last twenty four hours, I can attest that the whole experience pretty much sucked ass. AND it was getting repetitive.

So I looked back at Katara, hell-bent on getting some answers.

"Where's Aang...and your brother?" I asked.

For the first time, irritation flitted across the Water Tribe girl's face. "_Aangy _is busy showing off for a bunch of little girls...though he said he would come and see you later if you should happen to wake up." She puckered her brow, clearly doubtful that he would follow through. "_Sokka _on the other hand is wasting time trying to avenge his manly honor."

I feigned ignorance. "His..._manly _honor? Did something...um...happen?"

Katara smiled complacently. "Oh, nothing," she said lightly. "He just got his butt kicked by a bunch of girls a few days ago. The Kyoshi Warriors...well, they thought we were spies; they were just defending their home, but Sokka went and took it personally. He hasn't let the matter drop since. Actually, they were the ones that found you. Do you...remember?"

"The warriors in green?" I asked.

"That's them. Suki is their leader. You'll probably meet her soon enough...that is, if Sokka doesn't pester her into an early grave." She sank down into the chair next to the bed, leaning in to whisper with the tone of a confidante. "You should have seen it. Last night he got chased out of their dojo with his own belt. I thought he was going to die of shame when he finally got back to our room."

I blinked. _Huh_. _That's new_.

"Wait a second," I said quickly as a very obvious fact just occured to me. "I'm dressed as Fire Nation. How come I don't have a knife in my throat?"

Oyagi snorted, overhearing my question. "That's direct."

"She makes a good point," Katara replied. She turned back to me, her face rueful. "Well, actually, they _were _going to throw you to the Unagi. But the warriors eavesdropped on this conversation the men were having...you know, the ones who brought you here?" Her voice now held a trace of scorn, and I realized that she must have known about the whole rape-debate thing that had happened earlier. _Wonderful_.

Actually, looking back on that, I was kind of offended that two out of the three thought I wasn't _worth the time _to rape. Seriously, that was just plain insulting. I mean, how hideous did I have to be to get a reaction like _that_? Plus, I had heard rumors that some of the men on the ship went and caught _walrus-seals _when sailing the Southern Seas, where no hooker dared traverse.

If you have to ask what for, then I think you should just go read a pokemon fanfic instead. Look for the M rated stuff; that should clear things up for you.

"...anyway," she continued awkwardly. "They figured out that you were a prisoner. So they brought you to see Oyagi, and Aang and I vouched for you. You don't have to worry about the Fire Nation anymore." Katara looked firm, decided.

Oyagi, on the other hand, looked like he felt sorry for me.

"When I heard you had been a prisoner on Prince Zuko's ship for almost a month, I couldn't believe it. What atrocities you must have experienced..." The old man shook his head slowly, his eyes filled with sadness. "But that's behind us now. Now, you can focus on healing...and getting your strength back."

I blinked. "Oh," I said.

_Atrocities?_ My mind automatically drifted to the mental image of Zuko's intense scowl, the way his eyes made me freeze up, so cold that it burned, like dry ice. How, inexplicably, his touch always felt blisteringly hot in comparison. Two different extremes in one package. My heart sped up a bit just thinking about him and I resisted the urge to throw up all over Oyagi.

Zuko was a huge pain in the ass; I don't think I'd ever understand the way his presence alone turned me into a blustering mess. But if there was one thing I knew by now, it was that Zuko simply wasn't capable of committing _atrocities_. Even towards people who deserved it, he was honorable...or _tried _to be. And in spite of all the little things he did to piss me off on a daily basis, even _I _couldn't deny how much he had helped _me_ too. Often grudgingly, often without my even being aware of it...like how he had purposefully distracted me from the hostility of the crew with my Energybending training.

Ironically, it was Chaang's words that sank in at the moment. _"...And for what? An ungrateful, smart-assed little brat?"_

"Julie? What's wrong?" Katara asked.

"My head hurts. I...I think I want to be alone right now. Please?"

She and Oyagi exchanged cautious looks. A silent communication passed between them, and Katara slowly got to her feet. Her blue eyes were soft as they glanced down at me.

"You _should _rest," she apologized. "But I promise, we won't be far away. If you need us for anything, just tell the healer. She'll pass on the message."

I tried to smile, but only managed to wince. "Thanks, Katara."

She nodded. "What are friends for, right?"

I gaped at her, but she was already out the door. Oyagi gave me a parting stare (probably musing over my dumbstruck expression) before leaving the room too. I couldn't keep a straight face. _Friends_? We barely knew each other, and she was calling me her _friend_?

Hastily, I derailed that train of thought. _Don't think about it_, was my solution. After all, it wasn't like this was a bad thing, right? And anyway, it was a pleasant change not to be interrogated while bedridden. Unlike Zuko, Katara didn't push me for details when I was obviously reluctant to give them. With Katara, there was no suspicion...only a sincere desire to alleviate my discomfort. She had been almost motherly just now; I found it somewhat unsettling since it wasn't something I was used to. Still, it was nice all the same.

Besides, she was right. I did need rest. My head was _throbbing_.

It was the same feeling I got whenever Ayla got too emotional or insistent. The way her words would vibrate inside my skull, the way she...hey, come to think of it, I hadn't heard from Ayla in..._how long? _I closed my eyes and tried to remember the last time I heard her voice. It had to have been before the ambush...moments before, probably. I wondered why she was so quiet now.

_Ayla...?_

No answer. Where was she?

Was it weird that I felt a flutter of panic at her absense? That I was actually worried about her? Should I have been? I mean, there was a good likelihood that she wasn't even real...at least, I had hoped that, in the beginning.

Where had she gone? Why wouldn't she answer me?

* * *

It turns out there was a very good reason why Ayla wasn't responding to my calls. She was somewhere else entirely, and couldn't hear me.

"_Huh,_" she said, floating around the village. No one seemed to see her as she drifted by. "_So, this is Kyoshi Island. I think I like it here._"

It did seem rather peaceful to her. She smiled happily at the children running around, laughing and playing. She recognized the dark mop of hair that belonged to Kuba as he stayed on the fringes of the group of youngsters, but soon even he was caught up in the game. The goal was apparently to get the leather hide ball into one of the two nets using only your feet.

Kuba seemed to be having fun. Ayla decided that she could leave him alone for a little while.

"_Julie's starting to rub off on me,_" she commented to herself. "_She's always so anxious about that child. Oh, well..._"

She drifted past the group, oblivious to the way Kuba's head shot up, as though suddenly sensing a chill. The boy looked warily around for a minute, sufficiently weirded out without even having a decent explanation for it. Before he could even try to figure it out, Ayla was long gone down the path.

"_It's been so long since I could actually go where I want,_" she said presently. "_It's a shame I couldn't do this until Julie nearly got her skull cracked open before. Oh, well...I may as well make the best of her concussion."_

Still, she bit her lip and felt guilty. Deep down in her gut (or where her gut should be if she had one) Ayla knew that profiteering off of another person's pain was not a very nice thing to do. She felt selfish and wrong.

"_I know...!_" she exclaimed suddenly. "_I'll use this time to achieve good deeds! I'll help people in dire need!"_

This declaration was met with dead silence. After all, there was no one around on that lonely forest path. So, steeling her resolve, Ayla set off once again, her mood significantly brighter than before. It wasn't long before she re-entered the village and came upon a reasonably crowded market-place. She had almost passed it by...that is, until she heard a very familiar voice.

"Oh, good!" Katara said, turning around and seeing Aang standing there. Ayla stopped dead in her tracks. "I was hoping I'd find you. Julie woke up about an hour ago. We can go and visit her once I get this basket back up to our room." She stopped to readjust the basket's position on her arm. "Actually, could you help me with this? It's kind of heavy..."

"_Julie's awake? Well, that's nice,_" said Ayla quietly.

But neither girl could help but notice the vaguely guilty expression on Aang's face. "Oh...Julie's awake already? Well...um...great! Really, that's awesome."

Katara frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What? Nothing...it's just that...well...I can't exactly help you right now. And...well, I'm sure I can visit Julie later, right?"

There was a brief silence. Ayla frowned a bit, analyzing the two of them in silence. It was funny how she got really close to them, but they still didn't seem able to see her. Probably because the light of the sun went right through her, washing out her outline to the common eye.

Katara narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you still showing off for those _girls_?" she asked, irritation evident in her voice.

"I promised them I'd give them a ride on Appa," he responded quickly. "And you know me. I'm the Avatar. I can't just break a promise. Hey, I know...why don't you come with us? I bet it'd be _way _more fun than carrying your basket..."

Katara ignored the invitation in the wake of her indignation.

"What about the promise you made to _me _earlier about not letting this Avatar stuff go to your head? Remember that? Don't forget that we have to be _leaving _soon. Why do you think I'm buying all of these supplies?" She gestured with the basket. "And I can't even believe that you're just going to go off to play while your _friend _is alone and bedridden. Don't you _care_?"

Aang's face flushed angrily. "I _do _care! Anyway, you know what _I _think?"

"What?"

"I think that the real reason you don't want to come along is because you're _jealous_."

Katara almost dropped the basket. "Jealous! Of what?"

"Jealous that we're having so much fun without you!" Aang shot back. "You're just using Julie as an excuse!"

"That's ridiculous...!" she snarled quietly. She began compulsively reaching for vegetables and shoving them into the basket with unnecessary force.

"It _is _a little ridiculous, but I understand."

Ayla's jaw dropped. Oh, no! They were having an argument! She had to do something! Something swift...something...DRASTIC!

She summoned every ounce of ferocity she had in that translucent body of hers and jumped in between them. She curled her fingers into claws and made a face she thought I was more likely to wear...an angry, bestial one. "_RAWR...!_" she bellowed.

It fell completely flat. Mostly because Katara had already wheeled around and started walking off in the opposite direction, struggling with the basket. Aang, meanwhile, had been snatched by several pairs of hands and pulled down the path, away from the fruit stand. Ayla stood there, watching them for a minute before a sense of defeat turned her to stone.

"_They...didn't see me. I'm a lousy super-hero._"

She pouted before floating after Katara, wondering why life had to be so unfair. Now she had finally found people she could help (because Aang and Katara _definitely _needed helping, in her opinion) and they didn't even know she was there! She wanted to kick something...but her foot probably would have gone right through it.

"_Maybe Julie can help me. She's way scarier than I am...oh, but wait. That's no good! She's worse at romance than those two! I mean, look at how she screwed things up with Zuko..." _she scowled, pacing in front of the house Katara had stormed inside. "_Hmmm...sounds like she needs some help too. This is getting serious._"

Ayla bit her lip, her expression solemn and concentrated.

"_I'm going to make them ALL apologize if it's the LAST thing I do,_" she declared.

And that was that. Spirits help us all.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, God. Ayla's decided to play matchmaker. She doesn't exactly like it when her friends are fighting, and she's determined to do good deeds as a sort of penitance for enjoying her "out-of-Julie's-body" experience (especially at Julie's expense). Now, she's hell-bent on getting Aang and Katara to make up, and on finding some way to help Julie fix things with Zuko in the bargain.**

**Things are going to get very messy.**

**Julie is not a happy camper right now. And I doubt she'll get any happier when she realizes what Ayla is up to. How will she adjust being a member of the Gaang now that she's awake? Will Zuko find out? How will he react if he does?**

**Well, you guys sure as hell won't find out if you don't REVIEW! Though, I have to say, last chapter y'all did a very good job at that. So, keep up the good work, I guess. REVIEW!**


	40. What Looms On the Horizon

**A/N: My computer sucks.**

**Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to type up a chapter and be in the middle of writing when ALL OF A SUDDEN the damn thing FREEZES on you? OR, when you are forced to restart said computer, you find the entire document DELETED?**

**Try having this happen twice and see what it does to YOUR sanity. **

**Needless to say, I am very, VERY sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. It isn't nearly as good as it used to be since I forgot some of what I wanted to put in here. So I tried to compensate by making this chapter very long and detailed. It took me nigh two weeks to accomplish, but I did it. It goes without saying that I hope all the frustration was worth it.**

**While you read this, I'll be HOUNDING Dell Hotline to see if they can give me a workable solution over the phone. I don't want to have to buy a new computer. I don't have the money for it. **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Five: What Looms on the Horizon**

If you are ever unfortunate enough to find yourself in the Void, the very first thing you will notice is its silence. And for the record, reader, there are different kinds of silence. I'm sure you know this as well as I do. There's the kind of silence that's more a feeling than anything else and can take the place of words; there's comfortable or reliable silence between two very good friends who know so much about each other that words become unnecessary; there's even the awkward silence, something I myself have experienced quite often.

None of these silences were like _this _silence. This silence was not the wrapping paper of a mystery gift; it had nothing, no substance and no meaning. It wasn't even like the overwhelming silence you hear before it snows; that silence is an unspoken promise, a _hush_, a holding back of sound.

But this was nothing. Just a dead, cold silence.

And it was broken by the man we have come to know as Mesmer Prospero.

"To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Dorian?"

There was a jarring difference between the two men in this Void. Prospero seemed to be in his thirties and looked everything the way a suave young millionaire should look. Jet black hair cut and styled neatly, clean-shaven, and confidence oozing from every pore in his body. He was dressed in a simple black robe, the plainness of it bringing out the vibrant color in his amber eyes. At a glance he was attractive and had a calm, yet approachable aura about him.

Mesmer Dorian was nothing like this at all. Though he seemed the same age, he was as aloof and intimidating as Propero was charismatic. His stormy eyes were perpetually cold, but alert. This man clearly preferred to keep his distance, but not in the way a hermit seeks to cut himself off from the rest of the world. Instead, he tended to stand apart from the crowd so as to observe his foes better.

However, the two shared one thing in common: They were both ruthless, and they both had lofty ambitions.

"You know why I'm here," said Dorian quietly. "You have overstepped your bounds, brother Mesmer."

The honorific was merely that; an honorific. Beyond that, neither one pretended to have an ounce of brotherly feeling towards the other.

"Please," said Prospero. "We are equals here, are we not? There is no need to refer to me by my title. You may call me by my name if you wish."

"You must think me an idiot. Your true name was lost to the ages, was it not? Anyway, I did not come here to squabble over terminology."

An empty pause. The arching of a single, smooth eyebrow. "Hmmm?"

Dorian moved towards the table that seemed to appear out of nowhere (or perhaps it wasn't really there at all to begin with), walking with the stride of a powerful king. Without taking his eyes off of Prospero, he sank down into a chair that, like the table, seemed to lack substance. However, it held his weight effortlessly. Dorian watched his host take the seat facing opposite him, and for a minute the two Mesmers regarded one another.

"I know your plan," said Dorian presently. "It hasn't changed since the last time."

"My goal is the same as yours," Prospero replied smoothly. He gave his guest a knowing smile. "We both seek Origin. But your methods obviously differ from mine."

"_Your _methods threaten to unwravel the very threads of existence. That girl you sent into the Rift...Julie McVay...her presence there is upsetting the delicate balance of things. That particular spacetime she entered has been sending distortions that reach as far as the Void itself."

Prospero nodded.

"And this doesn't concern you?"

"Not a bit. And you needn't trouble yourself, Dorian. Distortions have occured in the past. They have a way of..._fixing _themselves."

Dorian frowned. "Those distortions you speak of are small ripples..._this_ is an impending tidal wave. The last time I sensed something like this was when Ayla used her spirit to send her universe into a Rift. In fact, I am still feeling the vibrations from that action as we speak." His hand clenched into a fist under the table. "You and I both know that this Julie doesn't belong in that world. The longer she stays, the more upheaval erupts around her. The chaotic element her presence is causing, the same element you and I are sensing now, _that_ is what's causing all the fighting, conflict, bloodshed, and loss she witnesses...or _will _witness in time to come."

"Then perhaps it is a good thing Ayla created that Rift then. Whatever harm comes to that world should have little impact on the other spacetimes. It isn't _your _problem...or mine for that matter."

"Maybe I would believe that if I didn't feel the vibrations now. If I can sense them here, their effect on other worlds will be disasterous. I don't want them creeping into any of _my _worlds. I worked hard to establish myself as diety, Mesmer Prospero. If anything should happen to interfere with that..." he trailed off pointedly, his eyes unblinking and dangerous-looking as he met the other man's gaze.

Prospero smiled wryly, as though Dorian's threat was some sort of bad pun. "So _that _was your concern? That you won't be able to play God in your territories anymore?"

"If you succeed in your goal and reach Origin, my territories won't _exist_. Nothing will. I'm immortal now and I intend to keep it that way."

"So...what I gather you're saying is that if you come to believe that _I _have anything to do with this, you'll get..._violent_?"

"I'll end you," said Dorian simply.

Prospero laughed. It was a high, cold sound. "Don't tempt me. I have always wanted a decent opponent...and it is tiresome swatting at flies. But you can relax. I wasn't the one who sent Julie to the Avatar's world. As a matter of fact," he added, "she seems to have sent _herself_."

"That's impossible. She isn't one of us. And even if she _was_...not even I have the power to break the barriers around the Rift Ayla created. How can one girl, _one weak mortal child_ possibly have done it? You must have found a way through..."

For a moment, a flash of irritation glinted in Prospero's amber eyes. "What you are saying makes no sense; you think that _I _sent Julie in on purpose to do something for me. If I knew of a way inside, why would I rely on one ordinary girl to do my bidding? I'd have gone in and done everything myself."

"Unless this Julie can do something that you cannot," Dorian replied.

Silence as the two regarded one another. In a moment, the tenseness around Prospero's eyes faded, and he relaxed into a smile that would send chills up the spines of mortal men.

"Perhaps she can," he acknowledged quietly. "After all...she is there, and I am _not_. I think that alone should be enough to appease even _your _suspicions, Mesmer Dorian."

The cold-faced man narrowed his eyes. "I am _always_ watching. Just as you have your eyes in the Avatar's world, I have mine. I _will _find out who or what this Julie is. You had better pray that she isn't what I am beginning to think she is."

The words ebbed away. Prospero looked up and found himself alone in the Void. Dorian seemed to have vanished into thin air...or returned into nothingness. It was really hard to say given what the Void itself encompassed the Whole of Nothing. In any case, the sudden departure did nothing to unease the smiling man. He leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"Well, he has no right to judge me," he said presently. "After all, this was _Ayla's _doing...not mine."

* * *

It turns out that the Inner Sanctum wasn't the only one..._concerned _about me. Not by a long shot.

"My..._you're _looking better," the woman said, smiling primly at Zhao over the rim of her wine-glass. They were both seated at a hard-oak table in the Commander's private study, with guards at the door to make sure they weren't overheard. "It's a wonder I could make _anything _out of that useless stump you once called an arm."

"I appreciate your help, Lady Mantis," Zhao replied through gritted teeth. He gave her a half-snarl, half-smile. "And I understand we are in agreement over the terms of _my _assistance?"

The woman named Mantis smirked. "I should hope so, for _your _sake, Commander. But I don't think I have to worry...considering how you want the girl dead even more than _I _do. So long as you carry out my instructions, you'll get the revenge you seek...and I might just let you keep your _present_."

Zhao smiled too, a genuine smile this time. But it was a frightening one as well. "That would be very nice, I think. The arm is nice, but _this..._this almost makes me want to _thank_ Julie for almost killing me. Untimely deaths are quite useful, aren't they?"

Mantis looked intrigued. "You pick up on things quickly, don't you? Most people have trouble grasping the rules of the Void."

"I'm not most people."

There was a sudden knock at the door. Zhao got up from his chair as he heard someone arguing with the guards, _insisting_. He glanced at Mantis and saw her nod in approval before going to open the door himself.

"Is there a problem?"

The three men (two guards and one scrawny messenger) froze in their tracks. They immediately stood at attention, eyes locked fearfully upon their Commander. Zhao's eyes skimmed over them for a moment before settling on the messenger.

"Commander Zhao, Sir," one of the guards said. "He claims he has some important news for you."

"Let him in, then," Zhao replied.

Without a word, the guards relinquished their grip on the younger man. He looked visibly nervous, his gaze flickering back to the other two warily before following him inside. Following the cue of his superior officer, he shut the door behind him.

"Oh...!" the messenger said suddenly, noticing Mantis.

She was beautiful and desirable in every which way the young man could imagine. Bright eyes, pale skin, and long flowing hair that was darker than ebony. He noticed other things about her from her very relaxed, almost seductive posture...particularly the wide angle of her hips and the intent look she was giving him. Her smile became almost playful as she regarded him.

Her hands were smooth and rounded, an artists hands. She met his gaze solidly, her piercing blue eyes raking him up and down. At the same time, a single slender finger began suggestively stroking the rim of her wine glass. There was no question about the curiosity in her expression as they looked at each other.

The man flushed and swallowed heavily. Quickly, he looked away.

Zhao cleared his throat, not missing the way Mantis was toying with the poor boy. "You said you had some _important _news for me," he said. "It had better be for you to interrupt me when I have a guest."

The messenger seemed to remember himself.

"It...it's about the Avatar," he blurted. "I have received word that he...he's on Kyoshi Island."

Zhao and the woman exchanged glances. "You are...sure about that?"

"Y-yes. I heard some of the merchants from the island rambling on and on about it. Some of them claimed to have delivered some fine delicacies right to the room he and his friends were staying in."

There was a moment of silence as the Commander deliberated.

"Excellent," he said, smiling evilly.

* * *

I was lying on my cot with a cold compress on my forehead and my eyes firmly shut. My thoughts were constantly oscillating between my guilt regarding Zuko and my gnawing anxiety for my missing Voice. Seriously, how could Ayla just up and vanish like that? Had I imagined her? Was she just all in my head?

Maybe I was going crazy.

"_JUUUUUUUULIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE...!_"

I bolted up so quickly that the joints in my neck popped in a sickening way. My eyes ripped themselves open as I looked wildly around for the siren that was shrieking my name. My heart was pounding a mile a minute.

"Who...what...?"

"Is everything all right, dear?" the healer asked, noticing me rise so suddenly. She looked up from the reference scroll she had been reading and walked quickly to my bedside, her eyes round with concern. "Are you in any pain?"

"Wha...? No, I just...I thought I heard..."

I trailed off as I heard my name again.

"_Julie! Julie, Julie, Julie, Julie, JULIE...!_"

"Ayla?" I whispered. My hand drifted to my forehead, and the sharp pain I felt made me wince. I hadn't realized it initially, but that one swift, involuntary motion had made my head-ache ten times worse.

The healer stared at me for a minute, then gently pushed my shoulders back towards the bed. I didn't resist. I sank almost gratefully into the soft pillows, waiting for the throbbing to stop. My skull felt like a giant, beating heart. It thumped. It ached. It...yelled at me every five seconds with Ayla's voice.

"Just get some rest," said the healer warily. "I'll be in the other room if you need me. All you need to do is call; don't leave this bed again, you hear me?"

I sighed and managed a stiff nod. She left.

I lay there in the calm silence for a good thirty seconds or so, knowing full well that it wouldn't last. I waited, trying to steel myself for the vocal assault when it came, mercilessly, to jolt me from my slumber again. It turned out I didn't have to wait very long.

"_Julie? Julie! ANSWER ME!_"

I groaned. _I'm right HERE. Stop YELLING already...!_

In that moment, I couldn't tell who felt more relieved; me, for finally finding my AWOL imaginary friend (in a manner of speaking), or Ayla, for...well, I don't even really know why she sounded so relieved. Maybe she thought I was hurt worse than I actually was. Or maybe she just didn't like being ignored. Maybe she was just some kind of attention-whore.

"_Oh," _she breathed, realizing for the first time how her voice bounced against the walls of my skull._ "Sorry about that. It's just that I have so much I have to tell you, and I wasn't sure if you would even be able to hear me anymore. You were kind of woozy there for a while...and...well...I'm kind of floaty myself. I've been all over the village while you were asleep._"

_You...wait a minute. What?_

My confusion shouldn't have to be explained. From the moment I had become aware of her, I had been under the impression that Ayla would become a permanent occupant of my mind. After all, she couldn't _go _anywhere. She had made that very clear every time I had demanded for her to get the hell out of my head.

I had thought we were a package deal. So what gives?

"_I dunno. I kind of thought I was stuck inside of you forever, but...well...now I'm free. Isn't that weird? Maybe when that man hit you on the head..._"

I thought about that. The implications of that theory weren't very promising. Usually, hard knocks on the skull tended to put strange voices _in_ your head; not push them out. And anyway, I could still hear her. This didn't really explain anything except maybe that I was apparently even crazier than I originally suspected.

_So, you're saying that my potential brain damage is what freed you? Gee, thanks._

I could feel her squirming in guilt. Apparently she didn't like the idea of being free at my expense...or that I might have brain damage. I couldn't feel any sympathy, though. My head was throbbing, and she was being really loud. I wished she would quiet down.

"_I'm sorry. I know you're in a lot of pain right now,_" she said sadly. "_I can almost feel it myself._"

I frowned. "Ayla, where _are _you?" I whispered.

"_Oh, right. Take a look in the mirror, the one hanging on the wall over there._"

I scowled and did as she said. The mirror was a simple one, large and free of any unnecessary ornamentation. I could see myself very easily slumped over on the cot, my face pale and my expression quite haggard. Then, my reflection smirked at me and stuck out her tongue. I felt my eyes go wide as my reflection sat up slowly and looked around the room before focusing on me again. She waved.

"A...Ayla...?"

She beamed. "_You can see me! I wasn't sure if this would even work. This is perfect!_"

"How..." My mouth had suddenly gotten very dry. "How are you...doing that?"

"_I dunno. But's it's really freaking cool, isn't it?_"

I couldn't answer. I was frozen in shock.

"_See, I noticed that no one else can really see me during the day, and I realized it's because I'm all glowy, you know? The sun just goes right through me. So, it eventually occurred to me that mirrors reflect light. And lo and behold...a mirror!_" Ayla sounded smug. Proud of herself.

"Can anyone else see you?"

My reflection frowned contemplatively. "_Well...I dunno. Maybe. Wanna find out?_"

"No...!" I said quickly. Too loud, I realized belatedly.

Footsteps approached the room. Quickly, I pressed myself back down against the pillows, but my stiff posture gave me away in a heartbeat. The healer paused in the doorway, frowning at me. Judging by the suspicious look she gave me, my expression must have been just a little too innocent to be real. I glanced at the mirror quickly and saw myself again. No Ayla. Nothing but me, Julie, and the cooling salve plastered against my head. My reflection stared back at me, the skin tight around her eyes.

"Is there a problem?"

"I...I keep moving. And my head hurts."

I spoke in a low voice, but thankfully the lie wasn't as dreadfully apparent in my tone as it was in my face. The healer pursed her lips, considering.

"There's not much I can give you for the pain," she told me. "The side-effects will make you drowsy, and with your concussion it's not a good idea for you to fall asleep. Not so soon, anyway."

"That's all right. I'll...I'll just try not to move."

The healer's face softened, sympathy for me echoing in her expression. "Your friends will come and see you tonight. That should make you feel a little better, if anything. Try to hold tight until then, okay, dear?"

"M'kay," I mumbled.

She hesitated a moment, giving my face one last searching glance before shuffling out of the room again. I barely refrained from breathing a heavy sigh of relief. It had taken all of my self-control not to give myself away during that conversation, and stare pointedly at the mirror. Now that she was gone, though...tentatively, I lifted my gaze towards the glass again, searching for my reflection.

It was missing.

"Ayla...?" I sat up a little higher in my bed, ignoring the spike of pain lancing through my skull. "Ayla, where are you?" I hissed, not wanting to call the healer back by accident.

This was getting kind of creepy. But it got creepier when I felt a cold presence perch itself beside me on the mattress. I sucked in my breath quickly, too freaked out to move when I felt the icy hand brush against my shoulder.

"_Here I am_," Ayla said. "_Hey, what's with you? You're all pale and stuff._"

"That was freaky as shit. Don't sneak up on me like that...!"

She giggled. _Sorry._

She didn't sound very sorry at all. But that was besides the point, I guess. Right now, I knew I had to figure out what I was going to do. One might say that I had a lot on my plate; I'd reply that this was the understatement of the century. I didn't just have a lot on my plate. I had this teeny-tiny freaking plate that was about to spill over the edges from the heaping pile of shit piled on top of it. I think my head would have been spinning even _without _the concussion.

I let out a quick sigh. "Fine," I said softly. "Fine. You're sorry. Now what are we supposed to _do_?"

Ayla seemed to frown in the brief silence that followed. "_Huh?"_

"I mean, you're free, which means I have to deal with this Energybending nonsense by myself..._and _I'm stuck on Kyoshi Island with _Team Avatar_. On top of that, Zuko probably hates my guts right now...and that's nothing compared to how he's going to feel when he finds out where I am...and who I'm _with_."

"_I thought you didn't care how Zuko felt about you_."

I kneaded my forehead with the butt of my palm. "I _don't_. I DON'T care. I mean, it's not like we're friends or anything. Not really."

Ayla was quiet for a minute or two. "_You feel guilty_."

"Do not."

"_Yes. Yes, you do. It's really obvious. And just so you know...you don't _HAVE _to come up with some elaborate scheme to get him to forgive you for the whole being-afraid-of-him thing. You just have to say you're sorry._"

I flushed an angry red, but I was careful to keep my voice low. "Who the hell ever said I was _sorry...?_ And I'm _NOT _apologizing...! Besides, how the hell am I supposed to get back to the ship, anyway? Why would I even _want _to? My real friends are right HERE."

Ayla didn't contradict me.

"Why would I go somewhere I'm not wanted? Sheesh...I get enough of that crap back at home," I muttered. I thought miserably about my Dad and the kind of homecoming I was bound to get, should I ever manage to find a way back to my own world. I shuddered at the grisley turn my thoughts were starting to take. "At least I know that Aang and the others aren't trying to _use _me the way _Zuko _is. He just wants me because I'm an Energybender."

"_I think you're wrong. I think you're just scared because all this time you've been careful never to let anyone get too close to you...and now you're starting to care about Zuko. A lot._"

"Wrong. Totally...dead wrong."

"_And I think Zuko cares about you, too. Not just as an Energybender, but as a friend._"

"Look," I said, exhaling sharply through my nose to stem off the aggravation I felt. "It doesn't matter how I feel about Zuko...or anyone else for that matter. I can only trust one person. And she's...not here."

"_That's not true,_" Ayla contradicted me fiercely. "_You can trust ME. We're friends, too...aren't we?_"

This completely derailed me.

Ayla had been a fixture in my head for nigh two weeks now. Whether I liked it or not, she was my constant companion, teasing me and responding to my thoughts with what I considered to be unnecessary enthusiasm and interest. I had suspicions that she had looked at my memories too, though if she had she never mentioned it to me. But she would occasionally slip and allude to something I had never told her.

Ayla lived inside my head. I was so wrapped up in deciding whether she was real or not, the thought that we could be friends had simply never occured to me. I mean, who extends an invitation like that to a _voice in their head_?

"Friends?" I said. "Why would you want to be friends with me?"

"_You're interesting...and you see things in a way that I'd never think of. Sometimes your thoughts make me laugh...and sometimes they're real sad. Your feelings have more depth, need more explaining. And you're strong, too._"

"Yeah, okay. Sure." That's why I got kidnapped by Chaang and his henchmen. That's why I almost got my ass handed to me in a god-damned _urn_ when I had to fight Zhao in the Agni Kai. What the hell was Ayla talking about? I wasn't strong. I would never be strong. I couldn't even stand up to my old man.

"_I mean...the way you stand up for people, even if you can't win yourself. That's really brave_."

Oh.

"_The point is that you shouldn't build this little fortress around your heart like this,_" she continued. "_Friendship is very important. It's one of the most special things a person can have, you know?_" She wrinkled her brow as her mood unexpectedly took a u-turn. "_Why can't everyone understand how precious it is to have a bond with another person? Why do they have to fight? Uggh...!_"

I frowned as my intuition started to flicker. "I'm starting to think that you aren't just talking about me and Zuko anymore."

Ayla huffed. "_The Avatar and his Waterbender friend are having an argument. It's just so...wrong. They care about each other a lot. And good friends shouldn't fight. They just _shouldn't_, Julie...!"_

"They'll work it out, eventually," I told her. "I mean, that's what they're supposed to do. They make up in time to kick Zuko's butt...and then..." I trailed off as a very troubling thought became, all at once, grotesquely apparent to me. "I don't remember anyone telling Zuko that Aang was even _on _Kyoshi Island...do you?"

Ayla had come to grasp the fact that I somehow knew what was supposed to happen in the near future...or, at least, that I _believed _that I did. But since my knowledge came from episodes of a cartoon show, something Ayla (being from a dimension without cable or animation) simply couldn't wrap her brain around, my memories of watching Avatar the Last Airbender made no sense. I think she connected it to my fondness for my Tarot deck and assumed I was having visions about the future.

"_The chef is supposed to hear a rumor and tell Zuko. That's what you were thinking right before you got into that fight with him_," Ayla reminded me.

"Yeah, but he never heard the rumor. And...holy crap, we were chugging right past the god-damned island! He was supposed to have found out by now...wasn't he?"

"_Well...no one said that the future was set in stone, Julie. I'm sure he'll show up eventually._" Then, she perked up as she realized something. "_Hey! What are you going to do when THAT happens? I mean...you kind of owe Aang and the others for sticking up for you..._"

But I didn't listen to a word she said. I was too busy brooding. How long would it take before Zuko eventually heard about Aang's whereabouts? Did he even realize I was missing? Did he care? Or had he simply given me up for dead? The thought made me miserable, more than I thought it would.

I knew that Ayla was right. Zuko would find out eventually. The entire freaking planet was practically gabbing about it...at least, that was how Mike and Bryan portrayed it in the episode. Somewhere down the line, he was going to hear the big news. And if Zuko found me with Aang, there would be no way in hell he would ever forgive me. Which is such an epically retarded thing for me to be worrying about. Why should I care if Zuko hated me? He was the BAD GUY...!

And, he was kind of a jerk. A ridiculously attractive jerk who knew me way too well. One who felt the need to keep things from me and keep an eagle-eye on me "for my own good." One that I couldn't stop thinking about.

What was I going to DO?

* * *

(**Zuko's POV, third person**)

Zuko was sulking.

It had been almost two days since that disasterous fight, and he hadn't come out of his room except for meals...which he was starting to neglect as he lost track of time, pouring over his maps and notes about the Avatar cycle. Half of the time, anyway. The other half he spent glaring at Julie's backpack, which was lying abandoned in the corner. All the books had been shoved back inside as roughly as possible. He was resisting the urge to set the stupid thing on fire.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"What do you want?" Zuko snapped.

There was a pause before Iroh let himself into the room. The older man looked uncharacteristically grave and carried something large and ovular in a dirty old sack. Seeing his uncle thus, the fuming prince couldn't think of any coherent words. Something bad must have happened, that much was certain.

"What?" he demanded quietly. "Uncle, what is it?"

Iroh didn't say anything at first. He just glanced at the stack of notes draped over Zuko's desk and sighed quietly. "Is your search going well, nephew?"

Zuko scowled. "You came in here just to ask me that? If I had figured something out, I wouldn't be wasting my time sitting here in the dark!"

"You seem to do that a lot these days."

"It helps me think."

"Does it?"

Zuko deepened his scowl and didn't answer. He turned away, facing the giant banner of the Fire Nation insignia that hung on the wall over his bed. His eyes narrowed.

"I should never have let myself get distracted like this. At least now I know what's important. My honor...and my country. Those are the things I should be focusing on," he muttered. "Not some stupid peasant. Even if she _is _an Energybender."

Iroh quirked an eyebrow, but did not look quietly amused the way he might have under different circumstances. No, now he just looked tired. "It is funny that you should mention Julie. As a matter of fact, no one has seen or spoken to her in more than twenty-four hours. She seems to have gone missing."

"Good riddance."

"That is...surprising. I would have thought you would be a little more concerned, Prince Zuko."

"She's probably just hiding somewhere. That street urchin probably knows where she is. Question him if you're that worried, Uncle."

"No one can find _him _either. Julie and Kuba have both disappeared without a trace."

Zuko was very quiet as he digested that information. He stared solidly at the wall for a minute or two before tearing his eyes away from the Fire Nation banner. He gave Iroh a searching look.

"Think about what you're saying," he said severely. "Where could they have possibly disappeared to? We're in the middle of the ocean! Unless they fell overboard or something..." he trailed off, hastily shaking the thought away. "No, they're fine. If anything, they probably just took one of the life-boats and ran off. No reason for me to get involved."

"Well, one of the life-boats _is _gone," said Iroh. "But I don't think that Julie took it. She doesn't strike me as the sea-worthy type, nephew. And I don't think she's stupid enough to try reaching the main-land in just a life-boat."

"Well, _I_ do."

"Hmmm...I was wondering if you would say that."

Iroh walked over to Zuko, getting in his line of sight. The young exile just blinked at his uncle in astonishment as the ovular-shaped thing in the sack was gently pushed into his hands.

"Look inside, nephew."

He hesitated, unnerved by Iroh's bleak expression. Slowly, he started pulling the sack off of the object, silently marveling at how smooth and heavy it was. Then, when he saw what he was holding, he nearly dropped it on the floor. His golden eyes widened in surprise.

"Isn't this...?"

"Julie's egg. Yes, it is."

Zuko stared and stared at it, turning it over carefully in his hands. He ran his fingers along the fine cracks that had started to appear in along the shell and noticed how warm it was. He swallowed heavily.

"It's going to hatch soon. Where did you...?"

"It was lying in the hallway, alone. Abandoned. And I wasn't the one who found it, either..."

Zuko lifted his gaze questioningly to his uncle. The ex-General sighed heavily. Without a word, he went to the door and opened it, letting two people into the room. Zuko's eyes narrowed in recognition. One was the stocky female-soldier, Bo-Fen. The other, almost shaking in rage as he was held back by his sister, was Shen-Long.

There was a tense pause.

"Where is she...?" Shen-Long demanded angrily. "What have you done with her?"

* * *

**A/N: Obviously, there is a lot going on, some of which even Julie isn't entirely aware of. While the Mesmers Prospero and Dorian discuss her and Ayla in veiled terms, someone else seems to have taken matters into her own hands. Who is Mantis, and what kind of deal has she made with Zhao? What is _her _connection to the Inner Sanctem of the Void?**

**Meanwhile, Zuko becomes aware that something bad happened to Julie while he was sulking. And Shen-Long, having found Julie's egg, jumps to the conclusion that Zuko is the reason for her disappearance. Will this come to blows, or will they work out their differences and track her down?**

**Julie is going to have a lot to deal with in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this enough to want to READ the next chapter...and to REVIEW this one. Nuff said. ^-^**


	41. A Mission of Subtlety

**A/N: I'm both surprised and VERY pleased to see how much attention this story is getting. I'm continuing to receive replies from my "consistent" readers (who are, by the way, TRES awesome; if I were wearing socks right now, you guys would totally rock them right off my feet), but have also gotten the attention of some new readers. YAY! I really hope Happy Endings can get a firm fan-base on . That would be SO cool.**

**And I don't think this is wistful thinking, either. Especially since my story has been called "a drug" and "addictive." Man, wouldn't it be crazy if the FDA ended up banning my fanfic? **

**Anyway, since you all seem to be on the edge of your seat, wanting to know what's going to happen with the Zu-crew, I have decided to open the chapter with them. I hope you enjoy it. As always, RxR.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Six: A Mission of Subtlety**

Zuko stared at Shen-Long for a full ten seconds before a blistering wave of anger broke to the surface. "_What...?_ What do you mean, what did _I _do to her? I didn't even know the damn peasant was _missing _until-"

"She was _with _you," the soldier snarled. "She's _always _with you...! Now you're telling me you haven't _seen _her? Do I look like some kind of idiot?"

"With all due respect," Bo-Fen added, jabbing her brother _very _hard in the side with her elbow. "Shen and I found her egg in the hallway...not far from the infirmary, actually, so we asked Shim if he had seen Julie."

"And?"

"He told us that Julie was worried about her egg. She came to see him 'cause she wanted to make sure she could take care of the eel-hound when it hatches. That being said, the chances of her just leavin' that egg lying around like that is pretty much nil." She quirked an eyebrow significantly.

There was a very pregnant pause.

"So let me get this straight," Zuko said slowly, massaging his temples in an attempt to reign in his temper. "Julie goes missing, and rather then confronting the last person who _saw _her...rather then questioning Shim, you thrust your accusations on _me? _Why me? Why would I have had _anything _to do with this?"

Shen-Long looked downright furious. "Do you expect me to believe that it's some kind of happy coincidence that less than a day has passed between _your _fight and _Julie's _disappearance? Now, tell me where she is before I..."

Without warning Bo-Fen reached up and jerked her brother down by the earlobe so that they were at eye-level. And this was saying quite a bit considering that there was a height difference of at least two feet between them. Zuko and Iroh both winced as the joints in Shen-Long's neck _popped _from his sister's sharp motion. It was clear from the way his face was quickly turning red (not from embarrassment, but from sheer discomfort) that Bo-Fen's grip was like an iron vise.

"You're wasting your time bitchin' at the Prince, Shen. You're only going to get yourself in trouble."

But Shen-Long couldn't answer. His eyes were starting to tear up from the pain.

"_My _take on this 's that Julie ran into some creeps leavin' the infirmary," Bo-Fen continued. "Most likely scenario is that they took her in one of the life-boats so that they can do _whatever _to her for as long as they like, with no one interferin'."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean..._whatever_?"

The female soldier merely shrugged in a nonchalant manner as she began to list off the various inserts. "Kill...rape...torture...actually, those last two might be in the same category," she amended. "There are a lot of things a body can do to someone else...especially someone caught by surprise."

The Fire Prince's face hardened.

"The other scenario is that someone on this ship is secretly workin' for the Brotherhood, and waited until now to snatch Julie and give us all the slip," said Bo-Fen. "But I doubt that. I know the guys here...some a little too well. It's unlikely that any of them are moonlightin' for some god-damned cult. More than half of them don't even _believe _in a higher power."

"Will you _let go _of my ear already?" Shen-Long cried, his voice a few octaves higher than it should have been. All the blood was rushing into his head.

Rolling her eyes, Bo-Fen relinquished her hold on his ear. No one seemed to notice as he straightened up faster than a life-sized sock-em balloon. While the poor man gingerly massaged the tender lobe, the others considered the implications of Bo-Fen's theories. It was Iroh who broke the silence.

"For once, I have to agree with my nephew on this one. Why have you discounted Shim as a suspect?"

"Well," she said, rather amiably. "For one thing, Shim is still on board the ship. The life-boat hasn't been returned yet, so we can assume that whoever took Julie is still missing. And," she added. "There are three people who haven't been accounted for yesterday. We checked with Lieutenant Jee to be sure."

Iroh looked mollified, but Zuko was as unrelenting as ever.

"Just because he's here doesn't mean he wasn't involved," he fumed. He turned to Bo-Fen. "I'm assuming that the attack took place near the infirmary, right?"

She nodded.

"So how come he didn't hear anything? Why didn't he go check it out?"

"And leave my patients?" came a voice from the door.

Everyone turned in tandem to stare at the newcomer as he calmly entered the room. Shim met Zuko's gaze evenly, seemingly unconcerned by the blatant hostility painted in those golden irises of his. He even paused to smile and nod at Iroh in greeting.

"I had a feeling that something was going on when these two started asking me questions before," he said in explanation of his sudden intrusion. "I thought I should answer for any part I might have played in this, intentional or not."

Zuko glared at him. "So you came to confess, then?"

Shim merely smiled at the angry young exile in reply. "Don't be so hasty. I have nothing against Miss Julie. Actually, I find her to be quite an interesting specimen...err..._person_." He coughed into his sleeve, as though it would hide the slip-up he had just made. "In any case, I had nothing to do with her being kidnapped. But I _did _hear a scuffle on the night in question. I just chose not to investigate it."

"You _chose _not to..._why?_"

For the first time, annoyance flickered in Shim's expression. "I have a responsibility to my patients. Any moment I waste away from the infirmary..._eating _or_ sleeping _for example...those are the precious moments lost...! Moments I could have spent unwraveling the mysteries of an ailment...and _eradicating _it! Any moment wasted is a moment I will never get back. I owe my charges better than that."

Zuko looked completely bewildered by that response. "But...they're _wounded_. Not _sick_...!"

"Some of them _might _have come down with an infection or two..._somehow_," Shim replied in a rather vague tone of voice. "A shame, really. But it was quite an opportunity for me. I may have discovered a few new...rather _unorthodox _remedies to help fight infections...and several ways to make them worse."

There was a very disturbed silence.

"Um...back to the matter at hand," said Iroh slowly. But even he couldn't take his wary gaze off of the healer. "We should probably figure out where Julie's captors took her. I have my suspicions, but..." he shook his head solemnly. "They aren't good."

Zuko reluctantly tore his gaze away from Shim to stare at his uncle. "What? You know where she is?"

"Possibly. It is the only island we passed in the last couple of days...and the most likely place for someone to flee to."

It took a few seconds for Iroh's words to sink in. When they did, the Fire Prince lost some of the color in his cheeks.

"You don't mean...Kyoshi Island?"

"Hmmm," said Bo-Fen contemplatively. "Isn't that the island that's openly hostile to any and all outsiders regardless of race or political affiliation? The one that feeds their prisoners to a giant fish monster?"

Dead silence.

"Well, _shit_," said Shim cheerfully. "Sounds downright lethal. Looks like I'm due for a pay raise soon." Everyone's gaze slid to him incredulously. "_What? _You were all thinking it."

* * *

Okay...I don't think I got the opportunity to say this before, but I'll say it now. Kyoshi Island is really freaking _weird_.

"Don't these people have anything better to do?" I asked Katara as she helped me walk down the street.

My head felt a lot better today than yesterday, and the healer had suggested I get some fresh air to lighten my mood. I think she said that because sitting cooped up in the infirmary was giving me a perpetual anxiety attack. I think I gave myself away after I almost gouged someone's eyes out with a thermometer (a primitive one, mind you) when they tried to take my temperature. _Tried _being the key word.

What can I say? I don't like doctors. Healers are no exception.

I had asked Katara this question as we passed the crowd of gawkers who had taken to following Aang around like puppies. Lost and drooling, yet mind-bogglingly adoring puppies (one of which was screaming and frothing vigorously at the mouth). It was almost entertaining the way his eyes had rolled up into the back of his head, leaving only the whites showing as he slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

Now to steal his shoes...What? You were all thinking it.

"They're just excited," Katara replied, pretending to be indifferent to the screaming horde of fangirls. "From what I can tell, Kyoshi Island keeps to itself. These are people who have little or no contact with the outside world. Probably nothing as exciting as Aang has shown up since..." she trailed off. "Ever."

"I wonder why?" I said dryly as I nudged the lifeless body of foaming-mouth-guy with my toe.

"_Hey, Julie_," Ayla pestered me. "_Tell her about the virtues of friendship! Now's your chance!_"

I groaned. Ever since our conversation yesterday, Ayla had done everything in her power to enlist me in her campaign to enforce universal peace. In short, she wanted me to get Aang and Katara to stop fighting. Fat chance of _that _happening. That is, if the way they were last night was any indication to me...

* * *

**Several Hours Ago...**

I blinked at my visitors warily. "Um...hi, guys."

Aang and Katara were both sitting on opposite sides of my bed. The distance between them was noticable, as was the tension floating in the air between them. It was so bad that you couldn't just cut through it like a hot knife through butter...you could _taste _the butter as it melted into a slithering, gooey mess on the floor. And Sokka, who had the fewest reasons to turn down eating a stick of butter, stood in between them like a referee in a prize fight, looking _very _uncomfortable.

Needless to say, it was awkward.

"So, um...head wounds," Sokka said, breaking the silence. "What's up with that?"

You could almost hear the crickets chirping in the background. Aang and Katara were alternating between shooting each other _looks _and completely ignoring each other. My gaze flickered between them, not fooled by their feeble sham of comraderie.

"The healer says my concussion is mostly gone," I replied, as if Sokka's question had actually made sense. "But I'd be a lot worse if it weren't for the Kyoshi Warriors. They really kick ass, huh?"

For some reason, this caused Sokka to sink into the nearest chair with a decidedly grouchy look on his face. He didn't answer me as he slouched. I might have been worried if I wasn't already used to Zuko's permanent PMS and constant mood-swings. In any case, I didn't have to say much of anything besides that. Kuba, who had perched at the foot of my bed like a sentry, erupted into conversation.

"You should _see _them, Julie. I was hanging out with some of the kids in town, and they taught me how to play this game called _soccer_...and right in the middle of it, this girl Merle kicked the ball all the way to the Kyoshi Warriors' hut. We went to get it, and we found the warriors in the middle of their sparring matches. They even let us watch them for a while." Kuba's eyes glowed at the memory. "It was _awesome_...!"

"Awesome?" Sokka crowed. "They're a bunch of girls! A kid like you should be have a strong, manly role-model to look up to."

Kuba stared at him. "What's the difference? As long as they can make a clean kill, who cares if they're men or women?"

We all started at his casual usage of the term _clean kill_.

"Besides," he added. "I heard they schooled you good. Their leader, Suki...she was fuming mad, muttering about this jerk from the Water Tribe. I just assumed that she meant you."

"She called me..._him_...a jerk?" Disbelief and anger colored his tone.

Kuba just blinked at him. "No. But I heard her talking to one of the other warriors about this guy who busted into their dojo and said all these nasty things to them. Suki had said that she was trying to be nice, but that the guy just barrelled on with the insults and trying to act macho. I think that makes him a jerk. Don't you think?"

Sokka turned red and didn't say anything else. But Katara took this opportunity to jump in.

"That's what happens to people who squander their time _showing off_," she said primly. "They turn into arrogant jerks who only care about themselves...and, as Kuba put it, they get "schooled" by someone better than them."

"HEY!"

But the jibe wasn't meant for the outraged Water Tribe boy, and everyone in the room (sans Sokka) knew it. Aang jerked his head up as he caught wind of Katara's usage of the term _arrogant jerk_. His grey eyes tightened in anger.

"Well, _maybe _some people aren't showing off at all," said the Avatar coldly. "Maybe they just have some _pride _in being themselves. Maybe _other _people should just let go of the fact that there are people in the world who can appreciate talent...and find a hobby, while they're at it."

Katara drew in her breath sharply, but Sokka nodded in whole-hearted agreement with Aang's mini-monologue. Sparks flew between the two would-be Waterbenders as they glared at each other. I leaned back against my pillow, hoping that a brawl wouldn't ensue. My head hurt enough as it was.

"Maybe _someone _should remember that we don't have _time _for showing off OR hobbies," Katara snapped. "We're supposed to be headed to the North Pole. To master Waterbending."

"Um..." I said. "Guys...?"

"Why am _I _the only one who can defeat the Fire Lord, anyway?" Aang demanded. "I'm happy here! This is the closest thing I've ever found to..._home._ Closest to everything I've _lost_. Why should _I _leave when there are plenty of other people in the world who can fight?"

"You're the Avatar!"

"Not because I want to be...!"

Silence.

Before any of us could say anything, the monk got up from his chair and left the hut. We all blinked at his empty chair, but I don't think anyone was as surprised as _I _was. Of all the things I had expected Aang to say, it sure as hell wasn't _this_. Katara looked like she wanted to go after him, but reconsidered after a moment's hesitation. She sank down slowly into her chair again, confusion staring through her crystal blue eyes.

"Of all the excuses for him to make," she grumbled. "First he inflates himself into some kind of celebrity...and now he's _hiding_."

I jumped a little. Katara was the last person I would have expected to make an observation like that. After all, she's the person who sticks up for Aang when he gets accused of running away from his responsibilities. She believes in Aang more than _anybody_. I was astonished...by _both _of them.

When neither Sokka nor I could think of an adequate reply, she shook her head and left the hut, muttering to herself.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.

"Julie..." said Kuba slowly. "What just..._happened_?"

"The hell if _I _know."

* * *

Okay, so I knew Ayla was right to be worried. Even if she wasn't worried for the same reasons _I _was. I mean, she didn't even know about the impending mini-series on the way...the one with Aang and Katara's future son, Tenzin.

Who might not even be born unless these two could manage to kiss and make-up.

But that didn't mean I was even remotely capable of fixing Aang and Katara's problems. I was clearly inept at handling my own; I mean, _look _at the way I had left things with Zuko. Did I really seem like an expert on diplomacy? Or on relationships? _Especially _relationships! The very word "relationship" gave me a queasy feeling, the kind you get when you smell something so foul you can _taste _it in the air.

Relationships meant messy business...like the kind Katara and Aang were dealing with now. They also meant inevitable heartache, that is if my _last _relationship was any indication. Real lasting relationships were something out of a fairy tale...or a Y-rated animated series...

...something that was simply _not _meant for me...something that was _obviously _out of my range of capabilities. Who was Ayla even trying to kid here?

"_Stop being so fatalistic,_" she chided me. "_Just trying SOMETHING. Anything!_"

I sighed. "Katara, look...speaking of Aang..."

The Waterbender turned a noticably cool gaze upon me. "What about him?"

I wanted to do it. I really did. But something in her face made me hesitate. Was it the blatant tension around her eyes or the imminent snarl in her voice? Either way, I got the impression that it wasn't in my best interests to pursue the subject. I doubted I could put up much of a fight anyway, given that I still needed help _walking_. Arguing with her wasn't going to do me any favors.

"Do you think he'd let us have a ride on Appa?" I asked. "I mean...maybe if we went flying, he'd realize how much fun traveling can be. Maybe then he'd actually be willing to leave Kyoshi Island."

She narrowed her eyes at me, but just shook her head. "You just want to go flying yourself."

I gave her a sheepish look. "So, sue me. I didn't get a chance to go with you guys before, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. I guess I can't blame you for that."

"So...? Wanna give it a try?"

Katara huffed. "If _you _want to spend your day surrounded by Aang and his little fans, I won't try to stop you. But don't expect me to join in, Julie."

I scowled, but didn't bite her head off the way I would have if she were Zuko. After all, I can kind of understand why she didn't want to go. Part of me wasn't all that jazzed about keeping company with a bunch of tittering ten to twelve year olds, either, but it was the only thing I could think of. Anyway, there was a chance that Aang would be more willing to compromise than Katara was.

I was hoping, at least.

"Julie," she said suddenly. "You're not just doing this to distract yourself, are you?"

This, I had to say, floored me. "Distract me? Distract me from _what?_"

Katara's eyes turned concerned. "Those men. The ones that almost...that tried to..."

"It doesn't matter," I said quickly. I couldn't let her finish that sentence. "I got lucky. They didn't even touch me, so can we just _drop it_...?"

Honestly, I hadn't put much thought towards Chaang and his two pals. It wasn't a coincidence, either. I didn't _want _to think about it. I didn't want to consider, even for a second, what would have happened to me if the Kyoshi Warriors hadn't shown up when they did. It wasn't any of Katara's business, either. For all I cared, everyone could just pretend like it hadn't happened at all.

After all, what did it matter to me that Chaang was still alive? That he was sitting in a prison cell, waiting for Oyagi to pass judgment upon him?

The other two men who had kidnapped me had been killed in the struggle. But Chaang had been taken prisoner. Normally, he'd have been fed to the Unagi by now, except that for some reason Oyagi thought I might have some questions for him. Or that I might be able to provide some helpful imput on the decision-making process. Either way, he was dead wrong. I didn't want anything to do with that bastard, Chaang.

I was _perfectly fine _with it, no matter what decision they made. So, why did everyone feel the need to _hassle _me?

"It's just...every time someone asks you about it, you get..._defensive_," said Katara. "It's almost like you're scared..."

"He's in a goddamned cell, Katara. I don't have anything to be afraid of."

I'm sorry to say that my reply came off just a tad bit brittle. Snippish. But could you really blame me? The girl was coming off like some sort of therapist, the way she kept analyzing the things I said and did. I didn't _need _her to mother me. Who did she think she was, anyway? Jessie?

"_She's just worried about you,_" Ayla told me, trying to justify Katara's intrusiveness. "_Please don't start fighting with Katara, too._"

_I'm not picking a fight with anyone._

"_Good. It's enough that you and Zuko are having a fight. I don't want to see you all alone, Julie_."

I bit my lip. I didn't need this.

"Maybe I'll go flying tomorrow," I told Katara after a moment of tense silence. "I'm not...feeling like myself right now."

She nodded. "I'll bring you back to the healer's hut."

For once, I didn't even care that I was going back to that crammed little infirmary. It didn't matter to me that I would be forced to lie down on that stuffy little cot with no one to talk to except the healer and, of course, Ayla. All I cared about was changing the subject. My paranoid hatred of the entire medical profession did nothing to change that. Not in the least.

"Good," I said. It was only half a lie.

* * *

"It should take us a day and a half to return to the shores of Kyoshi Island," Iroh told the others. "In the mean time, I think it would be best to figure out how we are going to find Julie...assuming that she is still alive."

Zuko grimaced. "She'll be alive...damn peasant."

They were now all crammed into Lieutenant Jee's study. A map of the southern seas had been unrolled and lay spread out upon the desk. The island itself had been circled three times in glaring red ink.

"The rhinos might do nicely for this kind of terrain," Jee suggested. "They aren't very fast, but they can easily handle the uneven slopes and rough patches of forest in the area. They can also take a lot of abuse from the natives."

"We can use them to lay seige to the villages," Shen-Long commented. "And then, after we put enough pressure on them, we can make them release Julie."

"_If _they have her," Bo-Fen reminded him. "For all we know, she could still be in Fire Nation hands."

"If those soldiers were dumb enough to run to an openly hostile island," Zuko told them. "Then they can't have lasted very long. They probably got themselves captured...which means _Julie _got captured too."

"She might have escaped," said Jee hopefully.

"No. That peasant has no survival skills. I can't see her escaping from a squadron of well-trained attackers. They'll probably keep her and the others alive for interrogation purposes, but after that..." Zuko shook his head, not allowing that thought. "We'll get her back before that happens."

"We'd _better_," Shen-Long muttered hostilely.

The Fire Prince jerked his head up and locked gazes with the soldier. The two stared each other down for several seconds. Bo-Fen heaved a sigh while Lieutenant Jee and Shim looked confused. But Iroh watched the exchange with a knowing look in his eyes. Quietly, he put down the pen he had been holding and got in between the two smoldering young men.

"If I may make a point," he said, pretending not to notice the way everyone stared at him. "It might not be in Julie's best interests to simply invade the island. After all, there is a slim chance that she might have evaded capture. In fact, the natives might not even realize that she's there yet."

"So what do you suggest we do, Uncle? Sit here like turtleducks and wait for her to come back?"

"No. I do not think we should do _nothing_. I just think the situation calls for a bit of..._subtlety._"

One by one, the faces in the room lit up as comprehension slammed home.

"We send spies," said Lieutenant Jee slowly. "They go in, find the girl, and get out. I like it. But who do we send?"

"I'll go," said Zuko and Shen-Long at the same time. They both regarded each other in astonishment before exchanging vicious looks. Fists and teeth were clenched as an inevitable fight began brewing right there in the tiny study.

"Aw, _hell_...! Here we go..." Bo-Fen muttered. "_Men_."

* * *

**A/N: So, as it is plain to see, the attempted rescue isn't going so well. Mostly because Zuko and Shen-Long can't keep their hands off of each other's throats. And they aren't the only ones. With Aang and Katara refusing to see eye to eye, Julie begins to worry that it will affect the storyline. But is that her only motive for helping Ayla get them back together? Or is she trying to keep herself distracted from something else?**

**I'm actually really happy with the way this turned out. I think I managed to portray certain characters in a way that is true to the show...and I'm getting better at keeping the plot flowing. I'm trying to keep character development sheerly plot related. Is it working? And is anyone thoroughly creeped out by Shim yet? Lol.**

**Anyway, I'll leave you guys to your eager anticipation of the next chapter. Of course, I find my inspiration a lot easier to come by with a fair number of REVIEWS. So please, do the right thing. REVIEW! (-starts foaming at mouth, collapsing in a heap next to Foaming Mouth Guy-)**


	42. Limits of an Endless Sky

**A/N: I have to apologize in advance for not updating right away. Something SLIGHTLY more important came up (and for me to say that given my obsession with my writing...that's saying A LOT). What happened per say? Let's just rewind to a few days ago...**

**"HOLY SHIT! MOUSE! THERE IS A GODDAMN RODENT CRAWLING ALONG THE RADIATOR! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"**

**So, as you can see, I was a bit preoccupied. **

**Now, don't get me wrong. I am TOTALLY animal rights and pro-environment and stuff...but I _don't like mice_. Or rats. ESPECIALLY rats. But fortunately, this was just one lone mouse. The troubling part is that when my landlord went to check it out, he couldn't find it. So now, I'm sitting in my house surrounded by mouse-traps and hoping the little bugger doesn't have babies in my spleen while I'm sleeping.**

**Help me. I know I'm a total wuss; I can accept that. But for now, let's just completely disregard that fact and send me reviews. Beautiful reviews to distract me from the potential infestation. (SHUDDERS) Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty Seven: Limits of an Endless Sky**

(Iroh's POV, third person)

It was barely noon and Zuko and Shen-Long had to be separated three times, as though they were toddlers.

_Three times_ they had taken Agni Kai stances. _Twice_, they had been on the brink of lunging at each other. And once, they had actually gotten a hair's breath away from physically maiming one another...only to be restrained by Lieutenant Jee and Bo-Fen at the last second. It was plain to see, even by the most braindead of shipmates, that the two young men absolutely loathed each other. Which was funny, given that not even a week before that they barely even noticed the other existed.

Iroh sighed as he contemplated this. One week was all it took to shoot it to hell...to turn indifference into a _need _to gouge out each other's eyes. One week and the influence of a certain redhead, that is. He sighed and rubbed the eelhound egg gently, noticing how much deeper the cracks had gotten in Julie's absense.

Zuko had originally been entrusted with the egg, but after he almost dropped it in his haste to wrap his hands around Shen-Long's throat, Iroh quietly took over responsibility for the unborn creature. He had given his nephew a stern talking-to later, when they were alone.

"I don't care if it's _beneath _me to brawl with members of my crew, Uncle," Zuko had growled. "He's out of his mind if he thinks he's coming along on a mission thisimportant!"

"Now, Prince Zuko," Iroh had said in reply. "Try to be a littlemore understanding. After all, you are not the only person here who cares about Julie."

The young exile's face turned hateful. "_I _need to be more _understanding? He's _the one acting like it's my fault the peasant got snatched!"

"Yes, I realize that. But please _try..._for Julie's sake, at least. Think about what she could be going through right now. Assuming we can save her, she's going to need as many friends as she can find...and it won't help her state of mind if you _kill _one of them in an _Agni Kai_."

Zuko clenched his hands into fists.

"Now you should probably get some sleep," Iroh continued, pushing his nephew in the general direction of his bedroom. "If you're going to do this, you need to be alert...healthy. Go rest."

He waited, but Zuko didn't move. He just gripped the railing tighter and stared grimly out at the ocean, his mouth set in a firm line. In the distance, if it were lighter outside, one could almost make out the silhouette of an approaching island on the horizon; a faint greyish blob in the twilight. It was this blob that held Zuko's attention for almost a full minute before he had to tear his gaze away. His face was uncertain as he turned to Iroh.

"Nephew?"

"Do you think she's still alive?" he asked quietly. "Do you think that she...that they..."

He couldn't quite articulate what it was he wanted to say. But Iroh seemed to understand.

"If they captured Julie, they will most likely assume she is a Fire Nation spy," he told him. "And they will keep her alive to interrogate...for a few days, at least. That should give us enough time to reach Kyoshi Island and investigate...so long as she doesn't agitate them..."

Iroh trailed off as Zuko's expression became panic-stricken.

"So long as she doesn't _agitate _them...?" the Fire Prince repeated in a numb dead-pan. "Under _those _conditions, she's already _dead...!"_

"Um...well..."

"Well, _what_?"

Iroh tried to mollify his nephew by patting him on the back. "I'm sure everything will be fine. We can't allow ourselves to give up hope." There was a moment of silence before the ex-General exhaled sharply. "Oh, who am _I _kidding? She's a goner."

"Uncle...!"

"What? Will it make it any less true if I don't say it out loud?"

"Just...humor me. Please?"

Iroh scrutinized his nephew for a moment. "I thought that you no longer cared about what happened to Julie...that she was just a lowly, narrow-minded peasant."

"She is. Nothing has changed, Uncle."

The older man raised an eyebrow. Zuko saw this and sighed, kneading his forehead with his right hand.

"I don't know why I can't...just _leave _her; why I can't forget her...or stop thinking about her. She's the most _aggravating _person on the face of the planet, and besides which...she's the worst judge of character I've ever seen! I mean...look at the company she keeps, Uncle!" he shook his head darkly, no doubt thinking about Shen-Long. "And she runs around like a _boy_, with that ridiculous short hair of hers...Lieutenant Jee's wasting his time trying to find her a husband!"

"And in spite of all that, you seem to feel...very strongly about her, Prince Zuko."

This observation made him fall silent, a look of severe disquiet on his scarred countenance.

"Don't be ridiculous, Uncle. She's a _peasant_," said Zuko in a low voice. "And she's..._difficult_." He was quiet for a minute, staring at his own thoughts. "But _that_ doesn't change anything, either. She belongs here. She _has _to stay...with us." His eyes narrowed. "And when I get my hands on her, she'll be wishing I'd had let her be eaten by this so-called fish monster..."

Iroh smiled in spite of himself. "So be it, nephew. So long as she's alive, right?"

The Fire Prince didn't answer. He just glanced morosely over his shoulder, back at Kyoshi Island for a few seconds. Then, he sighed.

Unseen by both of them, the egg in Iroh's hands pulsed gently with green light. One flicker before fading into darkness.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

Katara watched me sourly as I approached Aang. Even though she was perfectly justified in being annoyed with me, even _she _couldn't argue against my going with him today. After all, the healer herself had announced that my concussion was gone. And I had to say, it was a pretty sweet deal to be able to walk down the street without seeing three of _everything _dancing in and out of my vision.

The only downside was that when I woke up this morning, Ayla was stuck inside my head, unable to leave. It was just like before, only worse because now Ayla insisted on using me as a human hand-puppet for her supposed "good deeds."

I just hoped I wouldn't be a casualty of her good intentions. Though, undoubtedly, I would get caught in the after-shock of them. I knew that even then, as I steadied myself to ask Aang for a ride on Appa.

"Oh, hey, Julie," said the monk, brightening a little. "You're looking better."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" I quipped. "I'm not _fragile _you know."

He grinned. "Yeah, I know. I should have figured that out for myself after you survived that fever...right?"

"Well...um...sure, I guess."

That only reminded me of how sick I had been (never a pleasant memory, that), which got me to thinking about Zuko. Namely, how worried he had been...how he had been at my side when I opened my eyes for the first time...and how frustrated and confused I was about the whole thing. Quickly, I shook away the flashback and tried to focus on Aang.

"Um...is it all right if I tagged along with you today?" I asked. "I mean...I've never gotten to ride on Appa before, so...can I?"

Aang's grin became wide and genuinely excited. "Sure! We'd love to bring you along!" Then, looking over my shoulder, he caught Katara staring at us. "Um...is Katara coming too?" he asked, unable to hide the interest in his voice.

"No. She wanted to practice her Waterbending," I told him.

The Avatar's shoulders slumped a little in disappointment. Then, he quickly regained his posture. "Well...fine, then. We can have just as much fun without her."

"I can _hear _you, you know," Katara yelled at us.

"Don't worry," Aang called back. "We won't mind you."

"_Aang_...!" I muttered, completely mortified. _That wasn't in the script_. "Look, Katara's just worried about you. Can't you just..."

I trailed off as the monk took my hand and started leading me towards the giant sky bison waiting by the statue of Kyoshi. I peeked over my shoulder in time to see Katara giving us a scathing look. Was it my imagination, or was she staring at our linked hands?

"She _should _be worried," Aang replied, knowing full well she could still hear us. "I'm going to try riding the Unagi today. It's going to be _really dangerous_."

Katara rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She turned her back on us, huffing noticably. Without another word, she started stomping back in the direction of their room, her back muscles tensed up as if to say _don't follow me_. I winced at the sight.

I dug my heels into the ground and grabbed a hold of Aang's arm. "Not that I'm doubting you or anything..." I totally was, but that wasn't the point. "...but you _do _have some sort of back-up plan if that thing gets a little...uncuddly..._right_?"

"The monks taught me that improvisation is one of the best skills an Airbender can have."

I took that to mean, no.

"Don't worry," he added in a low voice. "I brought the girls to watch yesterday, but the Unagi never showed up. I think it's safe on that side of the island."

I realized for the first time that the horde of little girls was no where to be seen. Well, actually, I saw a few of them hanging around, and while they were all sugary-sweet to Aang, I could tell they weren't interested in sitting around waiting for a monster that wouldn't show up. It appeared as if his novelty was starting to wear off.

"_That's a good sign,_" Ayla pointed out. "_You can talk to him alone, now. And maybe you can get him to make up with Katara. That would have been difficult with an audience, right?_"

I agreed, but I still wasn't looking forward to this. Katara was already irked at me for trying...what if Aang got mad too? The list of people who hated me seemed to be growing longer at an alarming rate; besides my _Dad _there was _Chaang and his freaking minions...Zhao...those Brotherhood freaks...Zuko_ (that one festered, though I honestly couldn't say why)...and if I had to add Aang to the list, I'm sure my self-esteem would have reached negative polynomials.

Seriously.

Appa let out a bellow of recognition as we came over to him. I saw myself reflected in his large black eyes and saw how disshelved I looked. I was now wearing a simple moss-green dress, the kind a lot of the village women were wearing. I kept my boots, though. They were bad-ass. Still, reflected in Appa's eyes, I seemed almost smaller. Softer. I felt like a child as I met the sky-bison's gaze.

I gasped as Appa suddenly put his nose in my face, nuzzling me. Aang chuckled as I tentatively reached out and stroked his fluffy white fur. So _soft_. I felt strange, cowed by the way my heart melted in the presence of this large animal. It made my movements uncharacteristically shy...uncertain.

"He doesn't bite, you know," Aang told me. "Actually, he really seems to like you. Don't you, boy?"

Appa rumbled in agreement.

"Missed ya'," I said quietly, hugging his face. "I hope you don't mind me sitting on your back, big guy."

"Nah. He can carry plenty of people, so long as we aren't flying very far."

I looked over at Aang. "How many people are coming?" I asked.

"Just us. Koko and her friends all have chores to do."

I nodded, looking up warily at the saddle strapped on Appa's back. How was I supposed to get up there?

Aang smiled at my confusion. "You need a hand?"

I stared at his outstretched fingers and couldn't help but shake my head.

"Actually, I was going to say wings," I joked. "How do Sokka and Katara get _up _there, anyway?"

"They climb. But...well...no offense, but...you're not wearing the right clothes for that."

No kidding. I had been silently worrying that some one was going to look up the skirt of my dress as I tried inching my way up on to the saddle. I blushed when Aang pointed it out, though. Seriously, if the _twelve-year-old _monk saw the problem, no doubt there were creepers in the village with binoculars just waiting for me to start climbing. I shuddered.

What was _with _me? It wasn't like me to be _this _paranoid.

"So, how am I going to get up?" I asked, still eying Aang's hand dubiously.

"Just trust me."

I raised an eyebrow. "If you say so."

I took his hand. Quickly, Aang pulled me closer and scooped me up like a doll. Then, we gusted upwards with a force so swift I didn't have time to even blink. We shot up and seemed to slow down as we landed neatly on Appa's back. I lay there for a minute, dazed.

"You all right?"

I had forgotten how to breathe. "Holy shit."

"Yeah. I was like that too on my first time. Just wait until we actually start flying. You haven't seen _anything _yet...!"

I gulped. _Ayla...? I don't think I want to achieve universal peace THIS badly._

"_It's not so bad. Oh, wait...I forgot. You're solid."_

The mental image of me going _SPLAT _as I hit the ground.

"_Well...try not to fall," _Ayla concluded, eerily cheerful.

_AYLA...!_

"Hold on," said Aang, grabbing the reins and tugging on them pointedly. "Appa, YIP YIP...!"

* * *

Zuko stopped dead in his tracks. "Why do I get the feeling like that peasant is about to do something really _stupid_...?"

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH...!"

"Julie...! I can't breathe...!"

But I couldn't loosen my stranglehold on Aang. I was clinging to the poor boy like a cat in the middle of a tsunami. I think he was really surprised when I wouldn't let go of him and started screaming like a banshee.

Well, I'm sorry, but _you _try going about fifty feet in the air in less than twenty seconds and see how _you _react.

"Julie, it's all right," he gasped, trying to pry my fingers away from his windpipe. "Seriously, Appa won't let you fall. He's a very reliable flyer. Open your eyes."

I shook my head frantically, letting out a quiet squeak of terror. My head started to swim as I thought about how high up we were. I was _this _close to having a flashback of the Mast Incident. I remembered what it was like to practically taste my own vocal cords as I dangled upside down, with only the rigging to keep me from plunging down to the deck. I could almost hear the jeering of Chaang and his creepy minions over the wailing of the wind.

Aang finally managed to get my hands free from his neck. "We're fine. See? It's steady going now...and it's really pretty up here. Don't you want to see?"

I felt him squeeze my shaking hands, and I immediately thought of the hand that had held mine when I had been crippled with that infection. I felt myself instictively trusting that hand; and for a split second, I had a flash of Zuko's face appear in my mind's eye. About the feel of his hands on my wrists as he untangled me from the ropes and guided me back to the ground, to safety. To the feel of his skin against mine that night when I had gotten that fever...the way his touch had _burned_.

My heart skipped a couple of beats. _Stop thinking about Zuko...! _Tentatively, I cracked open an eye, having reached the conclusion that the world outside of my head was far preferable to the traitorous thoughts running amok _inside _of it. Even if the view would be downright terrifying.

"That's good," Aang chirped. "Now the other one."

But he didn't have to say anything. Because the sight of the open sky surrounding us was so absolutely breathtaking, it made both of my eyes snap open; they were so wide it was as if I was trying to catch the entire scene and trap them inside my skull. Clouds billowed and snaked around, the shapes far more distinct and beautiful from up close. I sucked in my breath and felt it stick inside my lungs. I couldn't breathe.

"Wow..."

"Yeah. Pretty cool, huh? I never get tired of the sky."

I just shook my head, peeking towards the ground. This was a mistake. It was nauseatingly far away. Quickly, I snapped my head up to eye-level so I wouldn't have to see how small the people looked on Kyoshi Island. Like _ants_.

"This is amazing," I whispered. I think I left my voice on the ground.

Aang just grinned at me, like I was in on a little secret of his. That was one of the things I really liked about him. It was really easy to get along with him, easy to talk to, and all-together fun-loving. Being around Aang was like having the chance to be a kid again; only this was better the second time around because my Dad was no where to be seen. It was just me, Aang, and Appa soaring around the clouds, free and unhindered.

I beamed at the sun. "_This _isn't so bad at all. It's falling that sucks. I don't ever want to go back to the ground again."

Aang nodded like he understood. "No one can fly forever," he said sadly. "And the sky will only take you so far. I mean, I could fly forever and I'd never be able to go back home. Not the home _I _remember, anyway."

I looked at him, some of the joy ebbing. He must have been talking about the monks.

"It'd be counterproductive to go backwards," I told him. I couldn't help but think of _my _past. I mean, think about it. Where would _I _be if I tried to go...well..._back_? "That's why it's important to keep moving forwards," I continued, shaking the thought away. "I mean...think about all the good things you're finding here and now. Think of all the people you wouldn't have met if you had stayed where you were. I don't think Monk Gyatso would have wanted that...right?"

Aang jumped, giving me a weirded out look. "I...never told you about Gyatso."

I froze. "Oh."

There was an awkward silence.

"Julie...I never got to ask you, but..." Aang shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well...one night, I had this dream...and..._you _were there. And you told me all this stuff..." He shook his head, his grey eyes filled with confusion. "Was that _real?_"

I tensed. "Um...about that...yeah..." I trailed off, realizing just how lame I sounded. I exhaled quickly. "Would you even believe me if I said that it _was _real? Or if I told you where I come from? You would think I was crazy."

I didn't tell him that _I _thought I was crazy. No need to push the envelope more than necessary.

He stared at me, suddenly serious. "No. I wouldn't. Because I dreamed it too." He looked very intrigued now, looking at me as though I were some kind of mythical being, like a unicorn or something. "So...will you tell me? I mean...about how you know so much? And come to think of it," he added, "how come you were with Zuko to begin with? He didn't say you were a prisoner, but...well..."

He stopped talking. I think he was remembering what Chaang and the other two soldiers were planning to do to me. But I wouldn't think about it.

I took a deep breath. "It's...a long story. Just promise that you won't...laugh...okay?"

Aang nodded. "Promise."

* * *

Mantis smiled seductively over her wine glass. "You're always so _serious_, Commander. You should...loosen up a little."

Zhao didn't take his gaze away from his looking glass. "With all due respect, Lady Mantis, if I decide to loosen up, I would have to be suicidal to do it with you. I keep losing good servants after you have your fun with them."

She shrugged. "It's not my fault they get a little over-zealous. It takes a special kind of man to satisfy my tastes, and I'm sorry to say I haven't met him yet."

The Commander's mouth set itself in a firm line. "That's because your tastes in men require them to be decapitated at the end of the act."

She just blinked at him. "You say that like it's some kind of tragedy. You'll get more servants. And I suppose I'll find better lovers...maybe one good enough to keep alive for a few more rounds."

"Well, look somewhere else, if you don't mind."

Mantis sighed, pouting a little. "That's rather ungrateful of you to say, Zhao. After I went and gave you a new arm and everything. The least you can do is throw me a boner here and there."

"I think you meant bone."

"No. I stand by what I said."

Zhao sighed. _Of course she does._

Kyoshi Island was fastly approaching from starboard. The Commander allowed his attention to drift away from the ebony-haired woman who had sidled up to him and started to stroke his arm-the new one-with her lips nudging gently into his ear. His eyes raked over the horizon before catching sight of something in the sky. He went still in surprise, then reached over and caught Mantis's hand.

He nudged the telescope into her palm. "Look up there. I think there's something we're both interested in."

She looked. And then she smiled.

"Ah. Julie. I thought you said she was traveling with Prince Zuko."

"I guess things changed. That must be the Avatar she's with."

Mantis didn't reply. She was staring intently at the red-head on the back of the sky-bison. She was laughing as the Airbender monk sculpted clouds into different faces, once giving himself a mustache and beard. There was a thoughtful expression on Mantis's face as she scrutinized the scene above them.

"They obviously can't see us," she commented. "So, you should have the element of surprise...for the moment."

Zhao smirked. "Too easy. Destiny must be on my side."

"The Mesmers are, at least."

"But aren't they the same thing, in the end?" the Commander quipped.

Mantis's mouth curved into a smile. "Even the Mesmers are bound to certain rules. That's why it's very important that Julie doesn't survive her little journey. And if you fulfill your part in all of this...she'll continue to be useful to us long after she's dead."

"As long as I can make her pay for her insolence, that's all that matters to me," Zhao replied. But his smile grew slightly more sinister. "Of course, if I can grab the Avatar in the process, that would make this all the sweeter."

"Very good. Now, remember. She has to be on the brink of life and death for this to work. Once it's over, you can do whatever you like to her."

The Commander turned slowly to face the woman nestled beside him. He raised an eyebrow sardonically, seemingly indifferent to the way she molded herself against his well-defined body. Either indifferent or oblivious, but either option was clearly irritating Mantis. She looked almost impatient as she met his cool gaze.

"I'm surprised you don't want to do this yourself. After all, she's _your..."_

"Commander Zhao!" the helmsman bellowed from the wheel. "We have trouble...!"

Zhao sighed. "What is it?"

The frightened soldier just pointed in front of the boat. Everyone turned in tandem in time to see a serpent-like coil sink back into the water. A moment later it reappeared on the other side, as though something very long was circling the vessel from under the sea. Zhao narrowed his eyes, irritation evident in his expression.

"The Unagi. I've heard rumors about it. Interesting..."

"How should we proceed sir?"

_"_As originally planned, Lieutenant. _Stealthily_. It shouldn't take me long to deal with the serpent...but I don't want anyone spotting us before sundown. We _will _launch our assault then, regardless. Just keep her close to the rocks."

"Y-yes, Sir."

A cheer went up among the men clustered on deck. From the looks of things, they were more than eager for the impending battle. They started muttering to each other, and the man caught clipped phrases about _real fun_, and _blowing the bitch up_. He said nothing to discourage these excited ramblings so long as everyone kept their mind on the task at hand.

Mantis smiled. "You don't miss much, Commander."

She wasn't talking about the impending invasion of the tiny island, or even about the Unagi. Zhao knew that.

"I'm just very careful with my details," he replied smoothly.

Her hand paused in its absent-minded tracing on his forearm. "Well, you're right about one thing...Julie _is _my responsibility. And I can assure you, I'm handling everything perfectly. There's no need to be concerned about _my _motives."

"I'm sure the eleven men you slept with thought the same thing before you killed them."

She looked slightly put off for a moment.

"It was _twelve, _Zhao. I thought you were _careful _with your details."

"I am. And I said _details_, not _trivialties_."

"You're mean."

"Yes," Zhao agreed, smiling at her as though they were sharing an inside joke. "But practical. No one ever gets anywhere in the world by being nice."

* * *

(Julie's POV)

Aang stared at me as I drew my tale to a close.

"So...you're saying that you're from _another world_...?"

I bit my lip, nodding slowly.

"And that all of us are just..._characters _in a story? And now you're a part of it, somehow?"

I looked up at him, expecting him to make some snide comment about my sanity. But when I met his gaze, all I saw was bewilderment. You could tell that he believed what I was saying just by the way he was listening so intently. But you could also see that he didn't really know what to make of it. I was wondering if he was having any sort of existential crisis. I know I would be in his shoes.

If so, it must have been a mild one. He only looked slightly troubled as he blinked at me. Maybe he hadn't connected all the dots yet; or maybe he had just went and interpretted my presence here to mean that he and his friends were capable of free will after all.

Okay, I'm going to shut up now. Philosophy always pissed me off, and I was spouting so much of it right now that I was sorely tempted to punch myself in the face.

"So, then, you know what's going to happen to me? To..._everyone_...?"

"Well...kind of. I _should_, but..." I frowned. _That's _what he was worried about? My all-knowing-ness? What was _with _this kid, anyway? "I dunno. It's like nothing is going the way it's supposed to in the show...er...story. I mean, remember what I told you about my Agni Kai against Zhao just now?" Aang nodded. "Well, in your story, _Zuko _was the one who was supposed to fight him...not me._"_

"But...aren't they on the same side?"

"No way!" I cried. "Zuko wouldn't team up with a butt-munch like Zhao if his only other option meant eating raw testicles out of a bowl!"

Aang still looked confused. Strangely enough, he was unfazed by my...erm..._poetry_.

"I don't understand," he said. "You're telling me that they _both _want to capture me...but that they're _enemies_?"

"Zuko doesn't like Zhao because Zhao would resort to any means to achieve his goal," I explained. "He's..." a total dick. "...ruthless."

And I knew this was true (I mean the whole bit about _why _Zuko hated Zhao's guts; besides the obvious pot-shots the Commander made at his scar, I mean). I knew this because he had all but told me so himself the night before my Agni Kai.

"Seriously," I said. "Look at how he made me fight in Zuko's place. He knew that Zuko wouldn't be able to sit idly by while he inflicted third-degree-burns on a _girl_...even one he completely can't stand, like me. He knew he'd have no choice but to tell him that you were alive. Either that, or he figured he could beat it out of me. I mean, I don't know how to fight. There was really no way I could feasibly defeat him."

"But you did." Aang just looked at me, interested. "So, how did you do it? Beat Zhao, I mean?"

I paused. "Um...well, actually I passed out. I don't really remember what happened."

He stared at me, but I kept my gaze on the clouds and he didn't push the subject. I was silently relieved.

No, as a matter of fact, I did _not _tell him about my being an Energybender. For some reason, even though I could spill the beans about him being a fictional character in an animated series (something he was taking surprisingly well, I might add, even if he didn't have any idea what a cartoon was), I just couldn't tell him about _me_. About the bending. Because seriously, it was freaky. It was _beyond _freaky.

I was hearing a VOICE in my head because of it, after all.

"_Aang wouldn't think you're a freak, Julie,_" Ayla told me. "_At least, I don't think he won't. He seemed really nice when I met him before at the Southern Air Temple_."

I went very still. _When...did YOU...meet the Avatar?_

"_Um...I never told you?_"

_No. _

"_Oh. Well, I did. It was...nice._" She was thoughtful for a minute, undoubtedly looking back on the experience. And then, all at once I saw her memory. As though it were my memory, and not hers, I recalled the conversation with Sokka, Katara's misguided intentions, Aang's huge blow-up over the dead monks, and how they all made up in the end. And I realized something very disturbing.

_Ayla...the Avatar freed you from the Southern Air Temple...but...you said something pulled you to me. Was that...also me?_

"_I don't know. But back then, it was like you were a giant magnet. I couldn't stop it._"

Did that mean I was an Energybender _without _Ayla's help? Up until now, I had just assumed that it was her possession of my body (for lack of a better term) that made me able to do these things. But now it looked like that wasn't true at all.

I felt dizzy. "Check, please."

* * *

**A/N: While Zuko and Iroh discuss Julie's chances of survival in hostile enemy territory, Zhao and Mantis begin to shape their plans. What will they do now that they know Julie is with Aang? Will the Unagi cause them any unnecessary delays as they plod on towards Kyoshi Island, hell-bent on razing it to the ground? Only the next chapter will tell.**

**Yes, I know Mantis is...um...direct. Deal with it. It's going to be a reoccuring element of her character, so feel free not to like her. I kind of don't, myself. But that's just me. And yes, she is totally hitting on Zhao. Isn't it creepy?**

**And don't worry about Aang. HIS existential crisis will come later. Much later. Right now, he's got something else on his mind. As does Julie when she discovers that she HERSELF is an Energybender, and that Ayla wasn't the cause of them. She's obviously not going to take it well. That being said, if my characters were well-adjusted enough to handle something like this in a mature, responsible manner, this story wouldn't be very interesting.**

**Anyway, since you guys really liked Zuko and Shen-Long's bickering, I can promise more of it in the next chapter...when Shen-Long realizes that Zuko plans on going to rescue Julie _on his own_. (Not a spoiler; he said that at the beginning of THIS chapter). The Fire Prince may have some hell to pay at some point.**

**Anyway, that's enough for now. REVIEW!**


	43. Reconsiled

**A/N: I'm not sure if I ever mentioned this before, but my family is really weird.**

**Take Easter for example. Easter is supposed to be a time of rejoicing and renewal of spirit, where you come together with your loved ones to roast the Easter Bunny or whatever it is people do on Easter. I wouldn't know, because my family doesn't seem to have normal traditions. Nor, apparently, have they ever heard about ANY of those things.**

**Instead, we all meet up for an Easter Brunch at this fancy restaurant, which SEEMS pretty normal until mid-way through the main course, when some of my relatives decide to show us these photos they took of their vacation at this island just off the coast of Maryland. Apparently, there are all these wild horses running around, and SOMEHOW they managed to get a picture of two horses _going at it_ on the side of the road.**

**Which, okay, I guess wouldn't have been so freaking weird if my grandma, who was sitting right next to me, hadn't kept _pushing the damn phone _at me so I could get a better look at the "nice horses." She had no idea they were getting their freak on, nor could she figure out why everyone was laughing, or why my face was so red.**

**Yeah, that's right. Grandma thought the horses were playing.**

**Finally, I had to explain it to her, but since I'm ME, I have the worst timing in the world. I blurt out, "Grandma...! The horses are having sex!" right at the same time the waitress comes by to ask if we're ready to order dessert. She gave me such a weird look, as though to say, "What's wrong with you? Showing a sweet old lady your creepy animal porn!" **

**Needless to say, I buried myself in writing this chapter the moment I got home. I hope the rest of you had a nice, horse-free holiday, regardless of what you celebrate or _how _you celebrate it. AND, I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**(Distant-Moon goes online to look up cost-effective therapists that specialize in dysfunctional families)**

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Reconsiled**

"Um...so, about that Unagi..."

Aang sighed as he waded and bobbed in the crystal-clear waters of the bay. A frown had settled on his face, causing his brow to scrunch up.

"I don't understand it," he called back to shore, where I was stretched out on a little hill. We had reached the ideal Unagi-hunting spot about two hours ago, reader, and I was long past hoping for a giant serpent sighting. Instead, I ran my fingers through the sparse bits of sand and let my mind drift with the churning sound of the waves. I found it really soothing since I had only ever been to a beach in my dreams.

Well, one dream in particular. One I had when I was a kid; one that was so beautiful and crisp in its details that I couldn't forget it. But I haven't had that dream in a long time, and I'm surprised that I thought of it, even now. Especially now.

Aang's voice interrupted my train of thought.

"The Unagi practically swallowed me _whole _the other day, and I had only been in the water for maybe ten minutes!" he said, exasperated. "Where did it _go_...?"

I sat up slowly. "Who knows," I replied, shrugging. "But honestly, this seems like a really sucky idea...waiting for a giant fish monster to come rip off your legs, I mean. Can't we do something else?"

"Like what?"

I thought for a minute. "Well...can you maybe show me your bending? All I've ever seen so far is Firebending, so..."

I let the thought go unfinished. Anyway, I was momentarily distracted, remembering what it was like to watch Zuko practicing his Firebending sets. His motions had been fluid, yet aggressive; powerful, but disciplined too. I knew Airbending would be completely different, which was why I was interested in seeing it.

Aang managed a grin. "The last time I showed you Airbending, you screamed like an angry spirit. And the time before that, you almost got blown down a flight of stairs with Prince Zuko."

"Are you calling me a wuss? Come on! Do some bending...!"

Now his smile was a real smile. "You asked for it," he warned me.

And then, no sooner had the words left his mouth then he shot up into the air like a cork. Water splashed everywhere, arching rainbows as the young Avatar swung himself over, about twenty feet in the air. I watched, mesmerized as he softened the blow of his landing by "ghosting" on a ball of air.

Aang landed with a soft _thunk _barely five feet away from me. I jumped at the impact of the sudden wind around us, shielding my face with my hands and barely noticing as he shot off, going around me in circles too quickly for my eyes to keep up. He zigged and zagged all over the place, taking himself farther and farther away. I squinted and tried to keep him in view, sometimes running up the slope to get a better vantage point.

Abruptly, I saw the cloud of dust grew very large as Aang changed direction. At practically seventy miles per hour (I was guessing), he sped _directly towards me_. I tensed and started backing away, but the ball of air wasn't slowing down. So, like the cool chick that I was, I completely freaked out and started hauling ass in the opposite direction.

I know. What a fearless bad-ass I was.

I could have sworn I saw Aang smirk as he gained on me. But peeking over my shoulder cost me my balance as I stumbled over a loose stone. I shrieked as I pitched, headfirst into a nearby bush.

I cringed, expecting an imminent collision. But at the last second he arched his ball of air around the bush, coming to a dead stop in front of where I lay, tangled, in a patch of brambles. His dead halt sent a spray of sandy dirt into my face.

"Oof...!"

Aang laughed at my expression. I was a mess of leaves and branches and had a sour look on my face as I spat out a mouthful of sand. My scowl became a full-on glower of death as I flopped gracelessly on to the ground. I guess I just wasn't meant to understand (or appreciate) Aang's sense of humor.

"Since when did _I _become the comic relief character?" I muttered as I attempted to comb the grains of dirt out of my hair with my shaking fingers.

"Comic relief?"

I glanced up and saw Aang's perplexed look. He held out a hand to help me up, and I took it shamelessly.

"A comic relief character usually exists to break the tension in a story..." I explained. "...like when all this bad stuff is happening, the comic relief character is there to take the brunt of it in a way most people find either ironic or funny to keep the story from getting too heavy with angst or drama."

Aang just gave me a blank stare. "And that's..._you_?"

I scowled. "Apparently. Why else would I get attacked by evil sand? I mean, that kind of thing generally happens to Sokka, for crying out loud!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just look at the guy's track record. When you guys first met, your sky bison _sneezed _all over him; then, Zuko beat him up with his own staff! And that's just the _tip _of the metaphorical iceberg! Now, here on Kyoshi Island, he got his chauvinist ass handed to him by a bunch of fan-wielding Susan B. Anthony's AND got chased out of their dojo with his own belt." I had been listing Sokka's offenses off on my fingers as I ranted. "Did I forget anything?"

"Nope. I'm pretty sure that's everything."

I sighed, flopping back on the sand.

"And look at _my _track record," I continued morosely. "I grew up in a near-literal shithole and was raised by a sadistic drunk; I leave my only friend in the world, expecting to see her in school on Monday, only to end up getting mugged, hit by a freaking _car_, and _drowned_...probably. I don't really remember that part too well."

"What's a car?"

I ignored him and kept ranting. "And when I wake up, do I find myself at the pearly gates of sheer awesome? Or the bad-ass casinos of hell? NO! Instead, I end up in another freaking dimension where the _entire world _is engulfed in a hundred-year war. AND I have to travel on a ship full of convicted felons and a fire-breathing _asshole _prince who treats me like I'm the scum of the earth! On top of it all, I have a striking resemblance to this head-honcho spirit worshipped by a religious _cult_ and now _EVERYONE _wants to kill me because of it!"

I stopped short, breathing heavily through my nose. I think I might have looked a little crazy right then and there. Aang was eying me warily, not sure which of my _many _issues he should address first. Finally, he just settled with the part I hadn't meant for him to know about; the Energybending and the thing about Ayla. I had been so upset that it had just slipped out somehow.

"Then those men on the beach...?"

"They were soldiers on Zu's ship," I told him. "But they were mad because some of their friends got killed when the Brotherhood tried to take me away. And before you ask, the Brotherhood are these cloak-wearing fanatics who somehow see me as some sort of ASSET just because I look like this Red Lady spirit they worship..."

Again, I left out a few details. I really didn't want to have to elaborate on the whole Energybending thing, which I knew I would have to do if I told him about Ayla. I just couldn't tell him that this Red Lady and Ayla were probably the same person...only Ayla sure as hell wasn't about to admit it to me. Her whole, _I can't remember, _thing was just getting a _little _frustrating. AND unhelpful, given my current predicament.

Aang looked worried. "But...if you're really from another world, how can you look so much like that spirit?"

"EXACTLY! _That's _my point! This shouldn't be happening to me because NONE of it is my fault! If anything, that idiot Zuko's to blame for letting them on the ship in the first place! That fight wouldn't have broken out if he had listened to common sense and...and..."

I trailed off. Because deep down inside, I knew the reason Zuko had let them aboard. It was because he had been worried. About me, a peasant, who wasn't waking up after an Agni Kai _I _provoked. A miserable, ungrateful excuse of a girl he had tried to protect, in spite of all the verbal abuse I had flung his way (and some behind his back). I could make up as many excuses as I wanted, but the truth was that there was no one to blame for this mess but me.

"No," I said. "It...it isn't fair to blame Zuko. He didn't know what else to do. He was trying to _help _me. All this time he's been looking out for me, and I went and threw it back in his face."

Aang looked very guilty all of a sudden as he averted his gaze to the water. As though my words had reminded him of something...or someone.

"I thought Zuko was one of the bad guys," he said slowly, trying to sound indifferent. "I mean...you said so yourself. He's a jerk."

"That's just it," I interrupted. "He's _not_. I mean...I _thought _he was, in the beginning, but now I...I mean...he's not...and I _don't_, but I..." I trailed off, frustrated that I couldn't put this feeling into words. "He's a good person. A relentlessly _anal _person, mind you, but...still...sometimes he can even be kind. Zuko's constant bitching is like his way of saying he _cares _about you."

"Then why was he keeping you prisoner?"

I sighed again. "He wasn't. I just...I didn't have anywhere else to go." I made a dejected pose in the sand. "Can we...talk about something else, please?"

Aang didn't say anything. He just stared and stared at me with those stormy grey eyes of his. After a minute of indecisiveness, he sat his Avatar-self down on the ground beside me. Neither of us said anything for a long time. We were listening to the cawing of the turkey-gulls and the sound of the waves. I'm not sure how long this silence lasted before he had figured out what he had wanted to say.

"So...you and Zuko are friends?"

"I don't know what we are anymore."

More crashing of the waves.

"What happened, then?" Aang asked. "If he was looking out for you, how did you end up with those men?"

I resisted the urge to gnaw on my bottom lip. "We...had a fight. He was...angry because...I don't even KNOW why, really. He just got mad when he saw me with this other soldier named Shen-Long. He and his sister Bo-Fen are kind of my friends, but he was making out like they couldn't be trusted. And then _I _got mad at him. I basically told him that _he _was the one who couldn't be trusted. I let him think that I..._hate _him."

"But you don't...do you?"

I shook my head miserably.

"So...then what happened?"

I shrugged. "The next day he completely ignored me, so Kuba and I were alone when we got ambushed by Chaang and the other two guys. And I haven't spoken to him since." I looked away. "But he probably hates me. I know _I _would if I were him."

Aang winced. "I...I think I know how you feel."

I looked up at him in surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah." The monk hugged his knees into his chest, looking quite small as he heaved a giant sigh. "I mean...when you're fighting with someone you really care about, and you don't know how to fix things. I know what that's like."

I honestly didn't know what to say to that. Obviously, he was talking about Katara.

"There's someone I used to know a long time ago...well, long for everyone else. For me, it still feels like only a few months...but it's been over a hundred years since I saw Monk Gyatso. He raised me," Aang confided.

I blinked. Okay...maybe he _wasn't _talking about Katara after all. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, intrigued and a little concerned at the blatant sorrow radiating from the last Airbender.

"We were happy together," he continued, looking miserable. "I did things other kids my age did. Gyatso treated me like a son, and I grew up thinking I was just another Airbender...but then, one day the elders brought me before them and told me I was the Avatar. They told me that they wanted to send me away, to another Air Temple...away from Gyatso."

"So, you ran away," I finished.

Aang's shoulders slumped, a silent confession.

"If I had just stayed where I was supposed to," he said quietly, "...maybe I could have done something. Maybe the Air Nomads wouldn't be...and Gyatso would still be..."

He stopped abruptly, shaking his head from side to side. He didn't look like a child anymore, but a man grieving for the loss of everything he ever loved. I was cowed at the difference grief made in him. For once, I could actually believe he was more than a flying twelve-year-old goofball.

"I know you said that I should just keep moving forwards," said Aang. "And you're right. If I had stayed behind, I'd have never met you, or Sokka, or...Katara..." he paused, looking sad. "But...I keep thinking I'm just going to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. I mean...I'm just a kid. How should I know how to end a war, or how to defeat the Fire Lord? People older and smarter than me have been trying for _years _to do that...and Katara just expects me to suddenly sweep in and fix _everything_."

I hesitated, then reached out and put a hand on Aang's shoulder.

"I think Katara just wants you to try your best," I told him. "Just like everyone else. And no one ever said you had to do this all alone, Aang. You're going to meet so many people on the way who will do everything they can to help...people who will inspire you...and people who will _be _inspired by you."

He cracked a small, pained smile. "You said that before."

"Huh?"

"In the dream I had, where we were both riding on Appa's back during the storm. You said that I wouldn't be alone...and that I should trust Katara and Sokka."

"Oh."

Aang went quiet for a moment, thinking.

"Listen," I said slowly. "I know it doesn't look that way right now, but Katara actually does care about you a lot. If she didn't, she wouldn't be pushing you to try your best. It's kind of like how Zuko always grouses at me and calls me Peasant all the time. He expects more out of me...and when he argues with me, it's like he's goading me into trying harder." I shook my head quickly, avoiding the tangent. "Katara doesn't expect you to stop being yourself just to save the world. She believes in you. And so do I."

The Air nomad was very still. "R...really?"

"Really," said another voice from behind, making us both jump.

Katara stood there, looking very hesitant as Kuba of all people led her forwards. I looked from one to the other, belatedly kicking myself for not realizing that this was the part in the episode where she makes her entrance and apologizes to Aang. And, _shit! _I was right in the middle of everything! Talk about awkward...!

"I heard what you two were saying," she said apologetically. "I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but...when you said you were going to find the Unagi, I got worried so I...wanted to make sure you were okay, Aang."

For a long minute, Katara and Aang just stared at each other, communicating silently with their eyes. Aang had a little smile on his face, looking reassured for the first time in...well...since I woke up, actually. But it was getting awkward for me since I clearly had no part in this Kataang fluff-bubble, and I kept shuffling from one foot to the other just to have something to do.

Finally, Kuba seemed to have had enough. He marched straight over to the Airbender and gave him a fierce scowl. "If Julie had gotten _eaten_, I'd have kicked your butt. Even if you are the Avatar."

"Um..." I was strangely touched by the boy's protectiveness. "Kuba, it's all right. I can't swim, anyway. I stayed on land, where it was safe."

He glanced at me searchingly, then shrugged. He backed off without a word, opting to come to my side and take my hand in his smaller, tan one. He squeezed my palm, as though testing to make sure it was really there.

"The only reason I'm not mad at you," he told me, "is because you don't know any better. You're hopeless without me."

I gave him a look. "Excuse me? I'm way older than you, you know. I'm the one who should be looking after _you_, not the other way around..."

Kuba set his jaw obstinately. "You're older, but I'm smarter and stronger. I know better than to go around trusting people and helping complete strangers for no reason. And I'm going to protect you whether you want me to or not. After all, you're way nicer than I am...so it's my job to make sure it doesn't get you killed."

What weird logic for a nine-year-old to have. Still, I could tell that arguing wasn't the right way to handle this. Kuba clearly was used to planting his feet in the ground and stubbornly staying put with his convictions. He and I sort of had that thing in common. Plus, he was an Earthbender. Standing firm was sort of a specialty of theirs, you know.

I decided to let the matter drop, for now.

"You sound kind of like Zuko," I joked, nudging him. "He says I shouldn't trust people so easily, either."

Kuba scowled. I don't think he liked being compared to the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Not in the least.

Aang and Katara watched our exchange with a hint of amusement. I could see them wearing matching smiles as we went back and forth in our banter. As the seconds passed, however, they would peek tentatively at each other before quickly looking away. It was clear they were looking for the right words for an apology, the likes of which continued to elude them.

Finally, Katara cleared her throat. "Um...Aang?"

"Yeah?"

She looked upset. "I didn't realize I was putting all this pressure on you. And I should have understood that you were still grieving for Monk Gyatso. I just...never stopped to think about how you were feeling."

Aang looked at her, his grey eyes wide in surprise.

Katara took a deep breath. "All of this was kind up just thrust on to your shoulders...and it wasn't fair for me to judge you. I'm sorry."

The Avatar just shook his head from side to side. "No," he said softly. "_I'm _sorry. I mean, you and Sokka told me that I still have a family. I just...I was sort of judging you too, I guess. I know it was hard for _you _when you lost your mother to the Fire Nation. _Of course _it's important to you that I take on my responsibilities as the Avatar. I guess...I was just afraid of letting you down." His eyes dropped to his shoes. "Of letting _everyone _down...like Gyatso. That's why I didn't want to leave Kyoshi."

"Oh, Aang..."

The monk jumped as she flung her arms around him and hugged him. After a few seconds of surprise, he put his arms around her and hugged her back.

"Ew," said Kuba. "Are they going to kiss or something...?"

"Don't get your hopes up," I replied. "It's still only Season One. Canon pairings _never _get a kiss scene until at least half-way through the series."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Finally, Aang and Katara seemed to have hugged themselves out. Thank God. This was getting waaaaay too fluffy for my tastes. They smiled at each other for a few seconds before turning to face us. I smiled back, though inside I was gagging at the lovey-dovey vibes in the air.

"We should probably head back to the village," Katara said. "Actually, Julie, Oyagi said he had a favor he wanted to ask of you...if you're up to it, I mean."

I thought about it for about half a second. "Is it life-threatening?"

"Not...that I know of."

"Then sure. It's not like I have anything better to do."

Maybe whatever it is will help me get my mind off of Zuko. But, obviously, I couldn't say that out loud. Strangely, I felt a little better at confiding in Aang earlier. He was a surprisingly good listener.

"And besides," I add. "I don't think we'll be seeing the Unagi around here, either."

Katara and Aang both frowned. "That's strange, though," she said. "The Unagi makes a sighting at least once a day. That's what the villagers said. Only it seems as if it's been gone for two days now. I wonder what happened."

I shrugged. I really couldn't bring myself to care about a freaking sea-serpent considering how I was still worrying about Zuko.

"It's probably sleeping. Let's head back."

* * *

"Well...that was exhilarating."

Zhao flexed his muscles casually as his men heaved at a giant net, trying to pull it and its contents on to the deck. Mantis stood next to him, a complacent smile on her voluptuous lips. She shifted her weight to her other hip suggestively as she watched the men working.

"You used my present well, I see."

"The Unagi just needed proper handling. But of course, you're right about your gift. It _is _useful. Very useful."

At the culmination of this statement, the men gave a giant tug, and the net flopped on to the deck with a sickening _squish-thud_. Inside were the charred remains of what looked like a giant eel-shaped thing with a dragon's head. The Unagi, barely recognizable in death, lay very still on the planks as the soldiers _huzzah'd_ and cheered at their capture.

**(A/N: I know you were all expecting a big fight scene, and I was all ready to supply one. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't procure the funds to rehire the Voice Actor for the Unagi. As such, the only thing I could do was give the character an off-screen death. What a shame...)**

She smirked. "Julie needs the same kind of handling, Zhao. We can't just barge in there with the war banners flying and give her time to escape."

"So, what do you intend to do, then?"

Mantis sighed, leaning against Zhao's shoulder as though he were a pillar. His brow twitched, but he seemed to tolerate the contact as best he could; despite the fact that it clearly wasn't welcome.

"I think I'll go in first," she said after a moment's deliberation. "Secretly. I'll find where she is and get everything ready for you. Meanwhile, you prepare your men for a stealthy invasion of Kyoshi Island."

"They'd have to be blind not to notice an invasion force on their very shores," Zhao commented dryly.

Mantis didn't look very fazed. "Not after what _I _have planned. Trust me, Commander. By sunrise tomorrow, Julie will be as good as dead."

* * *

**A/N: Not much to say here, except that apology scenes are SOOOOOOOOO excruciating for me to write. Conflict is always more interesting, but I guess it's better to have the characters connect to each other to a certain extent. Here we see Julie spilling her guts to Aang about her issues with Zuko, and that makes him realize that he was wrong about Katara. Hence, apology scene.**

**What has Mantis planned for the unsuspecting villagers? Where the holy hell is Zuko? Why hasn't he saved Julie yet? How long am I going to drag this episode-arch out for?**

**I wish I knew. I keep trying to tie things up, but there are just too many loose threads. (Slumps dejectedly) Anyway, keep me going please. REVIEW!**


	44. The Ends and the Means

**A/N: I just wanted to tell you all how much I like cats. They are cute and fluffy, AND they have tails, AND they go "meow." They can pretend to ignore you as you go about your business, but then all of a sudden you feel them snuggle up against your leg and purr. And then, when you pick them up and dance around with them, they give you such an offended look. It's as though they're saying, "How dare you cuddle me? This is horribly undigni...oooh! I'm purring now!"**

**I really wish I had a cat. But the reviews were just as nice. Too bad they aren't very cuddly. Nor do they go "meow." **

**Still. I'm very happy with the reader response as of late. I know the last chapter was kind of short, so I'm going to make up for it with lots of humor. And yes, before you ask, Zuko is NOW on Kyoshi Island. He is going to try to rescue Julie now. Only it's not going to go as planned...for a number of reasons; some particularly eye-opening, and the rest just plain bizarre. You're going to have to read to find out what befalls the Fire Prince on his so-called "mission."**

**Enjoy! **

* * *

**Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Ends and the Means**

(Zuko and Iroh's POV, third person)

Zuko was dressed in his ninja best as he finished strapping on the last of his (very few pieces of) equipment. The lifeboat had been set up and was ready to be dispatched into the bay behind Kyoshi Island. The ship was docked on the far-side, away from the village-though it hardly would have mattered. As the sun sank lower on the horizon, a dense fog had broken out over the water, masking the presence of the Fire Nation forces...even from each other.

Under those circumstances it probably made sense that Zuko had no idea that Zhao's ship was docked just out of sight behind a distant row of jagged rocks. The two crafts were a mere twenty minutes away from each other. In any case, he had other things to worry about.

"You must be cautious, Prince Zuko," Iroh advised him, handing him a lantern. "If you are seen, it will not only be dangerous for Julie, but for you as well. If you are in over your head, _get out_. Immediately."

"I'll do what I have to, Uncle." Zuko frowned, staring at the other thing the ex-General was holding. "Um...you might want to be careful with that."

Iroh smiled, glancing down at his "possession." Cradled in his arms was Julie's egg, which now bore cracks so deep they looked like scars. Every couple of seconds the egg would shake violently, but the older man was able to keep a firm grip on the nearly hatched newborn.

"I think it will be fine. It's almost out of its shell."

Zuko didn't take his eyes off the egg. "She'll probably regret not being around to see it hatch. But it can't belped...and it's not _my _problem, anyway." Suddenly, his golden eyes became very sharp as they scrutinized General Iroh. "I wasn't expecting you to come see me off. Did you already do what I asked you to do?"

"Regarding what, nephew?"

He heaved a sigh. That answered _that _question.

"Shen-Long, Uncle. Did you take care of him like I _specifically _asked you?"

Iroh seemed mildly irritated by the question. "Now, honestly...I think you are being a tad unreasonable, Prince Zuko. Think about how much easier it will be to complete this mission with another person. Please reconsider."

Zuko's expression hardened. "Absolutely _not_."

"Your reason being?"

It should be said that, while most of the crew was going about their usual routine with very little stress and aggravation, the Fire Prince had spent the past couple of hours envisioning various gruesome scenarios involving Julie and her captors. As his speculations became increasingly worse, Zuko managed to work himself up until he was a hair's breath away from the end of his patience. Which was probably why Iroh's casual inquiry was enough to send him over the edge.

"My reason being? How about the fact that the man is completely insubordinate?" he exploded. "Or the fact that he can't be trusted with Julie? For all we know, he could be in league with her kidnappers...he could have planned the whole thing!"

Iroh did not appear moved by Zuko's rant. "I seriously doubt that."

"Well, I hope you understand if I choose to disagree with you," he replied through gritted teeth. "Either way, he's not coming with me. And I expect you to keep him distracted for me until I get back."

"I'm sorry, Prince Zuko, but...I cannot doubt Shen-Long's sincerity. For what my opinion is worth, I believe him to be a very honest man...and I doubt he would attempt something so underhanded towards someone he cares about." He paused, giving Zuko a knowing look. "Furthermore, he seems to care for Julie _quite a lot_," he added pointedly.

Zuko's brow twitched, making it look as though one of the arteries in his skull had imploded on itself. His jaw set itself firmly as he turned his back swiftly on General Iroh. His golden eyes were smoldering as they stared out towards the foggy night.

"Uncle," he said slowly. "I'll make it worth your while."

The older man looked somewhat affronted at the suggestion. "Nephew! Do I really look like the type of man to accept bribes? Really...even if it were a bribe from a member of my family, it would be unthinkable to..."

"If you keep Shen-Long out of my hair," Zuko interrupted. "...I'll let you visit Ginseng Village."

Iroh froze. "G-Ginseng Village?" he said, his voice faltering in a manner startlingly out-of-character for the steadfast warlord. "As in..." he paused to swallow. "...the famous Tea Capital of the World, tucked away in the Jade Mountains?"

"Yes."

"The one that hasn't been accessible to the Fire Nation for nigh a century because of the war?"

Zuko looked miffed. "_Yes_, Uncle. _That _Ginseng Village."

For the first time, the Dragon of the West seemed genuinely torn. He bit his lip guiltily as he stared temptation in the face. The Fire Prince glanced at him over his shoulder and could almost see him wrestling with desire, trying to stay true to his convictions. He sighed, realizing that he might need to up the ante a bit.

"If you can keep Shen-Long distracted long enough for me to complete my mission," he said. "I'll let you take a three-day vacation in Ginseng Village. And I'll let you drag me to whatever ridiculous venue you want."

Iroh's eyes widened in joy. "Do you mean it?"

"I'm a man of my word."

"I don't...know..."

Zuko kept his tone even, realizing that the older man was close to cracking. "I'm not asking for much, Uncle."

"Well..."

"Three. Whole. Days."

There was a brief silence as the two regarded one another. It took General Iroh about three seconds to make his decision. Slowly, he raised his shrewd eyes to meet his nephew's triumphant stare.

"If you want, I can break his legs to keep him from following you," offered the Dragon of the West.

Zuko smiled one of his very rare, very quiet smiles. However, it clearly had some violent intentions towards the party in question. "That won't be necessary," he replied in a low rasp. "Just keep him occupied for me. I don't care _how _you do it so long as it doesn't kill him. I'll need to question him when I get back with the Peasant."

With that said, he turned back towards the lifeboat and climbed aboard. He gave the signal to the men in charge of turning the cranks, and they immediately went to work. Slowly, the tiny vessel was lowered into the water. Iroh moved to the side of the ship and watched with a solemn expression as Zuko's little boat drifted off and vanished in the fog.

The last thing he saw was Zuko slipping on a blue mask. A second later his entire body became a ghostly silhouette, then disappeared all together.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

"No way. I'm not doing it."

"Julie, please! It's just for one night...!"

I folded my arms, sticking out my jaw stubbornly. "No way in _hell, _Katara. Oyagi's just going to have to find someone else."

"He specifically wanted _you_ to look after Merle and Sanji," the Waterbender reminded me, placing her hands on her hips. She gave me a stern, yet searching glance as she tried, again, to steer me towards the small hut on the outskirts of the village. "It's just until he finishes at the town meeting...and that's only supposed to last for a couple of hours at best."

"What about their parents?" I complained. "Don't tell me _they're _at the meeting, too."

Kuba, who had been watching me and Katara argue for the past several minutes, finally decided to break in. "Actually, they're dead."

That stopped me in my tracks. "Wha?"

The young Earthbender stretched his arms and folded them behind his neck. "Merle told me all about it. It was an accident...but their house caught on fire one night and killed her parents while they were sleeping. She said she climbed out a window with Sanji on her back. He was only two at the time, so he wasn't too heavy or anything."

"They're..._orphens_?" I said, horrified.

Oh, holy hell. I was going to burn for the rest of eternity if I turned down this job, wasn't I? You don't just say no to a couple of orphens. I mean, it's one thing to turn your back on your friends and family...but _orphens?_ That's, like, the worst bad karma I can think of. As a matter of fact, the only way I could possibly envision a worse scenario would be if one of them had some sort of disability...like a crutch or something. Then, I'd _really _be screwed.

"It's okay, Julie," said Kuba, noticing the stricken look on my face. "Oyagi is their grandfather. He even paid for the best healer on Kyoshi to give Merle a new leg after her old one got crushed by falling beam...you know, in the fire and stuff." The boy's expression brightened a little. "It's cool, though. It's made of _metal_...!"

Oh, yeah. I was SO going to hell.

"The little one, Sanji...he's not crippled too, is he?"

"No," Kuba replied, smiling mischievously. "But he _is _deaf and mute."

I facepalmed. "Beautiful."

"Actually, I was just kidding. Sanji's just a normal four-year-old."

Oh, perfect. He was a _preschool-aged _orphen? That's not much better than a deaf/mute oprhen so far as bad karma went. I would be totally FUCKED if I backed out of this. I may as well do the limbo over their parents grave and deficate all over the statue of the Avatar Kyoshi while I was at it.

"_Strange idea,_" Ayla commented. "_But I guess I'll do it if you will. I'll try anything once._"

_I'm being sarcastic._

"_Oh._"

Spirits.

"I...I'm no good with kids...!" I protested weakly as Kuba and Katara frog-marched me all the way to the front door. "I've never babysat anybody in my entire life! I mean, I can barely take care of myself, let alone a pair of orphens!"

"Suki said she and Sokka would come by and check up on you, just in case you needed the help," the Waterbender reassured me.

I paused, taken aback by the unexpected news. "I thought Suki and your brother were having a feud right now."

"It's a love-hate thing," Katara explained. "But Sokka went back to the dojo this morning and apologized. Apparently he felt really bad about being so disrespectful...mostly because of you and Kuba calling him a macho jerk before." She smiled ruefully. "Good thing Suki doesn't hold a grudge..."

I looked at her strangely. "Isn't she making him wear a dress and make-up for the entire day?"

"Um...well..."

"And she only _really _accepted his apology after she got to parade him to the entire village as the "new girl" on her team," Kuba chimed in.

Katara fell silent.

Point made. Score one for me...and for Kuba too, I guess.

Oyagi opened the door before we had even reached the end of the walkway. He smiled at me gratefully, and I felt another pang of uneasiness. Unfortunately, Katara was strong enough to drag my frozen feet the rest of the way, and I had no choice but to follow the town elder inside his humble abode. I tried to take a mental note of any and all windows I could throw myself out of at a moment's notice.

I mean it. I'm no good with kids.

"I appreciate your helping me out tonight," Oyagi told me, steering me towards a den-area. I noticed some toys laying out and felt my insides start to crawl in anxiety. "The kids are looking forward to meeting you...especially after the story your Kuba had for them regarding your brave exploits."

Slowly, I turned my gaze to the dark-haired boy beside me. "What _kind _of exploits?"

Kuba didn't bat an eye. "The way you beat Commander Zhao in an Agni Kai. And how you won the eelhound egg from that gambler. You know; _those _things."

I went very still. "Um...I think you might have been exaggerating _just a little_ in your stories, Kuba." I turned to Oyagi, trying to appear sheepish. "Kids. They say the darnest things sometimes."

The last thing I wanted was for anyone to find out I was an Energybender. I already had enough enemies because of it. Seriously, I would rather the entire village go on thinking I was just a near-rape victim than for them to find out the truth. And _both _of Kuba's stories involved me Energybending. Good lord, how many people did he tell, anyway?

"_Fifty-seven,_" Ayla replied in an offensively cheerful tone of voice. "_Well...fifty-eight if you count Foaming Mouth Guy, but he was unconscious at the time, so..._"

_Enough. I get it._

"Regardless," Oyagi said, almost as cheerfully as Ayla. "Merle and Sanji love hearing stories. Even made-up ones."

"I _wasn't _making them up," Kuba snapped sullenly. "It's true. Julie really _did _beat Commander Zhao..."

Immediately, I faked a violent coughing fit to cover the end of that sentence. Katara and Oyagi were looking at me strangely, but both of them helped drop me into the nearest chair until the uncontrollable spasms "passed." I gratefully accepted the glass of water I had been given, and was just considering the possibility of faking sick to get out of babysitting when I realized that the hand who had given it to me was too small to belong to Katara or Oyagi. Or even Kuba, for that matter.

A little boy, no taller than a folding card table, oggled at me. His brown eyes were fixated on my hair, which I guess must have looked pretty freakish to him. He stared at me for a good ten seconds before asking, "Is she a spirit?"

Oyagi patted the child on the head. "No, no, Sanji. This is Julie. She's the one Kuba and I were telling you about...a special friend of Avatar Aang. And she's going to be your babysitter until I get back. Is that all right with you?"

Sanji seemed to consider this for a moment. Then, he nodded.

"Um...wait a minute. I can't just..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Oyagi cut me off with a genuine smile. "A friend of Avatar Kyoshi's current incarnation is more than trustworthy enough to look after my grandchildren for an evening. Besides," he added. "Sanji seems rather taken with you. He doesn't usually like strangers."

Smart kid. Or at least, I'd be more willing to say that if there was any evidence behind Oyagi's claim. But considering the way Sanji had immediately crawled on to my lap and refused to be moved, I found it hard to believe. The little monster began sifting through strands of my freakishly red hair like a baboon searching for fleas. I guess I couldn't blame him-it was a weird color for someone in this dimension AND kind of shiny. I cringed more than once as my hair got pulled, hard, in the haste of his investigation.

Ayla sensed my rising panic and why. "_Easy, Julie. Deep breaths. It isn't Zhao. Breathe._"

I exhaled quickly. Of course, she was right. Zhao was far away from here. He couldn't hurt me now. As difficult as it was to keep myself from lashing out, of imagining the Commander's hand tangled savagely in my scalp, I managed to keep myself under control.

Sanji gave me a toothy grin. Katara and Oyagi smiled at my sour expression, probably thinking how _cute _we looked.

When I get back to my dimension, I am SO getting my tubes tied.

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

Zuko had gotten lucky for once in his life. Between the currents pushing the tide in towards the beach and his own steadfast determination to get there, he reached Kyoshi Island in record time. The only thing that had detained him had been the lifeboat itself; namely, finding an adequate hiding place for it. Having nothing to work with except for sparse patches of forest around him (all too far from the water to make it worth the effort of dragging the vessel over there), Zuko gave up and plunged nimbly into the woods. Time was running out, and it would be better spent finding Julie and getting the hell off the island.

It hadn't taken him long to find the village, either. A couple of village women were headed home for the evening, each carrying a bundle of clothes they had just washed in the nearest stream. They were so engrossed in their blithe chatter that they didn't notice the man in the blue mask tailing them, unseen in the thick branches of the trees.

"I feel sorry for the girl," the plump one commented with a sigh. "Poor thing...nearly raped on the beach by those Fire Nation soldiers. Good thing the Kyoshi Warriors were there to put things right."

Zuko went very still on the branch. He was listening _very _intently now.

The other girl clucked sympathetically. "I've seen her. She's a pretty one, once you get her out of those boy's clothes. Even with that red hair...I'm not surprised they went after her. I just wonder where she came from. She wouldn't say."

"Hmnnn..."

"Thank the Spirits for the Kyoshi Warriors...that's all _I _have to say to the matter."

The girls left the forest, resuming their conversation in low undertones. Zuko didn't bother trying to listen to the rest. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to anyway, given what he had already heard. He felt almost lightheaded as the words replayed themselves inside his head.

_Nearly raped on the beach..._

_Boy's clothes...red hair...not surprised they went after her._

For a long time, Zuko suspected that the men his father had supplied him for his mission were subpar in comparison to the rest of the soldiers who served under the Fire Nation banner. While nothing was wrong with them _physically_, he couldn't stiffle the feeling that there was something _off _about them. With the notable exception of Jee and _his _men, all of whom had served under his uncle during the seige of Ba-Sing-Se, Zuko's crew seemed to be composed of nothing but criminals and cutt-throats.

But they were Fire Nation soldiers. Not even in his wildest dreams could Zuko imagine someone loyal to the crown committing an atrocity like _that_. The worst he had anticipated from Julie's kidnappers was murder. A quick, cold-blooded murder. And while it certainly wasn't much better, at least Zuko could justify such behavior in his mind (even if he happened to disagree with it).

But _torture? Rape? _That was something he had feared from the inquisitors on Kyoshi Island...from foreign enemies. Not _his _men. How could _anyone _attempt something so disgusting and _dishonorable_? Especially someone from the Fire Nation?

Zuko felt like his churning stomach was full of fire. He was breathing heavily through his nose, trying to get his confusion and temper under control. He was surprised at the intensity of it, but that surprise was dull and barely registered in the wake of his fury. He closed his eyes, his thoughts buzzing and whirling inside his skull, unable to get Julie's face out of his mind.

He could easily imagine the defensive scowl and frightened eyes she wore whenever she was on the verge of defeat. He wondered if _that _was the face she had worn when those bastards ganged up on her...

It was all his fault for leaving her alone. It hadn't just been naive of him to turn such a blind eye to his own men. It had been grossly irresponsible. Zuko found himself miserably contemplating if this was the first time those men had assaulted someone. Maybe even right under his nose. After all, even he had to admit that his hunt for the Avatar had been eating up all of his attention...that is...until he had met Julie.

Whatever had happened to Julie, whatever his men did (whether under orders or not) was _his_ fault. _His _responsibility. If he continued to be so negligent of his crew, it would take more than capturing the Avatar to restore his honor; especially if they committed more atrocities while he was otherwise _occupied _with his mission.

Whatever Zuko's personal ends amounted to, he knew now that they would never justify _those _means.

"My...someone looks upset," came a sultry voice from below.

Zuko's gaze swiveled down to the base of the tree trunk. He locked eyes with a noticably curvacious older woman with dark hair. She smiled playfully up at him, stroking the bark of the tree with a single hand. The motion looked suggestive, almost...lewd.

But something in her face looked familiar somehow. Had he met this woman before?

"It probably isn't smart of me to go sidling up to a complete stranger in the middle of the forest," she continued idly. "A strong young man like you could easily overpower me if he wanted to..."

She smiled at him again and something clicked in Zuko's brain. That was _Julie's _smile. More than once she had grinned at him the same way this woman was grinning at him now. Confident; mischievous; wicked and alluring and...

...wait a minute. What? Did he really just use a word like _alluring _to describe Julie? The crazy, redhaired peasant girl, Julie? He clearly wasn't thinking straight. Probably, his mask was strapped on too tight.

"Who are you?" he hissed, loud enough for her to hear him, but quiet enough to mask his voice from her.

As quietly as he could, Zuko climbed down from the branch, landing like a cat on the dead leaves. He took a wary stance as he got a better look at the strange woman. The face was a lot like Julie's face, but more mature. Except for the mane of noticably darker hair cascading down her back, she could have passed for Julie's older sister...maybe. There was also the fact that she had a _lot _more to her figure than Julie did.

Maybe he was just imagining the similarities. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Wouldn't _you _like to know," she replied. "I could be an enemy, but I don't mind being your friend for a little while. Care to take a walk?"

"No."

"What a shame. I was hoping for some company...but I suppose it's for the best. I have some things to do, after all. Better to get them done quickly before I have my fun for the evening. Maybe I'll meet up with you later, boy."

Zuko found himself backing away as the woman sidled up to him. She was almost exactly his height, though much older, and seemed almost magnified by the sheer weight of her confidence. She wet her lips with her tongue, and Zuko felt his stomach churning in anxiety. He didn't really like the way this woman was looking at him, like a piece of meat she wanted to rip into. He felt his back brush up against the trunk of another tree, and before he could move around it and escape, her hand found its way to his shoulder.

"I bet you're sexier without the mask on," she purred, reaching up and stroking the side of his face.

Zuko was unnerved. It was almost as if she knew there was a scar right there, underneath the mask. But, of course, that was ridiculous. He had never met this woman in his life, he was sure of it. She had no reason to know him...no way of recognizing him, with or without the mask.

He swallowed heavily, resisting the urge to bolt. After all, he needed answers. Trying not to think of her warm breath against his neck, he drew his Dao swords from their sheaths on his back and held them at her throat.

The woman quirked an eyebrow, intrigued.

"There's a girl on the island," he said slowly. "Someone I'm trying to find. Her name is Julie. You know her, don't you?"

She smirked. "Know her?" she repeated, laughing. "I know her better than _you _do. Even better than she knows herself."

Zuko felt his heart skip a beat. "How? Who _are _you?"

The woman, oblivious to the blades pointed at her throat, tossed her head, sending strands of her dark hair dancing over her shoulders. A sickeningly sweet smell reached his nose, a cloy scent that was overwhelming and probably meant to be a distraction. Zuko certainly found it to be a good one, seeing as he could barely think as he breathed the stuff in. He was starting to get nervous. She was standing _way _too close now. His entire body tensed up.

"If you're some kind of prostitute," he said slowly. "I'm not interested."

She seemed to find that amusing rather than offensive.

"As much as I'd like to play games with you," she said. "...I'm afraid I have somewhere to be. I'll answer your questions another time. Maybe."

Zuko was about to protest when he felt a distinctly slender hand snake around his waist towards his butt.

**...!**

His entire mind blacked out in that one instant. Any thought or reasoning ability had suddenly and abruptly switched off, leaving only a paralyzing horror and panic in its place. The very idea of this older woman coming at him with such _blatant _intentions made his arms detach themselves from his brain; they was flailing at random, each swipe sloppier and more poorly aimed than the last. All she had to do was to step back. It was child's play avoiding the Dao swords in his hands as she moved well out of reach of his swing.

Her sudden absense caused Zuko to lose his footing and fall flat on the ground.

He blinked, bemused and speechless behind his mask. Clearly the woman was mentally unstable. Why else would she be laughing at him now?

"I look forward to our next meeting, mystery man." She turned her back on him and began walking towards the village. "And since you asked, you can call me Mantis."

Zuko realized with a jolt that his quarry was escaping. Quickly, he scrambled to pick up his Dao swords, but by the time he had plucked them out of the grass and leaves, the woman was no where in sight. He jumped to his feet and began looking around.

She was gone.

Thoroughly skeeved out at this point, Zuko swallowed just to bring some moisture into his mouth. What in the name of Agni had just _happened_?

* * *

**A/N: Yes. Zuko DID just get groped by Mantis. And no, she has no shame. There are no lows she won't sink to when it comes to her prey. Be it Zuko, Zhao, or a platypus bear...that is, if she can get it to hold still long enough. (Shudder)**

**While it probably wasn't vital to the plot to have Mantis hit on Zuko, I thought some comic relief was needed. The tone was starting to get a bit heavy, what with Zuko finding out that his men almost raped Julie. As we can see, the Fire Prince is starting to wake up to the reality of war. Fire Nation soldiers are just as capable of committing war crimes and atrocious acts as soldiers from any other nation. **

**In this instance, he matures a little bit; realizing that it isn't enough just to capture the Avatar to bring back his honor. He has to take responsibility for his crew. He has to learn what it means to be a leader of men, as well as the true meaning of honor. It brings up an interesting question: do the ends justify the means? If Zuko captures the Avatar because pushes on blindly and ignores the actions of his crew, will it taint his victory? Can his father _really_ give him back his honor if Zuko sullies it to complete his mission?**

**Meanwhile, Julie is dealing with a completely different dilemma. Now forced to babysit for Oyagi's grandkids, she desperately tries to keep her Energybending a secret. But Kuba doesn't seem to agree with her MO. Will the truth come out? What will happen if it does? **

**If you really want to know, REVIEW! I worked my butt off to make this chapter awesome, and I must say that I'm proud of all the character development here. So, please...REVIEW!**


	45. Trust is a DoubleEdged Sword

**A/N: Many of you seemed surprised at the direction my story is going in (which is probably a good thing). While I intend to keep some former outline of the old episodes, I should probably point out that a lot of this is going to be uncanon. As to WHICH parts I intend to keep the same, you're going to have to read and find out. But just so you know, the only thing I'm guaranteeing will stay the same is the basic foundation of the Avatar universe (as stated by Mike and Bryan themselves) and the main character's personalities. **

**So don't worry. Aang is still the bad-ass Avatar. He is not going to start eating meat and playing Quidditch, for crying out loud. It's just that his journey may take him to different places in this fanfic. I DEFINITELY intend to keep the original cast IN CHARACTER. So please, for the love of all that is blessed with a cream filling, let me know if someone is acting OOC. With early intervention, I can lampshade...er...I mean, correct the mistakes as quickly and painlessly as possible.**

**Obviously, the pairings of certain characters _might _veer off canon, and I'm not just referring to my very blatant, poorly disguised OC pairing with Zuko. I think a vegetable would have been able to sniff THAT one out. I'm not very subtle with my main pairing. But the others are open to tweaking, just so you know. I'm asking you guys right now (so that there are no unpleasant surprises later) not to flame me if you see a pairing that you don't like. It's just the way it is.**

**On a random note, I'm quite surprised by how many Zutara fans I have reading this. I'm not sure what I should make of that one. **

**Anyway, enjoy the next chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty: Trust is a Double-Edged Sword**

Shen-Long was furious.

"What do you mean he went after her?"

Huang, the soldier on deck at the moment, merely bit his lip. He hadn't expected to see his shipmate when he didn't leave with Prince Zuko on his rescue mission; and certainly not in such a rage. He had just assumed Shen-Long was calmly obeying his orders to stay behind...and needless to say, he did not have an explanation prepared when he demanded to know why the only remaining life-boat was now missing.

Never did he suspect that Prince Zuko would simply leave without saying _anything _to the man at all. He didn't think that someone of such a higher rank would resort to something so..._sneaky_.

"Um...well..."

"Well, what?" Shen-Long fumed. "I suppose you're going to say that there's no other way for me to get to Kyoshi Island, is there?"

Huang swallowed heavily, noticing that the other man had lit up a flame. "Um..."

Cursing bitterly, the soldier wheeled around and slammed his fire-cloaked fist into the wall. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily through his nose for several tense seconds, the flames pulsing in time with his breaths. However, it did little to calm him down.

"That son of a bitch," he muttered. "If anything happens to Ayla..."

Huang looked confused. "What?"

Shen-Long slowly opened his eyes. "Nothing. Just...go back to your post. I'll think of something..."

Uneasy, the other man retreated. He didn't dare to take his eyes off Shen-Long for a single moment, as though afraid he would lunge for his throat without a moment's notice. But the soldier didn't pay him any mind as he quickly scurried away.

For a long time, Shen-Long just stood there, letting his dark thoughts steer him down the path of oblivion. Fuming silently, his frantic mind tried to think of a way around Zuko's treachery. There was no way he could just sit idly by, while Agni only knew what was happening to Ayla. Even if there was only a slim possibility that Julie and Ayla were the same person...he couldn't take the risk of losing her.

Abruptly, he felt someone whack him on the back of the head; hard enough to send his face smacking into the wall.

"Gah...!" Shen-Long wheeled around, clutching his nose. "What the hell, Bo-Fen?"

The female soldier just shrugged her shoulders. "You were lookin' more pathetic than usual, you hob-knockey. Thought I'd come and beat it out of ya'."

He heaved an angry sigh, giving his sister the most whithering look he could muster. "Good to know you're always looking out for my best interests..." he grumbled sarcastically, stalking away towards the stern. Bo-Fen eyed him for a few seconds before following.

"So, what's eating you? Besides the usual, I mean. No offense, but you're starting to look like the Prince a little."

Shen-Long's neck muscles went tense at the casual reference to Zuko.

"The little bastard took the last life-boat. He deliberately snuck off in it an hour ago so I couldn't go with him."

"So? Zuko's somewhat competent. He's proven that more than once, Shen. I'm sure he'll get back with Julie just fine, and then she'll have more reasons to make gah-gah eyes at him when he's not looking."

Shen-Long didn't answer. Bo-Fen narrowed her eyes at him.

"Unless, of course, that's what you're afraid of," she commented. "You're worried that the Prince will sweep Julie clean off her feet."

"It's not Julie I'm interested in. I have nothing against her, but...she's not the one I..._care _about."

There was a long silence. Shen-Long ducked his head, clearly miserable. His blue eyes looked visibly torn as he stared at the overcast sky. Neither one seemed to notice the fog surrounding the ship, too absorbed in the convoluted twists and turns of their consciences.

"You don't know for sure that Ayla is even Ayla anymore," Bo-Fen spoke up. "Even if Julie _is _a reincarnation of Ayla...Shen, she's not the same person anymore."

"Unless Ayla is alive somewhere inside of Julie."

"You can't prove that. And I can't let you throw everything away just because you're getting attached to our target." She stared incredulously at her brother for a long moment. "Think about what you're saying. Dorian will _kill _you if you betray him. He'll kill us _both_."

"He can try."

"Shen-Long...!"

"I'm going to protect her," Shen-Long snarled, wheeling around suddenly to glare down at his sister. For once, she was stunned into silence. "I don't care if she doesn't remember me...or our mission! I don't care if only a fleeting shadow is left, barely stirring inside of that girl! Even a fragment of Ayla is worth guarding with my life, Bo-Fen. I won't let abandon her again..."

Bo-Fen just shook her head at him. "You aren't worried about either of them _dying _right now. You just can't stand to watch the Prince make a move on someone who looks so much like Ayla! You just don't want to have to watch her falling in love with someone else for the second time...!"

Shen-Long went rigid.

"Do you honestly think this is fair to Julie?" she demanded. "She's really starting to fall for Prince Zuko. It's freaking obvious, Shen...! Do you think she's going to understand when you sweep in and put her on a goddamn _leash_?" She stared into her brother's face for a moment. "She may not be Ayla, Shen-Long, but she's still a _human being_."

It took the soldier just a few seconds too long to reply.

"Says the person calling her a _target_," he snapped. "You should make up your mind about whose side you're really on, Bo-Fen, before you even _think _about asking me to make up mine. Anyway, I've already made my decision."

He squared his shoulders, exhaling sharply before storming off towards the hold. Bo-Fen shook her head again, slower this time.

"I guess you have," she said in a resigned tone.

There was a brief silence as a doleful breeze swept across the deck. Suddenly, it was like being back at the South Pole, with nothing but snow and ice as far as the eye can see. Bo-Fen scowled briefly at the fog, wondering if that was the reason it was so damn cold all of a sudden. It was really unnatural weather for this time of year too, now that she thought of it.

But that thought immediately cut off when she heard another voice.

"You seem to have a lot on your mind," said General Iroh, stepping into view. "You and Shen-Long both."

Bo-Fen's head snapped up. Where had the old man come from so suddenly? Perhaps he had been nearby the entire time, unnoticed simply because she was too preoccupied with the matter at hand to see him in the fog. And if _that _were true...how much had he heard?

"General Iroh, I..."

"Do not be alarmed, Bo-Fen. I was merely out on deck for some fresh air and thought you could use some company. Even from an old man like me."

She was able to smile at the joke he had made at his own expense; but even so, she didn't allow herself to relax. She still wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not. Sometimes, General Iroh could be tricky. After all, there was a reason he was called the Dragon of the West. Hadn't he been clever enough to hunt down the last remaining dragon in the world? And hadn't he almost broken through the walls of Ba-Sing-Se? How easily would he see through her deceptions?

Pretty easily, it turned out.

"I had a feeling you and your brother weren't what you seemed to be when you first applied for your posts. But this was long before we had even met Julie." Iroh said this casually, folding his arms inside his sleeves and looking out at the swirling fog.

Bo-Fen heaved a sigh. "What...gave us away?"

"I can see spirits. I've been able to do this since I was a child...and more so since I took a journey into the Spirit World. I can even tell if someone has been reincarnated, simply by looking at them. I can almost see a flash of their former life reflected in their eyes." Iroh looked pointedly at her. "And you both have very unusual-colored eyes for someone born and raised in the Fire Nation."

"Blue."

"Yes. Blue."

Bo-Fen brought her gaze up and met Iroh's eyes solidly. "So why haven't you said anything until now? Does the Prince know?"

"No. I have not told my nephew anything. At the time, I didn't feel like it was a matter of great importance...considering everything that was going on. What with Zuko's banishment, his unstable condition, and the abyss his mind seemed to have sunk to...I had other things on my mind than your past lives. In any case, your mission had nothing to do with Zuko's...

...of course, if I ever thought for a second that you intended him harm," Iroh added. "We wouldn't be having this conversation now. And of course, I should probably point out that my nephew is growing attached to Julie. If I were you, I would think twice before harming her, either."

He said this lightly, but only a true idiot would have missed the menace in his tone. And Bo-Fen wasn't stupid.

"But we can discuss this later," he said, before she could open her mouth to reply. "At the moment, I have some personal business to attend to while my nephew is away."

Bo-Fen blinked, then smirked in understanding. "I take it that business has to do with Shen-Long?"

"It might."

"Have fun then, General. I won't get in your way."

Iroh smiled benignly at her. "Thank you. And do try to think about what I said, Bo-Fen. It would be a shame to lose such a good friend over this."

The female soldier didn't reply, and the General seemed to take that as the signal for him to make his exit. He walked at an unharried pace, seemingly untroubled by the conversation that had just taken place as he opened the door and disappeared below deck. Her eyes followed him even after he was no longer in sight, listening to the sound of his footsteps. The smile was gone now, replaced with her trademark poker face.

"Well, shit," she said to herself. "Now what do I do?"

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

It was difficult navigating the tiny village, Zuko discovered, when you're trying so hard not to be seen. He was quietly surprised to see this many people out and about at this time of night. It wasn't until he heard two of the men muttering about the "gathering place" that there was going to be some kind of town meeting tonight. His mind kept jumping to the same conclusion out of anxiety.

_Relax_, he told himself. _They're not going to kill the peasant. The women you overheard seemed sympathetic of her. She might not even be a prisoner here..._

Zuko found it hard to believe that someone like Julie could even have such amazing luck. But no matter which way he turned, all people could talk about was the strange red-haired girl the Kyoshi Warriors had saved from the Fire Nation soldiers. They must have just assumed she was _their _prisoner...which, she sort of was. But the fools didn't seem to understand whose side she was _really _on.

If that were the case, he had to figure out where they would keep someone like Julie. Before they realized the truth.

_The hospital_...?

The healer didn't seem to be aware that she was being watched as she closed the door to the hut. Zuko noticed that she didn't bother locking it, which meant that there was probably nothing for her to hide. But then, why did she look so bothered? She was so deeply absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice when Zuko crept up to her, drawing his swords.

_She knows _something _I don't_, he realized, solidifying his determination.

The woman gasped as the cold edges of the blades touched her throat.

"Don't move," he whispered. "Don't make a single noise unless I tell you to."

The shadow of a nearby tree helped to obscure them, but it wouldn't be enough. Zuko pulled the terrified healer behind her house, making sure never to let his swords slacken, even for a second. He couldn't risk having her run off for help.

"Please..." she whimpered. "Don't hurt me..."

Zuko felt sick to his stomach. She probably thought he was like the other Fire Nation soldiers.

"I don't want to hurt you," he cautioned her. "But I will if I have to. So don't try to do something stupid like call for help. No one is around to hear you, anyway."

She trembled, visibly shaken by his words.

"W...what do you want from me?"

"Information. There's a girl who came to your island a few days ago. Her name is Julie. The word around here is that _you _were the one who treated her injuries." When the healer didn't say anything, he tightened his grip on her. "Isn't that true?"

"Y...yes...!" she squeaked.

Zuko relaxed, but only a little. No need to frighten the old woman to death. "What exactly was wrong with her?"

The healer seemed surprised by the question. "You mean..._how _was she injured?"

"Yes."

"She...she had a concussion, probably when someone struck her from behind. There were some recent bruises on her, when those soldiers were roughing her up. And she...she had some scars. Old ones, but enough of them to make me wonder..."

"Wonder what?"

The healer hesitated. "Are you Fire Nation too? What do you want with that girl?" She sucked in her breath. "You're one of _them, _aren't you? The ones that kept her prisoner for so long?"

Zuko gritted his teeth. "No. I'm not _one _of them. And that's all you need to know about me. Remember," he added, caressing her neck with his blade. "I'm the one asking the questions, not you. Don't say something you might _regret _later."

That shut her up.

"Did she have any _other _injuries? Recent ones, I mean."

Her response was barely a whisper. "No. The Kyoshi Warriors showed up before she could be hurt worse."

Zuko closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is she now?"

"I...I don't know."

The swords were up again.

"I'm not lying!" she insisted, giving a little start. "I know there was supposed to be a town meeting tonight...they were going to have a trial for the Fire Nation soldier they managed to capture alive. The town leader, Oyagi, he didn't want Julie to have to see it. Spirits only know what that girl has been through this week."

She had no idea. The was the ironic part.

"So...where might they keep her, then?" he asked in a low voice. "If that was their intention?"

"I don't know...!"

Zuko narrowed his eyes behind the Blue Spirit mask, but didn't say a word. This was clearly getting him no-where. The old woman was either ignorant or too frightened to tell him anything. And he was starting to feel like a creep for holding her up against swordpoint, like a common thug. He couldn't just leave her to go free, though. She'd just run off and warn the villagers.

He knew what he had to do.

"What are you doing?" she gasped as his hand went into her pocket. Quickly, Zuko found a key to the front door. Too easy.

"Making sure you don't get in my way," he replied.

One quick jab to the neck and the old woman was slumped over on the ground, unconscious. Zuko waited until the coast was clear before stashing her inside the hut. He went through the trouble of putting her in one of the beds, making it look as though she fell asleep. Maybe if he was lucky, she would wake up and think that the whole thing had been nothing but a bad dream.

He locked the door with the key he found, then tossed it inside through the barely open window. Unless the healer woke up, no one would find her until morning.

_If that old woman was telling the truth, she'll be as far away from the other villagers as possible tonight, _he thought. _She might even be unguarded._

Zuko really hoped the healer was telling the truth. He didn't know how much aggravation he could deal with in one night.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

Oyagi gave me a quick tour of the house, showing me where the food and medicines were kept just in case the kids got hungry or sick. Sanji followed us around the entire time, practically glued to my side. It seemed to make Kuba feel obligated to take the other side, like a watchdog. He kept scowling at the four-year-old every time he got a little too close to tripping me by accident.

So far, I hadn't seen hide nor hair of Merle, the older of the two rugrats. But Oyagi quickly explained that.

"Merle should be in her room, lying down," he said, glancing down the hall to where I knew the children's room would be. "She got a bit of a cold from wading in the bay again..." he paused to sigh. "...but she should be fine. Just make sure she sleeps."

"Oh...um...all right, then."

Katara kept smiling at us when she thought I wasn't looking. "Sanji really seems to adore you," she told me. "I thought you weren't _good _with kids."

I gritted my teeth, telling myself that when she and Oyagi came back to find the house in flames and me hog-tied in the basement, they would be _eating _their words. I mean, sure, Sanji was being a perfect little angel. _Right now_. Who knew what hell would break loose once his grandfather left the building?

"I'm not," I told her. "Trust me on that."

She barely managed to hide her disbelieving smirk. "Sure. Whatever you say, Julie."

It all went by too quick for my tastes, though. Before I knew it, Oyagi was shaking my hand and ducking out the front door. Katara followed him, urging me to hold tight until Sokka and Suki could come by to check up on us. I just watched them leave with something akin to dread pulling my heart all the way to the bottom of my stomach. It was ridiculous for them to leave a complete stranger alone with a couple of children...

...why couldn't Aang have just _let _them feed me to the Unagi?

Closing the door, I turned slowly to face my charge. Sanji blinked up at me, his eyes filled with curiosity and awe. Yes, he was still staring at my hair.

"Um..." I said slowly, edging away. "Are you...feeling okay, kid?"

Sanji turned to Kuba, as trustingly as a child would turn to his own older brother. It would have almost been cute if not for the stream of pap that came out of the boy's mouth next. "She's not a _bad _spirit, is she?" he asked, pointing at me.

I was going to throttle Kuba the moment this was all over.

"I'm not a spirit," I told him. "I'm a person...just like you."

"That's boring."

The reply didn't come from little Sanji, but from an older girl child standing in the doorway. She was wearing a simple moss green night-dress and had her sepia-colored hair tied back in a messy ponytail. A lot of it was coming out of the hair-tie, though. But I couldn't keep my gaze on her face long enough not to notice the silver-colored foot poking out from beneath her skirt.

"Kuba said you were a spirit with special powers. He said that you even beat a master Firebender in a duel to the _death_," she challenged me.

I sighed. "_Kuba _wouldn't know. From what I remember, he had been drooling on a guard's shoulder from the drug-induced stupor they put him in."

"I remember enough of it," the young Earthbender grumbled, clearly embarrassed. "And it's true. You kicked his ass."

But Merle had a look on her face, kind of like a cat when it's about to pounce on a defenseless mouse.

"What's _it_...?" she wanted to know. "Are you saying there actually _was _a duel to the death?"

I blinked, surprised at how quickly the girl made such a mental leap. Frantically, I tried to come up with a plausible lie to feed her. Only it seemed as if my brain wasn't capable of such bounds, because all I could do was mentally utter a string of curse words. I was really, really going to have to kill Kuba for this later. What the hell did he have to gain by blabbing my secrets to his friends, anyway?

To my surprise, Ayla was the one offering me (what she thought was) a workable solution.

"_Why not tell them the truth, Julie?_"

I swallowed the lump in my throat, very aware of the kids' stares on me. _If Oyagi or anyone else catches wind that I'm an Energybender, I don't know what'll happen to me, Ayla. They could decide to kill me...or send me away. And what if Aang, Katara, and Sokka find out?_

"_They'd understand..._"

_Oh, really? Because _EVERYONE ELSE _so far has been so _VERY _understanding._

_"They're different. And anyway, Zuko kind of understood too...in his own way._"

_Zuko? Zuko just wants me around so I can fight Aang for him! He doesn't like me, Ayla. He doesn't even _care _how I feel about...ANY of this...!_

I was balking. I knew very well that Zuko wasn't completely scum of the earth. I mean, sure, he had his reasons for helping me. But he still HELPED me, without any hesitation or regrets (so far as I knew). Was it really his fault for jumping at the first real opportunity he laid eyes on? In the end, was it really wrong for him to want to go home so badly that he was willing to use me as a rung in the ladder, metaphorically speaking?

And he did seem to care...at least, a little bit. He had been trying to protect me, right?

My thoughts were constantly see-sawing in regards to Zuko. I didn't know what I was supposed to think or feel about the man anymore. I never felt so confused in my entire life. Never before had I met someone with so many shades of grey that I couldn't decide where he belonged on my love-hate spectrum.

Ayla met my outburst calmly, in a voice almost too even to belong to the impulsive spirit girl. "_You know, Julie...you're starting to sound a lot like Aang. Remember? When he was upset because he thought Katara only wanted him around to save the world? I think you're having the same problem with Zuko. You're just scared that once people realize what you can do, they won't look at you the same way. They'll only want you to do stuff for them."_

_Can you blame me? Given everything that's happened so far...?_

"_You trust Kuba. You say it's because he doesn't have any alterior motives...well, do you really think Merle or Sanji have alterior motives?_"

I sighed. I knew then what I had to do.

Slowly, I met Merle's gaze. "Do you really want to know the truth?" I asked her.

She nodded fervently.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. Of _course _she did.

"Listen," I said slowly. "About that duel..._I _don't even remember what happened. I only know what other people told me after I woke up from it. And...none of what they said to me makes any sense, even now. But...you guys can't tell _anybody, _okay? Not even your grandpa."

Merle and Sanji looked at each other, excited. It looked like they were going to get a _real _bedtime story for a change.

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

It had been a gamble, choosing not to follow the rest of the villagers and searching the empty houses instead. But Zuko had a good feeling that the healer had been telling the truth. It was something he had grown good at; detecting lies. He had heard them all the time, growing up with his sister, Azula. And over the past couple of years he had spent in exile, some people thought it would be amusing to give him..._misleading _information about the Avatar. He had learned to sift out the truth from the crap the hard way.

But it was a lesson well-learned. And trusting the old woman had paid off. He had come to the last house on the very edge of the village. It was slightly bigger than the rest; it probably belonged to the town elder himself. Though why he should choose to live on the outskirts of town was beyond him.

He realized that a sympathetic old man would probably offer his own dwellings temporarily. His curiosity was further piqued when he saw the burning glow of the lamp through one of the windows. Someone was inside.

Zuko crept underneath the window as silently as he could. It was open ajar, and his heart skipped a beat when he heard voices.

"I can't believe it," a little girl squealed in excitement. "You're a new kind of bender? I've never even _heard _of Energybending before...!"

"Actually, it's an ancient form of bending," a very familiar voice replied. "Or so I've been told."

_Julie,_ he thought to himself.

"Told you!" a boy's voice chimed in. Zuko recognized this one too. It belonged to the Earthbending peasant boy that was always following Julie around. "I told you she was special...!"

"No," Julie cut in. "I'm just a normal person! Okay? This is just...I don't really know what, but it's not something to get excited about."

"Then why were you keeping it a secret from Grandpa?" the girl demanded.

Zuko heard her sigh all the way from outside.

"I don't _want _to be an Energybender," Julie said slowly. "So far, everyone who found out I can do this...all they wanted was to _use _me. Or...hurt me. And anyway, every time I do it, I get really sick. I can't control it very well, and I just..." she took a deep breath. "It scares me. It's just so easy to lose control of it. And when I do, someone always gets hurt."

"Is that why you didn't Energybend at those Fire Nation soldiers?" the girl asked quietly.

There was a brief silence. It was broken by a shakey laugh that Zuko was sure came from Julie.

"You know what? It's getting late. And your grandpa said I was supposed to make sure you guys went to sleep before he got home, so..."

It was a distraction, but one that worked, if only because she was dealing with a couple of children. Immediately, there were cries of protest. Moaning and groaning that it was too early, that they weren't tired, that they didn't even get to hear a bed-time story or anything. Zuko was very tempted to look through the window and see how Julie would handle so much antagonism. She didn't seem to be the most motherly person on the planet, or the most patient.

Julie just sighed, something that surprised Zuko more than anything else. "All right, all right. I'll tell you _one _story. One. And then it's bed-time. Got it, runts?"

There was immediate agreement from the young ones. Anything to allow them to stay up later.

Zuko felt impatient when he realized that the brats wouldn't be leaving the room any time soon. He could feel time slipping away from him, as though he were breathing the grains of sand in an hour glass. He probably would have already burst in through the window, grabbed Julie, and hauled ass for the ship if it weren't for what he had just heard. He wasn't sure that Julie would come quietly, even if she happened to see through his disguise and recognize him.

_Everyone who found out I can do this...all they wanted to do was to _use _me. Or...hurt me_.

Zuko closed his eyes, surpressing his anger at the men who had attempted such a disgusting act on a defenseless peasant girl. It was obvious that the memory was still weighing heavily upon her. And part of him wondered if she had somehow lumped him in with the rest of them.

_You could care less about me. I'm just a tool to you...a fucking tool._

_You don't even understand what I need protecting _from_! _You're _the one I want to hide from! I can never trust how I feel when you're around me...!_

"She thinks I'm using her," he muttered, startled by the revelation. "That's why she doesn't trust me."

_Aren't you, though_, a little voice asked somewhere in the back of his mind.

He couldn't deny that argument. After all, wasn't it the whole point of training her to be an Energybender in the first place? That she could one day fight the Avatar by his side? Or at least to see to it that her uncontrollable bending wouldn't interfere with his mission? Zuko frowned, realizing that those lines had been blurred a long time ago. And even his uncle had seen through that shamble of an excuse.

No, somewhere down the line, Zuko had started to actually care about Julie. Somehow, he had allowed himself to become attached to a rude, trouble-making peasant girl with a foul temper and absurdly bad table-manners. This wasn't just about capturing the Avatar anymore.

It was about this girl. This difficult, troublesome, and powerfully intriguing girl with powers that frightened her and threatened everyone around her. And Zuko was determined to take her back with him. He would get it through that thick skull of hers that he was someone she could depend on. Maybe if he could do that, she would be more willing to let him train her...and maybe then she'd even help him face the Avatar.

Maybe. But first things first. He had to get them both off of this island.

Zuko found himself jolted out of his epiphany as Julie started to speak again.

"This is something that happened a long, long time ago," she said. "...in another world very different from this one. A world without any bending, or even an Avatar..."

_That _caught his attention, all right. After that, he had completely forgotten about escaping. The story she had told the children was so completely unreal that it drove any practical thought out of his mind for a long time.

* * *

**A/N: I am sleepy and in need of Buffalo-Wing flavored Pringles. LOTS of them. They are awesomeness in a CAN.**

**But since you probably want me to talk about the chapter you just read, I guess I'll rant about how difficult it was to throw together. Mostly because Bo-Fen wasn't even supposed to be in it at all. She literally just walked in and hijacked the story for a few pages. I was literally just sitting in front of my computer, going, "Wait...WHAT? What are YOU doing here?"**

**So this ended up being a lot longer than it was supposed to. Originally, it was just going to be Shen-Long and Iroh. Bo-Fen, apparently, wanted more screen time. I guess I'll have to learn to live with the frustration. Lots of frustration, yes; but not disappointment, because LOOK! Plot bubbles! Iroh _knows _about Shen-Long and Bo-Fen...! How long will his silence last? Will he eventually intervene on Julie's behalf? **

**As for Zuko holding the healer up at swordpoint, I don't think I need to justify that one. He needed information, he had no other way of finding Julie, and it wasn't as if he actually cut her up or anything. He even left her in her own house, for crying out loud. However, if Zuko had actually harmed an elderly woman, THEN I'd probably have some explaining to do.**

**But he didn't. And besides, it got results, didn't it?**

**Having found Julie in Oyagi's house, he overhears her telling Merle, Sanji and Kuba that she's afraid of her own powers. She also says that everyone who has found out about them has either tried to use her for some alterior motive, or kill her. And Zuko has yet another epiphany about Julie, and himself. He realizes that she has a good reason for not trusting him, and resolves to change her mind somehow.**

**And it will be extremely entertaining. That much I promise you.**

**So, was it good? REVIEW!**


	46. Romeo and Cinderella

**A/N: For those of you who haven't noticed yet, I posted the next deleted omake. It is called "Latrine Duty" and you should totally go read it because I said so and stuff. Yeah. Shameless advertising. Don't you just LOVE it? I know I do...!**

**This chapter is going to constantly switch perspectives, so I'm not going to bother annotating with (so-and-so's POV). Instead, I'll just use a page break. If anyone gets confused by this, I'll go back and reformat this chapter like the others. In any case, I hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-One: Romeo and Cinderella**

Like I said the first time; I'm not very good with kids.

However, Merle and Sanji weren't so bad, as far as youngsters went. So far, they hadn't attacked me, hadn't thrown any tantrums or locked me out of the house. And they seemed to actually respect my authority (what little I had, anyway) when I told them it was time for bed. I mean, sure, I had to bribe them with a bedtime story...and it was true, I was having a really hard time trying to think of one.

Still. I should count myself lucky that they were as well-behaved as they were. Things could have been a lot worse.

Unfortunately, knowing this didn't make it any easier to decide on a story. My brain quickly ran through a list of fairy tales I knew, but couldn't seem to settle on any one. For one thing, a lot of them were kind of stupid. I'm sure I wouldn't be doing Oyagi any favors by rotting his grandchildren's brains. Plus, Merle had made it obvious that she prefers _real _stories. The stories I knew were so obviously crap that you'd have to be a retarded mongoose to believe any of them.

As the silence grew lengthy, the kids started fidgeting. So I just blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.

"This is something that happened a long, long time ago," I said quickly, feeling a minor stab of relief when their attention swiveled back to me. "...in another world very different from this one. A world without any bending, or even an Avatar. Just tall buildings and strange machines...and a bunch of people who were too busy with their own lives to notice each other."

"No bending?" Kuba said, surprised.

"What kind of machines?" Merle wanted to know. "Were they war machines, like the kind the Fire Nation uses?"

"No," I replied evenly. "They were machines that were made to make people's lives easier. Like...one machine can let you talk to a person miles and miles away from you, just by typing a special number into it. Kind of like a code. And another machine that can carry lots of people from one side of the world to another in a matter of hours...in the air."

"Wow," she whispered. "Flying machines?"

"Whoosh," said Sanji in awe.

* * *

Zuko frowned. What kind of child's tale was this?

How could a world function without bending? Bending itself was the keystone behind each of the four civilizations. People literally _evolved _around it. They formed lifestyles and traditions based off of these ancient arts, built up their cultures into what they were today. To think of a world without bending was...well...madness. It was like trying to build a ladder without any rungs in it. Or a house without walls.

Of course, it made _some _sense that a people without bending would have to compensate for it with technology. But the kind Julie was talking about? To put it bluntly, if the Fire Nation had access to such advanced communication devices, or even flying machines, they'd have won the war _decades _before Zuko was born.

It had to be nonsense. Just fantastical nonsense meant to amuse a couple of gullible children.

But then...if that was true, why couldn't Zuko close his ears to it? Why couldn't he stop listening to these lies?

* * *

"Anyway," I continued, "...there was one city in particular, bigger than the others. There was a girl who lived there, all alone with her father, in the poorest part of town. And even though there was plenty to eat in the city, she went hungry most of the time because her father wouldn't feed her. She had to steal things for herself if she wanted to stay alive.

"The girl only had one friend in the whole world, and she lived on the other side of the city...where the rich people lived. She was very pretty and very kind. Her name was Jessie..."

* * *

Zuko started at the familiar name. _Jessie._ He had heard that name on the edge of Julie's lips when she had been delirious with fever.

So there was some truth to this fairy tale, after all. This wasn't just any old story. It was hers. Zuko had tried constantly to piece together the little truths he had collected about this so-called peasant...who she was exactly, where she had come from. And all he had gotten up until now were contradicting facts. Like how she _claimed _to be a nomad. But if that were true, why did she constantly show signs of culture shock everywhere they went?

Her reaction to certain foods was something Zuko had particularly noticed. She wouldn't even _touch _fish, something most peasants ate every single day; but seemed to have almost a craving for sugary or salty snack foods that only the wealthy could afford. And that scar she had on her stomach...a professional had looked at that wound, but what kind of peasant could afford treatment like _that_?

And that vivid red hair of hers...the wide, almost foreignly-shaped green eyes...no one from _any _of the four nations had features like that. And her skin was as pale as someone from the Fire Nation; only instead of the slightly golden tone his people had, _hers_ was almost pinkish. It was very faint, but Zuko had noticed it once when they had been sparring. Her face, her arms...her skin was like a moon-peach.

It made him wonder. This talk about _another _world...well, of course it was ridiculous. Common sense told Zuko that there was no way that could possibly be the reason for the anomaly known as Julie McVay, but then...what other explanations were there? Maybe he was finally about to get the answers he had been fruitlessly searching for. Who exactly _was _Julie? Why was she so special?

Julie McVay. A weird girl with a weirder name; a girl Zuko couldn't wrap his brain around, _or _get out of his head. Two minutes was all it had taken of her story to wipe out all thoughts of escape from his mind. He crouched down closer to the window-sill, silently brooding as he settled in to listen to the rest of it.

All the while, she had no idea he was so close by, listening.

* * *

"One day," I continued, "the girl decided to run away from home. She saw the kind of life her friend Jessie had and wanted something like that for herself. She wanted to make it with her own two hands, without any help from anyone. So she left in the middle of the night..."

"Where did she go?" Kuba asked. "Did she leave the city?"

I sighed. I couldn't help it. "No. She never made it out of the city."

"How come?"

"She wasn't brave enough. She just kept wandering the streets for hours until finally she met a wolf down in the darkest alley. He looked and acted like a person, a very handsome person...but deep down inside, he was just a monster with a human's skin. The girl looked into his dark eyes and saw him for the savage creature that he was...and while she knew she probably should have kept away from him, something inside of her was drawn to him.

_"What are you?" _she asked. _"A man or a monster?"_

The monster smiled at the girl and replied, _"For you, I could be both. It depends on what you can do for me._"

And the girl was curious...stupidly curious. _"What's your name?" _she asked him.

And the monster replied, _"Ramon._"

It was then that the girl remembered the stories she had heard around the city, about a strange man who led a pack of beasts that liked to capture unwary people and eat them. But the part they liked to eat best of all were their hearts. And the girl knew that Ramon wanted to eat hers too."

"Did the girl run away?" Merle asked in a small voice. "Did she try to escape."

"She didn't _want _to escape," I told her. "And anyway, she really believed that she was clever enough to outsmart the wolf. She thought that she could use them to get back at her father without getting her heart eaten. So she joined them. Ramon saw that she was useful in luring people into their clutches, so he kept her alive. He even gave her a name...Red."

"Red?"

Zuko was a bit chagrined at the lack of imagination on Julie's part. _She may as well just tell them the girl's name was Julie, _he thought to himself. _Even a child can see through that. She's a terrible liar. _At the same time, he wondered about the things he was hearing...about the city, and this half-man, half-beast named Ramon.

Oh, brave new world that had _such _people in it...

"She was wearing a red cloak at the time," I quickly hedged. "So he got the name from that."

"Oh."

"Anyway, Red started her new life as a wolf. Ramon personally taught her how to trick people, how to be cold and heartless and selfish. Every night she was given food and a warm place to sleep. And there was only one condition to all of this...well, more like a wager. Ramon told Red that one day she would have to give him her heart to him on a golden plate; that she would feed it to him herself. And Red, thinking that she was smart enough to avoid her fate, agreed. So long as she was useful, she would get to keep her heart.

She lived her new life, waiting for the day she could strike back at her father for all the evil things he did to her. Every day, Ramon would teach her something new, and Red felt stronger for it. Without even realizing it, she started to look forward to the time they spent together, and every day she thought less and less about revenge. Soon...all she could think about was keeping Ramon happy so that she wouldn't have to leave this life she had found. But something happened that she..." Julie's voice faltered a little bit. "...that she didn't expect."

"What?" Kuba and Merle asked together.

I hesitated. "Well...one morning she woke up realized that she lost her heart. She looked inside herself and saw that it was gone."

"Wait a minute!" the girl cried. "She can't have lost her heart! She'd have been dead!"

"Hey, yeah," said Kuba in agreement. "The heart is where a person's chi goes. The heart pumps blood and chi through their body, and that's what keeps them alive."

* * *

There was a heavy silence. Zuko could imagine Julie scowling fiercely at the two children for their anal-retentive plot-hole sniffing and startling fixation with logic. Personally, though, he had to agree with them. Unless the heart was some kind of metaphor, Julie's story was making absolutely no sense...as strangely interesting and engrossing as it was. But he felt that a lot of that had to do with the way she was telling the story.

"Just go with it," she snarled quietly. "She woke up and her heart was gone. _Got it_...?"

Kuba and the girl seemed perturbed. "Okay," they said warily, in unison.

Julie seemed satisfied by this. "So, when Red saw that she had lost her heart, she was scared that Ramon would find out and go back on his deal. Her heart was supposed to be a payment for her new life, and without it she was vulnerable. So, she had to find out what happened to it without ever letting Ramon know the truth.

She went about her days as though nothing was different, but inside she was frightened and desperate not to make any mistakes in front of Ramon. He continued to use her to lure people into his clutches, but every now and then he would smile at her, as if to say, "_I have a secret_." And it gave Red a very queasy feeling; like when you're playing Pai-Sho against someone who had already won by the first move. She got the feeling that everything she did or said only played herself deeper into his hands...but at the same time, she foolishly hoped that she meant enough to him not to ask her for her heart."

Julie went quiet for a minute. Zuko felt himself getting impatient, and finally it was the little boy who had to ask, "What happened next?"

He heard her sigh heavily. That's when he knew that this story wasn't going to have a happy ending.

* * *

I tried to find words that would make them understand what happened without scaring them.

"Red knew in the back of her mind that her entire life had become wrapped around Ramon and his twisted games. Whenever she looked in the mirror, she didn't even recognize herself. She had become a monster too. She had turned her back on everything she used to care about...even Jessie. More than once she had tried to warn Red about how dangerous Ramon was...about how she would only get hurt. But Red thought she was clever enough that it wouldn't happen to her. Eventually, she stopped talking to Jessie all together."

I looked at Kuba, Merle, and Sanji in turn before I slammed the last nail into the coffin.

"But she _wasn't _clever enough. And Red soon got what was coming to her."

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to think about the way it had actually happened. Trying not to remember that night...

_My face twisted with anger as I threw shot glass after shot glass at the wall. Although I was aiming them all at Ramon's head. He had to duck to avoid getting a projectile to the frontal lobe, and I had no remorse for the property damage I was causing. I couldn't care less if those shot glasses were antiques from the Civil fucking War. All that mattered to me was causing the creep in front of me as much pain as humanly possible._

_Unfortunately, it is hard to aim when your eyes are filled with tears and snot is running down your face, and you can't even stop your hands from shaking as you reach for another glass. That's what it was like for me at that moment._

_"Stay the fuck away from me...!" I snarled at him, my words barely coherent. "Don't you _touch _me...!"_

_Ramon was angry too, and ducked underneath another thrown glass as he got right up in my face. He caught my wrists before I could grab something else to defend myself with. "Babe...!" he said in a low voice._

_"Shut up!"_

_"It wasn't what you thought it was. Just calm the fuck down, and we'll talk."_

_I kicked at him, trying to get him to let me go. He tightened his grip on my wrists, and I choked out a whimper. He pushed me back into the wall with enough force to temporarily wind me. He hovered over me, glaring into my eyes._

_"You said yes," he reminded me._

_"I don't believe you," I spat. _

_"You were drunk. You don't remember it right."_

_"And whose _god-damned _fault do you think _that _was?" I screamed at him. "You were the one who gave me the drink...! People don't get _trashed _after only one drink! People don't have one drink and wake up in the back of your stupid car! And I don't want to hear your god-damned excuses, or your lies, or whatever the hell you want to call it! I want out!"_

_Ramon gave me the coldest look imaginable. "And go where? Home?"_

_I felt my muscles go stiff. Because _of course _I couldn't go home. Not after all of this._

_"Face it, Red. You can pretend all you want that you can leave whenever you want to...but there is no where else _to _go. You and I were born in this shit-hole of a city, and neither of us are ever going to leave it. For what? People are the same everywhere you go. Same dumb fucking sheep with different faces. Life isn't any better out there than it is in here."_

_"_Anything _is better than here," I hissed at him. "You don't own me!"_

_Ramon just shook his head at me. "I don't own you? Who the hell do you think took you in and made you into what you are now? Sure, I admit it; what I did was cold. But you owed it to me. I gave you everything...everything you could ever want. Was what _I _wanted really so much to ask? Especially since you probably would have said yes, anyway...or am I wrong?"_

_I couldn't believe what I was hearing from him. I shook my head slowly, the realization striking me dumb._

_"You used me."_

_"We used each other, babe. Get over it. This was never about love, and you know it."_

_At these words, I felt something inside me break. And it wasn't a clean break either. There were all sorts of jagged pieces hanging inside my ribcage like barbed wire against my heart and lungs. Colder than ice, sharper than glass, and more painful than anything I could have ever imagined. Because, of course, I loved him. Stupid and foolish me, it had all just been a game to him. And I wanted it to be real._

_Abruptly, I shoved my elbow into his stomach and ran for the door. This time, Ramon didn't stop me. He wasn't even hurt by my blow. He just turned and watched without any expression on his face as I threw myself out of the room and down the flight of stairs. I didn't look back until I had run three blocks and found a pay-phone._

_Twenty minutes later, Jessie was at the curb. "Julie? Julie, what happened?"_

I hadn't realized that Kuba was even talking until I heard him yelling at me.

"Julie! Julie, what happened?"

I snapped into attention. "Huh?"

The young Earthbender fixed me with a frustrated scowl. "You just stopped talking. We want to know what happened next...to Red. Tell us."

I swallowed heavily. Right. The story. I had to finish the story. I had to get a hold of myself. As casually as possible, I hugged my arms to my sides. I was trying to look as though I were a little cold instead of what I really was, which was completely unnerved by my own memories. Merle and Sanji were looking at me curiously, probably wondering what was wrong with me. But Kuba looked worried. About me?

I shook my head. The story.

"Like I said before," I told them. "Red wasn't clever enough to keep her heart safe. No one is clever enough for something like that...and it wasn't long before she realized the truth. She had fallen in love with Ramon."

"But he's...a bad guy," said Merle, her face twisting with a confused frown.

"She knew that. She knew all the terrible things he was; but she tricked herself into believing she was special to him. It tore her in half, having this feeling inside of her, like a chain that bound her to this monster. It got so bad that she would have done anything to get rid of this feeling. So she went to Ramon and told him. Told him that she had lost her heart.

Ramon had just laughed. "_You didn't lose your heart_," he told her. "_I've had it the entire time._" And then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out her still-beating heart, showing it to her.

Red felt a flutter of hope. "_You kept it safe?_" she said in disbelief. "_You kept it?_"

She had thought that, since he hadn't done anything to her heart, that this must have meant that he felt the same way about her. Red looked into his eyes and tried to see the same feelings that were stirring inside of her now...the feelings that were all the more violent now that her heart was so close by. But when she heard him laugh, she realized that something wasn't right.

And then, right before her eyes, he tore the heart into pieces...little shreds too small to sew back together again.

"_I kept the plate, too,_" said Ramon. "_I told you that you would give me your own heart. But if it helps, I'm sure it'll be delicious._"

That was the last thing Red ever heard or saw. After that...she never felt anything again."

I drew the tale to an abrupt close. The three children just stared and stared at me, their eyes wide and uncomprehending.

"But...what happened to Red?" Kuba asked. "After Ramon ate her heart...?"

I gave him a look. "What does it matter? Her heart was broken. Even if she survived, she wasn't really a person anymore. She was so bent on getting revenge on her father that she was willing to turn herself into a monster to do it. And monsters don't have hearts."

* * *

Zuko sat there in numb silence as Julie finished her story.

It certainly hadn't been the story he'd been expecting, either. It hadn't told him much of anything except that Julie hated her father; and somewhere along the line there had been someone willing to take advantage of that. And she had gotten hurt...pretty bad, by the sound of it. He found himself quietly irked at the idea of her actually being in love with someone enough for them to break her heart...somehow he just couldn't see her loving much of anyone.

She didn't even really love herself, did she? She had called herself a monster and spoke as though she _deserved _what had happened to her. As though it were some kind of crime to have feelings for another person...or to trust them.

Zuko closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose. _You're getting distracted, _he told himself. After all, he hadn't come here to feel sorry for Julie or to muse over the state of her heart. No, he had come to rescue her; and _that _was what he was going to do. Story be damned. He could worry about this later.

Slowly, he reached for the latch, testing its weight. He felt around gingerly, not wanting to be seen just yet; and his groping fingers found that the window hadn't even been locked. It would be big enough for him to slip inside once the children weren't around.

Zuko paused, though, listening to the sound of their young voices rising in protest.

* * *

Sanji looked like he might cry. "But...she got better, right?"

I looked down at him and sighed. "Well," I said slowly. "Without a heart, she didn't really feel anything. Not even pain."

"But she wasn't _happy_, either," Merle pointed out angrily. "She couldn't feel any bad things, but she also couldn't enjoy it! That's a horrible thing to happen to someone! She couldn't have just _stayed _with Ramon!"

For some reason, even though I knew she was right, her words annoyed me. "She didn't stay with Ramon. Jessie had gone looking for her and found her and took her home with her. But it was too late to do anything. The damage was done."

"Jessie must have been sad," Kuba pointed out.

"Huh?"

I stared at the boy, completely bewildered by his left-field comment.

"Well," he replied, noticing my confusion. "...if Red couldn't feel anything anymore, she must not have cared about Jessie anymore either. She couldn't love anyone anymore, right? Because she had given all of her heart to this Ramon guy." He gave me a significant look, as though saying _I know something special_. "But I don't think she gave her _whole _heart to Ramon. She had loved Jessie first, so that had to have meant that she had given Jessie part of her heart long before she had ever _met _Ramon."

I stared at Kuba, dumbfounded. Was this kid really _nine_? He had the logic of someone three times his age...maybe more.

"Hey, yeah!" said Merle excitedly. "And Jessie could have given Red that part of her heart back. So she could feel a little bit happy that she was free from Ramon! Maybe the rest of her heart would grow back, like a starfish does when one of its legs gets ripped off."

Sanji looked from one to the other, eyes wide and hopeful for a happy ending. "So...she got better?"

They all turned to me, waiting for the final word. I sighed in defeat.

"Yeah," I told them. "She got better. But that wasn't the point of the story at all."

They didn't listen to me. They were too busy celebrating their handiwork...pulling a solution to Red's problem out of thin air. It was like they had banished the boogie-man or something. I just shook my head at them slowly, unable to feel the chagrin I wanted because it was all just so damn cute. Too bad real life didn't have quick fixes like my story.

"All right," I griped. "You guys got your story, okay? So now it's bedtime. Come on, before your grandpa comes back and finds you all awake!"

Groans.

"Hey, I didn't make the rules," I told them. "I just enforce them. Now move it."

Merle scowled, trying to make a show of not being tired, but poor little Sanji kept rubbing his eyes now that the thought of sleep had entered his mind. He gave a tremendous yawn, something his older sister gave him a _look _for. Finally, though, she seemed to accept that it was time for bed. Reluctantly, she took her younger brother by the hand and started leading him away.

Kuba just stood there, as if I hadn't said anything.

"Um, did I stutter?" I asked him. "Bedtime means bedtime. For _everyone_."

"Aw, Julie!"

"What? Earthbenders don't need to sleep?" I planted my hands on my hips and frowned at him. "If you're serious about this "protecting me" stuff, you're going to need to get plenty of rest. I can't have a sleep-deprived bodyguard."

Kuba narrowed his eyes at me. "You'll be here when I wake up...right?"

That startled me, I admit. "Where the hell am I going to go?" I demanded, taken aback. "Anyway, I wouldn't go anywhere without you."

The dark-haired boy bit his lip, but finally admitted defeat...for a change. He followed Merle and Sanji into their room (he was going to share with one of them), but made a point to be as miserable about it as possible. I could hear him stomping and muttering the whole way. I could barely keep back my sigh of relief as the door to their room snapped quietly shut behind them.

I felt really tired all of a sudden.

"Where _am _I going to go?" I muttered to myself. I closed my eyes, feeling incredibly small...like a tiny blip on the face of the planet. I was stranded in another dimension with no real purpose except to stay alive, and no way of getting home again.

I felt a stab of despair.

A quiet scraping sound from behind me caught my attention. It sounded like something brushing up against the window. Probably just a bird or something. I didn't bother turning around, too miserable to really care much.

Then I heard the soft _thump _of a pair of feet touching down on the floor. I felt all the muscles in my shoulders and back tense up in alarm. I thought of burglars, of rapists and serial killers. The air was stuck inside my lungs; I couldn't push out a single breath as I wheeled around in a single frantic spasm, heart pounding as I faced the window.

It was open. And there was no one there.

Frowning, I edged a little closer to it. I was so fixated on the window that I barely noticed when a man-shaped figure came up from behind me, as silent as a shadow. A pair of hands caught my shoulders, and a scream got stuck in the back of my throat.

"Don't make a sound," a low, familiar voice rasped at me. "And come with me."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so bedtime stories apparently just got a lot juicier. Zuko the eavesdropping stalker ninja gets more insight into Julie's past, and you, the reader, get a dark flashback involving Julie and Ramon, and the night they "broke up." The story itself was a more modern play on Little Red Riding Hood, but was also inspired by the Vocaloid song "Romeo and Cinderella." If you haven't listened to it, I highly suggest that you do. It's awesome.**

**See any similarities between names here? Ramon is the closest I could get to Romeo, and Julie's full name is Juliet (it'll come out later on). Neither Shakesphere nor I intend to give them a happy ending; but hopefully Zuko will be able to put Julie's heart back together again. Maybe.**

**And just so you know, don't jump to conclusions with the flashback. Remember, in this story, some things aren't _entirely _what they seem to be.**

**Anyway, what did you think? REVIEW!**


	47. Diversions and Dilemmas

**A/N: I spent the last day on earth holed up in my apartment, playing Disgaea 2 on my PS2, and eating Popems and chicken wings from the closest Wings Over... place I could find. Seriously, the world should end more often. I've never had such a relaxing day since...well, since the last time I had a day off. And I _did _intend to do some writing that day, but...have you guys ever _played _Disgaea? It's really freaking addicting! You just lose track of time! **

**But, hey. At least I remembered to _eat _this time.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Two: Diversions and Dilemmas**

Iroh sighed as he poured himself a cup of tea. "I am very sorry to have to resort to such drastic measures," he said to the other person in the room. "But you see, there are times in a man's life when he must cave to duress...as you yourself are becoming aware of, my friend..."

"Mmmmph...!"

The ex-General paused to breathe in the aroma of the steam while his tea simmered in its cup. He sighed contentedly.

"A very nice blend," he said to himself. "But I am sure that there are finer ones to be had in Ginseng Village, Shen-Long. I might even share some of them with you, so long as you don't do something foolish like try to escape or hold a grudge." The Dragon of the West chuckled to himself. "Not that I'd let you get very far. My nephew can be quite persuasive when he wants to be. Forgive me for saying so, but there is a greater chance of it _snowing _during the Day of the Comet before I let you interfere."

Shen-Long wrestled against the chains that hog-tied him to the floor. "Mmmmph...!" he screamed into the gag.

"There, there. I am sure Prince Zuko will return with Julie quite soon. You must be patient. I'd offer you some tea, but then I can't be sure that you won't attempt to breathe fire at me like the last time." Iroh shrugged remorselessly. "Oh, well. More for me."

Bo-Fen chose that moment to saunter into the room. "Oh...hey, General Iroh." She glanced down at her brother for a moment, tilting her head to the side as though he were a very interesting art exhibit. "I see you found Shen-Long."

"Yes. We were having a nice little chat about Ginseng Village."

"Oh, I've heard of that place. I hear they have a fountain in the center of town that sprays tea instead of water."

Iroh smiled. "A bit too fantastic to believe, but none the less intriguing of an idea, don't you think?"

Shen-Long looked pleadingly at his sister, silently begging her to come to his rescue. Bo-Fen met his gaze evenly and nodded. "Don't worry, Shen. I got this."

The soldier's eyes started to water in gratitude. Then, they widened as she calmly reached over into his back pocket and took his wallet. He stared incredulously as she counted the coins stashed away in them. She seemed to test their weight for a minute before frowning. Seeing the look on her face made Shen-Long's heart sink to the very bowels of his chest.

Without a word, Bo-Fen pocketed the entire contents of the coin pouch and merely sat down in the chair adjacent to Iroh. "I don't suppose you'd mind if I regale you with some of Shen-Long's most embarrassing childhood moments? Even if you can't make use of them, I'm sure Prince Zuko might..."

Iroh beamed at her, understanding flashing in his sage-like eyes. "I would be _delighted_."

Shen-Long stared at one, then the other, before sagging lifelessly against his chains. This was just _not _his day.

* * *

The villagers had gathered in the center of town, many carrying torches so as to better see Oyagi as he stood on the platform and addressed them all. At first glance, it only looked as though he were immensely tired; he _was _an old man, after all. However, those who knew him best recognized the grim, solemn expression for what it was. This was a matter he was taking seriously.

Aang and Katara were in the front row, looking up expectantly at the village elder. But it was clear by the looks on their faces that they had no idea what to expect from this gathering.

"My brothers and sisters," Oyagi began, causing the murmuring crowd to fall silent in a rippling _hush_. "I want to thank you all for taking the time to be here tonight...especially Avatar Aang and Lady Katara. I'm sure their judgment and wisdom will be much appreciated in this grave matter..."

The Kyoshi Warriors were standing at attention, standing guard on the platform and around a small, woebegone-looking hut off to the left. Suki and Sokka were both conspiciously absent, but most of the people there were too preoccupied to notice...or care.

"And now, for the matter at hand," the elder continued. "My friends, it is true that Kyoshi has managed to stay out of the war thus far. And it is also true that the newcomer, Julie McVay, is not a citizen of this village...she is not one of _us_. However, it is my belief that any crimes committed on our shores should be met with swift justice...even if the victim is an outsider."

There was muttered agreement amongst the villagers, and only a few quiet voices of doubt regarding _outsiders_. However, for the most part, Oyagi's words were met with approval. Katara was actually nodding fervently as she listened to the unfolding speech.

"A few nights ago, a Fire Nation boat was found on our eastern shoreline. A trio of soldiers had brought their prisoners with very blatant intentions in mind...to torture, to rape, and possibly even to kill the innocent girl and child in their clutches. Apparently they didn't realize where they were, otherwise they would have thought twice about choosing our island for their foul misdeeds.

"The Kyoshi Warriors quickly dispatched the villains, killing two and capturing the third. That man now awaits his sentence...which will be decided here and now. I only ask that you regard the matter with as little bias as can be expected...given the circumstances. After all, Kyoshi is known for its neutrality and that will not change, even now."

Oyagi nodded at the Kyoshi Warriors. They took that as the signal to cluster around the hut.

"Let the prisoner be brought forth for his trial."

The muttering of the crowd turned dark as Chaang, the surviving Fire Nation soldier, was bodily removed from his cell. His wrists were shackled behind his back and his ankles had chains to keep him from running away. The Kyoshi Warriors escorting him to the platform kept a hawk's eye on him to make sure he didn't try to Firebend, but he looked too bitter and exhausted to even make the attempt.

Chaang glared at the villagers as he was placed in a set of stocks. The two warriors stepped aside, but stood on either side of him looking alert.

"Wow," Aang muttered. "He sure looks mad, huh?"

Katara, who's mouth was set in a firm line, didn't reply.

"Prisoner," said Oyagi sternly. "State your name and occupation for the court."

Chaang acted as though he didn't hear him.

"Master Oyagi asked you to state your name," one of the warriors reminded him in a deceptively calm voice. Meanwhile, her fan (which was made of sharpened metal) was pointed against his throat. "Or are you hard of hearing?"

The Firebender grimaced. "Chaang," he said, somehow managing to sound flippant in the face of potential decaptitation. "I'm in charge of a small squadron in the Fire Navy, and I've been serving on Prince Zuko's ship for the past three years." He rolled his eyes at the last part. "And what an honor _that _venture has been."

Oyagi nodded in approval. "Do you know why you are here?"

Chaang clenched his teeth and remained stubbornly silent. The elder correctly interpretted that as a balk.

"You and your shipmates are accused of attempted rape and murder on our shores," he told him. "And of holding an innocent girl and child against their will and terrorizing them with your atrocities."

For the first time, the prisoner seemed willing to acknowledge that Oyagi was even there. He glanced sideways at the old man, staring at him without a trace of remorse or denial. Then, to the surprise of many, Chaang even smiled ironically at him. He probably would have shaken his head slowly if he could, but his neck was held firmly in the vice-grip of the stocks.

"That girl you think you're protecting," he said. "She ain't innocent. She's a menace...a witch. I tell you, old man, I've served under the Fire Nation banner for quite a while, made many friends and enemies alike...but I never met anyone as dangerous as that maggotflea."

"Her name is Julie," Katara snapped, unable to hold her tongue anymore. "And _you _tried to rape her...! How could anyone possibly be _justified _to do something so horrible to another person?"

Chaang flicked a glance at the Waterbender. "Because of her, I lost almost all of my friends on the ship. They were slaughtered by a bunch of freaks called the Brotherhood or something like that...they claimed to be _her _servants..._her _disciples, if you will. They were calling her their Red Lady...and they were hell-bent on liberating her from the Prince. For that matter, _I _wasn't the one holding her captive. Prince Zuko was the one she had wrapped around her finger...the little slut."

Aang frowned. "Julie explained that to me. She said that it was all a misunderstanding; that the Brotherhood is a religious cult that became obsessed with her because she _looks _like the Red Lady spirit. And Prince Zuko wasn't keeping her a prisoner at all. They were friends!"

Oyagi, surprised by this information, turned to the young Airbender. "That girl is _friends _with the crown prince of the Fire Nation?" The unspoken afterthought hovered in the air for all of them to see. _And I left her alone with my two young grandchildren...?_

"You see what I'm telling you?" Chaang rallied himself before anyone else could respond to that. "The girl can't be trusted! That whole bit about the _"misunderstanding...?"_ That's a lie! The girl is an Energybender!"

There was a surprised hush.

"A what?" said Oyagi in confusion.

"An Energybender," said the prisoner smugly. "She can take a person's chi and twist it...she can make benders start bending against their will, using them like puppets. She can amplify their chi until it destroys them from the inside out. That's what she did to Commander Zhao during their Agni Kai. She amplified his chi until he lost control of his own Firebending...burnt his entire arm to a blackened _stump_."

Horrified silence.

"The children were telling me that story," said the elder slowly. "The boy, Kuba, was telling them about this Agni Kai. I thought it was just a story, but..." he looked up sharply at Aang and Katara. "Did you both know about this?"

They looked at each other, almost at a loss for words. "No," said Aang quietly. "She never told us that."

"Hey!" another voice exploded.

Everyone turned in time to see Sokka striding towards the platform, looking angry. Suki was behind him, her eyes locked on the Water Tribe boy in front of her. She looked as surprised by his outburst as everyone else was, but not in a displeased way. She seemed to be looking at him in a completely different light from the one she had regarded him in that day he had sauntered recklessly into her dojo.

The crowd immediately parted to let him and the Leader of the Kyoshi Warriors through. Sokka climbed up on to the platform to address the crowd.

"Just who's the one on trial here?" he demanded. "Is it Julie? Because so far, I don't remember her committing any crimes. In fact, she risked her _life _to free the Avatar from the Fire Nation! If Julie had been caught, she would have been executed...that is, if the infection in her shoulder didn't kill her first! She probably should have been resting, but she helped _us _instead."

"Sokka," Katara murmured, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you and Suki were with Julie."

He waved a hand dismissively. "We went by the house earlier, but she was telling the kids a bedtime story...something about a Red heart, I think; we could hear her voice from the front door. Suki and I thought it was better not to interrupt, so we left." He gave Oyagi a significant look. "Your grandchildren seemed all right to me."

Oyagi glanced at Suki for confirmation.

"It was cute," she told him. "The children seemed really into the story...and it seemed to have a happy ending, from what I could tell. I didn't hear the whole thing, but the gyst of it was that even a broken heart will grow whole again. Then, Julie sent them to bed. Sokka and I left after that. She didn't seem to need our help." She smiled to herself. "I don't even think she knew we were there."

"She's a real terror, isn't she?" Sokka said sarcastically, poking Chaang on the side of the head. "A real nightmare."

"You'll see," Chaang spat. "She'll be the ruination of you all...!"

No one seemed to know how to respond to this. The crowd murmured indecisively, much to the chagrin of Team Avatar. Even Oyagi seemed deeply troubled as he turned to Suki.

"Let the prisoner be brought back to his cell to await his sentence," he said wearily. "I admit, this is a lot to think about. I can't say that I'm at ease with the situation to make a decision right away..."

Suki nodded, gesturing to her warriors. Immediately, Chaang was removed from the stocks and dragged off of the platform. As he was brought to his cell, there was one person in the crowd staring at him almost fixedly. The woman had long dark hair and a broad smile as she regarded him from a distance. She shifted her weight to her other hip and considered.

Then, Lady Mantis, unseen by everyone around her, smiled. Oh, yes. He would do nicely for a distraction.

* * *

"Don't make a sound...and come with me."

That voice made every muscle in my body go stiff, as though I were just a walking corpse in the throes of rigor mortis. I couldn't move, or breathe, or think even. It was a voice I had been hearing in the back of my mind every time I thought of _him_. But logic told me there was no way he could possibly _be _here. Zuko wouldn't have bothered turning the ship around. Zuko wouldn't make such a huge detour all the way to Kyoshi Island (which I was starting to realize was not such a tourist hotspot these days; if the world was a suburban neighborhood, Kyoshi Island would be the _one _house with a huge ass fence and a sign bluntly stating: "Beware of Unagi. It Bites.")

It was just my mind playing tricks on me. This wasn't Zuko. I just wanted it to be Zuko because (okay, I'll admit it) I was feeling really bad about what I had said to him that night. And, you know, because a fire-breathing prince would be _much _preferable to some faceless stranger hoping to rob the house and/or make off with the kids. Or, you know, rape and kill me in the basement. I should hope Zuko wouldn't sink to such lows.

So, yeah. Obviously I wasn't going to do what the guy asked. Did he _really _think I'd just come quietly? Who was _he _kidding, anyway?

I took a deep breath, trying to remember something I had learned from my sparring sessions with Zuko, back when we were "frienemies." Unfortunately, we had only gone over the basics; and we never actually addressed what to do if I'm being attacked from behind. Zuko and I would face each other head-on, and I would get floored every single time I lunged at him. All in all, not very educational for me.

Shit. I was going to die.

"I'll give you whatever you want," I told him. "Just don't hurt the kids."

There was a moment's pause. "I'm not going to hurt anybody."

"Yeah, okay. Look, guy, it's bad enough you have me up at knife-point. Don't make it worse by insulting my intelligence too."

A heavy sigh. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"The Easter Bunny," I shot sarcastically. "Really, do you think I _care _what your name is? You're clearly a serial killer, and that means I can't make nice with you. Sorry if that ruined your plans for the evening, but that's the way it goes."

I noticed that there was a small table nearby. But that wasn't what caught my attention; it was the fat, decorative vase resting casually on top of it, well within my arms' reach. I tried to keep the same rigid posture while watching and waiting for Mr. Assassin to drop his guard so I could make a grab for it.

"I'm not a serial killer," the guy grumbled. "Look, will you just listen to me? We have to get off this island before the villagers realize you're gone."

"Where are you going to take me?"

"Back to the ship, peasant. Where did you _think_ I was taking you?"

I froze. My hand had been poised to grab the vase, but hearing the casually dropped-in nickname made it spasm and fall limply at my side.

"Z...Zuko...?"

Oh, God. Oh, God! I take it back! Give me the serial killer! This was so much worse than the threat of being brutally murdered in the basement. Because Zuko shouldn't _be _here; not at this time of night, and certainly not _here _in Oyagi's hut. He was supposed to attack the island at broad daylight, charging like a komodo rhino in pursuit of the Avatar.

So, what the hell was he doing here?

"Who were you expecting?" he wanted to know. "The Avatar?"

The Avatar! Of course! Zuko must have heard the rumors about Aang! That cold-hearted freak! I'll admit, for a moment I felt a fleeting hope that he might have come for _me_. But that was just stupid. It was obvious that I didn't mean anything to him. I mean, come on. He called me _peasant _all the time. I doubted he was capable of even remembering my name.

No, the only reason Zuko was here because _Aang _was here. And he must have figured that, since I just happened to be in the neighborhood, I'd have nothing better to do than to abandon my moral principles and _lead him to him_.

I breathed out through my nose, angry. "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting _you_. And I'm _not _coming with you. Whatever evil thing you're planning to do, you can do it on your own, you creep!"

Zuko went very still. I hadn't moved an inch, not even to turn around and look at him. His hands were still pinned firmly to my arms, holding them against my sides with no more force than was strictly necessary. But my back was pressed up against his chest, and I could feel him breathing very slowly, as though trying to keep his emotions in check.

"Julie," he said. "I know you're angry. You have every right to be...after what happened to you, I wouldn't expect anything less. But...you have to know that I _never _would have let it happen if I knew what they were planning."

His hands were suddenly gentler, and I found myself able to move. Slowly, very slowly I turned around and looked up at him. I gave a slight start when I saw the Blue Spirit mask on his face. Seeing my expression, Zuko reached up quickly and took it off.

It was a moment before he could look me in the eyes, but when he did his gaze was intense enough to scorch stone.

"What are you talking about?" I whispered.

He scowled. "Julie, I _know _what happened. I heard the villagers talking about it. Some of the men on my ship kidnapped you and tried to...hurt you. I know everything."

I stiffened, feeling a drastic amount of color rush into my face. Suddenly, I felt very lightheaded, almost numb from the sharp edge of anger I felt.

"What do _you _care?" I snarled, taking several steps back from him. I hugged my arms to my sides, glaring fiercely up at him. "When have you _ever _cared what happens to me? The only thing that matters to you is your stupid mission! What do _you _care if someone gets hurt along the way, just so long as you have the Avatar in chains...?"

I was so mad I was shaking. Zuko looked angry too, but for a different reason.

"My mission isn't _stupid_," he said in a low voice. "It's _everything_ to me. It's my _life_, Julie. My honor...my throne...my _family_..."

He trailed off, averting his eyes as he leveled a furious stare at the ground.

"Besides...if I didn't care, why would I be here?" he demanded. "Tell me that, peasant."

I shook my head slowly. Oh, he was playing a good game, here. Letting all that emotion creep into his voice, looking at me with those sincerely tormented golden eyes, and now moving so close to me that there was hardly any space between us...he had to have known the effect he had on me. You could hear a pin drop in that big, empty room; and for a minute I felt as if we were the only two people in the whole world, Zuko and I.

I couldn't look at him anymore. "Stop insinuating that you're here for me. We both know what you really came here for."

Zuko glared at me. "And _that _would be?"

"Oh, God. Stop pretending, you jerk! You came for Aang, didn't you? You must have heard he was on the island...and you're probably planning to invade it right now. The only reason you would _ever _waste your time looking for me is because _you _don't want to lose the chance to have a rare Energybender as your own personal tool...!"

I threw my accusations at him with as much force as I could muster. And for once, they seemed to have a heavy impact. Zuko froze in place as a number of emotions flickered in his eyes, the most prominent ones being shock and confusion.

"The Avatar is on Kyoshi?" he said in a slow whisper.

I blinked at him. "Stop pretending you didn't know," I snapped, trying to shake off the cold feeling spreading in my lungs. "You want me to lead you to him...that's why you...why else would you even _be _here?"

Zuko didn't say anything. He just stared at me, rooted to the spot indecisively.

"What?" I demanded roughly. "It's true, isn't it?"

It was too much, seeing that dumbstruck look on his face. I couldn't let myself believe he was being honest right now. I really needed him to be the bad guy. I needed to hate him with enough tenacity to overlook all the horrible things _I _had said to _him _that night on the ship...that night when he had been trying to "save" me from Shen-Long.

But it was impossible. There wasn't an ounce of deception in Zuko's face. Just bewilderment. Looking at him made something inside my chest cave in on itself, my insides swimming in uncertainty and guilt. And agony. Something inside of me hurt so bad that it had me reeling.

I turned my back on him so that he wouldn't see me blinking back tears. Oh, God, this was so mortifying. I was going to start _crying _in front of my mortal enemy. And why the hell was I even crying to begin with? It wasn't like I _liked _the bastard...right? There was no reason for this pain spreading through my chest, aching in my heart and lungs, pulling me apart at the seams.

Dammit, we weren't even _friends_...! Why did I _care_? Why couldn't I hate him like I wanted to?

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," Sokka muttered. "The guy is accused of trying to rape and kill a girl, and they're taking _anything _he says seriously."

Katara seemed to agree with him. "It's ridiculous," she said. "Julie didn't do anything wrong!"

The villagers still hadn't entirely made up their minds on the matter. While it was clear that they were repulsed by what Chaang had been planning to do, it was clear just how preoccupied they were with this Energybending business. Some of them were starting to suggest having a second trial for Julie, but the looks Aang and his friends gave them made them shut up.

"She shouldn't be here," someone said quietly. "She isn't one of us."

But Oyagi held up a hand to silence the crowd. "I have reached a decision. Let the prisoner be brought forth for his sentence."

The crowd seemed to hold its breath as Suki motioned to two of her warriors. Nodding, they went to the lone hut and opened the door. With their metal fans at ready, the girls entered the room, disappearing across the threshold. No one said anything for several minutes as they waited for them to emerge. But it was taking a very, very long time. Much longer than it should have.

There was a tense pause. The crowd started getting restless, wondering why no one was coming out. Even Oyagi, who seemed like a very patient guy, started to frown when the girls suddenly appeared at the door, _sans _the defendant. Aang and Katara went still, seeing their empty hands.

"He's not here," one of the warriors called to Oyagi. "The prisoner must have escaped...!"

Alarm. Anger. Confusion. All of those emotions swept through amongst the villagers, many of whom were absolutely buzzing at the shocking news.

"How?" the elder gasped. Then, he quickly pulled himself together. "I thought his cell was being watched at all times...and that he was wearing shackles on his wrists and ankles. How did he get free without anyone _noticing_?"

Aang furrowed his brow. He let out a gust of air that propelled him up on to the platform.

"He can't have gone far," he said. "We should spread out and look for him before he hurts someone."

Oyagi nodded, his face pale. "Right."

Katara climbed up on to the stage, accepting Aang's hand as he helped her to her feet. She looked very anxious as she faced the old man and the young Airbender. "Do you think there's a chance he's gone after Julie? For revenge?"

Sokka pulled out his club. "Suki and I will check Oyagi's house, just to make sure. Everyone else should fan out, search the woods...we don't want him getting away. There's no telling what someone like that is capable of."

There was quick, murmured agreement before the group split up to begin the manhunt.

* * *

"Julie," Zuko said quietly. "I didn't know he was here."

"Liar."

The one-word response was all I could manage. I could hear my voice crack on the second syllable.

"Are you crying?" Alarm flickered in his tone of voice.

I balled my hands into fists, the knuckles a bloodless white as they gripped the edges of my own arms. "N...no..."

There was a noticable hesitation in the air. Then, finally making his decision, he moved. I could almost sense Zuko as he came up from behind me. His hands caught my shoulders before I could flinch away, spun me around so that I was looking up at him. I let out a startled gasp and cringed away as his hand reached towards my face.

Not the merciless blow I had subconsciously anticipated. His fingers were gentle as they brushed away the single tear I had allowed to escape.

"I didn't come here for the Avatar," he said in a low, firm voice. "I was..._everyone _was worried about you when we realized you were missing. You're being an Energybender has nothing to do with why I'm here. And I didn't _know _he was here."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, right. But now I suppose you want me to just tell you where he is, don't you?" I tried to pull away from him and felt a stab of panic when he wouldn't let go of me. "Do you really think I'd just sell out Aang and the others after they _saved _me? What the hell do you _take _me for, anyway?"

Zuko's expression froze in place. "They said that the Kyoshi Warriors were the ones that saved you."

"From Chaang and those bastards...but the villagers were considering feeding me to the Unagi anyway because I'm an outsider. Aang was the one who vouched for me. He's the only reason I'm still _alive_...because unlike _you_, Aang has enough integrity not to use people or throw them away the moment they stop being useful!"

Zuko pulled his hand away, as though the touch of my skin suddenly burned him. He closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose. "Julie...stop."

He looked pained. It made me pause.

I stared at him as he opened his eyes again. "I've been trying to capture him for _three years_. And I've only known you for a month. But you still have enough of a hold on me so that I can't...think clearly about this. You make me irrational, peasant." He stared at me, an almost childlike confusion peering out from beneath those golden irises. "It's only been four weeks, but I can't...help but care what happens to you. You have to believe that."

I almost could. He looked so troubled, so unspeakably torn that I found myself thawing out from the block of ice I had become in those few short minutes. At the very least, I could believe that _he _believed what he was saying. Which meant...

...oh, God. I just told him that Aang was on the island. I was such a freaking _idiot_.

"Julie, please," he said. "I know I don't have any right to ask this of you...but I...you have to understand. I've been searching for _three years_."

"I...I can't..." I was shaken at the realization of the incredibly dumb move I had just made, and I couldn't keep my voice steady as I answered him. "I won't do it...!"

Zuko let out a quiet noise of frustration. "The Avatar does _one _thing for you, and you immediately trust him enough to want to protect him?"

I flinched at the word _trust_. He saw it, too. His eyes became sharper as they stared into my reluctant gaze.

"No," he said slowly. "That's not it...is it? I can see it in your eyes. You don't trust _anyone_...do you?" His knowing look solidified at my speechlessness. Yes, he was sure of what he was saying, now. "All this time you've been on your own and running from..._something_. And you don't know who to turn to. I think you've been hurt so badly in the past that you can't bring yourself to actually get close to someone else."

"That...that's ridiculous..." I stammered.

"Is it?" Understanding unfolded across his face like a bird spreading its wings, like sunlight crawling across the page of an open book. "You started actually caring about the people on the ship...like Jee and my Uncle, and that street urchin...and that frightens you. You're convinced that someone is going to turn on you...that _I'm _going to turn on you. That's the real reason you're afraid of me...isn't it?"

I let my gaze slide down to the floor, my cheeks heating up. Another tear slid down my cheek, followed by another. "You...don't know what you're talking about..." I muttered in a low voice.

Zuko didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Without uttering a single word, his hands tightened against my shoulders and pulled me to him, startling me so bad that I went stiff in his arms. My hands were trembling against his chest, my face buried in his shoulder as he held me there. My heart sputtered in shock. _What does he think he's doing?_

We stayed like that for a long time. Slowly, my fingers curled, balling some of the fabric of his shirt into my unsteady fists. I took a deep breath and felt some of my tears fall against the dark cloth, leaving very damp, very faint spots behind. I didn't know what to do or what to say. My thoughts batted around my brain like gnats.

"I...I...Zuko..."

"Just trust me," he muttered in my ear, causing a shiver to go up my spine. "That's all I'm asking of you, peasant."

I hesitated for only a few seconds before I let myself melt into his embrace. I allowed myself to breathe evenly for the first time in several minutes, and I was immediately struck by that spiciness that seemed to cling to Zuko. _Like fire flakes_, I realized. _Only better._

There was something very wrong with how good this felt. And there was something especially wrong with how _resigned _I was to this feeling. It seemed to end too soon, when Zuko finally let go of me and stepped back. I blinked up at him, even more confused than ever. And a bit awkward, too.

I blushed and looked at my shoes. Zuko, apparently not sure of what to say either, took the time to slip his Blue Spirit mask back on to his face. Then, slowly, he turned back to face me. Reluctantly, I met his gaze, none the less powerful when his golden eyes were hidden behind the slits in the mask. I found that I couldn't look away from him, that I didn't _want _to.

"Julie," he started to say, but was cut off by a surprised little yelp in the doorway.

I wheeled around in time to see little Sanji staring at us, his mouth agape. He oggled at Zuko for a few seconds, getting a good look at the mask and the Dao swords he had strapped to his back. The small child had an empty glass in his hand (I think he had been coming to ask for a glass of water), but it fell through his fingers and clattered on the floor.

Sanji sucked in his breath and _screamed_.

Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Zuko jump. His strong arms closed around me just as Merle and Kuba had scrambled out of bed and ran into the room, no doubt to see what Sanji was yelling about. I saw Kuba stiffen at the sight of the Blue Spirit, too surprised to even move. Meanwhile, Zuko had hauled me up off my feet and cradled me in his arms as he vaulted through the window.

"Julie!" Kuba yelled. It was the last thing I heard before Zuko and I disappeared in the night.

* * *

**A/N: Chaang finally gets his trial, but it clearly doesn't go as planned. Oyagi and the villagers are reeling from the unexpected news, leaving Julie in a less-than-sympathetic light. Apparently, not even the Avatar or his friends can undo a century-long habit of isolationism and xenophobia that Kyoshi Island sunk into. I have to say, though, I really enjoyed having Sokka show up unexpectedly and defend Julie. Originally, I was just going to have him and Suki at Oyagi's hut and discover Zuko as the Blue Spirit.**

**But, much to my surprise, Sokka decided to pull a Bo-Fen and hijacked the chapter. It's starting to get a little weird how this keeps happening...characters just taking over the story, I mean. **

**Just when Oyagi reaches a decision, though, Chaang mysteriously disappears. What will happen now that he's on the loose? What is Mantis planning? Will Zuko get Julie off of the island? Will Julie really let him leave Kuba behind? Will I ever stop asking rhetorical questions?**

**If you liked all the fluff and humor (both with Julie and Zuko AND with Iroh hog-tying Shen-Long with _chains_), I suggest you leave a REVIEW!**


	48. Untitled Because the Author is Out Cold

**A/N: I realize that the update was very late in the coming, and I apologize. A lot has been going on in my life lately, so much so that it makes me wonder if I'm someone else's rough-draft of a very messed up novel. I seriously feel a little like that whiney, defeatist Holden Caulfield from "Catcher in the Rye" sometimes; it makes me want to puke. But it has to be said. I'm kind of spiraling here.**

**I should be making a life for myself, and instead I'm floundering with what may possibly be a dead-end job, trying to make enough money to pay the rent each month, EAT every other day, and pay for whatever miscellaneous crisis erupts in my field of vision. Like, for example, if I started bleeding out of my eyes or something. I need enough money to pay for THAT kind of disaster and STILL be able to save up enough money to eventually go back to school.**

**I suppose I should count myself lucky to even _have _a job, given our nation's economy and the threadbare job market. It's a lot for one girl to bear. I'm _tired_. Oh, God, I think I'm gonna...gonna...(THUMP)**

**Julie: "Oh, shit. I think the author just DIED."**

**Sokka: (sighs) "_I'll_ go get the problem stick..."**

**Julie: "Um...I think we're going to need something a little more effective than the Problem Stick from Harry Potter Puppet Pals. Like maybe a taiser...or something that'll jolt her awake."**

**Katara: (holding out vial of magic, glowing water) "Spirit Oasis Water?"**

**Julie: "Oh right. I forgot...we're fictional characters. We'll just use the magic of _plot device_ to save her. I'm _such _a genius!"**

**Katara: "...I'm going to take that for a _yes_, then."**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Three: Untitled Because the Author is Still Unconscious**

Chaang hadn't been expecting much of this so-called trial.

The imprisoned soldier could be rightfully called a lot of things, many of them bad and some flat-out awful, but stupid wasn't one of them. He knew that the outcome had been decided even before he had woken up in chains. If he hadn't realized where he was before, he knew it now. And Kyoshi Islanders weren't particularly well-known for their hospitality towards the Fire Nation...or any outsiders, for that matter. He knew that they planned to kill him.

The trial was merely a farce. At first, Chaang had wondered why they even bothered, why they didn't just toss him to this Unagi he heard so much about...but once he saw the young Avatar in the crowd he put two and two together. The village elder must have been trying to appease him with a sham of due process. Feh.

It was a fatal mistake not to check the map before bringing the maggotflea here. Chaang knew that and accepted that. It was the fact that _he _had to die while _she _got to live that put him in a foul mood. This had been a complete disaster.

Julie's face appeared in his mind's eye. He breathed smoke out of his nostrils, fueled by the flash of hate that coursed through his body.

Chaang tried to console himself with the memory of the trial itself. It had been a beautiful thing, watching the villagers' trust in the young redhead collapse around them like a flimsy little hut in a hurricane. He had a good feeling that after he was dead, Julie would soon follow. Not even the Avatar could protect her from a mob...even if he was so inclined to try.

He didn't feel entirely vindicated, but it was something at least. Something, but not quite enough.

It was as he came to this realization that the buxom figure in black appeared in his cell, mere feet away from him. The word appear wasn't an exaggeration, either. One second he was all alone, and the next he was staring at another person...another _woman_. And damn, was she a woman! Long dark hair, full lips, and an endowed, curvaceous body that drove any and all rational thought from his mind. What a knockout.

"I have a job for you to do," she said in a silky voice. Her eyes seemed to look him up and down. "If you think you can handle it, that is."

Chaang was having trouble keeping his eyes from wandering. He licked his lips, only to find that his entire mouth had gone dry.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The woman smirked. "You could consider me to be a guardian spirit...or...something a lot worse. However, for lack of any ready comparisons, I suppose you may call me Mantis."

Chaang blinked a few times. "And you're here because...?"

"You can provide me with something I want. In return, I'm willing to grant you a favor or two..." She looked up from examining her nails as she fixed the imprisoned soldier with a level stare. Suddenly, the playfulness was gone, replaced by something cold and businesslike. "I am going to free you from your cell. I will ensure that no one will see or hear you leave. From there, you are to..."

She told him what she expected from him, and Chaang was surprised. He had expected something a lot more troublesome and strenuous. Spirits almost always wanted to eat your soul in deals like these. Maybe this one was different.

"As an added incentive," Mantis continued, "I will tell you that Commander Zhao is currently docked on the coast of Kyoshi Island...and that he's willing to repay the favor, _handsomely_. He might even let you have your way with that Julie girl. I believe you two had some unfinished business...?"

His head jerked up. _That _got his attention all right.

"If I do this," he said. "I want a spot on his crew. I'm not working any more dead-end jobs by traveling with that disgrace of a Prince and his has-been uncle. I assume that there is...ahem...an opportunity for advancement among Zhao's troops..." he looked at Mantis for confirmation.

She just sighed. "You'll have to work out the contract with him. I'm only telling you the conditions of _our _deal. I set you free, and you do as I asked you to."

"And the maggotflea," Chaang insisted. "Zhao will really fork her over to me if I do this?"

"You can't kill her," Mantis replied flatly. "That priviledge is currently reserved for someone else. However, I see no reason as to why you can't maim her a little...maybe break a few bones, melt off a few pieces of skin...nothing too fatal."

There was a brief pause as the soldier weighed her words in his mind. A slow, malevolent smirk crawled up on his face, uncoiling like a live rattle-snake. His eyes became almost wild as he carefully plotted out a few tortuous scenarios for his victim-in-question. There was no doubt by now that he was completely sold to this conspiracy, whatever it was.

"What do _you _get out of this?" he asked suddenly, shifting Mantis a suspicious look. "Why have you thrown your lot in with Commander Zhao? You must have a reason for wanting this girl dead..."

"Never mind my reasons. The offer is on the table. Take it or leave it."

Chaang couldn't wait for the moment when he would make Julie pay...he would hear her scream, listen with mirth as she begged him to kill her...he would make her suffer for all the things he had lost because of her. He would show her what happened when you trifled with the likes of him. And, as an added bonus, he'd be getting _paid _to do it. What more was there to think about?

"I'm in," he said.

Mantis smiled. "Excellent."

And that was the last thing Chaang remembered before he blacked out.

* * *

_Julie...Julie..._

Kuba couldn't think anything else as he squinted in the dark, trying to see the path in front of him. He was still surprised to see Merle keeping up with him; she had insisted in coming along when he decided that he would go save Julie from the guy in the blue mask.

"You don't have to," he had told her. "You should probably stay with Sanji. He'll just get into trouble."

Merle scowled. "Nuh, uh. I'm coming with you."

He frowned at her. "Julie is _my _friend. _I'm _the only one who needs to go after her."

"Yeah, but you're _my _friend," she replied with a so-there look on her face. "I'm not letting you go by yourself. Anyway, you know how I want to be a Kyoshi Warrior when I get bigger. Finding this guy and beating him up will be good practice. We'll save Julie together."

Kuba didn't know what to say. He hadn't really had any friends before until he had met Julie. And now he was here in this weirdo village with this strange girl with a metal leg and her wimpy little brother. Now he was getting to know the other kids in the village, and he realized that he wouldn't mind staying in a place like this...or maybe coming back here one day, after Julie got better with Energybending. Maybe they could both live here together.

He smiled. "Okay. But _I'm _the one who gets to kill him."

"Kill him?" said Merle in surprise. "Why would we do that?"

"Because," he explained testily. "He tried to hurt Julie. He's bad...and he should die. Don't you think so?"

She looked uncertain. "I've never killed anyone before. I don't think many of the Kyoshi Warriors have either. We've been safe here for a long time."

"Well..." Kuba hesitated. He wondered if the reason he was willing to compromise was because he didn't want to upset his new friend. "We'll decide later, then. Let's find them first."

He was about to head out into the woods when he heard Merle's soft inquiry. The sound of her voice made him stop short; something in it was tense, but curious. Uncertain and a little afraid. He didn't like the way it made her sound like Sanji, who stammered and cried a lot whenever something scary happened.

"Have...have _you _ever killed anyone, Kuba?" she asked.

He looked back at her in surprise. "Lots of times. Why?"

She stared at him. "It doesn't...bother you? It isn't scary or...sad?"

Kuba furrowed his brow. "It was the first time...but after a while...I guess...I just try not to think about it. I don't kill people because I _want _to. I do it because I have to. If I don't, my enemies will just come back to hurt me again...or Julie. I have to do whatever I can to protect us both."

She didn't say anything. She just bit her lip. He waited for her to break the silence, but she just stared at her feet.

"Do you still want to come with me?"

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. Slowly, she nodded.

* * *

"Hurry up, Sokka!"

Suki glanced back in time to see the Water Tribe boy struggling to free himself from a patch of brambles. This was the third one he had stumbled into in the dark. Granted, he didn't know the woods as well as Suki did, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes at the scene. How could anyone be so righteous and practical one moment, only to become completely incompetant the next?

She couldn't help but smile, either. In spite of his faults, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Sokka had a good heart and a bold spirit. If only he didn't feel the need to impress people all the time, then maybe...

"Hey, you try getting attacked by evil plants, and see what it does to _your _morale," he complained. He pulled out his club and whacked the rest of the offending foliage away, finally managing to wrestle free. "Okay, let's...what's so funny?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, hiding her mirthful expression behind her fan. "We should hurry. Julie could be in trouble...and those kids."

Sokka nodded grimly.

They took off running, not stopping until they had reached Oyagi's house. They paused for a moment, seeing the front door wide open and little Sanji of all people standing in the doorway. Seeing them approach, the boy ran into Suki's arms.

"Shhhh...it's okay," she murmured, holding him until his tears had dried. "Sanji, what happened here? Where's Julie?"

"Gone," Sanji whimpered. "Merle and Kuba went after them, but...I'm scared...!"

"After who?" Sokka asked, kneeling down to look at him. "Tell us everything."

The child cringed away from the Water Tribe warrior, hiding in the folds of Suki's robes. She gave Sokka a scolding look for being so pushy; but she quickly returned her attention to the frightened little boy clinging to her. She managed a smile in an attempt to soothe him.

"It's all right. We need to know what happened, Sanji."

He looked warily at Sokka. "It was a man...in a blue mask," he said slowly. "I heard him talking from down the hall. I was getting a glass of water," he explained. "And then I came in and saw him with Julie. She looked really, really scared and upset...I think she was crying. And when he saw me, he took Julie away! You have to get her back!"

The two exchanged glances. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Suki asked.

"Yeah. Chaang wasn't the only creep on the island," said Sokka angrily. "I wonder who this blue mask guy is...?"

"An accomplice? Maybe he's the one who set him free."

He paused to consider that.

"No," he muttered. "That wouldn't fit. He couldn't have been sneaking into the hut at the same time he was _here _kidnapping Julie. Whoever this guy is, he's probably running solo."

"Well, we won't get any answers waiting around here," Suki growled, reaching for her fan. "Sanji, has it been very long since the man took Julie away? Can you tell us?"

The little boy frowned. "It wasn't...too long ago. My sister and Kuba went looking for them only a little while before you came, and they left maybe a few minutes after the man left..."

"Oh, Spirits," she murmured. "They're _looking _for him?"

"Which way did they go?" Sokka asked quickly.

Sanji pointed towards the woods. Without a word, the Water Tribe boy grabbed Suki's hand and pulled her to her feet. She blinked in surprise, not expecting him to be this focused. But she frowned, handing Sanji over to him. He stared at her in confusion.

"We can't leave a four-year-old by himself," she said flatly. "And I'm not taking him into the woods with one, maybe two maniacs on the loose. You keep an eye on him here, and I'll look for the others. Let's hope Kuba and Merle don't try to fight him by themselves..."

"Kuba probably will," Sokka sighed. "I mean, I haven't known the kid for that long, but he seems pretty fixated with Julie. He's always saying how he's going to protect her...he almost never leaves her side, especially when she's asleep. It's both cute _and _disturbing."

She shook her head quickly. "I'll find them. Stay safe, Sokka."

Sokka opened his mouth to reply, but froze as the Kyoshi Warrior suddenly leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. It was a quick, gentle peck on the side of the face, but it was enough that he forgot what he was going to say. Suki pulled back, quickly turning away so he wouldn't see her blushing.

"Ew," said Sanji. "You've got cooties!"

Sokka turned red. He glanced over at Suki nervously, but she didn't even look back as she disappeared in the trees. However, he could tell by the determined scowl on her face that he was already forgotten. And then, just like that, she was gone.

He heaved a sigh. "All right, kid. Let's get you back to your grandpa."

Sanji frowned. "But...I have to go potty!"

"But..."

"Really, really bad!"

There was a moment's silence.

"Fine," Sokka huffed. "But make it quick."

_The girls are running out to battle, and the manly man is staying behind to babysit, _he grumbled in his mind. _What's the world coming to, anyway...?_

* * *

Zhao sat at his desk, looking over his maps of Kyoshi Island. His mouth was set in a firm line as he arranged tiny replicas of komodo rhinos in and around the island. He was muttering to himself under his breath as he plotted out his moves. It was as though the impending invasion was nothing more than a game of chess.

To his chagrin, he felt a familiar pair of hands stroking his back. "Did you miss me?"

He sighed. "I was hoping you would be busy seducing some unsuspecting stable boy from the village, to be honest." He looked at her. "I suppose you're here to tell me that everything is in place?"

Mantis smiled. "I suppose you might be right, Commander...except that part about the stable boy. The boy _I _found looked a lot more interesting...he was wearing a mask."

"Really. How fascinating."

"And he had Dao swords. I have to say, it's quite sexy when a young man comes at you with a weapon. Though he didn't seem to have the presence of mind to use it once the flirting started." She frowned contemplatively, her lips forming a heart shape as she half-pouted. "I wish I could have had more fun with him. He had a nice ass."

"He's probably underage," Zhao commented without looking up.

"Now, now, Commander. Age is merely a number."

"Can I launch the invasion fleet, or not?" he asked, his patience clearly running dry. "I've been waiting for your signal for the past three hours, and I'm starting to wonder if you took the time to play games with every pair of testicles within five miles of you...!"

She tutted. "Someone's jealous."

He gritted his teeth, burying his forehead in his hand. "If you weren't my benefactor, I swear to Agni I'd..."

"Ah, ah," she said, putting her arms around his broad shoulders. "Careful now. Remember the rules, Commander. What I gave to you, I can easily take away at a moment's notice. And besides, I happen to know that you _like _your women on the promiscuous side. Remember that hooker in Ye Niu Bay? The only way for her to have been more exposed would have been to remove the skin from her bones."

"Which _you _did," Zhao reminded her.

"I was bored."

"So you claim. In any case, remind me again what's keeping these villagers from noticing a Fire Navy fleet at their front door?"

Mantis didn't bother pulling away as she shifted her weight to her other hip, her curves suggestively pressing into his back. "I sent them a little distraction. It seems that Julie didn't come to Kyoshi on her own. Some of Prince Zuko's men wanted to have some fun with her, it seems...and the Kyoshi Warriors don't like it when you try to rape someone on their shores. So I freed the surviving prisoner in the middle of his trial. While the villagers are running around looking for _him_, you'll be free to move in and capture the Avatar..._and _Julie."

Zhao looked appeased. "But will they be sufficiently distracted?"

"I told Mr. Chaang that in exchange for his freedom, he'd have to cause some noticable damage to the town. Set a few buildings on fire, kill a few people, something flashy and outrageous to get the people after him in a mob. Oh, and he's expecting you to hire him, by the way. You don't have to, but I thought I should give him an extra incentive to follow through."

"You said he used to serve on Prince Zuko's ship?"

"Yes."

"I'll consider it. In the meantime, tell the men to move out. I want them on the beaches in less than an hour."

* * *

Chaang woke up and found himself lying face-down in the dirt.

"Uggggh..." he groaned, rolling onto his back with some difficulty. His head swam at the slightest of motions, as though he were experiencing some bizarre form of _land _sickness. His vision swam as he stared up at the night sky, trying to reorient himself in the dark.

The chains were gone from his wrists and ankles. He was outside. There was no one around, no one that_ he _could see, anyway. He seemed to be in a small clearing, and as he cautiously rolled himself into a sitting position he realized he was stretched out on the sparse land in between the village and the bay. But _how _had he gotten here in the first place? He didn't even remember leaving the prison hut...

_Damn spirits._

Chaang shrugged off the nausea the best he could. He realized that the woman, Mantis, had come through with her promise; which meant that she was probably going to expect payment pretty soon. He tried to remember her instructions. _Start a bunch of fires in the village. Cause as much mayhem as possible. _He figured that should be easy enough, given that he was a Firebender in enemy territory. And there was so much flammable material here...wood, rope, and human bodies.

Oh, he'd try not to kill too many people if he could help it. Not because he was squeamish about it, but because he didn't want to take the risk of being captured again. The less people he ran into, the better...but if someone should happen along his path, so be it. Survival was on the line, here.

And so was his vengeance.

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

Zuko gripped Julie tighter as he sprinted through the trees. He was having trouble retracing his steps back to the side of the island where he had left the lifeboat, mostly because he was mentally cursing his poor luck. Julie seemed completely frozen, her arms like vices around his neck as she clung to him; very much like a pygmy puma during a very bad flood. Her eyes were wide and disbelieving.

Everything had been going fine, much more than fine, until that childhad showed up and started _caterwauling_ at the top of his lungs. Zuko was sure that if he had just a few more minutes alone with Julie, she'd have understood. About his mission. About why it was so important to him. He would have found the right words to convince her.

She had hugged him back, after all. That had to have meant _something_.

"Zuko!" she gasped, tightening her grip in a desperate attempt not to fall off...not that Zuko was about to drop her or anything. "Put me down, you moron!"

He didn't break stride as he answered her. "We need to move you somewhere safe...and you're too clumsy to get yourself there quick enough."

Julie looked indignant. "You don't know what you're doing!"

Zuko gritted his teeth. "I'm not going to drop you, peasant! Quit complaining!"

"I'm NOT leaving Kuba! We have to go back and get him!"

Oh. So _that _was what she had meant. She wasn't questioning his ability to pull off an escape...she just refused to abandon that street urchin in the clutches of the enemy. Zuko scowled, pausing only for a moment as he turned his face towards Julie's.

"He's an Earthbender. He's not in any danger here. _You _are."

"But..." Julie flummoxed. "I...I promised I wouldn't leave him...behind...!"

Zuko just stared wordlessly at her. As she met his gaze and saw the disbelief and frustration in his expression she seemed to shrink. He felt her muscles stiffen as her face flushed a reddish-pink color. She looked more like an overripe moon-peach than ever before...and he was starting to realize that he rather liked that comparison. It was a perfect way to describe Julie right then and there.

Finally, she seemed to find her voice. "I already told you that I won't help you fight Aang. And I refuse to abandon Kuba like this! He'd never forgive me if I just left him here!"

Her words tore him out of his moon-peach reverie, leaving him extremely frustrated. Not to mention flustered.

"Forget the Avatar," he snapped. "It's too late to do anything about him...not now that we've been seen. I have to get you back to the ship before we're both caught." He glared at her, but half-heartedly, trying and failing to emphasize that he was supposed to be mad at her. "Besides, how do you think Kuba will feel if you ended up _dead _because you tried to go back?"

Julie just blinked at him. Apparently, this had never occured to her...which was ridiculous, of course. She should have realized just how much danger she was in, but for some reason that glaring fact continued to elude her. Zuko almost felt like wringing her neck in frustration.

"What...?" she finally blurted.

He turned his face away. "I'm not repeating myself. It just encourages you not to listen to me."

"But Kuba..."

"...will be fine. Now be quiet and let me _focus_ on getting us out of this alive...!"

She clamped her jaw shut, staring at him in confusion. Zuko chose to ignore it as he tried to orient himself in the tangled forest surrounding him. It should have been easy compared to the impending task of navigating the convoluted workings of Julie's mind, which he knew he'd have to do if he wanted to earn her trust. But as he stared around at the endless rows of trees, he felt completely lost.

Only Julie could make him get _this _turned around. _Stupid peasant_.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

I couldn't believe this. I really couldn't.

Zuko didn't say anything else to me as he carried me through the trees. Since he had me over his shoulder, I kept bouncing with his gait, and it was starting to get really annoying, really fast. But I was more worried about him dropping me. He seemed to get distracted by every single sound, from the cracking of a twig to the call of a bird. I had no sense of direction, so I couldn't be sure if we were actually even going _anywhere_.

But I had a feeling we were lost. Which was a good thing since I hadn't exactly made up my mind yet about whether or not I wanted to go back with Zuko. I was still reeling over the fact that he was even _here _to begin with.

I couldn't believe he didn't even know Aang was on the island...that is, until I had opened my big, fat mouth. And if he didn't come here for the Avatar, surely that had to have meant that he was here for...something else. But me? Me? What was I to someone as powerful as Zuko? He was the Fire Lord's son, albeit an exiled one, but still. And I was a freaky mutant peasant and possibly a schitzophrenic, given the whole Ayla thing.

Seriously. This did NOT compute.

Even if by some random chance Zuko _did _come to rescue me (which I might see him doing out of guilt, maybe...only I don't really see how any of this is _his _fault. After all, _I _had been the one to start that fight, not him), finding out that Aang was on Kyoshi should have driven any thoughts of me clear out of his head. He had said so himself. He had been trying to find and capture the little cue-ball for three freaking years!

So what was he doing, running around the forest with me over his shoulder, going in the complete opposite direction? It made no sense!

"Zuko," I said slowly, trying to understand. "You're just going to...you're going to leave without the _Avatar_?"

He looked furious. "What choice do I have?" he snapped. "It's only a matter of time before those villagers start looking for us. They've probably put two and two together and realized that you're..."

Zuko trailed off, speculatively glancing at me. I felt a tight knot in my stomach.

"That I'm _what_?"

"On my side," he murmured. "And not _theirs_."

I didn't know what to say. I just shook my head slowly, my thoughts spinning.

"Zuko," I said slowly. "I'm not...I'm not on _anybody's _side. This isn't _my _war. I don't consider myself a part of any nation, so I don't feel obligated to fight for one side or another. I belong to myself...not to you, or the Fire Nation, or the Brotherhood, or even the Avatar."

Zuko stopped short in surprise. I was pretty sure he was going to drop me, either out of bewilderment or anger, I couldn't be sure. So I started trying to squirm out of his grip, hoping to land on my feet and edge a safe distance away from him. But to my surprise, Zuko held on to me with a firm grip, giving me a _look _for trying to get free. That look made me go very still, the way he stared at me from behind the Blue Spirit mask. I wished I could see his face, just so I could figure out if he was mad or not.

He probably was, but that was besides the point.

"The entire planet is engulfed in this war. How is it not _yours_?" he demanded. "How do you not have a side in all of this?"

I flinched. _Oh...snap. _

"_Tell him that you've been living in caves all your life and had no idea there was even a war to begin with,_" Ayla suggested promptly. Which was weird, given the mounting evidence of the fact that she loved to watch me squirm and flounder.

_Um...a believable lie, please?_

"_I dunno. That's all I got._"

Wonderful.

"Why do I even have to pick a side, anyway?" I shot back at him. I had decided that sometimes a good offense was the best defense. "I don't want to fight anybody! I don't even want to have to keep running from weirdoes like those Brotherhood freaks or Zhao! I don't want..._any _of that! So, why should I get involved in this stupid war? I'll just end up getting killed...or worse."

Zuko didn't say anything for a minute.

"You keep telling me what you _don't _want," he said. "But you never tell me what you _do _want. Whatever it is, I can get it for you...once I get my honor back, I can get you anything in the world."

I turned red. The attempt at bribery was just insulting. But I decided not to bite his head off; not until I had my feet on the ground, anyway.

"Well, for starters, you can try putting me down and letting me walk on my own," I suggested, giving him a pointed look.

Zuko didn't skip a beat in his reply.

"If I do, you'll just run back to the village. I'm not stupid."

I sighed. So much for that one, then.

Zuko was waiting for me to say something, but I couldn't look at him anymore. Because I had gotten to thinking about what it was that I wanted. And when I thought about it, I wasn't sure that I even wanted it in the first place. I thought of my house, what it was like being there with my father in the next room, tense every moment in case something set him off. I thought about my life and how it had been when I had been staying with Ramon. About what it was like to be a pawn, one that had fallen for the hand moving it across the board. And I thought about Jessie.

Did I want to go home?

I thought about a different home, then. One I had just found. I thought of Jee and Iroh, of their Pai-Sho games and music nights, and their unending reminiscenes and metaphors. I thought about Kuba, and Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. I remembered their banter, their stories and jokes. I felt myself softening as I thought of how enthusiastic Shen-Long got about music night, and about Bo-Fen's latest plots of extorting the people around her. And what Kuba's voice sounded like as he shouted at me from across the deck, yelling at me to kick Zuko's ass while we were sparring.

I thought about Zuko, then, and what it was like to be near him. About the weird way his touch made my blood jump under my skin, the way his eyes made me lose track of my thoughts. About the inexplicable combination of interest and frustration I felt in his presence. And all the other little things I had noticed about him as I spent more time around him.

"I _wanted_ to go home," I said softly. "All this time I thought I wanted to go back, but now...now I just don't know _what _I want anymore." I struggled to find the right words. "I've gotten used to being on your ship, I guess. And I'm sentimental enough to want to see everyone again. Even though almost everyone there hated me, I still...I had fun. With Shen-Long and Bo-Fen, and Kuba, and Jee...and Iroh...and..."

I stopped talking. I noticed that Zuko was listening intently.

"You boss me around a lot," I whispered. "And you can be a jerk sometimes...but...I don't hate you. Actually...I think you can be really compassionate...and strong. And _determined_. Once you make up your mind about doing something, you do it. I look at you and I can't see an ounce of deception there. You're...brutally honest."

He was very still, his face turned away even though he was still wearing the mask.

"And..." I added quickly, knowing that if I didn't say it now, I never would. "I lied...that night when I said I was afraid of you. I'm not. I just...got so attached to everyone that I...I didn't know how I was going to leave. And when I'm around you, I just...I get so irrational about it. It makes me want to stay even though I know better."

He was very, very still. I could feel his shoulders move as his lungs expanded and contracted, trying to even his breathing. He had been running for a while now, but now he was standing in one place, not looking at me or anything in particular. He seemed to be in deep thought.

"You were going to leave?" he said quietly.

"I...I don't know. Maybe."

"And go where?"

I shrugged. "Home, I guess." I felt miserable at the thought. "Or someplace else. Somewhere I can be alone."

Zuko looked at me then. "You don't want to be alone," he said. It wasn't a question. "And I don't _want_ you to leave. You belong on my ship. You belong with me and my uncle, whether you want to admit it or not."

I gaped at him.

"And one day," he said quietly. "You'll join my side. I'll find some way to convince you."

I gave him a skeptical look. "What? No powerful, boastful speeches about how you're the mighty Prince Zuko, and that I have to listen to you or else? No threats? You're just going to let me off that easy?"

"We're kind of running on a tight schedule right now," he reminded me cynically. "Besides, coercing you doesn't do me any good. I don't want to own you. I just want your cooperation...we should be allies, not enemies."

"You mean _friends_?"

Zuko didn't answer right away. "If that's what you want to call it...fine. Yes. I want to be friends."

"But I'm a peasant!"

"And I'm an honorless exile with a marring facial scar. I think that evens things out a bit."

"And I just told you that I won't fight the Avatar..." I stammered, completely bewildered. Why the hell would Zuko want to be friends with me? This was just getting weirder and weirder by the second. "Aren't you going to tell me something along the lines of, "if I'm not with you, I'm against you," or something like that? Aren't you even going to say something menacing or...or _something _in character?"

Zuko just stared at me. I imagined him giving me a strange look from underneath the mask. "There's something wrong with you."

"Quit changing the subject! I'm a voice of dissent, and I'm a threat to your mission! Jeez! Get a clue, will you? You have no reason to be so nice to me, or to go through so much trouble saving me when I'm clearly not sold to this _capture the Avatar _thing! I could turn on you at any moment!"

I didn't mention the fact that I already had, back when I had helped to free Aang and the others from their prison cell. No need to have Zuko turn _homicidal_, after all. I just wanted him to realize just how stupid he sounded. If he thought he could trick me with this sham of comraderie, he had to have an insultingly low opinion of my mental capacity. Did he really think I was that gullible?

Unless _he _somehow believed what he was saying.

"Like I said, I have plenty of time to convince you later," Zuko told me, sounding more irritable than ever. I think he was tired of having to repeat himself; he must have really thought that we were in danger or something. "Now be quiet and let me...do you smell smoke?"

We both froze. Neither of us had noticed the way the air had thickened during our argument. But we did now. Something acrid reeked in the air, something that made me wrinkle my nose in disgust. Something heavy and impossible to breathe in...and was it just me, or was it darker now? Why couldn't I see the stars anymore?

"There's a fire nearby," said Zuko tersely.

"_Julie_," Ayla spoke to me. She sounded alarmed. "_Look behind you...!_"

I let out a quiet gasp as I noticed the faint, ominous glow in the distance. It was far back, towards where the village lay sleeping. There had to be several rows of trees in between it and us, but it didn't stop me from realizing where all the smoke was coming from.

"The town is on fire!" I cried.

* * *

**A/N: You know what? I fraeknig love alochol.**

**I'm kind of supopsed to be doing soemtihng right now. I don't really rmeebmer how this keobryad got in my hands, or why I'm even typing this. I mean, shit-faced or not, I'm probably going to have half a doezn spelling errors in this at _laest_.**

**Heh, heh..._siht-faced_.**

**Julie: "I think we learned something today. To drink responsibly, and, above all, never to leave a six-pack within reach of a mentally-spiring fanfic author. It's just not a good idea."**

**Aang: "Will she be all right? I mean, I kind of wanted to see what was going to happen next in the story, and...well..."**

**Julie: "She'll be fine so long as she doesn't try to drive. And...oh, crap, where did she go?"**

**Sokka: (walking in from stage left) "She said she had to go to the store to buy another six-pack of beer. Why?"**

**Julie: "Oh, God...you didn't give her the keys, did you?"**

**Sokka: (fidgeting anxiously) "Um...um..."**

**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH...! **

**Julie: "Fuck...me. KATARA! GET THE PLOT DEVICE!"**

**(THE FANFIC HAS BEEN REPLACED WITH STATIC, FOLLOWED BY A CRUDELY DRAWN SIGN WITH THE WORDS, "Technical Difficulties" SCRIBBED IN RED CRAYON. THERE IS THE SOUND OF SEVERAL PEOPLE MOANING IN PAIN, INCLUDING ONE GUY WAILING MOURNFULLY ABOUT "My LEG...!")**

**Julie: (from off camera) "Hell in a handbasket! There's not enough plot device to fix the damage she's caused!"**

**Katara: "I'm out of WATER!"**

**Sokka: (facepalm) "Fan...freaking...tastic."**


	49. The Fight Begins

**A/N: This was a surprisingly difficult chapter for me to write. I don't know why, but I had the most wicked case of writer's block going into this. It was pretty ridiculous, I have to admit. I mean, starting to build suspense in a plot-line is one thing, but _building it? _Being able to match the level of suspense and keep it going in a fluid manner? It's tough! I had a lot of trouble holding on to the emotion of the characters...but I think it was because I was trying to hard to make something _good _rather than write something from the heart.**

**So, lesson learned. Stop caring about the end result, and the words will just come to you.**

**Sorry I don't have anything particularly witty to say this time around. I'm kind of drained, what with work and the pressures of making ends meet. Well, that, and I went and cut about nine inches off of my hair. I now have a (what I hope to be) stylish bob, about chin-length in the front and short and spiky in the back. I actually kind of like it. I'm getting all sorts of compliments on it, but what's important is that I like it. So there.**

**I feel like a total bad-ass with this haircut. If only I wasn't so damn _sleepy_. Damn it!**

**Anyway, nuff said. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty Four: The Fight Begins**

Zuko cursed under his breath. "We need to get out of here. If the fire spreads…"

I understood immediately what he was thinking. All it would take was an ill-timed breeze to fan the flames towards the forest. And if the fire touched those trees, the entire patch of evergreens would become a blazing death-trap…probably within minutes, given how strong the wind was at the moment.

I was immediately filled with alarm. If the town was on fire, then that had to mean…

"Kuba," I muttered. "He'll die…"

Zuko tightened his grip on me, probably sensing that I would start struggling moments before I had made the decision to do so. I made a noise of frustration, but he wouldn't relent. To my outrage, he started off in the opposite direction of the village, trying to put as much distance between us and the burning houses as possible.

"Zuko, we have to go back!"

He didn't say anything. He just steeled his resolve and kept walking away. I kept squirming, hoping that he would either be forced to put me down or drop me. Falling on my butt from so high up really didn't appeal to me, but it sure as hell was better than letting innocent people die. Right?

Unfortunately, I didn't really have the necessary reach or upper body strength to pry myself free. The most I was able to do was flail around like an idiot, whacking Zuko's shoulder ineffectively and sometimes smacking him in the leg with my foot. The worst I could have done was aggravate the hell out of him...and while it certainly didn't help the situation, it made _me _feel better. Marginally, anyway.

Too bad I was too panicked to really appreciate it.

He half-glanced at me. "He's a tough kid. And smart. He'll be fine."

I just stared at him. "I don't get you at all, you freak. You come back, turn your ship around and sneak into the village in a stupidly valiant attempt to "rescue" me, even going so far as to put your _mission _on the line to do it…you do all of that for _me_, but you won't do the same for Kuba? What the hell is _wrong _with you?"

Zuko looked away.

I just shook my head, slowly. "All right. Fine. If you won't go back to help an innocent child _or _to help a burning village…why not go back for the Avatar?"

"What?"

I was thinking on my feet…well, not on my feet, given that Zuko was still carrying me over his shoulder. But you know what I mean.

"If the Avatar dies in this fire," I said slowly, "…he'll end up being reincarnated. And then you'd have to track him down all over again. You won't even know his name, or what he looks like. It could take you _years _to find him again…assuming you even get that chance."

Zuko froze in his tracks. _That _he heard.

I could see the conflict in his eyes as he pondered that scenario. The obviousness of the choice was spread out in front of him, like a map. Because _of course _he couldn't just let Aang _die_. If he felt enough guilt over my abduction for my personal welfare to take priority over _his mission_ (the alleged destiny he had been doggedly pursuing for _three years_, mind you), it was gone now. Hearing my logic put the situation in a new light for Zuko.

Or so I thought.

"I thought you didn't want me to capture the Avatar," he said slowly, looking at me with what I could only suppose was suspicion. But I couldn't really tell what lay underneath that mask of his.

"Oh," I said quickly. "Well...it's just...I can tell that this is important to you, and..."

"And you're hoping that I'll just take you with me so you can go looking for Kuba." It wasn't a question. "Fat chance, peasant. Letting you go back would be so fatal I may as well just cut your throat myself. It'd be more humane."

"Hey!" I cried. "I can take care of myself!"

"And you make that more and more apparent with every passing day," Zuko commented. "Not counting the fact that you were _drowning _when we first met, you've been found _dangling from the mast _due to some insane bet you made with the crew; almost _mortally wounded_ by pirates in the middle of the night; bedridden for almost a week because of that infection in your shoulder..."

"That's..." I started to say, but apparently Zuko wasn't done.

"Then," he said, cutting me off. "You were _kidnapped _by a religious cult..._twice_. As if _that _weren't enough, you decided in the _same day_ to mouth off to Zhao, who is much bigger and ten times stronger than you are, by the way. You survived the resulting Agni Kai on a _fluke_ and almost depleted yourself of all of your chi just to pull it off...something that should have killed you, by the way. And then you were snatched by my own men and were almost raped and killed in _enemy territory_."

It was surprising he had the wind for such a long rant, given that he had been running with a load of a hundred and twenty three pounds for about ten minutes; not to mention the fact that all the smoke in the air should have had him short of breath...or choking. Was that like some secret Firebender special ability? The power to breathe smoke without dying?

Either way, I felt myself flushing in mortification. "Shit happens to me," I said lamely. "It's not my fault."

Zuko sighed. "I'm clearly fighting fate and all the spirits in the world just to keep you alive, peasant."

Looking back on it now, it was almost prophetic that he said that to me. Months later, we'd both look back on this conversation and laugh; though without humor or mirth. It would be a single stab of bittersweet chagrin, one that would make me wish I had taken a fistful of dirt and shoved it into Zuko's pie hole...just to keep him from finishing that ill-omened sentence. But alas, it was not to be.

All I could really do was glare at him. "I'll be careful."

"Yes, you will. You're not coming with me." He gave me a direct stare from under the mask. "Instead, you're going to head east until you reach the beaches. You should find the lifeboat I used over there. I want you to wait there for me...and if I'm not back by sun-up, you're to use it to get back to the ship. It's docked not too far from shore, behind the rocks."

"Fuck that!" I cried, now struggling in earnest. "You put me down right now or I'll claw your face off, you bastard!"

"If you don't listen to me, I'll just drag you there myself and tie you to the boat. Is _that _what you want?"

I sulked. "No," I huffed.

Zuko relaxed as he sensed the defeat going through me. He didn't have time to waste arguing with me, and we both knew it. Carefully, he lifted me off of his shoulder and set me firmly down on my feet. I swayed a little, not expecting the sudden shift in gravity. He caught my shoulders before pointedly steering me so that I was facing east.

"Go on, then," he said.

I hesitated, glancing back at him. A sudden tremor of foreboding ran through me.

"Be careful," I told him. "If you get hurt, I'll...I won't forgive you. I'll make your existence a living hell. Don't think that I won't!"

Zuko didn't say anything. He just stared at me.

"All right, all right," I grumbled. "I'm going. But...if you see Kuba, bring him back with you. Okay?"

"Fine."

I started walking then, keeping my face low so that I wouldn't breathe in the smoke. It had definitely gotten thicker in the past five minutes, but as I moved through the trees towards the beach, I found it easier to breathe. The worst was over now; if I kept going, my trip would be easy and unhindered by the chaos I had left behind me. For once, a safe journey opened itself before me.

Too bad I had no intention of going to the lifeboat.

After I had gone several yards, I stopped, waiting...listening. I didn't hear anyone following me, no Zuko checking to make sure I followed his orders. I felt grim satisfaction at having gotten the better of him. It was his own fault, really, for being so naive. I mean, come on.

Either that, or the prospect of capturing Aang made it worth the risk of leaving me alone. For some reason, that made me feel worse instead of better.

"_If he didn't care,_" said Ayla softly. "_He wouldn't have come to save you at all. If he didn't care, he'd have dragged you with him and used you as a weapon. He even gave you a way off Kyoshi Island._"

I tried to stifle the irritation I felt. _I don't care if he cares or not. It's just stupid. I'm not in any danger. No one on Kyoshi Island wants to hurt me, Ayla. And nothing is going to stop me from going back for Kuba. I have to save him._

"_If you go back, you could get hurt. Zuko doesn't want that."_

_What part of I DON'T CARE didn't you get?_

If only I knew how wrong I was. About _everything_; not just about Zuko's feelings, but about mine as well. And the part about no one wanting to hurt me. That turned out to be so laughably untrue that I may as well have gone walking around with a blindfold over my eyes; that was how truly blind to the situation I was. But then, even Zuko had no idea just how dire the situation had become. If he did, he might have thought twice about sending me away on my own.

Then again, he might not have. Who really knows.

Shaking the strange foreboding from my mind, I set off in the direction I _thought _Oyagi's hut should be.

* * *

While I was floundering through the woods, Commander Zhao was arriving on the shores of Kyoshi Island. He was dressed in a set of very light, but menacing-looking armor that emphasized his bulk and swagger. He was accompanied by three teams of Firebenders, all perched on the backs of komodo rhinos. Yes, I know what you're thinking: how horribly cliché for Fire Nation invaders to be riding komodo rhinos. But sometimes things become cliché for a reason.

And the thing was, komodo rhinos were actually pretty useful. Stupid and single-minded...but useful. What they lacked in stealth and speed they made up for in resistance and determination. They could carry relatively heavy loads for a long time and were excellent in uneven terrain.

Zhao was perched on the back of his own rhino with Mantis seated comfortably behind him; though he didn't look too happy about this arrangement. She had taken the opportunity to wrap her arms around him and snuggle closer.

"Must you do that?"

Mantis gave him a half-glance. "You don't want me to fall off, do you?"

Zhao didn't look amused. He just sighed and addressed his lieutenant. "The village should be in a state of confusion by now. We need to move in and launch a surprise attack before they realize they've got visitors."

"What's our objective, Sir?"

"To capture the Avatar, of course," the Commander replied. "And also, the girl, Julie. We'll give them a chance to surrender...but if they resist, you're to have the men burn down the village."

"It's already on fire," Mantis commented, pointing in the distance. Everyone followed the direction of her finger. There was a very ominous glow through the trees, and if one had really good eyesight, they might be able to make out the black smoke billowing against the starry night sky. "Wow. I didn't expect Chaang to move _that _quickly. I guess he really wants that job, Commander."

"Either that, or he's hoping for some benefits," Zhao commented snidely, glancing pointedly back at the woman. She just smiled.

"Um...Sir?"

"What is it, Lieutenant?"

The man coughed into his wrist, trying to regain his train of thought. That was because Mantis was fixing him with an...almost invasively _scrutinizing _look.

"We found another craft in the sand...a lifeboat. It's Fire Navy, by the looks of it."

Zhao breathed out an impatient sigh. "It probably belongs to our friend. Now enough distractions. I want the village brought to its knees by sunrise."

"Yes, Sir."

The uniformed officer moved away. The Commander shook his head, irritated even by that minor delay. It was clear that he had a lot on his mind besides the prospect of giving Kyoshi Island to the Fire Lord in a courtesy fruit basket...metaphorically speaking. He flexed his arm broodingly, the one that had been completely destroyed in the Agni Kai. The one Mantis had..._fixed_.

"I will even the score," he said quietly. "No one gets in my way and lives."

Mantis, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. She was still staring at the life-boat.

"I'm surprised that the villagers just left that there, though," she commented. "I would have thought they'd have disposed of an enemy vessel by now."

"They were probably busy entertaining the Avatar and his friends. It was shamefully neglectful of them not to pay closer attention to their perimeter...especially with such a crucial world-figure under their roof."

She didn't say anything. She merely shrugged and turned away from the boat. Instead, she leaned against Zhao again, brushing her lips gently against the back of his neck; the part that was just barely exposed underneath the armor. His brow twitched in irritation.

"How long are you going to insist on harassing me?" he said flatly.

"Until I get what I want."

"Which is?"

"Oh, you know. Julie. I want her dead." She flashed a coquettish grin at him. "Either that or I want to find out if you're as rough and demanding as you look."

Only an idiot would have missed the context of _that _suggestion. Zhao wasn't impressed, either.

"That's good. It means that by sunrise I'll have you off my back," he grumbled. "With any luck, the brat will be worm-food by then."

* * *

Kuba grew increasingly frustrated as the seconds passed.

"Damn," he groused. "Where did he take her? We should have run into someone by now."

"I thought you knew where you were going," said Merle, looking tired and a little woebegone. It was clear that by now she was tired of wandering aimlessly through the woods. However, she wasn't dejected enough to let the Earthbender continue ahead on his own, nor was she quite so confident enough to turn back. Seeing that the boy had finally stopped, she allowed herself to rest against a tree trunk, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"I _did_. They were headed east...or was it north..."

"Northeast?" she suggested.

Kuba's jaw ticked. "This isn't funny, Merle. Julie could be hurt or worse...!"

Merle hugged her shoulders. "I'm cold. Maybe we should go back and find the Kyoshi Warriors. They'd be able to find her faster."

"No. It's my fault she got taken away in the first place. I shouldn't have left her by herself...not even for a second." He shook his head, furious with himself. "I let myself get caught off guard...because it's so nice here. Meeting so many nice people in one place made me forget just how many _bad _ones are still out there, trying to hurt us."

The admission of guilt seemed to exhaust him the way a ten-minute sprint through the trees hadn't. Kuba sat down on the ground and despondantly hugged his knees into his chest. He was staring very hard in one spot, the way you learn to do when you're trying very hard not to cry. Merle bit her lip, hesitating. Then, she came to sit down next to the boy. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"If it weren't for me," said Kuba in a low voice. "Julie'd have never met the Brotherhood. They'd never have attacked the ship, and then those guys wouldn't have any reason to want to hurt her."

"That's dumb, though," she argued. "You didn't know that any of this would happen."

There was a cracking of twigs in the distance. Neither of the two children noticed. Merle was too used to the sounds of the forest to pick up on that particular noise, and Kuba was too miserable to care about anything except...well...Julie.

"Still, though," he lamented. "I mean...it was stupid for me to get so cozy here."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Because...because it's _never _safe. Not anywhere. Not for me, anyway."

She nodded, scooting a little closer to him. "You told me. You said that your home was a bad place, and that you ran away, right? You said they were going to kill you because you were an Earthbender."

Kuba had a haunted look in his eyes. "My mom and dad looked me right in the eyes and said I had to die. That they _wanted _me to die."

There was a long silence.

"I ran away, and I was all alone for a few weeks," he said quietly. "I thought I didn't need anyone else anymore; that I was strong enough to take care of myself. I told myself that it was better this way...and I almost believed it. And then, one day, I met Julie...and everything changed." He looked up at her. "You know I took all her money and threatened to kill her, and she still followed me down that alley? She wanted to help me...for no reason. And at first I was afraid of her because she looked so much like the spirit my family liked to worship. I thought they had somehow called her to find me and punish me for running away..."

He shook his head slowly.

"Julie wasn't bad though. Even when I used Earthbending, she acted like it was no big deal. She didn't treat me any different."

Merle just looked at him. "I don't see why she would. Earthbending is what makes you special, Kuba. You shouldn't be afraid or ashamed of what makes you different from other people." She looked pointedly at her prosthetic metal leg. "When I first got this, I was embarrassed. I thought it was the most ugly, clumsy thing in the world. I kept falling over, and some of the other kids laughed at me because I couldn't walk right. But grandpa said I'd get strong if I practiced with it...and he was right. I think I can kick harder than anyone on Kyoshi Island."

She sounded proud of herself.

"And one day," she said, bringing her monologue to a close. "I'm going to get even stronger. I'll take Suki's place as the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors once she gets too old, or if she decides to leave or something. I'll be the best warrior ever...and then _everyone _will wish they had a metal leg like me."

Kuba didn't look too impressed. "You keep saying that, you know. I think it's just because you want to show those kids they were wrong to laugh at you. But I want to get strong so that I can protect Julie."

"I want to help people too," Merle argued. But she trailed off as her face wrinkled in disgust. "Uggh...! Something's burning...! I can smell smoke."

Kuba got to his feet. "I smell it too," he said, frowning.

"Don't breathe it in," she said quickly. "It'll kill you, but as slowly as possible. It's the worst feeling in the world, having smoke inside of you and not being able to breathe. I found that out the hard way."

He met her gaze for a moment before pulling his shirt up over his nose and mouth. He nodded at her.

"We should get moving. If Julie's in here, she could be trapped in the fire," he said. "We need to save her."

"You brats won't be saving anyone," said a sneering voice from behind them.

Kuba and Merle jumped, only just then noticing the looming, man-shaped shadow that had crept up from behind them. Perhaps they hadn't noticed it in the dark with the smoke filling the air, but there was just enough moonlight to find a shadow...if one knew where to look. And unfortunately, neither of them knew to look for a shadow in the wake of their discussion. Seeing it now, they both wondered how they had missed it, even in that poor light.

They both turned to find a man in bulky Fire Nation armor leering down at them. Seeing that he now had their attention, he took a breath and cloaked his hands in fire.

"It's the Fire Nation soldier!" Merle squeaked, skittering backwards and bumping into the trunk of a tree.

Kuba stood his ground, glaring fiercely and taking an Earthbending stance. "You're the bastard that kidnapped us!" he snarled.

Chaang's mouth twisted into a grimace. "And you're that brat you almost knifed me that night. If you had just minded your own business, we wouldn't have had to take you with us." He sized the boy up for a minute. "It was nothing personal. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just like now...didn't your parents ever teach you brats not to stay out so late after dark?"

Merle's face flushed with anger, but Kuba just stared at him.

"If you're the worst thing hiding in the dark," he replied obstinately. "I'll live to be a hundred and fifty."

"Smart-ass. Just like the maggotflea." He took a step closer. "I don't appreciate your lip _or _your interfering in my plans. And I'm not about to have you run off and tell the maggotflea that I'm looking for her. It would ruin the...surprise I have planned for her." He smiled evilly. "Sorry, but I have to kill you and your little friend."

Kuba narrowed his eyes. "You can try," he growled. "Merle, run."

She blinked at him, startled. "What?"

He half-glanced at her. "You've never killed anyone before, right? That means you probably never had to watch someone die before, either. And I don't think you want to, either. It isn't very fun. So get out of here, find Julie. I'll meet up with you later."

Merle bit her lip, looking nervously from Chaang to Kuba. She started to edge around the tree, as though she were trying very hard to be brave in spite of the fact that she could barely move from fear. Seeing this, the Fire Nation soldier launched a fire blast right over the girl's head, setting the forest behind her ablaze. She skittered to a halt, squeaking in terror and cringing back into the tree again.

Kuba took that opportunity to summon a large rock, roughly the size of a gorilla's fist, and propel it straight into Chaang's stomach. He lurched back, winded, slamming into another tree. He slumped to the ground, holding his ribs and cursing.

"Hey, idiot. I'm your opponent, remember?" the boy reminded him snidely. "Merle, go now!"

The girl finally seemed to find her strength of will. She took off running in the opposite direction as fast as her legs would take her. Chaang growled in poorly-surpressed fury as he saw one of his quarry escaping. He managed to lumber to his feet, looking murderous.

"You'll pay for that one, brat!"

Kuba smirked. "Come and get me, then. You're not so tough without your stupid friends backing you up."

Chaang raised his hackles and snarled as he lunged at the boy, fire knives blazing in his hands. The Earthbender jumped back, dodging the attack and taking a fighting stance. He brought his fists up and sent another barrage of large rocks hurtling at the rapidly approaching Firebender.

And so the fight began.

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

Well, the peasant had been right about one thing. The town most certainly was on fire. Understatement of the year.

It was pandemonium in the streets. From the shadows, Zuko watched a number of green-clad female warriors organizing the townspeople, supervising the passing of buckets of water as everyone attempted to combat the flames. But it didn't do much good. People were worried about their families, their friends, their homes all crumbling into ashes. What in the name of Agni had _happened _while he was with Julie? What could have caused so much devastation in such short time.

He stopped wondering, though, when he saw a very familiar Air Nomad working together with the Waterbender he traveled with. But it was obvious that the girl was inexperienced. She could barely hold on to her element, and it took the Avatar's help just to move the floating blob of water to one of the burning huts.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. _If she's so inexperienced at bending...how did she manage to subdue one of my guards? He couldn't have been THAT drunk._

Regardless, he had to admire their efforts...even if it was all in vain. He knew enough about his element to know an inferno when he saw one. It would take a lot more than a few well-aimed puddles from the Water Tribe girl to fix this. Again, he found himself brooding. How had this _happened?_

"Master Oyagi, what should we do about the escaped prisoner?" one of the warriors asked.

Zuko heard the query only faintly. It was hard to focus on much of anything over the dinn of the crowd. But as he glanced their way, he realized that the old man she was talking to was the village elder. He had no doubt in his mind when he saw the way the old man carried himself with dignity and authority. But he also looked very harried. Worry wore grooves into his face, making him look at least five years older than his true age.

The old man turned to the girl. Zuko was reluctant to take his attention away from the Avatar, even for a moment...but hearing mention of an _escaped _prisoner made him reconsider. After all, weren't these people going to have had a trial for one of the men who had kidnapped Julie?

"The safety of the town is our top priority," said Oyagi gravely. "But I will ask the Avatar to resume the search. Hopefully he and his friends can reprimand the man before he can start another fire..."

He trailed off, glancing worriedly in the distance. The Kyoshi Warrior put a hand on his shoulder.

"Suki and the Water Tribe boy said they would look after Julie and your grandchildren," she assured him. "Even if the Firebender tries to go after her, he can only guess where she's staying. It could take him all night to track her down, and by then the Avatar will have found him. I'm sure of it."

Oyagi was quiet for a minute. Zuko, on the other hand, was filled with alarm.

_He could be anywhere. And I left the peasant...alone._

"Unless it isn't the Firebender you're worried about," the warrior added. She hesitated, then asked, "Should we...maybe...tell Suki to detain Julie?"

Zuko froze.

"Even if Julie is an Energybender, like that man said...I don't think she is a threat to anyone here," said the old man. "If she was, I doubt she would have been at the mercy of that man to begin with. And she _is _friends with the Avatar. We can trust her."

The Fire Prince was very still, considering the weight of that statement. Friends...with the Avatar. Julie was friends with the Avatar. It made him wonder, again, if this was only a recent arrangement. Or was there some connection between the two...something she was keeping from Zuko. He frowned and contemplated such a thing. Again, he remembered how _familiar _the Avatar had acted towards Julie when he had captured him the first time...how he had tried to kidnap her back at the South Pole.

_Was it an abduction? _he realized suddenly._ Or a rescue mission?_

But Zuko quickly shook that thought from his mind. No, it was ridiculous. After all, it was plainly obvious that Julie chose not to get too close to _anyone_. She built up these walls around her and made faces at the world to keep it from touching her. He doubted that she would have willingly befriended someone as powerful as the Avatar, given how paranoid she seemed to be.

Though, she had said so herself. He didn't seem like an enemy. She had been taken in by his child-like appearance. Maybe youth was the secret to disarming her...maybe the Avatar had taken advantage of that fact.

After all, if this old man knew Julie was an Energybender, that had to mean that the Avatar knew it too. There was a good chance he might have known it even before Julie knew it herself. And knowing that, it would make perfect sense for him to want to get her on his side. To turn her against Zuko. Yes, that had to have been it. No wonder she had been so hostile when he came for her earlier. After his own men had tried to violate her, of course she would be receptive to such brainwashing.

Zuko would fix this. It was for her own good. Julie had no idea that she was being used...and by such an innocent face, too.

_But first, I have to capture him._

He was about to start towards the monk when a bestial roar shook the village. Zuko quickly darted back behind one of the few huts that wasn't on fire; just in time to avoid being seen by the troop of komodo rhinos marching into the village, unannounced. He felt his entire body spasm in place, shock rendering him completely motionless. Those were Fire Nation soldiers riding those rhinos. But what...? How...?

Zuko hadn't given anyone orders to invade the village. Then who...?

That was when he spotted Zhao on the back of the leading rhino. And when Zuko saw the nauseatingly familiar woman riding behind him, he nearly fell over in mortification. It was that woman! The eerily curvaceous and seductive woman who had taunted him in the woods earlier...! What was she doing here? And with Zhao, of all people? Zuko felt his stomach squirming in discomfort at the memory of their last meeting.

Thank the spirits he had chosen to hide behind a building.

Zhao glanced smugly around at the civilians, all frozen at the sight of these unexpected strangers in their midst. Buckets of water were dropped, some hanging in midair as they were about to be passed to another pair of hands; only no one could seem to remember how to move. It was then that the Commander looked around at the chaos surrounding him and his men and smirked.

"My, how tragic. It seems we were too late."

The Kyoshi Warriors were the quickest to recover. They all took fighting stances, putting themselves in between the enemy soldiers and the villagers. Even Oyagi, as old as he was, stood firm in the face of this new threat.

"What business do you have with my village?" he demanded.

Zuko looked quickly at Aang and saw him start forward. But the Waterbender...what was her name again? She reached out and caught his shoulder, pulling him back. The Fire Prince watched as she discreetly pushed him inside one of the huts.

"We're looking for a fugitive," said Zhao lightly, giving the elder a brief glance. "Two fugitives, actually. One is a girl with red hair, named Julie. The second is a boy, about twelve-years-old, passing himself off as the Avatar. They're both extremely dangerous...Energybenders, to be exact. It would be smart to cooperate with our search, for your own good."

Zuko felt his jaw dropping. _Imposter? How would Zhao know it was a fake?_

The Waterbender, Katara (he finally remembered her name), looked furious at the Commander's insinuation. Her face flushed a dark color, her fingers twitching as she resisted reaching for the water-skin hanging at her side. Her and the Avatar's incredulous expressions convinced Zuko that Zhao was either mistaken or lying through his teeth. Whatever else the monk was, he was the true Avatar.

But what did Zhao have to gain from telling such a bald-faced lie...?

"We heard that the Avatar had returned, and was staying here in your village," said the woman...Mantis, Zuko remembered was her name. She seemed to be oblivious to the outraged silence hovering around them in a threatening aura. "And we realized that our imposter could be here, taking advantage of your...hospitality. But Energybenders are good at mimicking other forms of bending. He could have easily fooled you all into thinking he was the master of all four elements."

Oyagi glared at them. "There are no Energybenders here. Only a peaceful village...but we will not hesitate to use force if you refuse to leave."

"So it seems," Zhao replied, looking around at the cluster of green-clad soldiers surrounding his rhinos. "And it would be quite a shame to have to resort to violence. However, if we have reason to believe you're hiding them, we will have no choice but to fight you." He smiled, looking almost like a grinning shark. "That would be quite unfortunate."

The old man didn't say anything. He merely lifted his hands. At this signal, the Kyoshi Warriors simultaneously drew their fans, taking fighting stances at the Fire Nation soldiers and their mounts. Zhao met the defiant face of the elder and shook his head slowly. As though this display of resistance was laughably futile...and Zuko had to admit that it was. There was only a handful of warriors against two...maybe three teams of fully-trained Firebenders. They didn't stand a chance.

There was a sadistic gleam in Commander Zhao's eyes as he leaned back in his saddle. Mantis seemed unconcerned by the brewing fight, and chose instead rest her chin on his shoulder. The gesture made her look bored.

"So be it, then," he said. And he raised his hand to signal to the Firebenders.

* * *

**A/N: Zuko leaves Julie and goes back for the Avatar, leaving her alone to her own devices. Perhaps naively, he expects her to wait for him by the lifeboat (an order she immediately and happily ignores as she starts her search for Kuba). And in the end, it's probably a good thing she didn't listen to him. If she had, she would have immediately fallen into Zhao's clutches (remember how he found his lifeboat on the beach?).**

**Meanwhile, Kuba and Merle find themselves face to face with Chaang, tensing for a fight. Will Merle be able to find help in time? Will Kuba be able to defeat a trained Firebender? **

**Zhao and Mantis have finally begun their assault on the village. But first they tell the Kyoshi Islanders that Aang isn't the real Avatar, and that he and Julie are threats to their village. With the seed of doubt already planted in their minds, will they fall prey to their lies? Or will they hold firm in their faith for the last Airbender and his friends? **

**And will Zuko really be able to sit idly by while Zhao tries to snatch the Avatar right from under his nose? REVIEW! And then you guys might just find out. Heh, heh...I am SO evil.**


	50. What They Don't Teach You in Girl Scouts

**A/N: Hello, readers. And thanks for all the fish.**

**No, seriously. Fish is freaking amazing. But not as amazing as singing dolphins. What am I talking about? Who really knows anymore? I sure as hell don't. But we all knew THAT one, now didn't we?**

**I'm sitting at my friend's computer, editing my Author's Note because the original one was SO offensive that it made HER cringe. And that's saying something. My friend is made of sterner stuff than your average cereal box. She's laughing at my nonsensical metaphor, too. I guess I saved the day...somehow.**

**You all seemed to really like the last chapter, which is pretty damn spiffy. And since many of you requested more screen time for Julie, I decided to oblige you and have most of the chapter take place from her POV. It was really hard to cram all of this stuff in less than seven thousand words, though.**

**I think I'm provoking the wrath of Jessie, again. She can never do more than a thousand or so words at a time. And it takes her, like, two hours to do. (Smirk) Ha, ha! I type like a speed demon of WHOOSH!**

**Enough babbling. I've consumed WAAAAAY too many Oreo Brownies, and I think it's pretty obvious. Well...that and fudge brownie ice cream. It's AMAZING what sugar will do to an author with an impending deadline on her shoulders (which are neither lofty NOR precarious, according to Sandy).**

**So, enjoy the chapter. And leave a review on the way out, please! (Happy face).  
**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Five: What They Don't Teach You in the Girl Scouts**

So, it turns out that I have absolutely no sense of direction...at all...whatsoever.

The smoke only seemed to be getting thicker, which made me think that I had somehow wandered closer to the village rather than away from it. Other than that, I had no sense of my bearings. And obviously, I'm no Girl Scout. I wasn't about to try to navigate my way through the woods by searching for constellations in the sky (not that I could really _see _them anyway through all the smoke); and as far as I knew, the Avatar world probably didn't have the same constellations as we do.

Though, honestly, I couldn't tell the big dipper from a hole in the wall.

"As much as finding your own way builds character," I muttered to myself. "...I would really appreciate some divine intervention...! Come on, Universe...you dragged me to this god-forsaken place. The least you could do is give me some _options_...!"

The Universe promptly replied by having a particularly large tree root materialize out of no-where. My foot caught on it, and I ended up face-down in the dirt.

"Thanks," I said, my voice muffled by the decomposing leaves. I spat out some turf and pulled myself into a sitting position.

_Okay, Ayla. I'm desperate enough to listen to your idea._

I only got an offended sniff in reply. _"I don't want to tell you, now. You're mean...!"_

I breathed a sigh. Out of all the split personalities I could have developed, I had to get _this _one. I could have gotten a Macguiver-type that could improvise a weapon out of a paper-clip, chewing gum, and some blasting jelly (or just about anything else you could think of). I could have gotten one with a survivalist mentality, that knew how to rough it in the harshest of climates. I could have gotten one that knew _where the fuck we were going_...!

Instead, I got Ayla. A preachy, overly-sensitive eccentric who (I suspected) was actually worse at interpersonal relationships than I was (which was saying something). It was like being possessed by (insert appropriate celebrity here). Though it might have been tolerable if she knew how to read a map.

_Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you before. Can you please just help me out here?_

"_You said I had a shorter attention span than a goldfish...and now you're asking me for Plan B?"_

_Like I said, I'm pretty desperate. Hey! That was a joke! Quit sulking!_

"_I hope a centipede crawls down your throat, Julie._"

Okay, so I was clearly on my own.

With a sigh, I got up off the ground and brushed the bugs and dirt off my clothes. While I hate rodents and everything they stand for (in regards to the food chain), insects don't bother me in the least. Good thing, too, considering how many creepy-crawlies I saw in the leaves. I hoped I didn't have any in my hair.

But I sure as hell didn't waste time thinking about it. I mean, hell; searching for a child in a forest that may or may not be on fire tended to set ones priorities straight. Too bad it didn't do much for my morale when, ten minutes later, I realized that without a shadow of a doubt I was hopelessly and utterly lost. And it was one thing to be in another dimension while knowing (vaguely) where you were. It was another thing entirely to be _lost _in that dimension.

"This sucks," I muttered.

"_Do you hear something?_" Ayla asked suddenly.

Her sudden, wakeful presence in my head caught me off guard. She had been in a sullen silence so long that I was starting to get used to it. But now, here she was, very alert and very tense. I frowned.

_Are you speaking to me again?_

"_I hear shouting,_" Ayla said, ignoring me. "_Listen...can't you hear it?_"

I paused, and realized that I could hear it. I could also very faintly see ominous flashes in the distance...flashes that reminded me of fire.

I almost turned tail and hauled ass in the opposite direction when a sudden tremor made me stumble in my tracks. I caught myself just before I could fall flat on my face again. Looking back, I saw more frequent bursts of this fire. My eyes narrowed as I watched it from a safe distance.

"That's not a normal fire," I whispered. "Someone's Firebending..."

My thoughts immediately jumped to Zuko. I mean, come on. There weren't any other Firebenders on the island that I knew of. Key words: that I knew of. I had seen the sporadic flares and immediately jumped to the conclusion that someone was attacking Zuko...or that he was attacking someone else.

Aang?

"Shit!" I cursed, flinging myself through the trees. "Wait! Stop!"

I stumbled to a halt as I stumbled into the clearing. Immediately, the two combatants ceased fire, turning to stare at me in tandem. And I felt my jaw drop in shock when I realized that it wasn't Zuko who was doing the Firebending. It wasn't Zuko at all. My legs spasmed into stone pillars, my knees unable to bend and my feet utterly frozen into place.

Chaang's evil eyes met mine, and I felt a deep chill in the pit of my stomach. My ears were ringing as I teetered on the brink of a flashback.

_Maybe there _is _something nice underneath all that armor..._

I couldn't breathe. The cold feeling had reached my lungs.

"Julie!" Kuba yelled in surprise. "Get out of here!"

It took me a few seconds to realize that he was even here. The sound of his voice brought me back to reality. My eyes flickered to him and saw that he was sweating. He had been fighting...fighting Chaang. And losing, by the looks of it. Exhaustion wore noticeable edges into his young face, and I could see some burns on his arms from stray blows he had taken from the Firebender.

Chaang was trying to kill Kuba. That was the one thing my mind processed.

"Perfect timing as always," said Chaang with a sneer. His voice grated on my nerves like a pencil sharpener. "Saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down, Maggotflea."

I locked eyes with him. I refused to feel afraid. No, now I was angry. Murderously angry.

"You hurt Kuba," I said in a low voice.

"The brat though he could fight me off," said the soldier, his shoulders quivering a little in mirth. "He said he was going to protect you."

White hot anger cut into me like a knife. "You bastard."

"Julie," Kuba cried, looking frustrated. He apparently could see where this was going to lead. "Just run! You can't fight your way out of blanket! I'll handle this by myself!"

"Oh, the hell you will," I snapped.

Still, he had a point. Chaang was a fully-trained Firebender, and the only combat training I had received had been under Zuko's...um...less-than-helpful tutulage. Essentially, I had learned how to hit the deck over and over again. And besides that, I didn't even have a weapon.

At the moment, though, I didn't care. I was so mad I was about to hop on Chaang's back and rip all the hair out of his stupid scalp. I'd claw his face off with my bare hands if I had to. I was ready to draw blood, and if I had to go do it weaponless, then so be it. Weaponless I would remain. I wasn't kidding, either. I was really itching for a fight, pissed to the point of sheer recklessness.

"What kind of creep picks on a little kid?" I demanded, facing Chaang. "You only pick on people you think are weaker than you. You think you're so tough, but you know what? You're nothing. You're not even worth being afraid of."

I turned my back on him.

"You're _shit_," I spat. "If you want a piece of me, then go ahead. Attack me while my back is turned if it makes you feel like a man."

If I thought my little speech would inspire some shame in the man, I was sorely mistaken. Sure, my words had left a dent in his pride, but I should have realized that it wouldn't do anything except make him madder. Though, at the time, I thought it was impossible for anyone to be angrier than I was. Too bad anger doesn't do much in stopping a decidedly homicidal Firebender from attacking you.

I found this out when a moment later Chaang lit up a flame and shot a fireball at me. He missed the top of my head by inches.

"You think I won't hurt you just because you won't fight me?" the man asked contemptuously.

I didn't answer. I was quietly reeling in place, grateful that he couldn't see how badly I had flinched. But Kuba had taken up an Earthbending stance again, putting himself in between me and Chaang. I turned around to follow the boy with my eyes as he stared down my assailant.

"I'll protect you," he said firmly, not taking his eyes off his opponent. "Don't be scared, Julie."

I couldn't speak. He was serious. This child seriously meant to risk his life to protect me.

"Kuba, no," I said quickly.

No one listened to me. Chaang lit up a flame again, and I felt a spasm of panic.

But Kuba sunk into a crouch, and I saw his element crawling over his feet, coating them in rock armor. The same thing happened to his hands. All of this happened two seconds before he launched himself at the man, like a cat. Using his smaller size to his advantage, he ducked Chaang's fire-blast and got right in front of him. He attacked so quickly that my disbelieving eyes almost missed the subtle movements.

"Holy shit," I muttered. Where had the kid learned to fight like _that_...?

Chaang, unfortunately, was not unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat. He parried the blows with only a little difficulty, too surprised to do much else besides block Kuba's arms and legs. He skidded back several feet, evening his breaths and heating up the air around him.

I Chaang went on the offensive. I sucked in my breath as Kuba was suddenly the target of a number of fire-based attacks. Chaang had a superior reach, and used that to send his flames dangerously close to his young opponent. Kuba was agile and speedy, but he only barely avoided getting burned, and more than once was forced to duck behind a tree or summon a rock to take a blow.

I was no combat expert, but I knew enough to know that Kuba was being toyed with. He was already tired, and the constant ducking and weaving was quickly draining him of his strength. Chaang was drawing this out as long as possible, making it very clear that he could end it at any time. I felt my insides constrict when I saw Kuba stumble and fall to his knees.

"Say goodbye to your little meat-shield, Maggotflea," said the Firebender as he flashed a malevolent grin.

Something inside me caved in the moment Chaang's hands cloaked themselves in fire. My mind went completely blank as a single, gut-clenching spasm went through my body. Something murderous seized me.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I screamed.

* * *

Having grown up in these woods, practically, Suki found it a personal affront that she was having trouble locating her young charges. Or Julie. She was gritting her teeth in frustration as she combed the forest, her fans at ready in case she ran into the so-called menace in the blue mask. Though to be honest, she really wasn't in a picky mood in regards to an opponent. She'd even fight a platypus bear...though it wouldn't bring her as much satisfaction as the sound defeat a masked lunatic or an escaped rapist.

She especially wanted to prove to Sokka that she could take down a threat on her own. She was still reeling from the look he had given her when she had left him with Sanji...as though it were sheer insanity to have a young man look after a child.

Women's work. Pah!

She still wasn't sure why she had kissed him. Maybe it was remembering how he had stuck up for Julie at the trial. That had been surprisingly sweet, and much more than Suki had expected from such a blatant chauvanist. Unless, of course, he was playing the white knight. Trying to save a damsel in distress. Hmmph. Well, she would show him.

Now, if only she could stop blushing. That would be very helpful.

"Miss Suki!"

She almost tripped when something very small and solid threw itself into her legs, grabbing a hold of her. Suki corrected her balance just in time to avoid an embarrassing spill on the forest floor. She realized that she was being hugged very tightly by a seven-year-old girl.

It was Merle.

"You have to come quick," she stammered. "Kuba...Kuba is...he's...he's fighting the soldier!"

Suki was immediately in alert mode. "Where is he?"

Merle tugged her arm towards a more dense patch of trees. "Over here! Hurry!"

They ran, the little girl leading the way as they passed tree after tree after tree. They had been sprinting for nearly three minutes when Suki noticed the glow in the distance. _Fire_, her brain barked. And one thing she knew very well was that where there was fire, there most likely was a Firebender very close by. She steeled herself, tightening her grip on her war fans.

They breached the last row of trees, entering the clearing.

Suki nearly dropped her fans in surprise.

Several of the lone trees were on fire, blazing tenaciously. Kuba was kneeling on the ground, and looked up at Suki with a sweat-and-dirt streaked face. He was holding one of his arms, which was more badly burned than the other one. At a glance, though, she could see that they had been grazing blows. She hoped that the burns weren't too serious.

But the thought quickly left her mind when her gaze got sucked back to the center of the clearing, where Chaang was kneeling, just as motionless. He was making choking sounds as he tried and failed to move. It was as if an invisible hand was holding him down.

Julie was standing there, her hand outstretched, her face taut in horror. Her arm was shaking, as though she were trying to pull it back, but couldn't. The color had drained from her face, and her green eyes were fixated on the man in front of her. Suki couldn't figure out what was going on. She stared at Julie, then at Chaang, then at Julie again. In the darkness she was able to see a faint glow surrounding Julie's hand, and the pulsing reply that beamed through the Firebender's chest.

And then, slowly, understanding seized her in an iron fist.

"Energybending..." she muttered.

Julie had beaten the soldier and saved Kuba by the looks of it. She had won. But why did she look so afraid?

* * *

I could hear his heartbeat in my head.

I didn't realize at first, but I was breathing at the same pace as his heart. It was like my entire body had abruptly picked up in tempo to match it. We were synchronized, Chaang and I. My entire existence temporarily coincided with that one pulsing chakra in his chest, sucking me in. I felt my consciousness starting to slip away from me.

A red fog started to swirl in my mind, but I fought against the oblivion it offered. Kuba's voice distracted me, kept me tethered to reality.

"Julie," he called.

My head swam at how far away his voice sounded. I barely noticed him jump to his feet and run to my side. I barely felt it when his firm, calloused hands caught my arm and pulled it back. I felt my hold on Chaang's chakra weaken, then break. It sounded like glass shattering inside of my skull. I let out a sharp cry as I collapsed like a broken marionette. It was like my legs had melted underneath me.

Kuba sank with me, kept a hold of me. "It's okay," he said quietly, urgently. "You did it. You beat him."

I tried to reorient myself. "I...I couldn't let go of him..." I whispered. "I was going to...to..."

He didn't let me finish that thought. He threw his arms around my torso and caught me in a fierce hug. I was too surprised to do anything but hug the kid back. I felt a strange warmth bubbling inside of me, thawing out the ice.

"Kuba."

Chaang wasn't moving. When I had released my hold of him, he had simply passed out. I tore my gaze away when I saw Suki of all people walking over to him. She had her fans out, approaching him with caution. She wasn't sure if his motionlessness was an act, if he was just feigning unconsciousness so he could launch a surprise attack. But when he failed to respond as she nudged him with her toe (none too gently, might I add), she relaxed.

But only a little.

She frowned as she turned to me. "Are you all right?" she asked.

I couldn't answer. That was when the second pair of arms closed around me. I was being squeezed worshipfully by Merle, who had scrambled to my side to join Kuba.

"Wow!" she exclaimed, her face bright now that the danger had passed. "Julie beat the Firebender! Cool!"

I felt sick to my stomach. I had beaten Chaang. Singlehandedly, I stopped a grown man in his tracks. I had almost killed him.

As soon as I thought it, I knew it was true. One slight twitch, and his chakra would have reacted. I could feel his chi pushing against mine, and if I had faltered, pushing too much or too little, something terrible would have happened. His heart would have popped like an over-inflated balloon. The mental image sickened me, and I had to reign myself in before I could gag.

"It was an accident," I gasped, curling in on myself. I stiffened, hoping that the two kids would let go of me. I didn't feel good at all. "I don't know how I...how I did that..." I groaned, feeling nausea clawing up my throat.

"Oh, no," said Merle. "You're sick, aren't you...?"

"She always gets that way when she Energybends," Kuba explained, very knowledgeably. "She just needs to rest. She'll be all right now."

Suki walked up to us. I saw her shadow darken as she knelt beside me.

"So it's true then," she said. "...about you being an Energybender?"

I looked up in surprise. How the hell had she known about that? Slowly, my accusing gaze drifted to Kuba. But he looked just as confused as I felt. A frown settled on to my features as I realized that he wasn't the culprit.

I turned my gaze back to the Kyoshi Warrior. "How did _you _know about...about that?"

"They were...discussing it at the town meeting," Suki explained, though with some reluctance. I noticed that she wasn't quite meeting my gaze. "The Firebender was on trial for...um...well, you know," she said, glancing pointedly at the children. I knew she didn't want to go into any lewd details in front of them. "And he kind of spilled the beans about your bending."

I was aghast. "You're kidding..."

Suki looked me in the eyes, now. She didn't look too happy at the memory. I felt my insides clench in dread.

"But you're not a monster, like he was trying to convince everyone that you were. I can see that. If you were as bad as he said, you wouldn't have risked your life to try to protect these kids." Her eyes blazed fiercely. "Once Oyagi hears that you rescued Merle and Kuba, I'm sure everything will get straightened out." She frowned, then, as if remembering something important. "But...how did you get away?"

"Huh?"

"From the other guy that kidnapped you," Suki persisted. "Sanji said that it was a man in a blue mask that took you away. How did you escape?"

Realization swept over me. She was talking about Zuko.

"OH!" I cried, jolting up into a sitting position. "Him? Um...well...it turns out that he...um...well, he's not a bad guy."

I received skeptical looks from everyone present.

"Not a bad guy?" said Kuba flatly.

"He looked bad to me," Merle interjected. "He had swords and everything!"

"But...but he didn't _use _them," I said quickly. My mind tripped over itself as I tried to think of what I could tell them. If people were looking for Zuko, then he could get hurt. They'd capture him and no amount of pleading on my part would save him. He was prince of the Fire Nation. If they got their hands on him, they would kill him.

They couldn't kill him. I couldn't let them.

"Actually," I said in an even tone, careful to keep my gaze on the grass; as though none of this was any big deal. "Actually, the guy was...an old friend of mine. He had heard that I got captured by the Fire Nation and he's been looking for me all this time. But I told him that I was safe here, and he left."

I lifted my gaze to Suki. She didn't look like she believed what she was hearing.

"He...left?"

"Yup," I said, nodding like a five-year-old trying to sell an obvious lie. Too late, I stopped bobbing my head. Color flushed into my face, sheer embarrassment robbing me of the ability to speak. It took me a minute to recover. "But...he didn't know about Chaang. Neither of us knew he had...um...escaped."

Suki nodded slowly.

"And how did he _get _here?" she asked.

"By boat," I said simply. "I dunno, really. I didn't ask him."

Suki's dubious expression had me in a panic. I knew that unless I diverted her train of thought, she'd see through my lies like Superman staring at a piece of saran-wrap. Fortunately, I wasn't so far gone in my rambling, and knew precisely how to get her attention away from me...if only for a moment. I didn't let that sway me, though. I was quickly learning how valuable a single moment could be.

"Listen," I spoke up. "We can talk about this later. The town is on fire, Suki. The others may need our help!"

The fear in my voice was genuine. I was anxious for Zuko, but also for the Gaang. I thought of the burning huts and felt a believable urgency creeping into my voice. It was something Suki couldn't doubt in a million years. The moment the words were out of my mouth, I saw my concern mirrored in her expression.

"You're sure?" she asked. I gave her a stiff nod. Her face clicked into a single-minded expression, one of purpose. She held out a hand to me and I took it shakily. She had me on my feet before I could so much as blink. "Let's get going, then. We need to move."

I paused. "What about Chaang?" I asked.

Suki glanced at him. She reached into a small satchel she had at her side and pulled out a belt. I stared at it, then barked out a surprised laugh.

"Sokka's belt?"

She managed a roguish grin, in spite of the situation. "I wasn't about to give it back to him after that stunt he pulled in the dojo," she said lightly. She moved over to Chaang and hauled him up. I watched as she dragged him over to the nearest tree and dropped him into a sitting position. She wrapped his arms backwards around the trunk and deftly used the belt to bind his wrists together. That was certainly something I'd never have learned in the freaking Girl Scouts, that's for sure.

It sure as hell beat stargazing any day. It made me feel much better about my lack of Girl Scout training.

"_They can take their constellations and fuck themselves,_" Ayla agreed cheerfully.

I didn't bother replying. I think I was getting used to her mood swings. It didn't surprise me that she was suddenly speaking to me again, even if she did sound somewhat faint. Weary, I realized. As though something had tired her out.

I shook it off. _Welcome back, _I said to her. _Ready to save Zuko's ass?_

Ayla didn't skip a beat. "_Sounds like fun,_" she whispered before falling silent again. I was worried, but I didn't completely freak like the last time I couldn't hear her voice. I could feel her _there _in my head. She was almost as antsy as I felt. But she didn't seem to have the strength to say anything else.

I would have questioned that more if I had the time. But Suki was already taking me by the arm and leading me through the trees.

* * *

"..."

Sokka was beginning to come to the realization that mothers, particularly stay-at-home mothers, have a rougher time of it than would meet the eye. Because it was no picnic in Ba-Sing-Se looking after a four-year-old who needed to eat or pee every two minutes. As a matter of fact, it was extremely aggravating. He felt as though he were back at the South Pole, addressing his toddler-aged recruits in the wake of the impending Fire Nation raid.

Only this was worse. Sanji had a ridiculously small bladder and tended to start crying at the slightest provokation.

"Look, kid," he said. "You gotta man up. Stop crying. You're almost grown for crying out loud."

Sanji sniffled and looked up at Sokka. "I'm four."

"No excuses! Look, one day you're going to grow up and have a girlfriend to look after! You can't just sit on the ground and cry every single time you stub your toe or lose a button! I mean, come on."

The child rubbed at his eyes with his fists. He scowled and tried to look brave, but the effect was ruined by the quivering of his bottom lip.

"I can be brave," he said. "I...I can be strong like Merle."

Sokka sighed. The kid was using his _sister_ as an example of strength. That was the problem.

"But Merle is a _girl_, Sanji," he tried to explain. "You can't learn how to be a man by using a _girl_ for a role model."

"Why not?"

Facepalm.

"What's the difference between boys and girls, anyway?" he asked, suddenly fixing Sokka with a piercingly curious look. "I asked grandpa once, but he just mumbled something about toilet-seats..."

Oh, Spirits. This definitely wasn't Sokka's line of work. Where was a snarky, yet intelligent female when you needed one? Where on earth was _Suki_? Or _Katara_? Hell, Aang would be a better choice for explaining the facts of life to a small child than _him_. Sokka miserably reflected on just how severely the roles had been switched. The laws of the universe as he knew them had ceased to be.

"Um...you mean about how...boys pee standing up?" he asked, his face turning a little red. Sanji nodded.

"Yeah!"

Sokka's liver was trying to claw its way down his small intestine. Panic seized him.

"Um..." he said slowly. Intelligently, he added this as a follow-up. "Um..."

"We're back!"

Suki's voice reached them seconds before she emerged through the trees. Sokka looked up and felt relief embrace him like a warm blanket. The Kyoshi Warrior led Julie and the two kids over to him, wearing a slightly chagrined expression as she approached the hut.

But he didn't care. He was _that _grateful she had come back. Hell, he was so grateful for her timely entrance that he failed to notice that he had been saved by a girl...again.

"Suki!" he cried. "You're here!"

Sanji got up and ran over to Merle. He grabbed his big sister and flung his tiny arms around her, sniffling. Merle sighed and patted him on the head.

"I'm fine, dummy. See? Julie saved us, and Suki brought us home."

Sokka had joined them a few seconds later. He got a good look at Suki and noticed how Julie was leaning against her for support. She looked pale and almost sickly as she met his gaze. Seeing her so wan made him stop dead in his tracks. What had that blue-masked creep _done _to her? She looked _terrible_. Worse than terrible. She looked downright crappy.

"Hi, Sokka."

"Julie," he said. "What...are you all right?"

She scowled. "Do I _look _all right to you?"

Honesty or self-preservation? That was the question.

"You look beautiful," he lied, smiling broadly.

Julie just fixed him with an annoyed look. "What?" she said. "Are you saying that the sight of a beaten-up girl _turns you on_ or something?"

Recognizing a loaded question when he saw one, Sokka instead turned to Sanji. "So..." he said slowly. "About that whole _peeing _thing..."

Suki scowled at him. "Sokka," she growled.

"Oh, fine," he sighed. "What happened? Did you find Chaang?"

"Oh, we found him all right."

There was an edge to her voice, one that he knew to be a certain precursor to some irrational violence. As discreetly as he could manage, Sokka took a few steps back. He tried to make it look as though he were stepping away to get a better look at the group as a whole, but failed miserably.

"You...didn't kill him, did you?"

"No," Julie cut in. "We just tied him to a tree. That bastard. He was going to kill Kuba."

"And Merle too," the Earthbender cut in, surprisingly cheerful. Sokka was surprised to see that, given the fact that he was visibly wounded. The burns striping his arms were quite noticeable, as a matter of fact. "But she went to get help while I fought Chaang. While she was getting Suki, Julie found us and beat him up for me. It was really, really cool. You should have seen it!"

"It was _NOT _cool," the redhead snarled. "And stop bragging about it! You almost _died_...!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Did too. And quit arguing with me because you're not going to win."

Kuba breathed out an annoyed sigh. "Whatever."

Sokka shook his head slowly, not sure what to make of that exchange. This time, he turned to Suki. She was wearing a very similar expression to what he felt he was wearing at the moment. Quiet disbelief. Whatever had happened just now, it must certainly have been something. Again, he felt a stab of annoyance for being made to babysit and missing all the action.

"The town is on fire," Suki told him. "Think you can watch the kids for a little while longer?"

Sokka sputtered. "What? Again?"

She glared at him. "Protecting the village is my duty, Sokka," she explained tiredly. "Look, I'd leave them with Julie, but we both know how well that worked out the _first _time...and even though Julie here claims the man in the blue mask was _harmless_..." she paused to give her a pointed look. "...I'm not taking any chances. I need you to protect them while I'm gone."

Protecting the innocent. Huh. That sounded slightly more manly. Sokka puffed up his chest, as though he were about to make a great sacrifice.

"I...think I can manage that," he said. "If _you _can manage not to get hurt."

Suki huffed, insulted. "I can manage just as much as _you _can, Mister So-Called Warrior. Now get back in the kitchen and make me a damn sandwich!"

Everyone stopped and gave the Kyoshi Warrior a surprised look. Even she looked startled by her own outburst. She had a single hand clasped over her mouth, as if it would start spewing acid if she didn't keep it covered.

"What's a sandwich?" Sanji asked.

* * *

**A/N: Um...yeah. The Girl Power episode. You guys had to seen this one coming.**

**Obviously the reoccurring theme of "nontraditional gender roles" kept peering up out of the page. Julie laments at having no useful surival skills (besides Energybending the crap out of a would-be rapist/murderer), but seeing Kuba about to die protecting her spurred her into some useful (if inadvertent) action. And Suki is definitely wishing she had gotten a piece of him to carve her initials in with her war fans. She's still bitching about the script.**

**Suki: "I don't get to do _anything_...! What kind of warrior are you making me out to _be_, anyway? I didn't get to fight once in this whole damn story!"**

**Julie: "Hey, look at it this way. At least you weren't in _Sokka's _shoes this chapter. Ouch...!"**

**Heh. Poor bastard. Having to explain the facts of life to a small child. That hurts.**

**Anyway, next chapter we'll see how Aang and Katara are holding up against Zhao. And Zuko is going to do something awesome (probably). Something that all of you will fangirl over for days (yes, ALL of you. Even the guys reading this fic). Unless of course I should happen to lose inspiration for the plot...which won't happen, since you all will REVIEW!**

**Right? RIGHT?**


	51. Lurking Motives

**A/N: I am very sorry to tell you guys this, but the world is coming to an end. I know this to be a matter of fact.**

**I know what you're thinking. How on earth would I know something like that? Outlandish predictions such as these are typically uttered by those nutsos who are constantly rambling about stonehenge, UFO's, and an impending zombie armeggedon. I don't really fit into any of these categories, even if I DO have a zombie plan. Everyone in their right mind has a zombie plan nowadays. That and Purelle have been the two things you don't leave home without since the premiere of "Zombieland." Either that, or Red vs. Blue. Take your pick.**

**But I digress. The point is that the world is ending, and that I am completely, 110% uncertifiably and somewhat sane. And only a little bit delusional. So, trust me. I know what I'm talking about.**

**Again, how do I know? Let me nip all the improbable BS in the butt right now. I have not sustained any encounters of a third kind. I have not recently had a religious (or even a secular or saccriligious) epiphany, nor have I been the witness of any prophecies or life-changing visions.**

**No. Instead, I successfully made fried chicken tenders for the first time.**

**Run. Run now and don't stop. Start looting your local megastores and stock up on ammo, because you'll need it once the zombies start getting peckish...or once other people realize what's happening and that they're woefully lacking in supplies. I am not being melodramatic when I tell you that I am the worst chef since my friend's toddler-aged sibling decided to see what would happen if you put play-doh in an e-z-bake oven; and the fact that I made something even REMOTELY edible can only be a sign of _universal impending DOOM_.**

**Still think I'm kidding? Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you guys. You better enjoy this chapter before civilization as we know it comes to a tragic (and somewhat unpredictable) end. Meanwhile, I'll be in Alaska. With my chicken tenders.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Six: Lurking Motives**

The battle for Kyoshi Island was going very badly for the natives.

Most of the village was already in ruins thanks to the maniacal arsonry of the escaped prisoner, Chaang. It gave the civilians few places to hide and nowhere to flee to except the woods. Oyagi organized the women and children, had them run for it while the Kyoshi Warriors tried to fend off the Firebenders. But he knew it wouldn't do them any good. As talented as those girls were, those were trained soldiers they were up against. It would only be a matter of time before they all had fallen, one by one to the invaders.

Zhao smirked, assured of an easy victory.

"Make sure you capture the village elder and Kyoshi Warriors," Mantis hissed, poking him in the back of the neck. "Don't kill anyone unless you have to."

He glanced at her. "I would have thought you'd want to cut their throats yourself. Are we growing soft?"

She laughed. It was a low, ominous sound.

"The only person who needs to die tonight is Julie," she reminded him. "The others here are unimportant. But it would go better for you not to provoke the citizens of Kyoshi. They could be a useful ally for you in the future, Commander."

"They are weaklings and cowards. Look at them all." He gestured at the retreating villagers and the struggling defenders. "Like koala-sheep ripe for the slaughter."

"That is precisely your trouble, Zhao. You underestimate the value of even the lowest of weaklings. This blindness of yours is what made you lose to Julie the first time, remember?"

He gave her a look. "Your concern is touching," he said dryly. "And your _advice _has been duly noted."

"Have it your way. I merely thought your Fire Lord would be pleased to have an outpost so close to the Southern Water Tribe. What better place than Kyoshi Island?"

The Commander glanced down at his mount, and then frowned as he lifted his eyes to the turmoil surrounding him. The reason he did this was because his rhino was pawing the earth nervously, lowing in a rumbling undertone. He had specifically chosen this mount for its noticeable eagerness for battle and steady disposition. It took a lot to make this creature flinch, which was why Zhao was mildly surprised to see his rhino so uneasy.

"Hold on to your manipulative schemes for one moment," he said to Mantis. "There's something..."

The sentence ended prematurely as a savage gust of wind cut through the line of enemy soldiers, causing many to lose their seats. The rhinos, now riderless, began lowing in confusion. Zhao swore and grabbed the edge of his saddle before he could be knocked off. He silently thanked the foresight of the breeders who trained these rhinos not to stampede. If they had, it was doubtless that several of his own men would be trampled to death. That would be quite an embarrassment.

A small figure fell from the sky, clutching a glider in his hand. The Avatar, Aang, touched down deftly, landing a mere ten feet from the rhino. It took several steps back in alarm, and Zhao had to tighten his grip on his steed to reign it in. The boy stared down Commander Zhao and Mantis, not moving.

For a second, the two sides eyed each other.

"Ah," said Zhao in a loud voice. "So the imposter reveals himself."

"He's not an imposter," said a girl's voice. He didn't even glance at the Water Tribe girl as she ran to Aang's side. "Aang _is _the Avatar! And we're going to stop you!"

"Stand aside, girl...unless you have a death wish."

Katara pursed her lips and uncorked her water skin, saying nothing. Aang glanced once at the Waterbender beside him, his eyes skimming over the Kyoshi Warriors as they quickly regrouped for a counter attack...and once catching sight of Oyagi as he stayed with his village, watching the battle with a grim expression.

"I won't let you hurt these people," he said, taking a fighting stance.

"Hand yourself over, and no one needs to get hurt," Mantis replied in a smooth voice. "And while we're on the subject, tell us where Julie is. We know she's here too."

The young monk frowned. "What do you want with her? Why are you trying to capture her?"

"Not capture," the woman corrected. "Julie McVay will die. She cannot be allowed to live. The consequences of her existence threaten to unwravel the fabric of time and space as we know it. If you were truly the Avatar, you would be on our side. Protecting the balance of nature is your responsibility."

Katara looked furious. "You Fire Nation types will say and do anything to get what you want. Aang, don't believe a word of it."

"I won't. Julie isn't a threat...but you guys are. This is your last chance to leave!"

"We're not going anywhere without the girl," said Zhao, fire erupting in his fist. He gestured to his men. "Take them!"

Aang and Katara got back in their fighting stances. But before either of them could launch a single attack on the Firebenders, a shrill whistle filled the air. _WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! _And then a soft thunk as what looked like a set of explosives landed in between the Gaang and their enemies. There was a simultaneous ripple of alarm as everyone within range quickly staggered back.

**_BOOM!_**

Black smoke was belched into the air. The explosives had landed nearer to the Fire Nation soldiers, who received the brunt of the attack. The force of the resulting shockwave knocked many of them off their feet. The rest ended up with a lungful of the acrid-smelling cloud and ended up doubled over in an uncontrollable coughing fit. Zhao screamed for reinforcements, but it was too late. The smoke had mostly cleared.

The Avatar and the Waterbender were nowhere to be seen.

There was little time for the Commander to process this information. The Kyoshi Warriors had taken advantage of the confusion to attack the incapacitated soldiers. For the next five minutes, he had no choice but to focus his attention on rallying his men and pushing back the defenders.

"I want you to find whoever it was that threw those explosives and bring him to me," Zhao snarled at his lieutenant. "That was _Fire Nation _technology...in the hands of a traitor. We'll make an example of him for these villagers. They'll learn what happens to those who stand in my way."

"Yes, Sir."

Mantis had a cloth draped over her nose and mouth. "I suppose I should refrain from saying _I told you so_, shouldn't I?"

"Yes."

"I told you so."

Zhao gritted his teeth. They would _all _pay for this. He would personally see to that.

* * *

(Zuko's POV, third person)

The Fire Prince hated to say it, even to himself, but Julie had been right...for a change. If he hadn't gone back to the village, the Avatar would have persisted in his foolish stand against Commander Zhao. He'd probably be killed, and that Waterbender girl along with him. Not that he had specifically worried about her; it was simply the fact that she was there that made him reach over and grab her too.

It had been good thinking to bring along those explosives. They proved to be an excellent distraction. While Zhao and his men gagged on the fumes, he had swept in, snatched the monk and his friend, and dragged them out of sight.

The Waterbender looked as though she were going to fight him at first. But the Avatar had taken her hand and pulled her along. Good thing the boy wasn't a _complete _idiot. He must have realized how poor his odds were at actually _beating _someone as ruthless and conniving as Zhao. The moment he felt Zuko's hand on his shoulder, he had assented to the plan of escape. He had trusted him immediately.

Zuko felt his insides squirming in turmoil, something he hadn't expected to feel. Julie may have been fooled by his youth and apparent naïveté, but he refused to be so gullible. He would not forget that this was his enemy; no, not just his enemy, but the enemy of his people. He was the only thing that stood in his father's path for global conquest. Capturing him would bring him untold glory, not to mention his throne and honor restored. The fact that he was just a child was of no consequence.

Fortunately, he had little time to brood over this. The three of them ducked out of sight of the rampaging Fire Nation soldiers, skirting the edge of the forest. They rested behind a crumbling wall and took some time to catch their breaths.

Katara looked at Zuko suspiciously. Of course, she didn't recognize him underneath the mask. If she had, she probably wouldn't have agreed to come with him in the first place...right?

"Who...are you?" she asked. "Why did you help us?"

Aang didn't say anything. He just stared at the Blue Spirit with a puzzled frown on his face.

Zuko didn't say anything. He knew that uttering a single word could potentially reveal himself to his foes. Instead, he motioned at them to be silent and wait. They complied, if only because of the fact that they were still trying to figure out who he was and what he thought he was doing. Zuko took advantage of their silence to think.

Julie was waiting for him by the lifeboat. The longer he wasted time here, the more likely it was that she would be caught...this time by Zhao's men. Zuko thought through the scenario that the soldiers raiding the village were merely the first wave of invaders. He felt a fresh stab of urgency.

But the Avatar. What about the Avatar?

Zuko fought back a wave of frustration. Three years of fruitless searching, all amounting to _this_. Because what other choice did he have but to help the Avatar _escape_? At least this way he would have other opportunities to capture him in the future...or so he tried to tell himself. As much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have the leisure to waste time plotting to snatch the Avatar out from under Zhao's nose.

Plus, he wasn't entirely sure that Julie would let him. _Damn, peasant._ What did it even _matter _what she thought of him, anyway?

"Um...hello? Mr. Blue Mask Guy?" Aang said slowly. Zuko's gaze swiveled petulantly to meet his, causing the boy to step back. He tried to cover up his brief intimidation by coughing indifferently into his wrist. "Ahem...! Um...sorry, I just...I was just wondering if you happened to know Julie."

He stared at him, not answering.

"Look," the monk tried again. "I'm not sure why you helped us. I don't know if it's because you have something against Zhao or because you're just on our side...but I don't think it's a coincidence that Julie's in the middle of all of this."

He had to pause; trying to find the right words to explain what even he seemed to be having trouble understanding.

"Everything is connected," he said after a while. "Zhao wants to capture Julie, and Katara and I both became good friends with Julie...it can't be a coincidence. That's why I think you know her too."

Zuko closed his eyes for a second, pondering that. _Everything is connected_. Strange how much he found himself agreeing with the Avatar of all people. He had known deep in his bones that it wasn't just happenstance for Julie to just _appear _in the South Pole at the same time his ship was passing through. Although he still didn't know (not for certain, anyway) where she came from, he knew...just _knew_...that it was destiny for them to have met.

But for Julie to be connected to the Avatar...Zuko had thought the same thing, at first, and that was originally why he had been so fixated with her. But things were different now. He had gotten to know her, grown to care about her; and now he couldn't handle her being anything but a troublesome peasant girl. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with all these blurred lines. He didn't _want _Julie to have anything special with his mortal foe. There was no question of that.

"We need to get to where Julie is. The Fire Nation are after her...and we need to warn her before it's too late. I think..." Aang added, taking a deep breath. "I think that they want her for her bending. They said she was an _Energybender_."

Zuko watched him, trying to ignore the way his heart sputtered at the casual label the monk had given her. _Energybender_. Yes, yes she was. It was something he knew very well. It was the very thing that almost drove her away from him, into the hands of the enemy. This power she had, the power she feared and even hated.

"I'm not even really sure what that means," the Avatar continued. "But Julie must not have told much of _anybody _about it. It has to be pretty serious if Commander Zhao is trying to capture her for it..."

"He doesn't just want to capture her, Aang," Katara interrupted softly. "He wants to kill her. Or at least, the woman does."

Aang acknowledged this with a nod. He looked worried and thoughtful, the way a person's face would look when staring into the eye of a particularly violent storm. He didn't seem to know what to think. Zuko could actually emphasize with the monk on that point. He wasn't sure what to think about this whole mess either. The one thing he really knew for certain was that there was a _lot _he didn't know about Julie. She was clearly involved in something bigger and more dangerous than even he could wrap his brain around.

But that was _his _problem to sort out, not the Avatar's. Julie was on his side, not theirs.

"Will you help us?" Aang asked, taking a step forward. He seemed not to notice the tenseness in the Blue Spirit's shoulders nor the aloof gaze coldly emanating from the eyeholes in his mask.

Zuko didn't know what to do.

"Aang!" a familiar voice erupted from the trees.

The trio wheeled around. "Julie!" Katara cried in surprise. "...and Suki! What are you guys doing here?"

Zuko felt every nerve-ending in his body react to the sight of the redhead, as though his veins had turned into electric cables and his heart had been replaced with a throbbing nuclear reactor. He barely noticed Suki and Kuba as they followed her into the clearing. What was she doing here? What in the sweet name of the spirits was she doing _here _when he _specifically told her _to go wait by the...oh, screw it.

He didn't really expect her to listen to him anyway. He probably should have been relieved to see that the little idiot hadn't gotten herself killed while he was gone. But instead, he just felt extremely annoyed. Though at the same time, he felt a tremor of worry rippling like a current in the pit of his stomach. She was so _pale_. What had happened to her?

What was she doing here?

"Oh...!" Julie gasped, suddenly noticing him standing there. There seemed to be an awkward pause as she and Zuko (still in disguise, mind you) regarded one another. Zuko folded his arms, causing the girl to grimace sheepishly. Undoubtedly she was thinking along the same lines he was.

But before she could say anything else, the street urchin made a loud noise of angry recognition.

"Hey," Kuba spat. "You're the fucker who kidnapped Julie!"

Katara and Aang both looked at him. "Kidnapped?" the Waterbender repeated.

Zuko found himself going very still. This definitely wasn't turning out the way he thought it would. But then again, since when did things _ever _go according to plan, these days. As a child, he had envisioned himself at sixteen to be serving faithfully at his father's side, an heir to be proud of, upholding the honor and reputation of the Fire Nation royal family. And now he was a disgraced exile with a massive facial scar who couldn't even get one belligerent peasant girl to see things his way. How was he supposed to command the respect of an entire nation if he couldn't even convince Julie to follow one simple instruction?

Stay by the lifeboat. Was that really asking so much? Was that really so hard to grasp? Stay by the freaking lifeboat. And he couldn't even get her to do _that!_ And now her so-called friends were going to _kill_ him...or _try _to, anyway.

To his surprise, things went even more unaccording to plan as Julie quickly put herself in between Zuko and the Gaang. She spread her arms out defensively, like some freakish red-haired bird attempting to ward off a ravenous herd of fully-grown saber-toothed mooselions.

"Wait," she said quickly. "It's all right. I know this guy. He's...um..." she glanced back at him uncertainly. "..._mostly _harmless."

Mostly harmless? He would have snatched her up and thrown her over his shoulder right then and there, just to show her who was boss, if it weren't for the increasingly obvious fact that such an action would be interpreted as a hostile move. If he weren't outnumbered four to one, though...

_Damn insubordinate peasant girl. She may be able to talk now, but she's still coming home with me..._

With that dark thought in mind, he waited to see just how this bizarre turn of events would unfold.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

So, I was getting the feeling that once all of this was over and done with, Zuko would be skinning me alive. His expression, while completely obscured under the Blue Spirit mask he wore, must have been murderous. I felt a chill run up my spine as he stared pointedly at me.

Oh, yeah. I was SO dead.

"Wait, so you _do _know Julie?" Aang said, turning to him.

I gave them both a puzzled look. What had been going on? What story had Zuko fed Aang and Katara to get them to go someplace secluded and sketchy like this, anyway? For Pete's sake, he didn't even have his swords out! Zuko didn't seem like the kind of guy to chat it up with someone he desperately wanted to bring home to daddy in chains...unless he had some weird quirks that I didn't know about...

Aang seemed to take it in stride when the Blue Spirit remained stubbornly mute. In fact, he seemed to be warming to the guy quite a bit. I had to remember to tease Zuko for it later.

"Well, you must be on our side, then," he said cheerfully. "...especially if Julie says we can trust you."

_Ooh, shit_, I winced. _Had _I just said that? I really hoped I wouldn't be eating my words in the next ten minutes...or whenever Zuko got around to closing his hands around Aang's throat. Whichever came first.

It was no surprise to me to see how violently he bristled at that poorly-worded implication. Fortunately, before he could get it in his head to lob any projectiles at the unsuspecting Airbender, Katara broke the silence. Well, pushed her way into it, really. She had more important things on her mind besides the apparent fact that it really was a small world after all.

And it was this. "Where's Sokka? I thought he was with you..."

"Oh, we left him with the kids," I said quickly.

"He's perfectly fine," Suki added tersely. "Now let's quit wasting time and put out this fire. What happened, anyway? Did that Fire Nation soldier do all of this?"

"No," Katara replied, looking tense all of a sudden. "Commander Zhao and a team of rhinos did this. He's invading the island. He's demanding that we surrender Aang and Julie, and he's threatening to destroy the village if we don't."

Um...WHAT THE FUCK DID SHE JUST SAY?

* * *

(Katara's POV, third person)

The guy in the blue mask was Prince Zuko.

It hadn't occurred to Katara when he first grabbed her by the arm and towed her and Aang out of Commander Zhao's line of sight. After all, the idea was just so improbable; especially given that Zuko and Zhao should have been on the same side. They were both Fire Nation after all.

Secret identity none withstanding, Katara had been all set to punch this interloper in the face. And why not? He totally scared the crap out of her, first with those damn explosives and then appearing out of _no-where_, grabbing her and Aang by the arms and all but dragging them into the nearest alley...well, let's just say that Gran-Gran had _warned _her about guys like that. She may have been an optimist, but she wasn't _that _hopelessly naive, and certainly wasn't stupid either. She knew exactly what crazies in masks were capable of doing to young girls like her.

Besides, she was a Waterbender...which, therefore implied that she was at least _somewhat _capable of helping to defend this village. And Katara wasn't the kind of person to just turn her back on someone in need. Especially when that person was Aang. She couldn't let him fight Zhao alone. So, naturally, when the stranger in the blue mask started pulling her away from the fight, she could have killed him.

She knew it had been a split-second decision on his part, but if Aang hadn't decided to trust this guy...well...she didn't think she'd have been able to walk away. Would she..._could _she have beaten Zhao?

The spinning thought was mercilessly driven from her mind when she heard a familiar voice piercing through the veil of trees surrounding them.

"Hey!"

Katara felt her stomach clench in surprise as Julie came sprinting into the clearing. Suki and the small Earthbender boy ran to keep up with her. As observant as she was, she had immediately noticed how unkempt they all were. They all looked as though they had been through the works, and Kuba in particular looked exhausted. He was also looking a little singed, and his arms had fresh bandages (underneath, Katara had a feeling she would find burn-wounds). Her stomach went tight with alarm.

Her eyes flickered to Julie, looking for an explanation. She was startled to see that her face was the palest white she had ever seen in a complexion. Her immediate concern was that the redhead would collapse where she stood. How had she managed to run all this way?

"Julie!" she gasped. "…and Suki! What are you guys doing here?"

_Stay calm_, she told herself. After all, they couldn't have been _that _badly off if they were able to manage the trip through the woods. She was probably just projecting, given just how chaotic everything had become. The town was on fire, a stranger in a blue mask had just rescued them for reasons she couldn't understand, and now the others were here...wait, no. Sokka was missing.

She was afraid again. Where was her brother? Was _that _why Julie was so pale? Had something happened to Sokka?

Katara had almost missed Julie's reaction to the Blue Spirit (a fitting name for him, she decided). The redhead stopped in place and let out a tiny gasp of surprise. But it wasn't just surprise...it was startled recognition. Her suspicion was aroused again, even in the wake of her worry for her missing older sibling.

"Hey!" Kuba spat angrily. Katara's eyes flickered to him and saw that he was glaring fiercely at the Blue Spirit. "You're the fucker who kidnapped Julie!"

"Kidnapped?" she found herself exclaiming.

The Blue Spirit was looking visibly nervous now. Almost guilty. Katara narrowed her eyes at him, starting to connect the dots. He had tried to _kidnap _Julie? That must have been why Julie had given him that look just now. And then it hit her like a wrecking ball. This guy, whoever he was, was after Julie. Had his merciful intervention been a ploy? An act to get her and Aang to show him where she was hiding?

She could have smacked herself in the face for her stupidity. Of course that was it. And she had been about to let Aang _lead him right to her!_ What kind of friend _was _she, anyway? She had been this close to trusting their mortal enemy! No wonder Julie was so weirdly paranoid of the people around her. If she couldn't even rely on her friends to have an ounce of common sense, who could she trust?

Katara was shocked at what happened next.

"Wait," the redhead exclaimed hastily, just as everyone started to turn on the Blue Spirit.

Katara had watched her put herself in between them and this complete stranger with her mouth agape; because as little as she knew about Julie, the one thing she could say for certain was that she didn't trust people that easily. Especially not complete strangers who didn't talk and hid their face behind a creepy-looking blue mask.

"It's all right. I know this guy. He's...um..." she glanced back at him uncertainly. "..._mostly _harmless."

Katara reeled. She stepped back. She did a double-take, her gaze moving back and forth from Julie to the Blue Spirit. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming (and she wasn't, just so you know). Julie _knew_ this guy. And for some bizarre, inexplicable reason, Katara's brain had a miraculous leap in understanding. Her mind jumped beyond logic and just screamed, _Zuko_.

Looking at him more closely, he was the right size and build to be Prince Zuko. And come on. How many guys did Julie know that well, anyway? Who else could it be? The foaming-mouth-guy?

But even as her heart reached this conclusion, her mind was having trouble grasping this. Because the fact of the matter was that it was _impossible _for it to be Zuko behind that mask. It went against everything she had ever felt and thought about the boy since the day she met him back at the South Pole...on that day he had raided her village, manhandled her Gran-Gran, and threatened to burn down her home. All in the name of capturing a sweet, goofy kid like _Aang_. People who were that ruthless did not just rescue their enemies...not without good reason, at least.

But it was Zuko. Katara was sure of it.

Call it woman's intuition. Call it paranoia or wistful thinking (depending on whatever kind of shipper you are). Either way, once the thought had entered her brain, she couldn't shake it away. Nor could she take her eyes off of this so-called Blue Spirit. Because if it was true, and this guy really was who she thought she was...well...where was the logic in all of this? Why would Zuko help them? Why?

And why would Julie of all people stick up for him? Wasn't she on _their _side?

Aang was being absurdly naive about all of this. Not only had he failed to reach the same conclusion she had, he was even grinning at the guy in the blue mask. _Grinning_, like they were already friends. _Friends! _With Prince Zuko! Of the Fire Nation! Katara wanted to strangle the Airbender...or beat some sense into him. But, of course, that would just make _her _look like the bad guy...beating on a twelve-year-old.

Spirits.

"Well, you must be on our side, then," he said cheerfully. "...especially if Julie says we can trust you."

Katara had to keep herself from groaning in exasperation. Julie winced, as though Aang had just committed some kind of huge social blunder (which would only make sense if the Blue Spirit really _was _Zuko). But that was nothing compared to the Blue Spirit's reaction, which was that silent wave a resentment that made his whole body shudder; as though Aang's words were a bucket full of ice water someone had dumped over his shoulders. Was she seriously the only one who _noticed _that? Seriously?

She gave up. She had more important things to worry about. She could deal with Zuko later. Right now, Katara had her family to think of, and she refused to let anything distract her. Not even a potential psychopath in a blue mask.

"Where's Sokka?" she interrupted, causing Julie to shoot her a bizarrely relieved look. As though the subject change had been for her benefit. "I thought he was with you..."

There was another moment of stomach-twisting anxiety before the redhead broke the silence.

"Oh," she said quickly, noticing the look on Katara's face. "We left him with the kids.

"He's perfectly fine," Suki threw in, putting the Waterbender at ease. If the Kyoshi Warrior could afford to be annoyed with Sokka, it had to mean that he was alive and well...if incredibly frustrating, as was getting increasingly apparent by Suki's fluctuating reactions to him. In any case, she seemed to have other things on her mind. "Now let's quit wasting time and put out this fire. What happened, anyway? Did that Fire Nation soldier do all of this?"

Katara remembered Zhao and Mantis and felt her hands clench into angry fists.

"No," she replied stiffly. "Commander Zhao and a team of rhinos did this. He's invading the island. He's demanding that we surrender Aang and Julie, and he's threatening to destroy the village if we don't."

The end of her sentence was punctuated by Julie as she let out a sharp noise. Alarm, fear, anger, and something Katara couldn't put her finger on. But the end-result wasn't pleasant. It sounded like the death-warble of a walrus-seal...only much higher pitched.

Some of the color had been returning to Julie's face during their conversation; stopping to rest was doing her a little good. But one mention of Commander Zhao had quickly eradicated that, making her look even paler than she had looked when she had first arrived. That was saying quite a bit. Katara had never seen Julie looking so bad in all the time they knew each other. It scared her.

Even the Blue Spirit...Zuko...was staring at Julie now.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fucking motherfucking mother of all fucks!_

"Julie," said Kuba suddenly, latching on to my elbow. "You all right?"

I was making a keening sound into the fist I had shoved into my pie-hole. Zhao. Zhao was here. He was HERE and he was looking for ME.

Zuko's eyes were fastened to me as I floundered for whatever ounce of self-control I had left. I knew that he wasn't the only person staring at me, but his was the only pair of eyes I could really pay attention to while my brain imploded on itself. Come on; a homicidal fire-breathing _maniac _had somehow figured out where I was, followed me here, and planned to roast me over an open flame. How the fuck had he found me? How did he know I was _here_? Why couldn't he just leave me the hell alone, anyway?

I mean, yeah. I pretty much lost the guy an arm. And permanently damaged his good name all along the ends of the southern docks just by surviving the Agni Kai. Surely he wasn't _so _fixated on revenge that he'd have stalked me all the way to a secluded no-man's-land (and I mean that literally) like Kyoshi Island...was he?

"You don't look so good," Katara said, taking me by the shoulders. For some reason, this caused Zuko to give a start...almost like he wanted to stop her. I barely noticed, though, in the wake of my impending murder. "Come on, we'll get you out of here. If we leave together, Zhao will probably follow us. He'll leave Kyoshi Island, and we can escape."

Escape. Escape was good. Escape meant surviving...and I liked surviving. Survival was good too.

My brain really didn't have the leisure to think this through more coherently. As I stood there, blinking on the spot like a total numb-nut, Zuko moved. It happened very fast. One second he was standing by himself, the next he had grabbed me by the other shoulder and pried me out of Katara's grip. He jerked be behind him, putting himself in between me and the rest of the group. I only had time to feel a sharp twist of panic. It was enough to send me lurching forward again.

I grabbed a hold of his arm, pulling him back; closer to me than to the Gaang.

He glanced sharply at me. I heard him breathe out heavily through his nose.

"We'll _all _escape," I said firmly, not taking my eyes off Zuko. "We can work out the details later."

I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but again, I only had eyes for the Blue Spirit. The only person whose reaction mattered to me was hidden underneath that mask. I felt an irrational urge to see his eyes, or to somehow know what he was thinking. Though it was probably a good thing that I didn't. I had a strong hunch that Zuko regretted having ever bothered to come rescue me in the first place.

"I need to stay with the village," Suki said tersely. "Sokka's waiting by Oyagi's hut in the woods." She paused, looking worried. "What about Merle and Sanji, though?"

"We'll take them with us if we have to," said Aang. "At least until this all blows over. We can always bring them back once the Fire Nation leaves."

She nodded.

"Tell Sokka...tell him good-bye for me. And thanks."

I barely noticed this exchange. I was waiting for Zuko to shake me off, but he never did. He refused to look at me again, but at least he let me hang on to his arm. And let me just say _right now _that I wasn't doing it because I wanted to touch him or anything. I just had to cling to something in the worst way. I was so freaked out by this whole thing with Zhao that I couldn't get my hands to stop trembling.

"Can we go?" I said impatiently, looking nervously at the burning village. "We're like sitting turtleducks out here."

Everyone mumbled a hasty assent. All except Zuko, who just jerked me closer to him in a single, rough motion. I made a tiny noise of surprise, which he chose to ignore as he started pulling me along into the trees. It took me a minute to realize that he was trying to keep pace with Aang specifically...and was perfectly willing to jerk me around like a dog on a chain if he had to.

I couldn't figure out why he wouldn't just let me flounder on my own. Moron. Couldn't he remember just for _one second _that he was supposed to hate me?

My fingers closed tighter around his forearm almost on their own accord, letting Zuko drag me deeper into the woods.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," said Mantis slowly, eying the Fire Navy Commander in deep suspicion. "_You're _going to pursue the Avatar and his friend...alone?"

It didn't really seem to matter to either of them that there was a battle being fought around them. To them, the screaming of the warriors and the town's slow consumption by ravenous fire was the perfect backdrop for some idle chit-chat. Only occasionally did one of them have to defend themselves or parry a blow. The small machete on Mantis's back was already slick with fresh blood...not a drop of it hers, of course.

A disemboweled villager lay at her feet, still gurgling long after he had expired. Come to think of it, he hadn't really been attacking when Mantis cut him down. Even further retrospect caused the woman to admit to herself that he had actually been fleeing for his life...huh.

Well, no use crying over spilled organs. She could still manage to manipulate the villagers even after thoughtlessly cutting down one of their own. After all, she had been doing it all along, hadn't she? The evidence of her success was enveloping her in all its blood-spattered glory. A successfully planned invasion, all thanks to her cunning.

Zhao stepped over the body of the villager and took up the reigns of his rhino. "No," he said simply. "I am not going to _pursue_ them. I already know where they're going. I am merely going to wait for them there. But yes, since you asked, I plan to go alone."

Mantis pursed her lips.

"And you're leaving me..._here_. You are temporarily relinquishing command over your men? To me?"

"Unless you think you can't handle the responsibility."

She threw her head back and let out a short, piercing laugh. "Ha! You have no idea just how responsible I can be..." She trailed off, her expression darker for a brief moment. "Believe me," she said dryly. "I know how to take responsibility for _my _mistakes..."

"Or destroy the evidence of them."

Mantis met his gaze levelly. "In this instance, I am doing both. But you needn't worry about your precious army. I'll just finish things up here while you nab your precious Avatar. Oh. And, Commander?"

He glanced back at her.

"For your sake, you'd better make sure you nab Julie too. She's the real reason why you're here. And I don't mean on Kyoshi Island, either."

Zhao's jaw clenched.

"You don't need to remind _me_," he growled. "I know my duties, Lady Mantis. I'll make sure to bring back your precious little mistake so you can kill her yourself." He stared off into the flames for a moment. "Just don't expect her in one piece."

Mantis's gaze was cold. "So be it," she said softly. "So long as she's still alive. _Barely _alive..."

Zhao turned towards the men still under his direct command, ignoring the woman in black. He stared at the squadron of Firebenders, giving them one order.

"Go after the Avatar. I want you to herd him and whoever he's with towards the rendezvous point. I will be waiting for you there with further instructions."

The men clustered onto the backs of a couple of riderless rhinos and charged off towards the woods. Seeing the way they carelessly trod over the foliage, Zhao sighed; grateful he had the foresight to have someone track the direction of the attempted retreat _first_. They hadn't even taken the time to cover their tracks...the fools. But then, weren't the weak food for the strong?

The battle continued to rage around them, kicking up in tempo to match the savagery of the flames. It wasn't lost on Mantis, who suddenly grinned like a maniac.

"This should be fun," she purred.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I know. I did it again. I just can't resist throwing in Zhao and Mantis...and besides, they won't let me do anything else.**

**It's pretty much unavoidable. I mean, I can plan out a script and all, but if the characters refuse to follow it, that's just the way the cookie crumbles. In this situation, Zhao and Mantis both enjoyed the spotlight so much that they simply refused to relinquish control over it. And so, after multiple death threats...er...I mean, after they very calmly stated their argument, I saw some sense in allowing them to narrate some more.**

**After all, they're the main villains for this episode arch. Can you guys imagine the hell that would ensue if I just _left them _to their _own devices_ for one or more chapters? I swear to God, it's true. I left Mantis alone for half a chapter and what did I find when I got back? A disemboweled villager! But I suppose I should be grateful it was only ONE dead body I found that day. I nearly lost my mind when Zhao just veered away from the planned script by leaving Mantis in charge of his men. I just know he did that to fuck with my brain. He's getting eerily good at that these days.**

**If it helps, though, I let some other characters narrate for a change. I already promised a Zuko scene, even though we hear from him all the time; but one reviewer pointed out that Katara hadn't actually done anything in a while (something that had been bothering me too, I admit). So I gave her control over a scene and just let the dice fall where they may.**

**She did surprisingly well on such short notice. Katara didn't even NEED a script. Now THAT'S the kind of improvisation I can work with. I'm surprised at her sense of humor, too. I never suspected I'd end up poking fun at Blutara in this chapter. Not only was she NOT turned on by having a stranger in a blue mask pop up and rescue her, she was a hair's breath away from murdering him. **

**And when she (correctly) suspects that Zuko is the Blue Spirit, she becomes _determined _to figure out his true motives. Will she expose the Fire Prince to the rest of the group? Will Julie be able to stay neutral, or will she be forced to choose sides? Will Zhao manage to catch up with Team Avatar? **

**REVIEW!**


	52. Red and Blue

**A/N: I have to say, I've been getting EXTREMELY gratifying reviews lately. I think I have more than enough ego to flaunt my bad-ass author thang (yes, I spelled it with an A; I'm that awesome) and give you guys and epically epic chapter. So epic will it be that it will make up for the redundancy of the previous sentence, as well as the Yoda-like grammar underlying this one.**

**(Nods sagely with sagelike sagacity...and stuff)**

**I have to apologize for the late update. I really did plan to post this sooner, but for some reason I couldn't seem to finish it until now. Let's just say that I wanted to put a lot more into this than I could fit, and the way I had originally written it made it really difficult to figure out which parts I could cut out and save for later. Taking out scenes left other ones discordant and almost disconnected from the theme of the chapter. It was frustrating editing this.**

**Plus, life keeps sneaking up on me and beating me on the back of the head. You know a cable salesman actually knocked on my door the other day? I know you all are like, "Whatever. Salesmen do that. They go door to door." That wasn't the weird bit. It was the fact that I live in a basement apartment in the _back of a house_ that made me go, "What the f%*&...?"**

**The dude went around into the backyard and down the back steps so he could knock on my door. Creeper.**

**Well, then I got to feeling bad because the guy went through so much trouble just to get this cable package sold. It was all hot out and he wouldn't go away until I _fully understood _why I had to get the free one-month cable promo (which costs sixty bucks to set up, btw). And since I'm utterly spineless, I can't just say "Get the fuck off my lawn" the way Julie might have if it had been _her _nap he had gone and interrupted on her day off.**

**Seriously. I almost caved. I am that much of a weakling. Thank God the phone rang and I had to answer it; giving me a good excuse to send the guy away. What a prick.**

**To say the least, I can't afford to have cable right now. I'd just end up watching AtLA all the time and never updating...and THAT could be fatal; especially since the moment I stop writing this story many of you will probably hunt me down, break both of my legs with a sledgehammer (so I can't get it in my head to _run away_), force me to finish writing the story, and then make the story into a book while using my skin as a classy leather binding.**

**Or so I can assume, based on those extremely gratifying reviews I mentioned sometime earlier. Anyway, enough gab. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty Seven: Red and Blue**

(Katara's POV, third person)

It was difficult to worry about so many different people at once, but Katara was an excellent multi-tasker in _that _particular regard.

Sokka was foremost on her mind. She knew that they had to hurry and find him before the Fire Nation caught him unawares. They had to warn him, pack up their things, and then hurry on to where Appa was waiting. Katara thanked the Spirits that the sky bison had never liked being cooped up in the stables in town. The villagers had let him graze in the grassy plains rather than try to force him into a tiny stall he could barely fit into. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Appa had been stuck inside the stables when the fires started...

Worried and relieved. Fluctuating, conflicting feelings. Two opposite ends of the spectrum, much like fire and water. And speaking of fire...

Her sharp blue eyes were fixated on him. Zuko. She noticed everything, from the tenseness in his shoulders to the possessive way he had Julie by the arm (something that made her _seethe_, by the way). Every subtle piece of body language made it seem like he _owned _her. In a way, it reminded Katara of the possessiveness of a child who refused to share his favorite toy.

That was, by the way, the thing that solidified her suspicion and made her _sure _it was Zuko. Who else but the Prince of the Fire Nation could regard another human being so callously? Could treat someone like a _thing _rather than a person? Could ruthlessly pursue and repeatedly stalk someone as good and pure as Aang _over _and _over _again? Katara hadn't been lying when she told Aang that he was a part of her family...in her heart, at least (which was what _really _mattered). And she would be _damned _if she could forgive someone for trying to take away _another _member of her family.

And for what? He was the Prince of the Fire Nation. How much glory could capturing the Avatar bring him? Didn't he already have the whole world in his pocket? What more could he want when he already had everything he could ever want?

Julie?

_What is she to him? _Katara wondered. _Why does the Fire Nation want her so badly? Is Energybending really that special?_

Even more mind-boggling was the way Julie didn't seem to _mind _being dragged along. She appeared so distraught by the news of the invasion that she didn't seem to notice or care about anything else. Katara was stabbed with concern every time she saw the fear in Julie's moss-green eyes...or noticed the way she was using Zuko like an anchor. There was something more to this that Katara wasn't getting.

She remembered, then, about those rumors...about how Julie had beaten Commander Zhao in an Agni Kai. And if she was correct in assuming that an Agni Kai was some kind of Fire Nation duel, that implied that Zhao wasn't just here for Aang. He was here for _revenge_. Maybe that was why Julie was so afraid.

But to cling to Zuko...? _Zuko?_ He and Zhao were on the same side! They were both Fire Nation! Surely that had to mean that they both wanted the same things...that they both wanted to _hurt _her...right? Didn't Julie know that? Or did she know something that Katara didn't...?

They all froze when they heard a low rumble in the distance, back the way they had came. The Blue Spirit heard it and cursed under his breath. It was the first and only thing he had uttered since he had appeared before them.

"Rhinos," he snapped. Katara flinched as his Dao swords came out of the sheaths strapped to his back. "Get moving."

This last bit was directed to Julie, who looked like she wanted to argue with him, in spite of her fear.

"Zu, don't..."

"I'll come and find you. I promise."

Julie bit her lip. It looked like she was trying to think of something to say to him. Something that would convince him to put his swords away and come with her. Katara wondered silently as she looked at the desperation in Julie's face. It occured to her then that she was just as afraid for this masked stranger, just as afraid for Zuko as she was for herself.

Could they really be friends? Or maybe...

_Oh, Spirits...don't tell me..._

Katara saw it in Julie's eyes. She saw it in the way her hands refused to let go of his arm. But she also saw it in Zuko. The way he turned around, sheathing his swords for a moment as he pried her hands away. He held them in a firm grip, towering over her, his face completely hidden under that mask. Their gazes locked, and it was like something _burned _in between them.

"Go with the Avatar."

There was another sharp bellow of a rhino, and Katara could see a lumpy shape in the distance. Through the smoke, she could faintly make out the silhouette of a massive beast with an indeterminable number of riders on its back. The armor they wore made their collective shape into something without a human mental comparison; and made it impossible for Katara to figure out how many Firebenders they were dealing with. Three? Four? Maybe even five.

"There they are! After them!"

Zuko pushed Julie away and wheeled to face the enemy. He drew his swords again.

Aang and Kuba both reacted at the same time. The Earthbender caught one of Julie's hands, pulling her deeper into the woods before she could so much as protest. The monk brought his staff forward in a sweeping motion, sending fierce gale screaming at the Firebenders. The wind cut through the trees and knocked some of them senseless; but most of the Firebenders weren't about to fall for the same trick twice. They kept the saddle (if a little clumsily) and forced the rhino to march through the gust towards them.

Katara grabbed Aang's shoulder. "Go with Julie. It's you two that they want. _I'll _stay and hold them off."

The Blue Spirit glanced at her, silent as a stone.

"But...what about you?"

"I'll catch up with you later. But first, I'm going to show these lugheads what happens when you mess with the last Waterbender in the whole Southern Water Tribe." She uncorked her water skin and took a fighting stance. "Go warn Sokka and get Appa ready. This won't take long."

Aang looked uncertain for a moment, but nodded. "I'll come and find you if things get bad. Just be careful."

Katara didn't answer. She was focused on the approaching rhino, and didn't even bat an eye when the last Airbender disappeared deeper into the woods. All she heard was a faint whisper announcing his departure. Her hair loopies danced in the breeze he had gusted away on.

The Blue Spirit gave her a brief glance before taking a fighting stance. "You should have gone with him. You're a novice bender. You won't last long."

Katara used her chi to get a feel of the water in her skin. "I know who you are," she told him.

Silence. Then the hissing sound of flames scorching the air.

* * *

(?)

_The insidious trespasser is still here. I can feel him, sense him, smell him as he continues to pollute the spiritual currents of my home with his tainted presence. He had struck me down as though I were nothing but a guppy-karp. My teeth crave his blood. I long to sink my jaws around that man's body, to hear the satisfying crunch as his bones and organs are ground into a thick, succulent jelly. I want to hear him scream as I swallow him in pieces, to feel the sound of his voice pushing against the inside of my throat as he goes down._

_That man must die. I must find him. I must destroy the man-beast who destroys my home._

_I can't see and I can barely feel anything. I drift aimlessly in the fog, which feels nothing like the ocean I am used to. I know in the back of my mind that I am dead. Yes, I died. I had meant to kill him, but he was the one who killed me. And now I am lost._

_Anger seethes, cutting like teeth, gnawing and feeding on me. I want to find him. I want him dead. I don't care how._

_Something catches my attention. I can feel it rather than see it; a pulsing red in the hazy blue. Something intensely crimson, like blood would be if blood were able to be light. I try to smell it, and I find that this works better than swimming pointlessly. My other senses are dulled except for my blood-scent. The red takes the shape of a person. A little person, a young female. I smell her and I know where she is._

_I know she is the vengeance I crave. Though her body is weak, there is something inside her that I cannot ignore. It draws me closer...alternating between red and green, as though the colors are constantly fighting inside the same human shell. _

_Red is victory, but I cannot help but feel the peace and calm that the green offers. Even so, it is the red that I want. I swim to it with nothing but that man's face in my mind. I want to rip the smirk off his face with my own fangs...but since I don't have fangs anymore, I have no choice but to use the human girl instead._

_She doesn't seem to notice me there. I follow her through the trees, watching her. Waiting for the chance to get inside her. To make her into my teeth and fangs._

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_Zuko._

His name was painted along every inch of the inside of my skull. It throbbed and pulsed in bright red paint, making my head feel like it was about to split open. And no, this isn't any sort of metaphor. I really did have a headache, and that was the understatement of the year. It felt like something was pushing inside the walls of my brain, trying to break free. A monster in a hazy red fog.

I hadn't been paying it too much attention before. I had been too focused on finding Kuba, on finding Zuko...and now I had done all of those things. Zuko had gone and left me behind again, and I had nothing else to brood on except for his absense. The clawing worry made it harder for me to resist this nauseating feeling. The feeling of being consumed slowly...in a fire that burned silently. A fire I couldn't even see.

It didn't hurt so much in the beginning. But Katara had told me that Zhao was looking for me, it felt as though someone had driven a spike into both of my temples at the same time. Fear and a pain I couldn't understand.

"Come on, Julie!"

Kuba's voice was marred with frustration. He was determined to pull my arm out of its socket. And let me tell you, that kid has one hell of a grip for a nine-year-old. I started to wonder if it was an Earthbender thing, or whether it was just that he was _that _freakishly strong. And if you so much as _hint _that it was because I was freakishly _weak_, I will find out where you live and beat the stupid out of you.

Even in the hazy grips of this inexplicable migraine, I knew that something was _off_. Like some kind of sixth sense had switched on.

That fucktard Zhao had sent Firebenders after us. I should have known he'd take up the pursuit. That wasn't what bothered me. What bothered me was that he had sent _other _people to capture us. Why he hadn't done it himself? I mean, he had to know I was here. He had told Aang and Katara as much, hadn't he?

If he was really hell-bent on revenge, he'd want to do the honors himself. I knew this to be a fact. It had been a matter of pride that made Zhao challenge me to that Agni Kai in the first place. My surviving had probably left the biggest dent in his pride that he had experienced in a long time.

Oh, God...thinking about the Agni Kai only made my headache worse.

_Ayla...whatever you're doing in there, cut it out! I can't think!_

No answer.

Aang caught up with us a moment later, before I really had time to evaluate Ayla's silence. I barely noticed him until he had caught me and Kuba by the arms and pushed us along on the air. I gasped and immediately caught the Airbender in a frantic embrace. Kuba clung to me as I clung to Aang, but the monk barely broke a sweat as he all but _flew _with us in his arms. How he didn't crash into a tree was a complete mystery to me. I tried not to think about it.

And then, all of a sudden we were at Oyagi's hut.

Sokka was waiting on the front stoop, the two children practically tethered to his side. Little Sanji had taken it upon himself to examine Sokka's boomerang from every angle, even licking it a few times. Merle, on the other hand, looked bored. I felt relieved to see them all safe, but more relieved at the fact that Aang had finally put me down, and that I was on solid ground again.

Seeing them approach caused the girl to brighten up instantly, as though electrified. She jumped to her feet.

"Miss Julie's back!" she cried, running to meet us before Sokka could even react. I tensed up and tried to brace myself as the little girl tackled me. Her face was alive with excitement, probably expecting one hell of a story pertaining to my adventures in town. "Where's Grandpa? Did you save the town? Where's Suki?"

"Um..." I said hesitantly. "The town isn't safe yet. Actually, we kind of have to leave." I looked up at Sokka, who had finally rejoined the group. "The Fire Nation is here. Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors are buying us some time for us to escape, but a few of the Firebenders came after us."

"Katara stayed behind with the Blue Spirit to hold them off," said Aang quickly. "So we could warn you in time."

Sokka looked mad. "You guys just left my baby sister to fight off a pack of bloodthirsty Firebenders? What's the matter with you?" Then he paused, remembering the other part of what Aang had said. "Who's the Blue Spirit?" he asked quickly.

"The guy who kidnapped Julie," Kuba responded.

A deadpan silence followed this.

"So in other words, you left my only sister behind with a psychopath in a blue mask. Is _that _what you're telling me?"

"He's not a psychopath," I hedged. "He's just...somewhat misguided. And anyway, he isn't going to hurt Katara. He's helping us escape."

"I think _you're _the one who's misguided," Sokka muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration. "All right. Fine. _I'll _go help Katara. Aang, you and Julie take the kids to get Appa. Come and get us as soon as you can."

Aang nodded. Easy for him to do considering that it wasn't _his _head that wasn't pounding right now. _He _wasn't the one fighting off a wave of exhaustion. I don't even know why I felt so tired. Maybe it was from Energybending earlier.

"Julie, are you all right?" Kuba asked.

Oh, yeah. _Now _you notice I'm a wreck. Thanks, kid.

"Just a headache," I told him. "I'll be fine. Okay?"

As I said this, I was massaging the bridge of my nose and trying to focus on something, anything but this unbearable thing I could feel stirring inside of me. Zuko, the fire back in town, Zuko, how fluffy Appa was, Zuko, Katara's decision, Zuko, Zuko, Zuko...I waited for Ayla to call me obsessed, but she never did. She was so eerily quiet that I felt strangely alone inside my own head.

Kuba totally didn't look like he believed me. Well, he wasn't an idiot.

"You'll feel better once we leave," Aang promised. He watched Sokka draw his club and run off in aid of his sister, ready to bludgeon some Fire Nation skulls by the looks of it. He sighed, and I knew he was worried about Katara too. "If you want, you can take a nap on Appa later. He's really soft. You'll sleep like a baby."

I tried to forget my headache for a second. I forced a smile on my face.

"I know. I already had the pleasure. He's one big giant fluff-ball." I turned to the kids. "All right, guys, listen up. Avatar Aang is going to give you a ride on his sky bison. He's really friendly, and he's going to take you somewhere safe where you can wait for your grandpa. The Fire Nation won't bother you. I promise."

Merle seemed chagrined about leaving, but there was undisguised interest in her eyes when I mentioned the ride. "We get to fly?"

"Yup."

"I want my grandpa," Sanji complained. He seemed really bent out of shape; and I was guessing he had missed more than a few naps to get _this _cranky. "I don't want to go _anywhere _without Grandpa."

"Tough nuts," I said. "If you stay here, a fire monster is going to eat your face. Take your pick."

"Julie!" Aang cried.

"What?"

Sanji looked up at me with wide eyes that were rapidly filling with tears. "Is...is it a _bad _monster?"

"Totally. You should see what he did to the _last _little boy who didn't listen to me when I told him to ride on a sky-bison's back. It was horrible."

"JULIE!"

"_What...?" _I demanded, turning on Aang in irritation. "Look, if he pees his pants in fright now, there's less of a chance he'll do it on Appa's back later. Do _you _want to be the one to scrub down his saddle? Do you?"

The Airbender looked uncomfortable. "I don't think that's the point. You're scaring him."

"So?"

"So, he's just a little kid."

I huffed. "Being little only gives you more reasons to be afraid. You think anybody went out of their way not to scare _me_ when I was his age? He needs to toughen up or the world is going to chew him up and spit him back out again. If he's lucky."

Aang stared at me. "What happened to _you_?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, when you were his age. What made you...um...toughen up?"

I winced. Damn me and my big, grotesquely large mouth. Damn my inability to put my two cents in. Damn this freaking headache that made it impossible for me to think straight...let alone keep myself from saying things I shouldn't. Stupid, stupid, stupid...!

_Quit crying, or I'll give you something to cry about._

"We should get going," I said, deflecting the question. "Appa isn't going to drag his own butt over here, is he?"

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

"I know who you are."

The Waterbender's words were ringing in his head as Zhao's men charged them. Zuko didn't have time to really process them; barely understood their meaning before the enemy soldiers were upon them. Seeing the swords in his hands, the Firebenders had hoped to subdue them at a distance with long-ranged bursts of flame; but Zuko was quick enough to weave around the fire and close in on his foes.

_I know who you are_.

He had caught them by surprise. They hadn't expected him to be so fast or so bold as to get right under their guard. They were merely overconfident thugs who were used to using cowardly tactics and picking on the weak...but what else could one expect from some of _Zhao's _men?

As Zuko darted in, he skirted the flames they shot at him like a bullet cutting the air and went immediately for the soldiers with spears. The first two dropped like sacks of potatoes, too startled to parry the blows he aimed at the sensitive nerve spots in their necks. The others managed to bring up their weapons by the time Zuko reached them, but some unexpected blasts of water from random directions proved to be a fatal distraction for them.

Okay, not _fatal_. But they certainly couldn't stay focused on Zuko to keep him from knocking them out.

Two Firebenders with edged weapons tried to double-team him..._tried _being the key word. He caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and sprang from the soft, moss-covered turf into the air. He moved almost like the shadow of a flame. His feet touched down on one enemy's spear for a split second before he took to the air again, vaulting into a soumersalt over the soldier's head. Zuko barely made a sound as he landed in a crouch and swung the man's legs out from under him.

He looked up in time to see that he had inadvertantly landed directly in the line of fire of the other Firebender. The man smiled evilly as he clenched his hands into fists, breathed through his nose, and swung his arms to point in front of him. The motion sent the flames covering his arms to sweep towards the unprepared exile like the blade of an axe. The air seemed to scream from its intensity, and Zuko brought his arms to block the blow...but at the last second a tendril of water uncurled towards the fire and doused it instantly. The water that hadn't turned into steam from the fire blast tackled the soldier full-force, freezing him to the nearest tree and knocking him out.

Katara smirked, clearly pleased with herself.

"Someone's been practicing since last time," Zuko commented. "Or was that dumb luck?"

"_Someone's _got to protect Aang from people like you," she replied smoothly.

Oh, yeah. She definitely knew. That one-liner pretty much convinced him of that fact.

Zuko drew a breath, finally having the leisure to do so now that all of their foes had been defeated. He turned and leveled Katara with an even stare from behind the mask. She blinked back at him with her clear blue eyes and folded her arms, frowning at him pointedly. Within seconds that expression hardened into a scowl. Not only did she know who he was, she was also determined to hate him, it seemed. How typical.

The dirty look she was giving him made Zuko inadvertantly think of Julie. The twist in Katara's mouth wasn't as pouty as the redhead's, but the eyes were just as severe. A different kind of ferocity radiated from the irises...something akin to the rhythmic rising and swelling of the sea. But when Julie's eyes blazed, the force of it was neverending. They caught his attention because looking at them reminded Zuko of fires that burned themselves until the ashes themselves crumbled away, leaving nothing behind. The emotion behind Julie's eyes was a dangerous kind.

He couldn't look away from something like that. He had seen that same fire in his own eyes whenever he dared to look in the mirror.

Ironically, it was Julie who proved to be more undiscriminating. She built up walls against everything and everyone without bias. And in a manner Zuko found extremely contradictory, she had been the first one to broach the subject of friendship with him. _He_ had extended that olive branch here and now only because she had done it first. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered. He wanted nothing to do with narrow-minded peasants who could only hate or pity him. To his surprise, Julie did neither.

_Focus, _he chided himself. _Tear your thoughts away from the peasant for just one minute..._

"If you know who I am," he said quietly. "...then why are you here with me? Why not go with your precious Avatar?"

Katara narrowed her eyes. "I want to know why you saved us from Zhao."

Zuko had to give this Water Tribe peasant one thing; she certainly wasn't stupid.

"If the Avatar dies," he told her. "He'll be reincarnated. I can't let that happen."

Her eyes shot wide open. "Then...you're trying to destroy him for good?" Anger streaked across her countenance. "I won't let you do that...!"

"You misunderstand me, Waterbender. I'm not trying to hurt anybody...and I'm definitely don't want to take lives. Not unless I have to." There was a moment's pause. "I'm not trying to _destroy _the Avatar. I'm only trying to capture him. That's it. If you and your brother would stop interfering no one would have to get hurt at all. All this fighting could stop."

Katara stared at him incredulously. Then she shook her head, her expression hardening.

"How noble," she said sarcastically. "You don't want to hurt anyone...until they stop being useful to you. That's why you're after Julie, isn't it? You knew she was our friend and you thought you could win her back and trick her into leading you to us. I don't know how you got her to trust you, but..."

"You assume a lot. And she isn't _your _friend. Julie belongs with me. Our destinies are linked...I figured you would understand something like that, being as _your _destiny is linked with the Avatar's."

Katara smirked. "I think you're the one who's making assumptions. How do you know that _you're _the one Julie is connected to? How do you know it isn't Aang?"

Zuko clenched his hands into fists. "_I_ was the one who figured out what she was. _I _was there for her whenever she needed someone to help her._ I _was the one spending time with her for the past month, sharing meals and conversations and Spirits knows what else with her...not you. Not the Avatar. I know her better than either of you. I can understand how she thinks and feels. What can _he _do that I can't do better?"

She was quiet for a minute. "Julie visited Aang in a dream. Before we ever met you _or _Julie...the night before you raided my village, Aang was having a nightmare. He was dreaming about how he came to be frozen in that block of ice. But just when it was supposed to happen, _she _appeared. She was the one who told him to trust us. She even knew he was the Avatar."

Lies, of course. There was no way that could be true. How could the little peasant pull off something like _that_? Zuko wasn't even sure Energybending could involve entering a person's dream at will...at the very least, not by as incompetant as Julie. She couldn't even hold chopsticks the right way.

But Katara didn't have a liar's eyes. She looked sincere. _The Avatar must have tricked her into helping him by telling her this story. _But at the same time he couldn't shake away the thought. What if _he _wasn't lying...?

"I don't believe you," he said gruffly.

"Have it your way."

She turned to leave through the trees, her braid swaying behind her. Zuko felt sick to his stomach as she glanced back at him, her expression only slightly unsure. Why was she giving him that look? What was _that _for?

"I don't know what kind of person you think I am," he said, breaking the silence. "But I'm not the one taking advantage of Julie. And I'm nothing like Commander Zhao. I'm trying to protect her...I care about her."

Katara met his gaze for a moment. "Why?"

His insides twisted around into a knot. _Why? _He had been asking himself the same thing over and over again. Why did he feel this way about a peasant? Why couldn't he focus on his mission the way he used to? Why was she always in his head? It wasn't like she was doing it on _purpose_. Spirits knew she was doing everything possible to stay away from him...something that he found irritating.

_Why do I care about her? _

Because Julie belonged to him. That sense of belonging was so real to him whenever he looked at her or touched her hand; so real that he could almost think the word, _mine_. His peasant. His friend. His pathetic excuse of a sparring partner. His leading cause of an early-morning migraine. His means of dinner conversation. His only source of entertainment on that Agni-forsaken ship.

Zuko was only just beginning to grasp the wide scope of this feeling. Even if he didn't understand it entirely, he knew one thing. Julie was important...and he certainly wouldn't forgive anyone for trying to take her away from him. Not even Julie herself.

But of course he couldn't _say _that.

"I don't know," he whispered.

Katara opened her mouth, then closed it again. She closed her eyes. "Either way, I'll be watching you. My family has been hurt enough by the Fire Nation. I'm not going to let it happen again...especially not right under my own nose."

Zuko didn't comment. Her problems were just that. Her own. He had no interest in them.

Actually, he was more interested in the looming shape creeping up behind Katara. He couldn't see it very well through the smoke and darkness, and the shape was hazy from that distance. But he could see that whoever it was had some kind of blunt weapon, and was brandishing it as though he were about to strike. Zuko felt a spasm of alarm as the figure brought his arm up.

Katara took a step back as he crouched down into what was unmistakably a fighting stance. "Hey, what are you...?"

The figure leapt out. "HEEEEEEEEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH...!"

It all happened in a few seconds. Zuko lunged forward, brandishing his Dao Swords, trying to get in between the Water Tribe girl and the foe he had somehow missed in the previous melee. Katara, seeing him making for her with his weapons drawn, skittered to the side, pulling the remaining water out of her canteen with her bending. Somehow, it all froze in mid-air and struck Zuko in the chest moments before he could slice up the person who had been standing behind Katara. As Zuko fell back, the hilt of one of his swords struck his "opponent's" fist, disarming him.

The two hit the ground with a solid THUD.

"Oh, my Spirits...! Sokka!"

Zuko's ears were still ringing from the impact. He groaned softly, bringing his head up and trying to get his vision to stop blurring as he watched Katara. She had run over to the attacker...a young man in Water Tribe blue. Oh, Spirits. It was her brother.

"Are you okay? Speak to me!"

"Katara," Sokka muttered from where he lay, face-down in the dirt. "I came to save you from the Fire Nation. Get behind me."

"You're...on the ground."

"Don't argue with me!" he yelled. He rolled on to his back dramatically and stabbed his pointer finger in the air to emphasize the exlaimation point. Katara seemed to relax at the same time. From that, Zuko could only assume that bold declarations were the norm for Sokka; seeing him so loud and riled up clearly said that he was no worse from his fall.

"I'm telling you, that guy in the blue mask is dangerous! You can't trust him!"

Katara ignored that. Instead, she turned and scowled at Zuko over her shoulder. "What were you _thinking_? You could have _killed _him, you know! Unless that was what you were trying to do..."

The Fire Prince jumped. "What? No! He surprised me. That's why I..."

"Save it, you masked menace." Sokka climbed awkwardly to his feet. "Katara, Aang and Julie are going to get Appa. We should try to get to where they are now. It'll make it easier for them to find us." He gave Zuko a look. "And before you ask, _you're _not invited. I don't care what Julie says about you being a _nice guy_. You're probably just waiting for us to fall asleep or something so you can cut out our spleens and eat them!"

Just what the hell kind of person did he think he was, anyway?

"You can leave with the Avatar if you want," Zuko snapped. "But if you think I'm going to let you take Julie away, you're both fools. She's staying with me."

Sokka and Katara turned slowly to face him, their postures tense.

"And why should we listen to anything _you _have to say?" the Water Tribe boy demanded. "We don't even know who you are."

"Sokka..."

"Quiet, Katara. Let me handle this."

Zuko saw the incensed look in the Waterbender's eyes and tensed for a moment. He half-expected her to blow his cover right then and there. After all, she had no love for the Fire Nation or its royal family, exiled or no. She had no reason to keep her silence...and he almost fell over in surprise when she obstinately turned her face away and glared at the ground, her lips pursed.

Either she was really stubborn, short-sighted, or both. Whatever the cause, Zuko was thankful for it.

"If you want us to trust you," Sokka continued loftily. "Why don't you take off that mask of yours? Show us who you really are."

On second thought...maybe he wasn't out of the woods just about yet.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

It was bad enough that I was exhausted and fighting the mother of all migraines (which I'm starting to realize was triggered by my Energybending at Chaang earlier). Now I was feeling guilty for making Sanji cry earlier. He was still sniffling as he rode piggy-back on Aang with his arms wrapped around his neck. Merle trooped silently beside Kuba, who occasionally gave me a searching look that I didn't acknowledge or return. I kept my mouth shut and focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

_He needs to get tough. I didn't do anything wrong_.

I wished Ayla would answer me. I was waiting for her to chime in at any time, but I couldn't hear her at all. Though sometimes, I could almost hear a faint garbled whispering noise in my head. I couldn't tell if she was trying to talk to me or not. All I knew was that she couldn't.

It sucked. The one time I could actually use some insight from Ayla, she decides to disappear. I wanted her to distract me with her nonsensical outbursts and flashes of cheer. Or for her to agree with me, to get rid of this guilt squirming inside of me. I felt like that creep Zhao, who picked on the weak simply because he could. Like being bigger and stronger than Sanji made it my god-given right to pick on him.

Hell. I felt like _Dad._

_You can run, but you can't hide, Julie-bean._ I could hear him sneering at me in my memories. _Daddy hates hide-and-seek, princess._

I shuddered and pushed his voice out of my consciousness. The last thing I needed right now was to start thinking about my father.

"Julie?"

I looked up and saw Aang glancing back at me. He was smiling, apparently having forgotten about the way I had acted earlier.

"Cheer up," he said. "We'll get out of this."

"Yeah. I know."

"You don't look so good. Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

No. No, I felt like crap and I was only going to feel worse and worse if Aang insisted on being so nice to me. I didn't feel like I had earned his smile or his optimistic outlook. Unless he was doing this to keep the kids from getting scared. That I could put up with...I supposed. But my head was _pounding_. I wanted to drop to the ground right there and curl up in a little ball in the shade until my migraine went away. Or until I passed out.

"I'm not fragile, you know," I told him in a low grumble. "Quit pestering me."

"You look mad."

"I'm not mad," I said quickly, lying through my teeth. "Why would I be mad?"

Aang didn't answer right away. His face was thoughtful as he regarded me over his shoulder.

"I think it's because you're not feeling well," he said after a while. "I mean, you've only been out of the hospital for a few days. You probably shouldn't be doing all of this running around..."

"I can handle it. I'm not a weakling."

"I never said you were. You don't have to prove anything to me. I know you're strong without you having to run yourself into the ground." He met my incredulous gaze evenly, standing up to the glare I was giving him with only the slightest hint of discomfort. "You don't have to keep everything to yourself, either. I'm your friend. You can tell me if something's bothering you."

I looked away. "I'll keep that in mind," I said through clenched teeth.

Aang was quiet for a second. "Back at the beach, yesterday, you reminded me that I'm not alone. Just because I'm the Avatar...just because I have these powers I can barely understand...that doesn't mean that I have to shoulder all this responsibility by myself. I have friends who care about me, friends who want to help me and fight by my side. And so do you."

I clenched my hands into fists. He didn't get it at all.

"What do you know?" I snapped. "You may be the weight of the world on your shoulders, but for the first twelve years of your life you grew up in a loving home, surrounded by friends and warmth and compassion...and it's so _easy _for you to trust people! Of course it is! When was the last time _you _were beaten up for being late? Or stabbed in the back by someone you thought cared about you? When was the last time someone who was supposed to love and want the best for you treat you like some kind of _mistake_...?"

Aang stopped, turning to face me. "Mistake?"

I was red in the face, my breaths coming out through my nose. The anger felt like it had crawled up out of my stomach. Like someone had flipped a switch and turned on this frustration and loathing I suddenly felt. It sliced me up inside and left me bleeding.

"Don't act like you _get _me. You don't get anything at all. Just...leave me alone."

"Julie," Kuba said, his eyes wide.

I sighed, rubbing my temples and trying to calm down. _Great. Now I'm a monster again. I'm scaring the kids._

"Sorry," I said quietly. "I guess my head is hurting worse than I thought it was. Let's just...go get Appa."

Aang looked like he wanted to say something else, but thought better of it. He just slumped a little bit and fixed his grip on Sanji, who was still clinging to his back and staring at me in consternation. "He should be in the next clearing," he mumbled.

I felt like a snake.

We pushed our way through the remaining cluster of trees, staggering into the relatively smoke-free clearing. It was big and spacious, more than free enough for someone as big-boned as Appa to move around in. The fluffy monster shot his head up, hearing us approaching. His beady eyes seemed fixed on us as he rumbled in a loud, worried tone of voice. The sound of it made me hesitate.

"Hey, buddy. We're back," said Aang, quickening his pace.

He paused long enough to put Sanji back on the ground before making his way to the sky bison. We both could see the noticable unease in the animal's face, and I had just gotten to thinking that for someone with a lot of room to graze, Appa wasn't moving very much. He looked like he was shuffling uncomfortably in place.

The Airbender frowned. "Hey, what's the matter?"

I ran to catch up to him, sensing in my gut that something wasn't right. Kuba and Merle followed me, catching on to the disturbed ambiance as quickly as I had. They didn't want to be too far away from me or Aang at the moment.

"Aang, wait a minute!"

"But Appa is..." he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide. "...tied up."

"Huh?" I said, coming to stand by Aang's side. We both looked down at the ropes binding Appa's legs together, keeping him from moving or flying away. I got a really bad feeling looking at those ropes. "But...who would do this?"

"The Fire Nation," said the monk angrily. He knelt down and immediately started struggling against the unyeilding coil. "I bet they were the ones who tied him up."

I frowned. "But...why would they just leave him here for us to find?"

_"To lure you here...and to trap you."_

We all froze as an unpleasantly familiar voice spoke up from behind us. Hearing it made my blood run cold, made every cell in my body freeze up in terror. It made me feel the way I had felt all those times Dad would taunt me while kicking the snot out of me. I felt like a weak little child who was about to die, and die horribly. Slowly and painfully while my killer gloated.

I revolved on the spot and found myself face to face with Commander Zhao.

"Oh, fuck."

* * *

**A/N: Just when Julie thinks she's out of one tight spot, she ends up jam-packed in another one. Already weak and tired from fighting Chaang earlier, and furious with herself for being afraid, there is nothing to stop her from walking straight into Zhao's trap. And with no Ayla to guide her this time around, things are about to get messy. Will Julie and Aang be able to work out their differences and defeat him?**

**It looks like she might be on her own. Zuko is stuck back in the woods facing down a confrontation with Sokka of all people. He may have been able to work together with Katara to take down the Firebenders pursuing them, but the Water Tribe warrior is making it very clear that he wants nothing to do with him. He doesn't trust "the Blue Spirit" after he tried to kidnap Julie earlier. How will Zuko worm out of this one? Will he get to Julie before Zhao barbecues her ass?**

**Well. I'm not about to tell you. REVIEW.**


	53. In the Jaws of the Enemy

**A/N: I lost my debit card again.**

**Yes, again. This sort of thing actually happens to me all the time. I must have gone through three debit cards in the past year or so. It's really sad how I can't keep track of simple (yet vitally important) things like my wallet, my cell phone, my _house keys_...oh, that was a memorable one. You know how much fun it is calling your landlord to tell them that you've lost your copy of your house key?**

**Yeah. Not so much.**

**I'm actually pretty upset about this. I really _liked _that debit card. My last one had the Batman logo on it, but when I lost _that _one, I had gotten it replaced with a totally bitchin' one with penguins on it...you know, for irony's sake. I know if I had REALLY wanted to be ironic, I'd have picked one with the Joker or something, but unfortunately my bank doesn't have debit cards with comic book super villains on it. I was lucky enough to get the Batman that one time. And I sure as _hell _wasn't about to get something with a freaking _ordinary, non-serial-killer-type _clown on _my _debit card. Come on. What would be the point?**

**So I got a card with penguins, which was cute and gave me the warm fuzzies every time I used it to fuel my Spicy Buffalo Pringles addiction. And now it's gone. **

**GONE.**

**(Sigh) Here's the next chapter. While you read this, I'm going to get me yet another debit card...sheesh.**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Eight: In the Jaws of the Enemy**

The crackling of the flames sounded like vicious laughter in the ears of the Kyoshi Warriors. But that might have been because of the woman in black, laughing maniacally as she cut her way through their defenses...sometimes literally. The Firebenders under her command both feared and respected her authority; and while they found their order to take prisoners repugnant, they obeyed unquestioningly. The last guy who questioned Mantis's will was still swimming in a pool of his own vital fluids...not to mention his intestines.

A bloodied scythe is a great motivational tool, Mantis realized. She didn't hesitate to use it whenever she felt like her men weren't listening enough. Or whenever she was bored. Sometimes both.

"We don't have to fight you," she reminded the warriors. "But if you continue to resist, we will have no choice but to burn down this village."

Sweat-streaked faces glistened underneath the war-paint. Mantis looked from one defiant pair eyes to another and felt herself grin. Well, she had to give the Kyoshi Warriors credit. They certainly didn't back down when their back was against the wall. Quite the opposite, in fact. Their tenacity was certainly making things more interesting for her. Too bad she couldn't let herself kill them. Hell, it probably would be the way they'd want to go, too. To die fighting was the epitome of honor for a warrior.

"We are willing to grant mercy to those who accept our terms," she called to the crowd of defenders. "The Fire Nation is willing to offer amnesty, aid, and protection to the future province of Kyoshi Island. Those who surrender peacefully will be allowed to maintain their traditions and beliefs...but those who continue to fight will be taken prisoner and brought to stand trial in the Fire Nation."

She looked around at the villagers who were tensed and watching the fight. The few who had taken up weapons to assist the Kyoshi Warriors hesitated, looking at each other in consternation. Oyagi gritted his teeth and stared resolutely at Mantis as she continued to address the townsfolk.

"We are _not _your enemy," she continued. "And your loyalty will be rewarded. What has the false Avatar and his friends brought you other than ruination and chaos? He has taken advantage of your good will and hospitality, made a farce out of your dedication to Avatar Kyoshi, and then ran at the first sign of trouble. Would the real Avatar being _fleeing _for his _life? _Or would he be here by your side, fighting to the last man, woman, and child?

"_We, _on the other hand, merely ask for your cooperation in enacting justice. We are not barbarians, but peacekeepers. And to let this imposter run free would be an insult to the memory of the _true _Avatar! Not to mention dangerous to the precarious balance of the world!"

Oyagi looked angry. "The child you speak of _is _the true Avatar! He is an Airbender, therefore he must be the Avatar. All the other Airbenders were wiped out when Fire Lord Sozin attacked their temples...!"

Mantis narrowed her eyes at the old man. "And who is to say that a few didn't escape? Who is to say that there are no Air Nomads left in the world? Besides, an Energybender can easily mimic other forms of bending. They are liars and manipulators. And you are playing right into their hands."

The villagers were starting to cluster around, listening to the strange woman dressed entirely in black. Many seemed torn; obviously they didn't want to believe that the children they had been host to were imposters. But it was hard to ignore Mantis's logic. Decades of isolationism and xenophobia made it easy for her to plant seeds of doubt in their minds. They had probably always been doubting, even before Julie had even arrived on their shores.

"Stop resisting us," Mantis called to the crowd. "Throw down your weapons, and we will grant you mercy. We will rid you of these insidious interlopers and restore the honor of your Avatar Kyoshi."

Oyagi's face flushed in anger. "We know who the true Avatar is. And we will not betray him."

The woman gave him a cold stare. "So be it," she said softly. She raised her scythe in the air, turning to the Firebenders closing ranks around her. "Arrest the town elder. Show these people what happens to those who choose to become our enemy!"

There was a sharp metallic sound as a war-fan sliced through the air. It clashed harshly against the blood-stained blade in Mantis's hand, knocking it out of her fist. The scythe seemed to do a backflip as it descended to the mud. It was lost somewhere underneath her rhino.

"As if we would really welcome invaders and murderers," said a voice.

Mantis wheeled her mount around and saw the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors glaring at her, war-fans sharpened and ready to bite at her foe. The two eyed each other, two warriors sizing one-another before trading blows. Slowly, the woman in black raised her hand to her mouth, licking away the blood oozing from the gash in her knuckles.

"These were new gloves," she said in a lethal undertone.

"I'll ruin a lot more than your gloves if you don't leave this village," Suki snarled. "Leave us in peace!"

Mantis smiled. "Peace?" she queried, drawing a knife strapped to her thigh. "Or pieces?"

* * *

(Julie's POV)

Zhao smiled in a way that some young women might find charming...if their idea of charming happened to be a man whose "interests" included seafaring, bondage, and genocide. And I was only guessing about the seafaring bit.

"I had a feeling you would try to flee the island," he said. "So I took the liberty of detaining your flying sky bison. Unless you have yet _another _logic-defying beast of burden, your only way out is through me."

I narrowed my eyes at him, too far gone from the pain lancing through my skull to care much about the fourth wall. Or maybe I just figured, _to hell with it; I'm going to die soon, anyway_. "Since when do _you _watch Avatar Abridged?"

He blinked at me. "Come again?"

"That line, just now; when you used the phrase "logic-defying beast of burden" to describe Big Fluffy, here?" I gestured at the hog-tied Appa. "You stole that from a popular abridged series. And that's just...plain..._wrong!_"

There was a long silence.

"I think what Julie means," said Aang quickly, "Is that we're not running away. Not anymore." He drew his staff and brandished it at the master Firebender. "We _will _defeat you...and we _will_ free Appa. We're not going to let you hurt anyone else!"

Zhao seemed mildly amused. "Big words for someone caught with their tail between their legs, boy." He glanced at me, causing Kuba to automatically step in front of me; almost as if trying to hide me from view. But it didn't do any good. Zhao's eyes were icy as they raked over me from across the field. I'm pretty sure that was my small intestine, just now, trying to detach itself from the rest of my digestive system before the bastard had the chance to disembowel me.

"If you think that an untrained Avatar and this street urchin can save you," he told me in a low voice. "Then I'm delighted to be the one to crush that delusion underfoot. You're going to regret ever crossing paths with me, Julie. I swear it."

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and ended up choking on my own spit.

"You're the one who's going to regret it, you ape-faced shithole," Kuba yelled.

Aang and I both turned to stare at the Earthbender. The Avatar's face was a mixture of a bewilderment and mortification. I, on the other hand, was impressed. Seriously, that last insult was a touch of sheer _genius_. I wonder where he got _that _bit of inspiration from.

"What?" the boy demanded, probably noticing the looks we were giving him. "I've heard worse insults from Julie every time Prince Zuko calls her a lowly-bred peasant girl...which he does pretty much every five minutes."

Um...no comment.

"Charming," Zhao drawled. "But if you three are done trying and failing to intimidate me, I think it's high time to end this little game."

Fire erupted in the palms of his hands. Aang and Kuba took defensive stances in front of me while Sanji attempted to crawl up my leg. Merle's eyes went huge as she stared at the Fire Navy Commander. And me? I was frantically checking the dial-tone in my brain, just in case Ayla decided to...I dunno...give me some life-saving advice or an instruction manual to Energybending. No other ideas were forthcoming; with every step Zhao took towards us, the worse my headache got. It was like something out of freaking Harry Potter, only Voldemort was no-where to be seen!

_Ayla? AYLA! Zhao is going to KILL us! Some help, please?_

I don't care what that guy whose name I can't remember says. Silence is NOT golden. Especially not when lives were at stake.

"Now is when the real fun begins," said Zhao, spreading his arms wide.

I pushed the kids behind me as the flames stretched up and out towards us. Aang quickly sent a gust of wind to deflect the fire. The Airbending was just enough to keep us from getting incinerated, something that wasn't a good sign given that Aang was the freaking _Avatar_. Even with all of his power, I could still feel their heat from where I had fallen to my knees like a total wussbag. I could see Aang starting to sweat after thirty seconds of his staff-twirling. _Damn_...!

Kuba darted out from under my arm, coating his palm in earth as he skirted around Aang and under the fire. He ran at Zhao as the rocks spread to his knuckles, but the Commander sank into a crouch and swung another low arc of fire, forcing the Earthbender to throw himself to the ground and roll out of the way. Aang took advantage of the literal cease-fire to charge in and push Zhao back with more Airbending. The man reached out and grabbed Appa by one of his horns just before he could be blown off of his feet.

Appa decided at this point that enough was enough, took a deep breath, and blew the Commander into a tree. A large (but unfortunately _low-hanging_) branch fell off and caught him in the back, almost squashing him. Aang went over to Kuba, helping him back on to his feet. The younger boy took a deep breath and winced, glancing pointedly down at his knees. There was now a hole in one of the legs of his pants; the other was just badly creased and smudged with dirt. I found myself breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't been hurt worse.

But I quickly choked again when the branch pinning Zhao to the ground seemed to spontaneously combust, sending fiery flakes of charred wood raining down from the sky. I shielded my face until the fire died down, then looked back. My jaw dropped.

Zhao stood there, the grass under his feet smoking menacingly. The tree behind him was completely aflame. He casually rolled his shoulders, not at all like someone who just blew up about a hundred pounds of trunk and foliage with their Firebending prowess; but more like a member of the stage crew during a light-show at a Hansen concert. The sight was freakishly intimidating.

Merle grabbed me firmly by the arm, dragging me over to where the sky bison lay tied up on the ground. "Come on!" she yelled. "If we can get him free, we can escape!"

"Good plan," I breathed. My hands shakingly fumbled with the knots in the ropes. They were thick and impossible to pry apart with just my fingers. I felt a wave of desperation as I struggled against the binds. The more frustrated I got, the more intensely my head throbbed. I could barely think, let alone focus on untying the ropes. It was hopeless.

Appa moaned forlornly.

"It's no good," I told her. "I need something sharp...like a knife...or a rough stone. Can you find something like that? Quickly!"

Sanji held up something. "Will this work?"

It was a funny-looking implement made of a thin, but unyielding metal that had been painted a very conspicuous shade of Water Tribe blue. It was smooth along the sides but pointed at the end. It looked like something you'd use to scrape ice off the bottom of a canoe...or saw away some troublesome rope. Damn! Now that was pretty freaking convenient!

"Where did you get _that_?" Merle demanded, looking surprised.

Sanji sniffed and rubbed his nose with his sleeve. "I got it from Sokka. He said I could have it if I promised not to have to go potty all the time."

I snatched the ice-pick. "It's great! It's fantastic! Now hold these ropes in place while I cut them...!"

Zhao was launching fire blasts at Aang and Kuba. Every time the monk would parry with a gust of wind, the Earthbender would try to get in close to do some heavy hand-to-hand damage to every part of him he could reach. This was, by the way, the real reason why neither of them were helping to free Appa. Honestly, I don't think they had even noticed what we were doing. It's kind of hard to notice things like that when you're trying not to get set on fire by a sadistic Fire Navy Commander with a bad goatee and sideburns.

I was sawing away at the ropes when I was distracted by a scream from Aang.

"Kuba, wait! Don't!"

I looked up in time to see the street urchin throw himself at Zhao. The man just sneered, using his superior reach to catch the boy in the ribs with his leg. The air left my lungs as I saw the fire shoot past his boot and leave a burning footprint in Kuba's shirt. The ice-pick fell from my sweaty fingers as a scream tore itself past my throat.

"NO...!"

Kuba slammed into the ground, rolling to a dead halt at the base of the burning tree. He lay on the ground, hissing in pain with every intake of breath. I could see a fresh sheen of sweat on his now very pale face. In a few spasms he managed to curl up into a ball on the ground, clutching his stomach. No...no, no, no! NO!

I couldn't scream or breathe as my migraine suddenly intensified. Picture a blazing furnace, the glowing coals, the whole shebang. Now picture that fire erupting with the force and anger of a super volcano, and then superimpose it on top of another super volcano. That searing agony was inside my head. I think I was crying, but whether that was because of the pain or because Kuba _just got kicked in the ribs with a flaming boot_, I couldn't exactly say.

Still. It felt like I was crying tears of blood. It hurt that bad.

"One down," said Zhao calmly. "And four more to go."

It should have been as simple as the chiming of a bell; but the impact of his words slammed home like a baseball bat to the cranium. The sad part was that those words were almost wasted on me. I could barely hear him over the ringing noise in my ears. It was a shrill keening, almost as if someone...or something was screaming. It sounded terribly angry and unspeakably grief-stricken at the same time. It made it impossible for me to think.

A crimson fog crawled into my field of vision, overwhelming me. I felt like I was breathing in that unending, tainted shade of red. It burned and turned my insides into stone. When I felt I would be so full of that redness that I would burst, that's when everything suddenly turned cold.

Something...something pushed its way inside me, shoving my consciousness out of the way. I felt myself being shoved into a very tiny space. It was a nauseating, disorienting feeling; as much as I was hurting, my body seemed completely unharmed. It barely registered the shock my spirit felt right then and there.

The last thing I saw was a massive, black serpent lunging at me with its jaws open wide. Then, blackness.

* * *

(?)

_The closer I get to her, the stronger her blood-scent becomes. The smell of her chi becomes a shape, and I can see her on her knees, clutching the sides of her head. I can smell pain, fear, and anger. The red aura pulses more violently than ever before. It almost outshines the auras of the other humans surrounding her...the two children crouched behind her; the large beast-thing behind _them; _the other male child on the ground, seething in pain...his aura is rapidly weakening. _

_The only spirit present in that space that is powerful enough to rival the girl is another male; and though his body is young, an ancient, but magnificent radiance shines and hovers around him. It is a pure, unblemished blue._

_I can also smell _him_. The invader. My killer. The stench of his confident swagger, the bold tenacity of his inner fire...it makes me want to strike. More than anything, I want to kill this man. And then, once he is dead, I want to torment his spirit for the rest of eternity._

_The girl intrigues me enough to keep my attention. I watch the crimson light encroach over the green, drowning it out. Already it is strong enough to push me back, and she is not even at full strength yet. She isn't even fighting. She wastes so much energy fighting her true nature that she can barely move._

_But she is too weak to fight me. The time to strike is now, before her other self can reach its potential. I brace myself and lunge towards the girl, aiming directly for her heart chakra. That is where the red light begins...where the river of light flows, clashing with the green light trapped inside her mind. I enter her body and feel no resistance at all. She is ready for me, almost as if this were meant to be._

_I feel the body lurch as I grab control over her chakras, as her power merges with mine. Her breath catches, her lungs expand, her muscles lock into place; I fill every inch of her, every crevice I can squeeze into. It is over before it can really begin. She is mine. I am her, and she is my weapon...my fangs._

_"Miss Julie?"_

_The sound of the little girl's voice echoes in these ears. I can hear her now that I have a body again. I can see her too, a child and her younger brother clinging to the body I possess. I can smell their fear, but only faintly, as though I were smelling it from a distance...the human's nose isn't equipped to differentiate between emotions of prey like _mine _had been._

_"Is Kuba going to be all right?" the little boy whispers, clutching her..._my _arm._

_I look at the older male child on the ground, twitching. He is barely conscious now._

_"No," I say, pushing my voice so that it echoes alongside the voice of my host. "But _I _will be."_

_And I smirk as light, my power, erupts from my new body._

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

The Fire Prince didn't know what he was supposed to do. As the seconds passed, Sokka's expression hardened.

"Thought so. If you don't want to show us your face, then we have nothing more to say to each other." He turned his back on Zuko. "Let's go, Katara. Julie and Aang are waiting for us. We don't have time to waste here."

No way.

This cretin wasn't about to just walk away with the peasant after everything he went through tonight. Not after he went through all the trouble of tracking her down and getting her to trust him. _Especially _not now that he had finally earned her trust...even if it was admittedly on shaky ground at the moment. He had promised to rescue her and bring her back to the ship, and no one...not Zhao, not the Avatar, not Shen-Long, not the entire island of Kyoshi...no one was going to make him break it. Not now. Not at all.

"I don't think you understood me," Zuko said in a low voice, making the siblings freeze in their tracks. "I _said_ that I wasn't going to let you take Julie away. I wasn't asking for your permission...or your approval."

Sokka turned back around, fixing him with a serious look. He had his fingers wrapped around his club again, tensed and ready for a fight if necessary.

"Julie is a part of our group," he told him. "And after everything she's been through in the past couple of days, and with all the Fire Nation freaks out to get her, we'd have to be out of our minds to just let a complete stranger whisk her off to Spirits know where!"

"I don't need your trust," the masked exile replied. "The only person who's trust matters to me is Julie's...and I've already earned it. I'm not about to lose it now. Not to the likes of you or your precious Avatar."

In a slow, unflinching motion, Zuko drew his Dao swords. They made a menacing metallic sound as they rasped into the open air, making both Katara and Sokka take a few cautious steps back towards the trees. He held the blades firmly in his unshaking hands, his stance ready, all body-language indicating his seriousness. Every part of him radiated the same message, that he wasn't about to shy away from a fight either.

"I have no reason to fight you now that we have a common enemy," he told them. "But if you get in my way...if you even think about running off with Julie, I will not hold back. I will _not_ lose her again. Do you understand me?"

"Don't threaten him!" Katara growled. "Just who do you think you are, anyway? What gives you the right to just decide Julie's future like that? You don't _own _her! She doesn't _belong _to you, you creep!"

Zuko choked back a wave of frustration.

"You don't understand!" he said loudly; so recklessly angry that he no longer cared if his voice was recognized. "Julie is so much more than what she seems to be...! I'm only just beginning to realize that. There is something about her, something huge that I haven't figured out yet...and I need to be there to protect her from whatever it is." He took a step closer, challengingly. "I won't let you stop me!"

The Water Tribe siblings exchanged looks.

"What kind of things are you trying to protect her from?" Sokka asked, lowering his club a fraction of an inch.

Zuko went quiet for a minute. He closed his eyes, remembering the way she had looked at him back at the town elder's hut; the way her eyes had looked when he had first told her what she was. Frightened...confused...and tremendously angry. She couldn't even control her own bending. And when she got too emotional...if someone really got her back against a wall, she lashed out.

_Like that morning in the meditation chamber_, he recalled. When he had yelled at Uncle Iroh for not knowing the Avatar's whereabouts, and Julie had panicked and unconsciously seized control of his Firebending chakras...and couldn't let go.

He could still hear her heartbeat in his head. He knew just how badly he had frightened her then; the memory of it made him sick to his stomach.

"Herself mostly," he replied. "The other things you don't need to know about."

"Oh, yeah," Sokka scoffed. "Right. Julie again. She's such a menace. It's ridiculous how much of a fuss everyone is making about her and this Energybending thing! I mean, how bad can it possibly be? The Avatar, my sister and I all spent a lot of time with her over the past few days...and all that time she seemed anything _but _dangerous. A little jumpy at times, but all in all pretty...well...ordinary. Normal."

"She's anything _but _normal," said Zuko darkly.

"Yeah, well excuse me if I choose not to take your word for it."

It happened then. A noise so loud, so shrill and high-pitched that it sliced through the fog and smoke like a clean dagger; it cut through the silence of the forest and made their knees buckle. To Zuko, it was more like he was _feeling _this keening noise rather than hearing it. It almost felt like he was connected to it...like that sound was calling out to him and him alone.

_Aaahhhh...!_

The shockwave sent the three of them straight to their knees, pushing them to the ground. Their legs simply gave out beneath them. Zuko could only remember the last time he had felt so shaky and weak...and it had been when Julie was Energybending against her will.

_AAAAHHHHH...!_

That was her voice. She was screaming...she was in pain.

The light reached them then. A crimson radiance erupted in the distance, rising past the trees and combing every leaf and branch in its quest to cover the entire forest. Zuko had never seen anything so terrifyingly bright, or so vast. That light was going to swallow them all.

"Julie..." he breathed. He was unable to tear his eyes away from the magnificent horror that had him spell-bound. "That was...Julie...?"

"Whoa," Sokka whispered. "Was I the _only _one who heard that? Or...or _saw _that? The weird lights and the voice in my head?"

"I heard it too," said Katara in a subdued voice. "It sounded like...like Julie. But there was something else I heard, too. It sounded like...almost like a monster was screaming at the same time. Or...crying."

Zuko didn't say anything. His heart was pounding.

"That was almost as intense as the time Aang went into his Avatar State," the Waterbender continued slowly. "Remember? It was so much like this...when he had found out the other Air Nomads had been wiped out by the Fire Nation. He almost destroyed the entire mountain, he was so upset. Something...similar must be happening now, only to Julie."

"_Julie _did _that_...?"

"I think so, Sokka."

Zuko stood up abruptly. He sheathed his swords and took off running through the trees. He streaked right past the two Water Tribe siblings, not caring what they did or said anymore. He didn't have any more time to waste with those two. He had to find Julie before...before...he didn't even know what was _wrong_. Why had he let her go off on her own?

_Stupid peasant, _he thought. But his inner voice was quiet and panicked. _What did she do, now?_

His mind dragged up the memory of that night the Brotherhood had tried to take her away...when Julie had started Energybending and nearly destroyed the entire pier. She had amplified the chi fueling the fires and tried to blow everything and everyone sky high. He thought of all that power and had to repress a shiver running up his spine. No, it wasn't her own power...but the power from so many people she had _borrowed_. If she could do _that _to a dock, what would she do to this forest?

The Avatar was with her, too. What if she tapped into _his _power?

Cursing, Zuko fell into a dead sprint, making for the red light in the distance. It was getting closer and closer, but it seemed to take far too long. The crimson glimmer through the trees seemed tantalizingly far away. He couldn't make himself move fast enough. Why had he left her?

Why?

* * *

(Aang's POV)

Zhao smirked at the young Avatar. "One down," he said calmly. "And four more to go."

Aang's eyes flickered to the fallen Earthbender. Kuba was barely conscious, barely stirring on the ground as he struggled with the pain of his burn wound. The boy kept trying to get back up, but it was a futile effort. Aang had never seen anyone so desperate to fight before; it was like nothing he had ever seen before. As badly injured as he was, Kuba was that determined to help.

Guilt swam through him. This was his fault. He was the Avatar. It was his job to keep things like this from happening.

If he hadn't wasted so much time here, goofing off and letting all that celebrity treatment go to his head, Zhao wouldn't have found out he was on Kyoshi Island. If he had listened to Katara and left the moment Julie had gotten better, they'd be far away from here...and safe. If he hadn't let the villagers get so carried away with their trial, if he hadn't let himself use that as an excuse to stay longer_...if...if...if..._

Aang didn't know how he was supposed to fix this. He was just one kid.

_How am I supposed to even _be _the Avatar?_

There was no one who could give him any answers. No one who could show him how to do his job. He had never felt so small and so hopeless in his entire life. Innocent people were getting hurt and killed all around him. He had to find a way to defeat Zhao...he just _had _to.

_What would the other Avatars do...? _he thought frantically. _What would Avatar Roku do?_

He paused. _Wait...how do I even know that name? _

Before he could really come to grips with this half-knowledge, there was a terrible sound behind him...and a bright, powerfully deep red light swept across the grass, tinting the entire world a vivid rouge. Zhao actually paused in his taunting, taking a few steps back and sinking into a defensive stance, his eyes fixed on something behind Aang. It felt like a volcano was erupting.

Aang wheeled around when he heard the children scream. Appa bellowed in alarm.

His grey eyes widened. "J...Julie?"

The redhead was hovering a few inches above the ground, her body curled in on itself as a massive amount of spiritual energy coiled around her. Her eyes were vacant as the chi spiraled into a vague shape...like a giant snake or a...serpent. It rose from her body and towered over the humans in the field. At the same time, Julie slowly uncurled herself, lifting her head to the sky.

The giant serpent roared in anger.

Merle and Sanji had let go of Julie and were clinging to Appa's saddle, cowering and trying not to get blown away.

"So," said Zhao, taking a few cautious steps towards the beast. "I see you learned some new tricks, Julie. Very impressive."

Julie's empty gaze slid to the Commander. _"We are not Julie," _she said, her true voice overlapping with another, more bestial-sounding one._ "We will be your slayer...your executioner. You are our enemy! You killed me...and now you seek to destroy my home...!"_

Aang frowned, squinting at the shape surrounding the redhead. No, it was definitely a serpent. He could see fins...and a tail. The fog was becoming more solid-looking, the scales reflecting a translucent black. It was a giant black serpent...no...not just a serpent.

Comprehension slammed home. "That's...that's the Unagi...!"

* * *

**A/N: I FOUND MY DEBIT CARD! IT WAS IN MY SHOE!**

**Ahem.**

**It's a hard deal being the Avatar when you don't know how to do your job. Aang has yet to make contact with Avatar Roku, leaving him floundering in the wake of Zhao and his ruthless tactics. As he struggles to keep himself and his friends safe, Mantis seduces the impressionable villagers with her lies, calling him a false Avatar. With only Suki and her warriors to defend Aang's honor and reputation (not to mention the village itself), this fight may be over before it can really begin.**

**And the identity of the anonymous spirit stalking Julie through the woods has been revealed! Julie's defenses were already down after Energybending on Chaang to save Kuba; not only did she not sense the Unagi, she couldn't even fight back as it seized control of her body. But what was this "true nature" the Unagi saw her fighting, the red overwhelming the green in her spirit? Will it affect the Unagi's ability to manipulate Julie?**

**Things might necessarily work out in Team Avatar's favor if the Unagi runs amok. Aang thought he had a problem when he had _Zhao _to defeat. Will he be forced to fight Julie on top of it all? Will Zuko be able to get to the clearing in time to avert a disaster?**

**REVIEW!**


	54. Might Makes Right, Part I

**A/N: It's sooooooooo hot.**

**I don't care what you guys say about how the whole POINT of summer is to have fun in the motherf#cking sun. Right now it's so humid it's like trying to breathe foggy blankets. I feel heavy just sitting in place and not moving. To say the least, it's really, really hard to focus on my writing when I keep thinking now NICE an AIR CONDITIONER would be. Too bad I have to pay for my electric, and I can't afford to blast it the way I want to.**

**Oh, God...I'm dying.**

**And speaking of dying, I nearly impaled myself on all the exclamation points you guys left in the reviews. I never expected the Unagi to raise so much fuss...but I'm glad it did. I bet you guys are sweating in your seats, waiting anxiously for the next chapter.**

**No, wait. That's just me. It's so freaking hot! GAAAAAAH!**

* * *

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Might Makes Right, Part I**

The light from Julie's initial chi explosion had nearly died down, and blackness started to settle among the smoke, grass, and trees. No one moved as her body slowly sank to the ground. The green dress she was wearing was shredded towards the ends of the once full-length skirt; in some places the edges had shortened by some inches, while other spots were merely frayed. The sleeve of her right arm seemed to have completely vaporized and her shoes were gone.

Her bare feet touched the dirt, making a soft hiss as the raging spirit energy scarred the earth. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to Zhao and smirked.

_"I'm going to enjoy killing you," _the Unagi said as Julie's lips moved.

Aang realized he was holding his breath. He let it out in a sharp gasp, turning at once to gauge Zhao's reaction. To his surprise, the Fire Navy Commander did not even appear ruffled by this transformation from human girl to vengeful spirit monster. The smug confidence hung around him like a shield, coolly assessing the new foe that had all but materialized in front of him.

"I recognize you," he said. "The _once _great Unagi...you've been a legend of these people since the days of Avatar Kyoshi herself. How interesting...you would use a weak little girl to champion your revenge?"

_"There is raw power in her," _the serpent replied. _"An untapped potential that people such as _you _underestimate. Just as you underestimated me during our fight. You may have slayed me, but your fatal error lies is your overconfidence. You lack respect for the forces of nature...of spirits and their kind. Besides..." _it added as Julie straightened her shoulders and stood at her full height. "_...she has the same intentions as I do. We share the same blood thirst and grief. You will suffer."_

"You say I don't respect nature? What is nature but land to conquer? And what are spirits but the subject of ghost stories and old wives tales...?" Zhao took a fighting stance, still gloatingly casual. "I killed you once, and I will do it again. Just watch me."

Julie stood there, unflinching and calm as Zhao shot a fire blast at her. But the fire seemed to erode as it shot out of his knuckles, sizzling out just inches away from her face. She didn't even blink.

_"Energybenders are useful tools," _the Unagi stated. _"They are capable of manipulating chi...they can amplify its strength...or suppress it at its source. I am only beginning to guess at the possibilities for this human girl. Though she is woefully untrained, my control will make her...and me...invincible. And if I use her to amplify my own power, I can crush you in seconds. You cannot defeat me as you are now."_

Aang stared and stared. Julie was barely moving and her face was stoic; devoid of any emotion. Her eyes still had that faraway look, as though she were in a trance or daydreaming. Her body was in the Unagi's unshaking control. She was a human puppet being made to fight for a hateful creature...one that seemed to regard her merely as a weapon. The chances of the Unagi being even remotely considerate of Julie's personal well-being in its determination to rend Zhao into pieces was...unlikely. Practically impossible.

The Avatar swallowed. This definitely wasn't good.

Julie clenched her hands into fists, sinking into a fighting stance. The translucent shape of the serpent mirrored her movements, looking like a snake about to lash out and sink its fangs into its foe.

"Die," she breathed.

Aang barely had time to process that it was Julie's voice, not the Unagi's that uttered this command. A split second later, the serpent lunged towards Zhao, roaring like a hell-spewing dragon from the depths of Hades. The Firebender cloaked his entire body in fire, leaving a man-sized flaming sphere in his place. The fire expanded, colliding against the Unagi, barely pushing it back. The shockwaves from the clash made the wind kick up and sent small stones and branches flying in a tumultuous gale.

The monk got to Kuba's side and enveloped them in a protective sphere of wind seconds before the projectiles could reach him. Looking up, he could see Merle and Sanji cowering in Appa's fur. Good thing the sky bison was too heavy to be blown away. He was sturdy enough to protect them from the calamity surrounding them...but Aang felt a stab of guilt as rocks smacked against Appa's side and face.

The big guy took it as best he could. Aang saw the bison grit its teeth and rumble in anger.

"Sorry, buddy," he muttered, turning his attention back to Kuba. The Airbender glanced up; he realized the wind from the clash was dying down, and he decided to drop his own air shield as he knelt down beside the injured child. As quickly and gingerly as he could, he scooped the Earthbender into his arms and gusted them out of the line of fire.

Good thing, too. Zhao wasn't too careful with his fire blasts. Several shots came dangerously close to making contact with them.

Aang jumped up, using the air to push him up high enough to avoid another stray attack. He floated down until he had landed safely on Appa's saddle. Gently, he set Kuba down and turned to the other children. Merle and Sanji were both clinging to their seats, the older sister pushing her sibling slightly behind her as she watched the fire and the roaring serpent. Her face was pale as she looked away and turned her attention to Aang and Kuba.

"He's hurt bad, isn't he...?" she choked, trying desperately not to cry.

Aang felt a lump in his throat. "Be brave. He did everything he could to stop Zhao...and now it's my turn. Wait here."

Before they could stop him, the monk jumped off the saddle and headed towards the battlefield, his determination now coated in unbreakable steel. He may not have mastered the other three elements yet, and he may not even know the first thing about his own job...the so-called bridge between the worlds...but he didn't need more than half a brain to figure out which side he was on.

Julie may be possessed by a murderous spirit beast, but she was still his friend. And she was still there somewhere underneath all of those scales and fangs. He was sure of it.

_If Zhao wins, _he thought. _He'll kill Julie. But if the Unagi wins..._

Would it be content in its victory to leave Zhao alive? Aang doubted it. Still, he had to try something...anything. For Julie's sake, he had to stop the fight somehow. He'd either have to knock out the Commander, or get Julie to see reason. Probably both.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Cut it out, both of you!"

There was a brief halt in the tumult. Aang ran in between the two combatants and used his Airbending to whip up a small tornado, pushing them both towards opposite ends of the field. The Unagi coiled around Julie, snarling menacingly at the monk while Zhao merely glowered. He dug his heels into the ground and stood his ground, letting his fire be extinguished by the wind.

_"Why do you interfere_...?" the Unagi roared. _"If you do not wish to die, then stand aside, Airbender!"_

Aang looked the serpent in the eyes. As intimidating as it was to stare into the face of a seething spirit monster, and as terrifying as it was to see it possessing Julie, he refused to let it see just how cowed he was by its presence. He closed his eyes for a second, gathering his thoughts and trying very hard to be strong. He tried to imagine what other Avatars before him would say and do when talking to the Unagi. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"I'm not just an Airbender. Mighty Unagi, I am Aang, and I'm the Avatar."

The black serpent slowly uncoiled itself, ignoring Zhao for a moment to snake around Aang. It seemed to be examining him at as many angles as possible while Julie stood as still as a mountain. As Aang froze in place, the Fire Navy Commander backed away, watching them both with a calculating expression on his face. As he brooded, the monk swallowed his unease and continued.

"I know you're upset about the damage Commander Zhao has done to Kyoshi Island...and I know you think that revenge is the answer, but I'm begging you to stop! If you keep fighting, you won't just hurt the Fire Nation...you'll hurt all the people who live here. And Julie too! She could get killed fighting your battle!"

The sea-monster unfurled its razor-sharp fins and hissed. The sound would have made every hair on Aang's body stand up on end...that is, if he wasn't as bald as fresh-laid ostrich-horse egg. It was the feeling one got when they ran their fingernails across a chalkboard. The sound of it was grating and eerie.

_"And why should that matter to me?" _it demanded._ "Humans are self-serving and short-sighted...in protecting their own interests they deplete the world of its natural resources and wage war over land they foolishly claim for themselves. They regard life, even the lives of their own kind, callously; they think nothing of annihilating hundreds to thousands of sentient creatures in their scramble for power and savagery. They are the cause of all misery in this world...and I will rid the planet of their taint myself, starting with the Firebender."_

"Maybe some humans are like that," said Aang slowly. "But not all of us. Just as there is great evil in the world, there is also an equally great goodness. And it's true. Humans are capable of terrible things. They betray...they hurt...they lie...but humans can also trust and love and forgive. They can rebuild the bridges they burn...and help to heal the ones they've wronged. It isn't right to condemn the entire human race for one half of their true nature."

_"Spoken like the human you truly are, Avatar."_

With a guttural shriek that would have made a hardened ex-convict named Bubba curl up in the fetal position in front of all his inmates, the Unagi lunged at Aang.

It moved so blindingly fast that it probably would have caught the monk in its jaws if he hadn't had such keen instincts. He had experienced a split-second of unexplainable panic before the Unagi attacked; and then Aang had his air shield up and around him, saving him from being bitten clean in half.

Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time or forewarning to whip up a maelstrom powerful enough to hurt the Unagi, or even to deflect the blow entirely. The force of the collision was so strong that it sent the young Air Nomad flying backwards. Hastily, Aang somersaulted in the air and planted his feet into the ground, wincing as he was dragged back several more feet before stopping. His stance had uprooted the unsuspecting grass underneath him, the dead blades now dancing pell-mell in the breeze.

Aang lifted his startled grey eyes towards the Unagi and yelped as it came at him again. He jumped up in the air as it passed underneath him in a savage, fluid lunge. Julie was moving too, her arms and wrists motions disturbingly similar to Waterbending. The difference was that Katara's bending was graceful and strong while Julie acted like a marionette with excruciating heart palpitations.

_She's in pain, _he realized. _I have to do something...!_

"Don't you care about what happens to Kyoshi Island?" Aang yelled at the Unagi. "You said so yourself! This is your home! Isn't the whole reason why you're doing this is to protect this place and everyone in it? Why are you causing so much destruction?"

Pain flashed on Julie's face for a split second. _"It was our home once, but...but we..._" The Unagi seemed to grimace for a moment, and only Julie's voice emerged as she finished the sentence. "Home...?"

Aang hesitated. The breeze carried him down gently, only a few yards away from the possessed girl. He stared into her face as he soft-stepped tentatively closer to her.

"Julie?"

The redhead hugged her arms to her sides. Aang reached out and caught her shoulders as she collapsed on to her knees, her whole body shuddering. A number of expressions flickered across her face, vying for control. Words Julie struggled to speak died prematurely on her spasming lips.

"Julie, you have to fight it," he said. "It's _your _body...and _your _bending. Take control. You can do it!"

"A-Aang...?"

"I'm here. You can do it."

Julie grimaced and cringed away from his voice. "N...no...! Leave me alone! I don't want to...dammit, let me go!"

The serpent hastily got a hold of itself, forcing its voice to emerge past her lips with renewed vigor.

_"We don't belong in this world anymore! We were killed by that human...and we cannot rest until we feel vindicated for this injustice. Perhaps we would not have to take matters into our own hands if I could rely on the Avatar to protect the delicate balance between man and nature...but you have failed! For a hundred years this world has been the scourge of humans. No more!" _The Unagi rose to glower at Aang. _"And if you get in our way, we'll rip the limbs from your body and feast on your innards...!"_

Julie twisted her body around and turned towards Zhao, only to find that he was gone.

"Looking for me?"

The Commander stepped out from behind a tree and sent another barrage of fire blasts at the unsuspecting Unagi. The sneak attack caught the serpent off guard. Julie's face was lit up as the searing wave rushed forward to engulf her. Her body was motionless, still in the rigid grip of her controller, but her eyes tightened in fear.

The Unagi forced a burst of chi from the girl, making its entire slender body glow a sinister shade of red. But there was no way it could reach Zhao before the fire incinerated its vulnerable host. In a desperate, frustrated lurch, it bounded towards the Firebender with every intention of maiming him as much as it could before it lost its new source of unlimited power.

_"Enough..."_ a new voice echoed...or rather, the voices of a myriad of previous Avatars speaking in tandem.

Aang jumped in between them, his eyes glowing a crystal blue. The patch of forest around him exploded with a rippling azure light, the force of his Airbending so intense that the fire was deflected. His arrow tattoos pulsed with the intensity of his chi. The flames were blasted upwards, sizzling harmlessly into space. Glowing cinders rained down around them, their crimson blaze clashing against the overwhelming blue.

The Unagi continued on its path, unhindered. Aang turned, raising a glowing palm at the serpent's face.

Even in the Avatar State, a small fragment of the monk's consciousness remained. And even though he wasn't entirely in control of his actions, he was still very aware of the fact that his strength was quickly draining away. His eyes flickered to Julie, absorbed in her panic-stricken expression and understood. The Unagi was using her to suppress his chi.

Julie sucked in her breath, her face ghastly and pale in the blue light. Her head rolled to the side and her body slumped as unconsciousness claimed her.

The earth shook as the blue light, no longer in the grips of an Energybender, suddenly intensified. It was too much for Aang. His own chi pushed himself out of sync with his own body, and the physical world began to dissolve around him. A new vision swam into focus, taking its place.

And with it, came a fearful shriek from the blackness...coming from the throat of a young girl.

_"Leave...me...alone...!"_

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_"Do you know what time it is?"_

_I felt myself shrinking inside my windbreaker jacket, dropping my gaze to my shoes just to avoid having to look Dad in the eyes. I knew I was in for it. I had to stay after class that day to sit through a "conference" with my teacher and the school psychologist, both of whom were...concerned about my many behavioral issues at school. To say the least, trying to knock out a boy's front teeth for insinuating that your father has to pay _rent _to the local tavern tends to send off a few warning bells to the higher ups. _

_I got through it okay. It wasn't the first time I had to dodge a bullet for that bastard. It would have helped if he had bothered to show up to the meeting, but...well...you know. He was having trouble walking straight that afternoon._

_"Dad," I said. "You know why I'm late."_

_He probably wouldn't have noticed, either, if I had had the balls to come in through the front door. But I had panicked and tried crawling through my bedroom window, hoping to use my bluff as a Get-Out-of-Ass-Kicking free card. And for some reason, the sorry bastard had decided to pass out on my bed after drinking himself stupid. Too bad he wasn't wasted enough not to hear me testing the latch._

_In his defense (something I never thought I'd say), it was getting close to Mom's birthday. Usually he's just getting over a hangover at this hour. It's rare to find him even awake while the sun is up._

_Lucky me._

* * *

Aang floated on the edge of this subconscious rift, staring at the incongruous room.

"Where...am I...?" he muttered. His stormy eyes scanned the cardboard boxes, the mattress and rickety metal frame bed by the window, the desk in the corner and the books stacked carelessly on top. He only noticed the clutter for a second or two before his attention was arrested by a voice. It was only then that he noticed the people in the room, the man towering over the little red-haired girl.

_"Dad, you know why I'm late_," she said.

She was wearing strange clothes. So was the man. Aang found himself staring in spite of the monks' teachings, and realized that he knew the girl. She looked just like...

"Julie?"

Either she didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him. She was too focused on the angry-looking man...who apparently was having trouble seeing her properly. He was blinking quickly and breathing heavily through his nose. His face was flushed, and the Airbender had a bad feeling it had something to do with the empty bottles left around the room.

Neither of them looked at Aang or gave any sign that he was even in the room with them. He frowned, looking down at his hands (which were glowing an eerie translucent blue), then around the room again.

"They can't see me. Am I...just a spirit?" He hesitated, looking down at the younger-version of Julie. "Or...maybe I'm not even really here. Maybe I'm...looking into the past somehow. I'm seeing things that have already happened."

He trailed off, noticing how Julie was shrinking back; away from the glaring man she had called her father.

_What's going on here?_

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_"You think I'm gonna cut you some slack just because some suits are breathing down your neck?" he rumbled. "'S'your own fault for being such a whiner. They wouldn't give us any trouble if you knew how t'keep your mouth shut."_

_"I didn't tell them anything," I snapped. "But I wish I had."_

_He grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt, jerking me closer, within striking range. I instinctively crouched down, shielding my face and neck with my hands; but he didn't hit me. Not yet._

_"And what the hell would you have to tell them? I leave food in the damn fridge, I pay your damn school taxes...fuck, I give you a place to sleep! I don't have to do that! I could've just left your ass in a gutter when you were a baby! I could have fed you to a fucking Rottweiler, you little cunt!" He shook me around like a rag-doll. "What do I do for you except put a fucking roof over your head? You're an ungrateful piece of shit, Julie..."_

_"Stop it...!"_

_WHACK!_

_His fist collided with the side of my face, knocking me into the floor. I lay there, not surprised because he's been smacking me around for as long as I can remember. But I was sufficiently stunned for a few seconds, the blood rushing through my head and making my ears ring. I lay on the floor for a little while before my wits kicked in and I curled up into the tiniest ball I could make with my body. I made sure my face was tucked into my chest so he couldn't hit it again. The last thing I needed was a bruise to show up right after a visit from social services. I would _love _having to explain _that _to my teacher. Nosy bitch._

_"I'll stop when I fucking feel like it!" he yelled. "Get your ass up! Get up!"_

_I whimpered and clung tighter to my knees. Why couldn't he just leave me alone?_

* * *

"Leave her alone!"

Aang ran and grabbed at one of the man's arms, but his body passed right through him. His eyes widened in shock. It was like he was nothing more than a ghost here. Not only could they not see or hear him, they couldn't touch him either. Which meant that he was powerless to stop what was happening.

He turned around and watched in horror as Julie's father pulled his leg back to kick her again.

_No, no, no...!_

Julie's scream rang in his ears. It was like being in a nightmare.

The beginning of this vision had been clear, but that had quickly changed once things turned violent. Every time Julie received a blow, every time she screamed, the image in front of Aang would flicker and blur. The sound would become distorted and shapes became blurry. Eventually, it got so bad that the entire scene would melt in and out of blackness, as though someone were repeatedly lighting and snuffing out a candle.

Aang was shaking. He couldn't do anything...just like before.

"Julie!" he yelled into the darkness. "Julie!"

There was no answer. But then, what did he expect. Even though he was the Avatar, there was absolutely nothing he could do. In fact, being the Avatar only made his guilt worse. Even normal people could help their friends. Julie had helped _him_ before; she had risked her life to free him, Katara, and Sokka from Zuko's dungeons. So why was it that he had to be the powerless one?

"Why am I seeing this if there's nothing I can do?" he breathed. "Someone...anyone, just tell me what to do...!"

_"Aang," _an aged voice called from the blackness. "_There _is _something you can do._"

The monk was so startled that he nearly fell over. "Who...who's there?"

A stately-looking old man dressed in billowing red robes appeared in the distance. Aang blinked when he saw the dragon circling around him, and something about it made him feel as if he were staring at a long-lost friend or relative. Slowly, he met the Fire Nation man's searching gaze with one of deep understanding.

"You're...Avatar Roku. The Avatar before me."

Roku smiled. "Hello, Aang. We have a few things to...discuss..." The brief smile faded into a grim and solemn expression. "Some of which pertain directly to your new friend, Julie...and also with the disrupted balance of the world."

There was a long, heavy silence.

"Um...yay?"

Well, what else was Aang supposed to say? He was the Avatar for crying out loud...not a freaking orator.

* * *

Zuko was fearing the worst as he approached the mouth of the forest. The glaring red seemed to foreshadow imminent doom; every flash of crimson brought Julie's face back to his mind. Julie and the Avatar...both of them were slipping away from him.

And then the blue light emerged like a second sunrise, so unexpectedly that Zuko ended up tripping on a root and hitting the dirt mere feet away from the clearing.

He felt the wind chopping through the leaves and branches, fierce and cold. The Fire Prince tightened his grip on the unyeilding tree root and slowly pushed himself up, looking out into the field. His golden eyes widened underneath the mask as he realized what it was he was seeing: A twelve-year-old air nomad with glowing blue tattoos facing the lifeless, hovering body of Julie McVay.

Zuko trailed his gaze upwards and saw the black shape surrounding the redhead. It snarled down at the Avatar, looking vaguely serpent-like as it prepared itself to strike. Though she was barely stirring now, Julie's arm followed the motions of the sea-monster (if that was what it was).

In an instant, the blue light died, and Aang's body collapsed, not quite hitting the ground before an invisible string caught tight and held him in the air. Following Julie's hand, the monk was tossed aside in Zuko's direction, landing softly at the lip of the clearing. He stared at the fallen Airbender, words eluding him. His mind was trying to catch up, trying to figure out what was happening.

_Did Julie...just beat...the Avatar?_

Zuko gave a start as someone started to clap. He stepped back behind a tree as Zhao came striding into view, looking unfazed by the raw display of power he had just witnessed. The Commander smirked at the girl as she slowly sank to the ground, curling around herself and blinking in bewilderment. The massive serpent cringed, as though greatly weakened.

Julie breathed heavily, burying her hands in her hair and squeezing her eyes shut.

"My, how impressive," said Zhao. "I never expected such a display of sheer blood thirst...not from a weakling like you."

Even from far away, Zuko could see her clenching her teeth. She looked as if she was trying to disappear inside of herself, wrestling against something he couldn't even see. She gagged a little, clearly nauseated to the point where she was about to blow some serious chunks. Her face was paler than Zuko had ever remembered it.

He wanted to go to her, but his gaze was sucked back in by the unconscious Airbender lying feet away from him. Zhao was sufficiently distracted. He wouldn't notice Zuko now unless he did something to draw attention to himself. He figured it would take a lot for the Commander to take his eyes away from the spirit monster growling threateningly at him.

Everything he had ever wanted. It was lying, motionless on the ground. Aang was all his. No one would stop him...no one _could_.

"Still, it really was the Unagi doing all the work, wasn't it?" Zhao continued. "You don't even know how to use that fantastic power flowing through your veins. And that frightens you, doesn't it? Not being able to stop yourself...and letting that power break free. It could seriously hurt someone, couldn't it? Or kill someone?"

He walked closer to Julie, leaning down so that his lips were hovering over her left ear.

"But as much as it frightens you," he said in a low voice. "...there's nothing you can do. You're too weak to change your path. All you can do is fight and fight, hurting the people who foolishly try to protect you...people who are foolish enough to love and care about you. It is a vicious, tragic cycle, destined to occur over and over again until the day you finally fall in defeat. Don't you want me to put you out of your misery, girl?"

Julie's breathing hitched. "I...I don't...want to die..."

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_Dad's foot caught me in the ribs, hard. The breath was kicked out of me in one lung-crushing instant. I gagged on my own pain and curled deeper in my ball. I was small for a ten-year-old; small and helpless and weak. I couldn't move, and my entire body trembled like a newborn kitten's. I was sobbing quietly on the floor, waiting for it to end, waiting for an older, stronger man to tire himself out._

_"You know I hate it when you cry, Julie-bean."_

_He kicked me again, harder this time. A labored scream pushed its way past my vocal cords. My throat felt raw and dry._

I don't want to die.

_"Get up!"_

_Again, his boot smashed into my side. And again. And again. I didn't have any air in my lungs to scream, but I found myself gagging every time. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to cry. Everything hurt. I found myself curling on my side, sinking wearily against the carpet. I found myself staring at an endless sea of unvacumed shag and felt unspeakably sick._

* * *

"If you continue to resist," said Zhao idly, "I will continue to hurt the people around you until you surrender. Those two children, for example. It would be a shame if something were to happen to them, wouldn't it? Isn't it enough that one child had to die today?"

Zuko felt his blood run cold. It was just then that he had noticed the three figures clinging to the sky bison's back…the girl and her younger brother that Julie had been babysitting...and a third, familiar shape. A messy-haired youth slumped over and not moving. Kuba.

Spirits.

"Aang..." she whispered.

"…won't be saving them. Thanks to you, Julie." He put his hand on the top of her hand, combing his fingers through her tangled hair. She flinched violently, but Zhao didn't let her shy away from him. "Just give it up. There's only one thing you can do...let me kill you. Let it end here and no one else has to get hurt."

The Unagi squirmed, trying to move. But some invisible force kept it restrained. It snarled and raged futilely against whatever it was holding it back. Julie winced repeatedly, as if something was slicing into her over and over again from within. She curled up on the ground, her breaths coming out in short gasps.

Again, Zuko felt a mixture of emotions. Anger twisted his stomach into a flaming knot, frustration at not knowing which way he should go: to Julie, who clearly needed him, or to the Avatar, who was helpless to resist capture. Every second Zhao spent so infuriatingly close to her was another second he had to hold himself back. He wanted to burn the Commander for giving Julie that mild suggestion that she should practically commit suicide.

The old Zuko would have felt that it was reckless and foolish to sacrifice his mission over one peasant girl. But something felt different inside of him now. He couldn't just leave her alone. He just _couldn't_.

_What was more important? His mission? Or the first person in three years who dared to call him a friend? His honor…or a miscreant peasant girl?_

Good or evil? Right or wrong? Which was which?

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_Dad stared coldly down at me, not moving an inch. Slowly, I lifted my gaze to him, gasping for air. Fear and anger were twin serpents coiling and writhing inside of me. I never hated anyone so much as I hated the man towering over me._

_And then, all of a sudden Dad's face began to blur. Another face took its place. I lay there on the ground as the features twisted and morphed. After a minute had passed, it wasn't my father who was looking down on me anymore. Instead, it was Commander Zhao. The expressions on their faces were identical. Complacent in their dominance, comfortable in their control._

_I wanted to rip the stupid looks off of both of their faces. I wanted to tear them all to pieces._

_"Leave...me...alone...!" I yelled._

* * *

"Well?" Zhao queried.

Julie lifted her face to meet his eyes, her own snapping open. Zuko gave a start when they weren't her usual green, but a violent glowing red.

"Leave...me...alone...!" she screamed.

Zhao quickly brought his fist up, shielding himself with fire. The shockwave propelled him backwards, into a tree. Zuko darted forwards, grabbing a hold of Aang and dragging him behind the cover of some large rocks. Even in that limited capacity, he had enough sense to realize that the monk would die if left exposed in the wake of this...what _was _this, anyway?

He peeked out from behind the rocks when he heard the serpent creature screaming in agony. Zhao had called it the Unagi...but wasn't that the name of the fish monster that was supposed to protect the waters around Kyoshi Island? He never suspected that the monster of legend would actually be a spirit. It writhed around in pain as Julie stood up and clenched her hands into fists. She looked frightening in her rage.

She screamed again, sending another shockwave in Zhao's direction. The Commander parried the blow with a blast of fire that surprised even the jaded crown prince. He was hundreds of yards away, but he would have been a poor Firebender not to sense the power behind Zhao's counterattack. That flame had been enormous. How was he even doing that? He was just one man.

The Unagi withered, as though its power were quickly draining out of it. Zuko frowned under his Blue Spirit mask, no longer caring how Zhao got to be so powerful. He was silent in the wake of his other suspicions looming into focus.

_Energybenders rely on the chi surrounding them. So Julie must be using the spirit energy from the Unagi to attack Zhao. _

He barely had time to swallow his relief that it wasn't _Aang _she had decided to borrow her power from. The results of that experiment would be catastrophic, ten times worse than what he was seeing now. And what he was seeing now was terrifying enough as it was. Julie looked like she was out of her mind.

"Aang!"

Oh, for the love of Agni. Not now. This was the last thing Zuko needed now.

_Damn Water Tribe peasants..._

Katara practically elbowed him out of the way as she threw her arms around the unconscious Airbender. Sokka was on her heels, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the Blue Spirit. The two stared each other down, not saying a word. It felt like hours went by in silence, when really it only lasted for half a minute. On the other side of the rocks, they could all hear the explosions from Julie's reckless attacks. Any second now, she could send an attack at their hiding place, and then they'd really be screwed. The Avatar could be killed instantly if he kept sitting here like a stoned turtleduck.

_I don't have time to waste_, the Fire Prince thought with a stab of bitterness.

If it came to a fight, Zuko was confident he could overpower the idiot with the club. But then...what would happen to Julie if he just left with the Avatar?

"What happened?" Katara demanded, manhandling his attention span with only two words. "Why is he like this?"

As she turned her clear blue eyes on him, Zuko suddenly felt an urge to justify himself. It felt eerily as though he were still a child trying to explain to his tutor why he hadn't finished his report on Sozin's conquest of the Air Temples. There was blatant accusation in those eyes that made him squirm, like an earthworm under the razor-sharp edge of an invisible knife.

"I don't know," was all he could think of to say. "I found him like this...but Julie...she..."

"Holy crapmuffins!" Sokka exclaimed, almost dropping his club. "Katara, look!"

The Unagi twisted its serpentine body in an anguished gesture as Julie surrounded herself in a crimson aura. Zuko looked from her to the Water Tribe siblings, and felt a deep satisfaction at their dumbstruck expressions.

"Aang and Julie were fighting Zhao, and somehow she took control of the Unagi...but it isn't her fault," he told them quickly. For some reason, he was worried they would get the wrong idea. That they would decide she was too much of a threat and use that as a reason to...hurt her. "She's...out of control. Zhao threatened to kill those kids, and she just lost it."

"Merle and Sanji?"

"They're on the bison. So is Kuba, but he's...badly hurt."

Katara bit her lip and looked down at Aang. Then, slowly, she met Zuko's gaze again.

"I need to get to them. There are some medicines in my pack that might help...and we can get the kids to safety."

Sokka shook his head. "There's no way you can go out there with Julie blowing the place up like this...! We need a plan, or a...a..." he trailed off as Zuko suddenly drew his Dao swords and raced into the clearing. "...a distraction."

Katara looked pointedly at him. Heaving a sigh, he drew his club again and turned bleakly towards the field.

"All right, fine. I'll help the conniving maniac. You just stay safe, all right, sis'?"

"I'll do what I have to," she replied.

Sokka made a frustrated noise. "That's _not _the same thing!"

"I know."

Brother and sister exchanged long glances as the seconds passed. Then, apparently deciding that this was the best he was going to get from the Waterbender, Sokka shrugged his shoulders and stomped off towards the field. His knuckles tightened around the club as he caught sight of the raging beast hovering around Julie. He could hardly believe that some hours ago he had almost made her laugh with his joke about the singing groundhog and the tsumgi horn. She had seemed so _normal _then.

Now, she just looked angry. And scared.

"I'll do what I have to, too," he whispered as he stepped into battle.

* * *

**A/N: Long chapter, but a lot of significant plot development. No really. I mean it this time. This is part one in the finale of this ridiculously long episode arch. You may rejoice now. Seriously, I still can't believe I'm over fifty chapters into this thing and STILL haven't gotten past episode FOUR yet. Sheesh!**

**Unfortunately, I think a lot of what happened here needs a least a little bit of explanation. Particularly the bits about Energybending.**

**I'm also sorry if the Unagi fight scene with Zhao wasn't as bad-ass as you all were expecting. But here's the twist: the Unagi possessed Julie, expecting her to be an unresisting puppet. But now the Unagi is the one being used as a tool as she unleashes some hell upon the "ape-faced shithole." (Man, you guys LOVED that line, huh? Note to self...)**

**The shockwaves we see her throwing at Zhao are not just random Mary-Sue DBZ lampshading of the unholy god-mod. It's actually the essence of the Unagi's spirit that she's using. Since Julie is an untrained Energybender, all we see are unhoned bursts of chi...a lot of force, but no technique involved. **

**The catch is that most spirits don't relinquish control without a fight. It takes a lot of focus and an unbendable will to accomplish that. Julie, wanting nothing more than to beat the snot out of Zhao, is not only "unbendable;" she's a smoking gun waiting to go off again. But how long will her anger fuel this rampage before she runs out of juice? Will Zuko and Sokka be able to reason with Julie? Will Katara be able to help Kuba and Aang? And what the hell is Avatar Roku doing in the horrific flashback Aang piggybacked on?**

**More answers next chapter...and a surprise in the next Author's Note...but only if you guys REVIEW! Hint: A special guest is going to respond (i.e. provide _insightful _commentary on) five randomly selected reviews. Are you guys up for it?**

**REVIEW!**


	55. Review Special

**A/N: All RIGHT! You guys graciously showered me with lots of constructive reviews! As promised, here's the Author's Note Special you've all been waiting for! Are you ready? Distant-Moon of the AtLA fandom _proudly _presents:**

**FOAMING MOUTH GUY READS THE REVIEWS!**

**(Confetti rains down over a large mahogany desk, and the person seated behind it. Foaming Mouth Guy looks up and around him in all directions like a possessed chipmunk before frothing vigorously and sending a chilling shriek of excitement. He does a one-man version of the wave in time with the marching band music before collapsing in his chair. The last trumpet note falls flat.)**

**With your co-host, KATARA!**

**(Much applause as the Waterbender walks in from stage left. She looks around, trying to figure out where all the music is coming from before her gaze settles on Foaming Mouth Guy. Wincing slightly, she takes a seat next to him behind the desk. As discreetly as humanely possible, she edges her chair to the far side of the table, holding her copy of the script like a shield.)**

**Katara: "Um...hi, everyone. We're really happy to be here today... (looks questionably at Foaming Mouth Guy, who spasms in agreement) Well, I know _I _am, at least. I didn't get to be in the last Author's Note Special, which I hear was very...um...interesting."**

**?: "Yeah. If your idea of interesting happens to be watching a lemur get held up at gun-point, then set on fire by a sadistic fanfic author."**

**Katara: (looking up in surprise) "Julie! What are you doing here? I thought you had to get ready for the next chapter..."**

**Julie: (walks in from stage left, eventually taking seat on the corner of the desk) "I was, and I did. All I really do is blow stuff up. That doesn't require much of a costume change, either. I'm good to go. Besides, I just had to get away from Zuko bitching like a pre-teen emo for ten minutes. He's mad we're posting this before the actual chapter. He keeps complaining about how Distant-Moon keeps dragging this out as a marketing gimmick...while _lives _are at stake."**

**Katara: (wheels around in astonishment) "Wait...doesn't he get that we're inside a _fanfic_? No one is in any real danger...except you, I guess. You're an OC, so if you die here you stay dead. Huh...maybe _that's _why Zuko is so anxious to get a move-on. He's worried you're going to die, Julie."**

**Julie: "What do you mean? All he has to do is poof himself to another fanfic, and he'll be sticking his tongue down Mai's throat. Or yours. You know, for such a whiner, Zu really _gets around_..." (sulks in chair for some reason) "...jerk."**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: "MMMPPHSHHH! PPPAHNAM,D,FNAJGKHFG?098325#$#%#AJSKDLF~!"**

**Katara: "Oh...um...Foaming Mouth Guy just wants to remind everyone that there is an actual chapter; just not here. It's being posted the same day this Author's Note is, so no one will be disappointed."**

**Julie: (perking up slightly) "Except Zuko."**

**Katara: (nodding in complacent agreement) "Except Zuko. Anyway, let's get started with the reviews. As Distant-Moon explained to you, the reviews we respond to will be randomly selected from a hat. Since we didn't have a hat crazy enough for the occasion, we just used Sokka's man-purse instead. (holds up the bag purchased in Gao-Ling, the one that's supposed to match Toph's Earth Rumble belt. She offers it to Foaming Mouth Guy, who begins eagerly rummaging through it for a slip of paper)**

**Julie: (staring at the bag) Wait...why do you even _have _that bag? Sokka doesn't buy that until Season Two...!**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: "SDHGGHHHHH!" (proudly holds up slip of paper)**

**Katara: "All right!" (taking paper and reading it) "This first review comes from Roseblossom Warrior..."**

_"_Not that this story isn't awesome, but im happy that the arc is almost over - it's gone on FOREVER. I kinda feel bad for the Unagi, I mean Julie's using it now, not that it doesn't deserve it. And just what are Zuko and Sokka going to do? And what's taking Aang so long? Is he all right? I didn't really understand what happened with his chi... And Roku, what's HE doing here?"

**Katara: "I agree. I can't wait for this arc to be over. When Sokka and I found Julie like that, we just didn't know what to do. It was terrifying. Whatever Sokka does, I just hope it doesn't get him hurt. Sometimes he can be really creative, but other times he just doesn't think things through. Like the time he got two fish hooks stuck in his thumb."**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: "Phhadblshh?"**

**Katara: (looking over at him) "He got the second one stuck trying to get the first one _out_. Not the best plan. As to Aang's chi...well...um...I'm not really sure what was going on. Julie? Some help here?"**

**Julie: "Oh, yeah. Make _me _do the freaking review special, why don't ya'?" (sighs) "Fine. Okay, listen up. What you saw in the last chapter was a classic case of an Energybending tug-of-war. That's really what Energybending feels like; you just have to be more "unbendable" than the other guy. Aang wasn't backing down when the Unagi made me bend his chi. He was giving it everything he had. But when I blacked out for a few seconds, the Unagi's power weakened. The scales sort of tipped in Aang's favor, but his own chi got thrown out of balance. He was pushing out so much of his own energy that he ended up having an out-of-body experience. I don't think I have to explain what _that _is, do I?"**

**Katara: "Wait...so he was using so much of his own chi to fight the Unagi that he forced himself out of his body?"**

**Julie: "Pretty much. But Roseblossom Warrior brings up a good point...what _is _Roku doing here?"**

**Katara: "I don't even remember seeing him in the chapter...but maybe it has something to do with Aang's out-of-body experience?"**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: "MRRRPHLLLSPSH."**

**Katara: (looking annoyed) "Hey, stop being sarcastic. It's possible...right?"**

**Julie: "Let's just do the next review. Foaming Mouth Guy? Will you do the honors?"**

**(Foaming Mouth Guy reaches into the bag and pulls out a second slip of paper, handing it over to Katara)**

**Katara: "This next review comes from AnnaAza. It reads..."**

_**"**_THIS IS EPIC! It's like Julie is in the Avatar State, but being controlled by a power-hungry, violent Unagi. I expected Julie to fight it more, but I guess the Unagi is so powerful that she's its puppet. It's controlling her like most people treat something valuable that they've been wanting for a long time. I can't believe Zhao wasn't even FAZED. There's a freaking Energybending girl being controlled being demon eel that's kicking even the Avatar's ass, and you...At least Julie is using he newfound power to take her revenge out.

I hope Kuba and Aang will be alright, and Zuko and Sokka are in a pickle. Oy!

Avatar Roku has to be important even in fanfics, no?

Did you make up the "ape-faced shithole" insult yourself? I'm SO going to use that on an annoying guy at school..."

**Julie: "Hey! I'm not a freaking puppet! I can totally beat that snake's ass! Just watch!"**

**Katara: "Do serpents even _have _butts?"**

**Julie: (darkly) "If it doesn't have one, I'll _make _one."**

**Katara: "I think AnnaAza is kind of right about you, Julie. You're starting to freak _me _out a little. Zhao must be out of his mind not to be worried...especially given how desperate you are to kill him. Well, that and the "ape-faced shithole" thing."**

**Julie: "Technically, Kuba was the one who said it."**

**Katara: "He said he got it from you."**

**Julie: "You weren't even _there _in that scene! How would you know? Cripes, the lack of consistency in this fanfic is really starting to worry me..." (stops herself from having a mini-existential crisis) "Anyway, even if he _did _hear me say it...ONCE...that doesn't prove anything. You know Distant-Moon is the one writing the script."**

**Katara: "You know we never actually READ the script."**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: (slamming his hands on the table to get the girls' attention. They both jump, staring at him as he starts to rant) "ASDFKLH;AHHKDFAFKL, SDHTKOP ASDJFKLDFPPPPPH! ASD!#$(ASSKL!"**

**(Long silence)**

**Katara: "He's right. I guess Distant-Moon does write the story, but _we're _the one's inspiring her. So...I guess it's everyone's fault Kuba has such a colorful vocabulary. Anyway, here's the next review..."**

**(Foaming Mouth Guy hands over the next slip of paper)**

**Julie: (peering over Katara's shoulder) "This one comes from Thomas Drovin. Huh. I think I've seen his name before, somewhere. Anyway, he says..."**

"Welcome back! My word this was an exciting chapter! Good thing Julie managed to take control of the situation huh? As for Aang hopefully Roku can tell him just what IS so special about Julie and WHY everyone is out to get her.

Nice to see Zuko is doing the RIGHT things too, goes to show he really cares for his "Peseant" *Chuckles*

Update again soon so I can find out how this turns out? You say we're approaching the end of this arc huh? Well we've had a good run, you'll just make 500 Reviews I'll bet! See you soon!"

**Julie: "Why is he chuckling? Is he laughing at me? It's kind of making me angry..."**

**Katara: "Everything makes you angry. Anyway, I think truer words were never spoken...the last chapter really was exciting, wasn't it? Though I think I've had enough excitement for one day. Wow, Julie. Everyone must really like seeing you beating up the Fire Nation."**

**Julie: "I think they're more amused by my turning into a drooling spirit beast. But what does he mean by a "good run?" He can't possibly think that this is the end of Book I, can he?"**

**(The other two merely shrug at her)**

**Julie: "Whatever. Anyway, getting back on topic..." (re-reads the review) "Oh, right! Thomas Drovin, Roku doesn't need to explain why everyone is out to get me. I already know why." (looks pointedly up at the sky) "Because SOMEONE is trying to turn me into a freaking Mary-Sue! I swear, if I have one more flashback of my tragic upbringing, I'm gonna..."**

**Katara: (grabbing Julie's arm) "Julie! Remember, we're rated TV-Y! No graphic death threats!"**

**Julie: "We just uttered the phrase "ape-faced shithole" three times in this review special. THREE TIMES! And _now _you're worried about getting censored?"**

**Katara: "I'm just saying that...oh, never mind. Hey, what's this he's saying about Zuko?" (smiles knowingly at Julie) "Now that Thomas Drovin mentions it, Zuko _did _seem kind of protective of you before. And it was really brave of him to run into the path of danger just to help you."**

**Julie: (narrowing eyes) "Just what are you implying, Katara?"**

**Katara: "Oh, nothing. Just that he really, really, really cares about you. In a _special _way."**

**Julie: (shuffling awkwardly) "Yeah, well he's Fire Nation. They settle their differences with flaming duels to the death. It doesn't surprise me that their concept of a platonic friendship should involve life-threatening endeavors and...um...spirit monsters. Yeeaaaah..."**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: "ASSSHKLLPPH..."**

**Julie: (snaps head up angrily) "Why don't you come over here and say that you freaking spaz-tastic rabies victim! I'll snap your fucking neck!"**

**Katara: (getting in between them) "Next review! NEXT REVIEW!" (randomly snatches paper from bag) "THIS REVIEW COMES FROM Jess305!"**

"I wonder when Zhao is going to die. And at whose hands. Julie deserves to kill him for the crap he caused to her and every one else on the show. I am really psyched when Zuko came in the scene. He was so torn between himself. Aww. He needs a hug! And a punch that screams 'Save Julie!' XD

Anyway I am dying to know what happens next. Especially that Sokka and Katara will have their parts in the battle. Truly epic.

Also I hope you'll get cooled soon. AC, climate, all that. It's really annoying when summer gets too hot even if that's the point of it. Goodluck!"

**Julie: "Aw, jeez. Not more of _this _crud. Stop feeling so freaking sorry for Zu! He's an asshat! He needs a hug like he needs a freaking kick in the face!"**

**Katara: "Gee, this is the second person so far who felt the need to comment on how badly Zuko wants to save you. I think I'm starting to see a pattern, here."**

**Julie: "Hey! Just because he doesn't want me to die _doesn't mean _that he's in love with me! It just means he's not a psychopath...which, considering what most people from the Fire Nation are like, is saying quite a lot, I suppose. Though, I suppose Jess305 has a point. He could have just left my ass to rot while he ran off with Aang. But...well...he didn't..."**

**Katara: (pokes Julie) "See? He _likes _you." (smiles to herself) "Watching Zuko act like this is really making me think twice about the Fire Nation. I mean, they did some terrible things to the world...but they're not all bad, I guess. I just wonder why Zuko is so bent on capturing Aang. It's not like he needs the money. He's a prince."**

**Julie: (shifty eyes) "Yeeeah. I wonder why."**

**Katara: "Do you know something, Julie?"**

**Julie: "NOPE! Next review!" (grabs bag and pulls a slip of paper out) "This one is from CC X. It reads..."**

"soo awasome! i dont know what questions to ask. sooo ...what is hapning on zukos ship? will iroh help out? what is roko doing here? will the invasion ever stop? will somone at least put out the fire? will kuba live to make epic more insults? and when is zouh going to get the ass kicking he deserves? more questions will come. in the meantime please please review"

**Katara: "I'm having a little trouble reading this one. Maybe we should pick another one?"**

**Julie: "No way. I can read it just fine. Besides, CC X just wants us to feed the readers a few spoilers." (laughs to herself) "Yeah, like I'd ever do something like _that. _No one would read the story if I starting telling people that Zhao gets his ass handed to him...um...crap."**

**Katara: "Does he really lose...? Or are you just telling us that to make yourself feel better? Because you _don't _beat him?"**

**Julie: "Well, they're going to have to read to find out."**

**Foaming Mouth Guy: "ASHJHKLERIOUJ$#%!^%(AHJKSDFKHHHJKLA"!=!#?...ASHJKLAH;WEHGLLAHSDFLHAWUILRq #%*(#$()t% qhhkalw#h4"?asdfawerASHDJKFHQAWR#$%)! ASDFJKAHWI34QY...1234238werq#*$*o)#%!"**

**(Profound silence sweeps the room. Julie and Katara both have tears in their eyes, staring adoringly at Foaming Mouth Guy, who is gasping for air. Apparently run-on sentences can take a lot out of you. Don't try it at home, kids)**

**Katara: "That...was...beautiful. I had no idea the story could get so deep...and emotional."**

**Julie: "Seriously, that moving scene he just described, _in detail_, is going to be so...freaking...awesome! It's going to make modern literature look as meaningful as the sunday comic-strip. Damn! I can't wait to do the next chapter now!"**

**(Julie scoots off the side of the desk and leaves the room. She looks excited and inspired. Katara pushes her chair up and starts to gather her things)**

**Katara: "We're out of time, anyway. And Distant-Moon has to go to work now. She's just going to post this and the next chapter before embarking on her impending drudgery...I mean, go to the supermarket. Wow. Being a customer service rep must really stink."**

**(Walks off, leaving the Foaming Mouth Guy. He blinks at the camera, looks down at the man-purse Katara left behind, then glances shiftily up at the camera again. Abruptly, he snatches it and runs off screaming something no one can understand. He leaves a trail of foam and spittle behind him)**

* * *

**A/N: Seriously, that's it. You guys can go read the next chapter now. I hope this amused you a little. And if you liked it, I'll do another one later on in the fic. Maybe.**

**REVIEW!**


	56. Might Makes Right, Part II

**A/N: So...how did you guys like the review special? Heh...I am such an evil bitch. Seriously, making foaming mouth guy respond to your comments was a stroke of pure genius. I just hope I don't get flamed for it later...oh, well. **

**Anyway, ****I hope you enjoy the chapter. So much more angst than I am capable of feeling on this pretty summer day. Ta-ta!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty: Might Makes Right, Part II**

I felt like my entire body was on fire.

But it was a cold fire; a dry ice that burned raw. I could feel the spirit energy coarsing through my body, and that was the only thing I could really focus on. It gave me such a murderous rush, having all that power flowing through me. I was just a pebble bobbing in the tide. The Unagi's chi extended through every inch of my body and left it just as quickly, and it never ran out. My body was the amplifier to the current.

It was magificent and terrifying all at the same time. But as overwhelming as this feeling was, it couldn't compare to the anger inside of me. There was a monster born in the field that night, and Julie was her name. The Unagi was merely her puppet. _My _puppet.

Nothing could stop me. Nothing could hurt me. I was invincible.

Every time I pushed this energy out of me, it was devastating. It cut through the earth like a blade, slicing up the grass and carving scars into the dirt. Zhao sidestepped the blast and parried with his fire. As the smoke cleared, he lifted his head and met my gaze levelly; his expression was calm and unaffected. I was angry enough just looking at his stupid face, but watching him toy with me like this pushed all rational thought from my mind. The only thing that mattered to me was maiming every inch of the bastard. I wanted his head at my feet and his body rotting in a snake pit.

"You may have learned some new tricks," said Zhao. "But you're still just a weak little girl. You're weak and afraid."

"I'll show you fear, you fuckface," I growled.

I raised my arm to strike again. A bright red light throbbed past my palm, sending a shockwave of chi at the Commander. He ducked, and a row of trees got blasted into smithereens. I could feel my heart pounding out of time with the rest of me; it felt wrong, but I never felt so alive.

"What kind of coward just ducks and hides like a worm?" I cried. "What kind of warrior only fights people who are weaker than he is? I can't believe I thought you were worse than my old man!"

Zhao just smirked. "You're shaking, Julie."

I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.

I gritted my teeth and tried to hold them still, but staying perfectly still was unbearable. It felt like every part of me was vibrating in place. I would shake apart if I didn't keep moving, didn't keep fighting.

What was wrong with me? I was strong. I should have been able to keep my hands steady.

"You say you're not afraid of me, but look at you," he sneered. "You say you want to take my life, but all you do is cut down trees and mow the grass. You're not even really trying to kill me. You don't have it in you. You're too weak to draw blood."

My head was starting to throb. "Shut up..."

Zhao laughed. He walked up to me at an infuriatingly slow pace. I stood stock still and watched him, not daring to blink. I wouldn't have moved either if I could help it, but the asshole was right. I was shaking like an incontinent chihuahua during a thunderstorm. The fact that I was so shaky fanned the flames of my rage. That single emotion caused my power to surge, making my temples pulse from the energy.

I couldn't see myself until Zhao was standing right in front of me. I looked into his eyes and saw my own reflection. My eyes were glowing red.

I was a monster.

"Weakling," he whispered. "It's time to die."

Was that really me? That horrible creature with the crimson eyes? That was..._me_?

Zhao lit up a flame. I tried to flinch away, but my body wasn't listening to me anymore. There was too much power inside of me. I had to get rid of it somehow, and soon; but my muscles were stiff from fear. My mind was still reeling at what I was so close to becoming. I felt the Unagi's anger, my terror and exhaustion, and felt my mind sliding down a dark chasm. I was losing myself again, and it scared me just how easy it would be to succomb.

Suddenly, something flew through the air and smacked Zhao right upside the head. There was a sickening _thunk_ that brought me back to my senses, if only for a moment. My eyes followed the object as it rebounded off the side of Zhao's skull and landed in the dirt. It was a boomerang.

There was a cold metallic sound of a pair of swords leaving their sheath. Zhao shot a fire blast to the side, and a man in a blue mask skirted the flames. He deflected the stray embers with the side of his blades, standing toe-to-toe with the Commander.

Zuko.

"Yaaaaaaaah!" Sokka screamed, running in with his club.

Zhao ducked under Zuko's swords and shot fire at the Water Tribe warrior. Sokka rolled out of the way, snatching up his boomerang and chucking it again. Zuko ran to engage Zhao again, only to have the boomerang smack him in the back of the head.

I winced. Ouch.

"Hey! Watch where you're throwing that thing!"

Sokka looked annoyed. "You keep getting in the way! I can't get a clear shot at him!"

Something was wrong with my heart. It had skipped a beat when I saw Zuko, but now it was racing. The Unagi's spirit energy was twisting my limbs and making everything hurt. I was holding it in now, scared that I would end up hurting one of my friends. Pain crippled me, making it hard for me to breathe. _Weakling. Weakling. Get up and finished what you started, girl_.

I couldn't believe it. The Unagi still wanted to tear Zhao's throat out, even now that I was the one in control...sort of.

_Get up...! Get up! UP!_

My Dad's voice echoed in the back of my mind. I could hear him yelling over the Unagi's voice, so loud that it made my eyes tear up. It was grating and disorienting. _Get your ass up! Get up! _

"Ugggh..."

_You want him dead as badly as I do...now, MOVE!_

I gagged. "Stop it, I...I can't think...!"

_Don't think. Fight!_

_I'll stop when I fucking feel like it!_

"Shut up!" I yelled, covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut. "Just shut up, all of you!"

A ball of energy exploded out of me, pushing me up into the air and destroying anything within a ten feet radius of my body. Zuko and Zhao were out of reach, but Sokka was standing on the edge of the sinkhole. He ended up falling in over the edge. I barely heard him hitting the ground, but I saw him blinking up at me with startled blue eyes. The sight of it made me feel sick again.

I thought I would have felt better by lashing out, but everything I did just got me more and more riled up. Nothing helped. I was getting angrier and more afraid by the second. Everything hurt. Everything _hurt _me...

"Make it stop..."

"Julie," Sokka muttered.

Zuko was standing there, staring at me. Zhao glanced at me quickly before turning back to Zuko and breathing through his nose. The sound alerted the Fire Prince a split second before fire swept across the space between him. Zuko dodged and slipped, twisting his body at the last second so that he was making to sweep Zhao's legs out from under him.

"Leave them alone!" I screamed.

Zhao stumbled over Zuko's foot, and my blast of energy slammed him into the ground. He grit his teeth and fought against my grip. I could feel him straining at me with his chakras, and I could almost taste the bite of his flames. He choked and snarled like a chained-up hog-monkey.

I pushed his energy back and felt him collapse under my force. He slumped over, out cold.

_Kill him._

"Julie, stop!" Sokka yelled. "It's over! You're going to kill him!"

_Let it happen. He tried to slaughter you and your friends. He's an animal._

"Julie!"

"Be quiet!" I snapped.

The Water Tribe Warrior let out a yelp as the light surrounding me expanded, pushing him deeper into the crater.

"Julie, stop it!" Katara screamed. I didn't even realize she was here until now. Her voice made me aware of her chi coming from where Appa lay tied up at the far end of the field. I could sense fear and desperation. I could feel her reaching for her water skin. "You're hurting him!"

She wanted to fight me?

_Then fight back._

"No..." I groaned. "I...I can't...stop...!"

"Yes, you can," Sokka bellowed. "You can do it! You have to try! I...I think I can feel my lungs touching my spleen!"

A pair of hands caught my wrists from behind in a firm grip. I gasped, my body going rigid.

"Julie," Zuko whispered urgently in my ear. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. Just breathe."

I swallowed heavily. "Zuko, let go of me. Please...!"

He pulled me closer. I could feel his heartbeat. It was like it was just the two of us, back at the ship. As though we were meditating together, just like we had been doing every morning since I had woken up from the Agni Kai. And I was feeling the constant pulse, the one I thought I had been imagining all this time. Zuko's heartbeat, right next to mine. I could feel myself relaxing, if only marginally.

"I'm not letting go. I'm taking you back with me."

"I...I'm scared..."

My voice cracked. I hated myself for it.

"Just let go, Julie," he said, his voice quiet but firm. "I know you can do it. You did it once before. Remember?"

"W...what?"

"That day when you were making me Firebend? Remember? You were Energybending my chi, and I nearly burned down the meditation chamber? And then you started to let go of my chakras, one by one. I know you remember. Think. _Breathe_...!"

I didn't realize I was holding my breath. Tears were sliding down my cheeks. Hastily, I drew in a breath and coughed on a sob I had trapped inside of me.

"It's inside of me," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. "The...the Unagi, it...it won't let me...I can't stop...!"

"Julie-!"

"I'm going to hurt someone! Let go of me!"

I felt something explode inside of me, something fragile and necessary.

Zuko screamed.

I looked down at my wrists and saw the crimson glow hovering around me like an aura, stinging his palms. Panicked, I tried to push him back, away from me; but his fingers tightened like vices around my wrists. At first, I thought it was an involuntary reaction. I started struggling like a squirrel trapped in a net. But I heard him bite back his scream and snarl under his breath, jerking me closer.

"Let me go!"

"No. You let go...! You're stronger than this!"

_Weakling._

I flinched. The Unagi's chi coarsed through my body, double-time. Zuko hissed, but stubbornly tightened his grip.

_Remember what that man almost did. Remember how many times he tried to hurt and kill you._

"I hate him...!" I growled, tears marring my voice. "I hate him...! He can't stay alive, he...he'll just hurt us again!"

"No," said Zuko. "He won't...! I won't let him!"

_Lies. No one can protect you. No one wants to. We have to protect ourselves. No one will hurt us ever again._

Oh, God. I was out of control. I was going to really hurt Zuko if he kept this up.

But it was true. He couldn't protect me. No one could. I know now that the Unagi was preying on my insecurities, but at the time all I could think about was the means to put an end to this. I had those means, now. All it took was a single push, and Zhao would be...he would be...gone forever. He would never hurt me again. And he'd never bother Zuko, either. But mostly, I'd be safe.

Safe.

I stared at Zhao, but his face kept blurring. It was almost like staring at my father after he had passed out from drinking. I could almost see the bastard slumped over the side of his La-Z-Boy, drooling into the cushion with an empty scotch bottle in his hands. But I blinked, and it was Zhao again. Zhao, my father, Zhao...my head was pounding as fast as my heart.

I could hear Dad's voice in my head. _You're too weak to do it. You're nothing but a sniveling brat._

"Julie, please," Zuko muttered. "This isn't you. You don't have to do this."

"You...you're wrong...! I'm a monster, now...a weapon..."

_Yes..._

My power surged. Zuko's hands spasmed, clenching and almost unclenching enough for me to push him off. But he tightened his focus at the last moment, holding me in a death grip. He threw his head back and screamed in my ear.

"_Julie...!_"

* * *

Stately and calm, Avatar Roku regarded Aang from across the infinite expanse. The blue dragon continued to fly around them in a circle, slowly, looking from one Avatar to the other. The monk felt suddenly very shy; the differences between them were glaringly apparent, from the clothes he wore to the way he carried himself. Roku was a picture of maturity, wisdom, and strength.

He, Aang, was just a kid. Sure, he knew how to tame a penguin and ride some giant koi fish, but what had he accomplished in his time as the Avatar? Nothing.

"As you might have guessed," said Roku. "This is a very abnormal situation, Aang."

The Airbender looked at him, trying to act more self-assured than he was actually feeling. Needless to say, he failed miserably.

"You were the Avatar before me?"

"That is correct."

"So...you're the one who's supposed to help me. The one who's meant to teach me how to _be _the Avatar."

Roku nodded. "Yes...under normal circumstances, that would be true. But the challenges facing you are not an ordinary conflict between the four nations...or even between the human world and the spirit world." He moved closer so that they were within an arm's reach of one another. "What threatens you now is something far greater and more complicated than even I can imagine. And I am afraid I might not be...qualified to mentor you against such a foe."

Aang slumped over. "You're kidding me. I thought things were bad when I had to face the Fire Lord...! What can be worse than a fire-breathing dictator trying to take over the world?"

"The danger that lies before you is not of this world, Aang...but another one."

"Another...world?"

"Yes."

Aang frowned to himself. "A danger...from another...world...hey!" His head shot up. "Julie! She said she was from another world! Is that the world you were talking about?"

"There are many worlds," Roku explained. "Our world and the universe Julie was born in are merely different aspects of a planet...one that exists across many planes of time and space. To put it simply, there are an infinite number of these space-times...and therefore, answering your question is something I cannot do. However, the fact that Julie was brought here at all...the fact that she appeared around the same time and place where you were resurrected from the iceberg...and the fact that she has formed such close ties with both friends and enemies of yours...none of those are coincidences. Whatever is happening to _our_ world, here and now, Julie will play a major role in it."

"So...what _is _happening? What's the danger?"

Roku closed his eyes, looking very tired and very old. "It is not something anyone could have foreseen. I'm not entirely sure where to begin in my explanation. You see, Aang, there is a conflict brewing...an ancient war where even the Avatar is nothing more than a pai-sho tile on an invisible board. I cannot tell you how it began outside our world, but I _can _say with certainty that the real trouble for us began during the time of our past-life, Avatar Yang-Chen."

"What happened? Tell me!"

"The days during Avatar Yang-Chen's era were relatively peaceful. However, there were a band of anti-bending fanatics who rose up to take power. They tried to turn the people against the Avatar by reminding them of a time before elemental bending had been discovered. Thousands of years ago...before there was even an Avatar."

"I didn't think there _was _a time before the Avatar," said Aang. "I kind of just thought that the Avatar had been around since...well...the beginning of everything."

"I thought so, too. But in light of recent events I have consulted with our past lives and, upon reconnecting with Avatar Yang-Chen, learned that this wasn't the case. Apparently there is a time in our world where there was no Avatar...and no bending. A time when people were completely unconnected with the spirit world...and barely understood the nature of the chi that flowed through their bodies. Eventually, though, the manipulation of chi was honed, giving birth to the first benders..."

"Energybenders?"

"Precisely."

"And...Julie is an Energybender. A really strong Energybender...who can't control her own power. If she's from another world, how is it that she can do these things?"

"I do not know. Julie is a stranger to me, and the extent of her potential is something I have yet to determine. But I _do _happen to know of another Energybender...one who looks exactly like Julie. One who lived during Avatar Yang-Chen's time...and one who served the very same anti-bending cult that Avatar Yang-Chen had to fight. Her name was..."

"_AANG...!_"

Both Avatars jumped, startled by the sudden intruder. A bright green light appeared in the circle formed by Roku's dragon, taking the shape of a girl. Aang squinted into the light as Roku lowered the sleeve shielding his eyes. They both froze in surprise.

"Ayla!" said Aang.

"Yes," Roku replied, looking significantly at the monk. "That Energybender's name was...Ayla. And if I am not mistaken, this is her now."

The light dimmed, and a girl wearing a red kimono stood before them. Aang hadn't gotten a good look at her back at the Southern Air Temple, but seeing Ayla now made him realize why Sokka had been so eager to help her. She was really pretty. Her hair was much longer than Julie's and somewhat more brownish than the drastic shade of red in Julie's hair, but the faces were identical. She opened her eyes and stared into Aang's face, and if it weren't for the decidedly non-hostile demeanor about her, he could have sworn that it really was Julie who had suddenly appeared.

"_Aang, you have to come quickly! You have to help! Something bad...I can't...Julie shut me out, and I can't get back to her! She's in trouble, I just know it!"_

"You..._know _Julie?" said the monk slowly. "Wait, what's going on here? How do you know Julie? And what are you doing here? Did Roku bring you here?"

Ayla's lips pressed themselves into a fine, frustrated line. "_Julie and I are friends," _she said impatiently._ "After you freed me...we...well...sort of meshed together. Kind of like how I was living inside you for those few minutes back at the Air Temple, remember? Julie's power just pulled me into her, and I've been sort of bound to her ever since. Now, will you _help _me, already? She's hurt and afraid..._"

Aang's face turned downcast. "I know."

Roku turned to his disciple. "As I was about to explain to you, Aang...it is my belief that there are no coincidences. Everything is connected...in _all _of the worlds, we are all connected. And given everything that has happened, I've been led to believe that Julie and Ayla are more closely associated than most people are to one another. Perhaps they are even..."

Ayla's eyes widened. Hastily, she lunged forwards and grabbed Aang by the scruff of his shirt.

"_Come on! We have to go...now!"_

A bright green light consumed them both before Roku could finish his sentence. When it dimmed, they were gone.

* * *

Katara was frozen.

In the span of a single evening, her entire perception on this war had been completely turned around. In a matter of minutes, enemies had turned into unexpected allies, and someone she thought was on her side was now about to kill Sokka to get to Zhao. It was completely unreal. She didn't know what to do or think anymore. She wanted to help Sokka and join the fight, but someone had to protect the little ones. If Julie's powers continued to run amok, she had to be ready to get these innocents out of range of her wrath.

Besides, Aang was so cold...and so lifeless. And Kuba was barely conscious. Sometimes, the boy would stir at the sound of Julie's voice. He grimaced in extreme pain, despite the medicinal salve she had put on his wounds. Katara had to admit it was an ugly burn...but she wasn't an expert healer. She couldn't tell if he would die from it or not.

"Sokka..." she breathed, watching the red light that encompassed Julie's chi pushing her brother down, smothering him. Frantically, she looked down at the Avatar lying still in her arms. "Come on, Aang. Wake up...! We need you! _I _need you...! Please!"

Zuko's scream cut across the clearing, jarring Katara's focus. She looked up and saw the masked man holding on to her wrists, holding her still so she couldn't hurt anyone. Julie's eyes were wild and confused...angry and afraid. She looked increasingly desperate to free herself as Zuko's pain worsened. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Why won't you let me kill him?" she snarled. "That bastard deserves to die! He...he hurt Kuba and burned down the village! He tried to kill you and Aang and...and he followed me here...! This is my fault! I have to end this!"

Katara let out the breath she was holding. _She blames herself? _

Zuko didn't reply. His breathing was labored as he struggled to keep a steady grip on Julie's arms. He held her body close to his even as she clawed to be free. The mask was hanging at an odd angle on his face, but it still hid his true identity from Sokka, who stared incredulously at the two of them.

"I have to do it! Do you think I'm too weak to kill an enemy?" Julie screamed.

Why wasn't he letting go? The energy she was pumping from her body couldn't have been anything but excruciating to him. The black gloves he was wearing were shredded up, and Katara thought she could see blood oozing from those cuts. This was _hurting _him...he was torturing himself to keep Julie from hurting anyone. But why would he go through all the trouble? He was Fire Nation...and he was hunting Aang. He was a terrible person...wasn't he?

_Even bad people can care about other people...not all of them, but...Zuko can, at least._

"He needs help," she whispered. "Aang...!"

The arrow tattoos on his forehead started to glow; but instead of the soft blue she had been anticipating, Katara saw them glowing green. Aang groaned, his eyelids flickering. She gasped and held him closer, leaning over him.

"Aang? Aang!"

The light faded, and Aang opened his eyes all the way. "Katara? What...? Where's Avatar Roku?"

She blinked. "Who?"

"Avatar Roku! He was just telling me...wait, what's happening?"

Aang forced himself into a sitting position. His eyes went wide as he saw Julie brimming over with untamed spirit energy, the Unagi almost placid in her rigid control and ready to disembowel a lifeless Zhao with a pair of translucent fangs. But someone was holding her back...someone in a blue mask.

"The Blue Spirit," he said quietly.

Katara grabbed Aang. "He needs help! He stopped Julie from attacking Zhao...if she had kept going, Sokka would have...he'd be..."

The monk jumped. "Where _is _Sokka?"

A strangled yell seized their attention. It was then that Aang saw the Water Tribe blue lying in the bottom of the chasm created by the overwhelming spiritual pressure. It looked as though he were struggling to free himself, clawing at the sides of the hole; but the red light kept eroding the walls, leaving nothing but crumbs of dirt in his groping fingers. His eyes were wide and desperate.

The Blue Spirit tightened his grip on Julie, even though the effort was clearly draining him. Aang realized that it was hurting him to keep a hold of her.

"She'll kill both of them to get to Zhao," Katara cried. "We have to do something."

"She's scared," said Aang, his eyes growing round. "It's too much power for her. She doesn't know what to do with it, and the Unagi is messing with her head..."

"So, we just need to get her attention," she replied, uncorking her water skin. "Come on!"

They handed Appa's reigns over to Merle and slid off the saddle. Katara pulled the water from the sack using her bending, biting her lip as she tried to focus on moving it. _Just like in the woods_, she thought. _Imagine that you're up against those soldiers again. _

She launched the water at Julie. It snaked around her ankles, freezing the girl's feet to the ground. The impact forced the Blue Spirit to let go, knocking him backwards and into the ground. Julie gasped and started struggling as soon as she realized what was happening. But the ice refused to yield. The projected form of the Unagi twisted in the air as she tried to wrench her body free.

"Let me...go...!"

Her power, suddenly unfocused, weakened in the general direction of the hole. Instead, Julie was unconsciously directing it down at her feet. Katara was struggling to keep the ice frozen with her bending. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead and her hands shook from the effort. The ice started dripping, liquifying from the heat and pressure.

"Aang, hurry!"

The monk flew into the crater and grabbed Sokka. The older boy yelped in pain.

"Ow! Hey, easy!"

"Sorry," said Aang quickly. "Can you move?"

"N...not much..." he grunted. "It's like...she took my energy somehow..."

The Airbender hoisted Sokka up by the armpits, something that was difficult given how heavy he was and the fact that he was completely incapable of supporting his own weight. Aang drew in a deep breath and gusted them up and out of the hole.

It wasn't a soft landing.

"Auuggh..." Sokka groaned, collapsing into the dirt. Aang lay beside him, grimacing at their impact. "That...wasn't...gentle...!"

"Sorry!"

There was a loud crack as the ice suddenly shattered. Katara let out a sharp cry and staggered back.

Julie's head fell back, the energy swirling around her in a vortex. Perhaps if it had been her own power, she might have been able to reign herself in...or made a better attempt at it. It had been too much when it was just the Unagi's chi she had been forced to bend. Now, she had managed to accumulate the chi from everyone in the clearing; from Sokka, the defeated Zhao, and even from Katara.

The Waterbender darted back, running to Aang and Sokka and turning to stare at the redhead with wide eyes. The Blue Spirit started stirring on the ground, sitting up slowly and clutching his head. Then, as though suddenly remembering himself, his head snapped up. It was very telling that even though he was wearing a mask, he had to shield his eyes. The wind and light were both intense.

"I've never seen anything like this..." said Katara weakly. "Everything we do just makes her stronger...! How do we stop her?"

Aang's face suddenly turned to stone. He pushed Sokka into Katara's arms and stood up, walking back towards the crater.

"Julie!"

She didn't respond to him. Her face was twisted with several emotions, and Aang could see she was utterly lost to her own power. Just like he had been back at the Southern Air Temple. He may not have been able to remember the details about that incident, but he remembered enough to know that it was Katara who had brought him back. She had reminded him who he was...and that he wasn't alone.

"I know you're in there!" he yelled. "And I know you're scared...and angry! Zhao must have really hurt you during that Agni Kai...and when he came to find you again, it made you feel helpless and afraid!"

He paused for a few seconds.

"I know it did..." he said firmly. "You were so defensive before, and you were determined to do things on your own. You didn't want to rely on anyone else because you thought it would make you weak. But...I was feeling the same way; helpless and afraid. I'm the Avatar, but I don't even know the first thing about doing my job. And all this time I've been running away from my responsibilities. It wasn't your fault that Zhao came and invaded Kyoshi Island; it was _my _fault for not stopping him. _I'm _the weak one...not you."

Julie regarded Aang with wide, glowing eyes. She seemed startled...or confused.

"We both need to take responsibility for our powers," he explained. "But that doesn't mean we have to do it alone. You're _not _alone anymore, Julie! We're a team now...a family. We can figure this out together, no matter how hopeless everything seems...!"

Tears filled her eyes. "Do you really think it's that simple? That all I have to do is just...just believe in everyone and all of this will _stop?_ I can't even stop myself! Deep down inside, this is who I am! A freaking monster! And...and I _want _Zhao to die! What kind of normal person _feels _these things? I'm angry all the freaking time, and I don't know how to make it go away!"

The wind blasted through the area, but Aang didn't flinch.

"You're wrong. This isn't you. You _aren't _a monster. You're just really, really confused. You've been hurt so many times that you don't know how to feel anything _but _angry. But that doesn't mean other feelings aren't there inside of you, too! Look deep in your heart! You'll find them! Happiness...sadness...love and hate...you can't feel one without the other. Just look!"

The ground cracked as the energy surged again and again.

"Love...?"

"It's there! Just think; what do you love, Julie? What makes you happy? The answers are there!"

She took several deep breaths, closing her eyes. "I...I love the beach. Not the water, but...the beach. The sand...the sound of the waves...and the sunset bleeding colors into the sky. It's so clear to me, but...I know it's just a dream. I've never been there in my entire life."

Aang blinked. "The beach?"

"The sand is almost white, and it feels so smooth under your feet," she continued. "And you can smell salt in the air...the right kind, the one that doesn't make your nostrils sting. It's soothing. And...there's always someone standing next to me, but I...I can never remember their face. I used to dream about it a lot as a kid...but I haven't thought about it in a long time."

The wind started to ebb.

"But...it isn't real. I've only known one place in my entire life...a city. A network of gutters and dark grey concrete. And rats. And it would get so cold during the winter because that bastard never pays the utility bills on time..."

"Your father?" Aang asked.

The air seemed to throb as Julie's eyes widened again. Her self-induced reverie seemed to evaporate on the spot, leaving nothing but hardness in her face and solid walls around her heart. She glared down at him.

"Shut up! You don't know him! And you don't know me!" she snarled. "There is _nothing _wrong with my family, okay? So, my Dad was selfish and stupid! So, what? EVERYONE is stupid! And humanity is nothing but a plague of selfish, squirming vermin!"

Aang's eyes widened. "Julie, that's the Unagi talking. Don't let it talk for you!"

"Don't _tell _me what to _do...!_ Stop freaking telling me what to do!"

The tumult was getting worse and worse as Julie's anger peaked. The Blue Spirit was suddenly on his feet, grabbing Aang by the shoulders and pulling him back several feet. The ground crumbled away where he had been standing moments ago. He tried to push the monk away all together, but he refused to budge from his new spot. He took a firm stance and turned to face the redhead again.

As if uncertain as to what to do, the Blue Spirit stood at his side, looking up at Julie and not saying a word.

"He didn't just forget about things," Aang insisted, refusing to back down. "Julie, he _hurt _you! He would hit you and say these terrible things to you! He abused you...!"

The man in the blue mask gave a tiny start.

Julie froze. "How...how do you _know _about that?" Her eyes were quickly becoming wild. "Who told you? Who freaking told you?"

He swallowed heavily. "I saw it...in your mind. I don't know how or why, but it's like that night you appeared in my dream. We have some sort of connection, I think. And I could see and hear everything. I could feel just how scared and hurt you were by it. That pain and anger is just sitting inside of you, festering..." he paused, noticing the shattered expression on her face. "I know you feel like taking it out on someone, but doing so, even on someone who might deserve it, like Zhao...that won't solve anything. It won't make you feel better. And it won't erase what happened to you. You'll just end up becoming like your father!"

She reeled back, as if the words had been an accusation with a point barb attached. She curled up on herself, as though she suddenly realized just how small she was in comparison with the massive serpent coiling and uncoiling around her. The energy that had been churning in and around her was expelled from her body in a single instant, engulfing the clearing in a pure, untainted light. Sound had been completely snuffed out in the wake of the explosion. It pushed everyone to their knees.

When the light cleared, Julie was on her knees in the middle of the crater she had made. Her eyes were suddenly vacant, her body eerily vegetative and slack. As though someone had pulled the plug, all the color drained out of her. She was ashen and whiter than a corpse as she collapsed quietly on herself. She didn't move.

The Blue Spirit forced himself back up. He scrambled to Julie's fallen form and grabbed a hold of her, pulling her back into his side. He started searching for a pulse; and when he couldn't find one from the vein in her wrist, he became desperate and felt for her jugular in her neck. He waited a few seconds before his face turned pale under the mask.

"Her heart stopped...!"

Aang rushed to his side. "Julie! Julie, wake up!"

The field was eerily calm. Katara was supporting Sokka and watching from a safe distance, her eyes filled with fear.

"Move," the Blue Spirit growled, shoving the monk aside. "I have to get her heart to start beating again..."

He rolled Julie on to her back and started pushing down on her ribcage, trying to force her into responding. Again...and again...and again...but no matter how long he tried, Julie's heart was still and cold. Her face was starting to turn blue.

"Dammit, no...!" he cursed. "This isn't working! I'm losing her!"

He wasn't a medic; a professional wouldn't let themselves panic so quickly. It was clear that the Blue Spirit didn't really have the training for this sort of thing, in spite of all his fancy swordplay. What he needed was a healer, but the nearest one was back on his ship. If he brought Julie back into town, she'd just be killed by the villagers...and besides, by the time he got her there, she'd be...

"_Julie!_"

Aang and the Blue Spirit jumped at the voice, but neither moved from their places around the redhead. Suddenly, the glowing green silhouette of a girl appeared next to them. She turned and glanced for a moment at the two, her eyes moving from one face to the other. Gently, she placed her hands over the Blue Spirit's damaged ones, the ones that had been wounded trying to hold Julie earlier. She moved them over Julie's forehead and heart. Suddenly, there was a pulsing of soft green light.

She vanished in a decisive flare, while Julie's body became surrounded in a protective aura. The Blue Spirit could feel Julie's heart sputtering under his fingertips. Then, there was crushing force that crawled up his arms and made his head erupt in pain. He couldn't let go or scream as the light grew intense again.

Aang let out a startled yelp. Katara and Sokka ran forward (with some difficulty; the Water Tribe boy was just starting to get some feeling back into his legs). But they couldn't see anything until the light had faded.

Julie and the Blue Spirit were gone.

"What...? But...how?"

Sokka looked up, his face grim. "I don't know, but I don't think we have time to find out, either. Look in the trees!"

Now that the chaos had been brought to a halt, the glare of a number of torches appeared in the distance. It was easier to see given the now threadbare appearance of the forest. And Sokka knew enough about Kyoshi Warrior fighting tactics to know that they wouldn't be giving their position away like this. They typically relied on stealth and strategy.

"Fire Nation," said Katara softly. "They must have won the battle."

"Then we need to move," Sokka insisted. "Come on, Aang. Let's get Appa and get the hell out of here."

Aang looked reluctant, but the Waterbender put a hand on his arm. "We need to get Merle, Sanji, and Kuba to safety. I know you want to find out what happened to Julie, but...I...I don't know if its safe to follow her right now. Come on."

The monk sighed. "All right."

As quickly as they could, they cut the ropes around Appa's feet and fixed the saddle. The Fire Nation soldiers ran into the clearing just moments after Katara pulled Sokka onto the sky bison's back. Aang gave them a fleeting glance before snapping the reigns.

"Appa, yip, yip!"

With a roar, the massive beast jumped into the air, soaring over the trees and disappearing into the sky. After everything that had happened to them today, it was laughably easy to dodge the fireballs they shot into the sky. They weren't even that well aimed.

At least something was simple.

"Julie..." Kuba hissed, trying to turn on to his side. But Katara gently pushed him back down and said nothing. Her eyes were filled with tears.

* * *

**A/N: If you're confused about what the hell just happened, don't worry. Aang and the others are just as clueless. **

**Julie's power was being perpetually fueled by the chi's of the people around her, and that power got channeled into a huge temper-tantrum. But are we surprised? Julie herself has admitted that it is in her nature to take out her anger on the people around her; fortunately, Aang managed to get through to her in time to stop her from making a huge mistake. **

**Roku has revealed quite a few things about Ayla's origins as well. Too bad he couldn't give Aang his full message before Ayla dragged him back to the clearing. What terrible timing. But what has become of Julie and Zuko? What's happening to Zuko's mind? Is this more of Ayla's handiwork? And just what happened to the Unagi now that Julie isn't in control of its spirit?**

**As for Suki, Mantis, and the rest, I assure you those questions will be answered in the next chapter. But this is the official end of the Kyoshi Island episode arch. I repeat, THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY. We're just headed into the next episode, that's all. And believe me, things are really steam-rolling from here on in.**

**Julie: "Liar! This took FOREVER!"**

**Please pay no attention to the crazy redhead in the corner. And REVIEW!**


	57. The Serpent's Oath

**A/N: I really am too sleepy to do much.**

**Why is it that rainy days are so...draining? I barely have any energy to do _anything _except lay around in my pj's, eating macaroons and watching Spongebob. I mean...come on. I am wasting my _life _with Spongebob reruns. **

**At least I got to update today. Although, honestly, I didn't want to leave the house to do it. It's pouring, my umbrella is a cheap piece of crap, and now I am drippy in every sense of the word. I'm not saying it isn't worth it, since I have such awesome reviewers and loyal readers. I just wish it were a bit sunnier...and less humid. STOOPID WEATHER!**

**I hope you enjoy this. While we're not quite on the "King of Omashu" just yet (since the Gaang have yet to even reach Omashu), we are making the transition into it here. I apologize ahead of time for any and all exposition you might read here. I tried to make it as epic and mind-blowing as the last chapter. I probably failed miserably. You guys _really_ screamed your guts out for Zuko.**

**Heh. You ain't seen _nuthin'_ yet.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty One: The Serpent's Oath**

It had been an hour since the fighting stopped. The village was eerily calm. Smoke was starting to clear out of the air, though the fresh breeze did little to disperse any dispair and loss the people felt. The houses were all in ruins, the wood crumbled into pieces, charred black from the flames.

The villagers were all clustered together in the center of town. The Fire Nation soldiers stood guard around them, their weapons at ready.

"Fire can be such a destructive element," said Mantis softly, playing with a golden Kyoshi Warrior headdress. "It can takes lives...homes...but opportunity can emerge from the ashes. It can create new beginnings."

At her feet were a discarded pair of fans. Bloodstained fans.

"People of Kyoshi," she called to the crowd. "It was a wise decision to surrender to the Fire Nation. Your good sense will not be forgotten...and in return for your compliance, we will spare the lives of the Kyoshi Warriors who bravely stood against us, their liberators...and yours. The false Avatar will make a mockery of your long-sacred traditions no more."

Oyagi was brought before them, held still by two soldiers. He looked angry and defiant.

"You won't swindle my people into obeying you," he yelled. "Kyoshi has stayed out of the war so far, and we intend to keep it that way!"

Mantis raised a single eyebrow.

"Yes," she said. "You have remained neutral towards the world around you, and how have the other nations repaid you? With similar treatment. What of the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes? Have they come to your aid? Are they now, as we speak, providing you with food and provisions? Are they helping to rebuild your homes? Will they be the ones giving you your lives back?"

"You were the ones who took them away!"

"You were the ones who assisted a fugitive," she replied. "We asked nicely for your cooperation, and you attacked us. Not that I blame the Kyoshi Warriors," she added. "After all, their first duty is to the village...and must follow the orders of the one commanding it. They were fighting on _your _orders, Oyagi. Therefore, it is only suitable that you take responsibility for this tragedy."

Mantis turned back to the villagers, deliving her killing blow.

"The Kyoshi Warriors are the pride of your village and the guardians of your long sacred traditions," she said. "And we do not intend to change things...except one." She smirked deviously. "Kyoshi Island is going to learn how to be a team player in the global community. And the girls will resume their duties to your village after performing acts of...community service. It is a light sentence considering all of the unnecessary casualties that occured today. Remember that, people of Kyoshi."

She turned her back on the murmuring crowd and started walking away, flanked by two higher ranking officers in Zhao's invasion fleet. They walked on either side of her, as though they were her guards despite the very blatant fact that she was a seasoned killer. She paused in front of Oyagi and glanced briefly at the men holding him. She smiled, as though it were a singing trophy bass they had in their hands rather than an old man.

"Bring the elder back to the ship. Make sure he's kept comfortable...and alive."

They saluted and dragged Oyagi away.

"What now, Lady Mantis?" asked the officer on her left. "We've secured the village...should we pursue the Avatar?"

"I believe that was Commander Zhao's mission," she replied docilely. "He should have the Airbender and his friends under his fist by now...unless he didn't listen to my advice. They may be children, but they have powerful spirits...and in time, they will prove to be more than capable opponents."

"Then, perhaps he will require backup," the other soldier suggested. "If they are as dangerous as you say, we should eliminate them now and not give them any opportunities to slip away or take the upper hand."

"Perhaps," Mantis assented. She seemed to think about this for a minute. "Very well. I will go into the woods to see if Commmander Zhao requires any assistance. I assure you, I will be the only help he needs," she added darkly. "Stay here and see to it that the village remains in our control. Make sure the people are kept as comfortable as we can allow...but tolerate no attempts at subterfuge or rebellion. Am I understood, Captain Hu?"

"Y...yes, my Lady. It will be as you wish."

She nodded before tossing the headdress aside and starting off towards the forest.

Now, there are times in one's life where things _don't _go according to plan. Even people who are used to getting their way, like Mantis, have to learn to live with disappointment every now and then. It is a necessary skill if one ever plans to deal with the source of said disappointment. And for Mantis, she was already well-acquainted with the source of her rare bouts of unpleasant surprises. Men. Usually, stupid men.

While it was true that the most unpleasant surprise of her life _wasn't _a man...it certainly came about _because _of a man. And Mantis would see to it that he got what he deserved one day. But first...

"What have we here...?"

She had come across something surprising. A small squadron of Fire Nation soldiers tending to their wounded.

"What happened?" she demanded. "Where is Commander Zhao?"

The soldiers all stopped what they were doing and stood at attention. Mantis walked along their ranks for a minute, scrutinizing the bedraggled combat veterens and the men helping them like a steakhouse manager eyeing a herd of plump cattle. Nothing she particularly wanted to hop in the sack with, but she wouldn't mind beheading a few of them. They looked very much like the floundering, incompetent type...as though they could cut their own heads off by accident.

She decided not to dismiss the idea as one of the men cleared his throat bravely and addressed her.

"He's in the next clearing, Lady Mantis."

"And has he apprehended the fugitives?"

The soldier hesitated, looking very nervous. "Um...regretably...he has not. The Avatar and his friends were last seen fleeing Northwest, towards the Earth Kingdom. They were riding the sky bison."

Mantis stared at him coldly. "Was Julie with them?"

The man looked as though he very much regretted having the balls to speak up.

"No one can say for certain, Lady Mantis. But it looks as though there was a huge fight before they left. The ground is all torn up, and Commander Zhao has been knocked out. He isn't responding to our healers...it's very strange."

The woman said nothing, calmly unsheathing her machete as she strode ahead into the clearing. The soldiers all tensed as she walked by, as if expecting her to cut their heads off for some reason. _Funny how paranoid a war will make you_, she thought venomously. _Maybe I should give them a real reason to be paranoid._

Sure enough, when she stepped through the trees her gaze was immediately drawn to the huge gaping hole in the ground. She narrowed her eyes as she moved towards the mouth of the crater; kneeling down and taking a few blades of grass in her fingers. She stared at them for a few seconds. They were shriveled and dead...as though the life had been sucked right out of them. The farther away from the hole she moved, the less wilted the grass was.

"An Energybender did this," said Mantis. "Probably Julie. Zhao must have really ticked her off."

Zhao had already been pulled away and was still under careful watch of the healers on duty. He was still unconscious.

"Lady Mantis," a messenger walked up to her. "We found something strange...it's back in the woods, nearer to the village. Perhaps you should...have a look?"

"It can't be more depressing than this little shitfest," she replied. "Fine. Lead me there."

It was a short walk. The man guiding her was very tense, yet ostensibly polite. He made the attempt at conversation for one purpose and one purpose only. He had heard dark rumors about what happened to unsuspecting young men who let Mantis become bored while alone in her presence. Mantis seemed annoyed by the unending prattling, and listened only because the messenger was smart enough to stay on a subject that actually interested her...namely, the reason she was being dragged out here in the middle of the woods.

"He isn't one of ours, my Lady," he said. "But, he _is _Fire Nation. And Commander Zhao wanted us to find the person responsible for helping the Avatar escape from the village. You remember the man who threw Fire Nation explosives at us?"

She scowled at him and said nothing.

"Well, when we found this guy, we thought it might be him. Here he is...there, tied to the tree!"

The messenger pointed and Mantis allowed her gaze to trail to the man bound to the trunk of a large oak. She looked him up and down and then heaved a heavy sigh. How irritating this all was.

"It isn't him," she said. "But I will deal with him personally, if you don't mind."

The messenger blinked, not understanding.

"How can you be so sure? You're not even going to ask him some questions, or..."

"I think I can find my own way back to town," Mantis added, shooting him a look that was lethally direct. "I certainly don't need you anymore...unless you feel like keeping me company in the middle of this dark...empty...forest. Where no one is likely to hear you scream for help."

The man choked on his spit. "I'll be...um...g...going now."

She watched with a dispassionate eye as the man stumbled away, too frazzled to even pick up his hat when a branch knocked it off his head. She shook her head slowly as she turned back to the tied up man. A big lumbering idiot, just like she had suspected; she should have realized that Chaang would turn out to be more trouble than he was worth. She already had more than enough clues to figure out what had left him so slack and lifeless. An Energybender that he had no business looking for, let alone fighting.

Her foot caught him between the legs, jarring him painfully back into consciousness. A scream tore its way past his parched throat, his eyes rolling open like a pair of possessed window shades.

"Good," said Mantis. "You're awake. Now explain."

"Ugggh...ughhh?"

With a sigh, she kicked him again. Harder this time.

"Julie," she said tiredly. "I know you found her. I know you went looking for her. Why?"

Chaang was gasping for air, his once-pale face now flushed and taut from grimacing. "Wasn't..." he wheezed. "Found her...by...by accident..."

"Liar."

Again, her foot drove his testicles into his pelvis. The man's scream sounded like something that could erode the walls of his lungs. Perhaps that was what Mantis was going for. Either way, he'd be in no condition to rape anyone for years at the rate she was going. He'd be lucky if he would be able to piss straight...assuming he even survived this interrogation. And he was starting to doubt that. Mantis looked...angry.

"I am not a simpleton, Chaang. I know you deliberately disobeyed my orders. You thought you could get away with it. And now, thanks to your blundering, she's probably another step closer to learning how to use her bending. Well?"

"S...sorry...!"

"Spineless," she hissed. "Moron! Do you think I can afford to have that girl _master _Energybending? The last thing any of us needs is for Julie to live long enough to fulfill her destiny..." She shot Chaang a disgusted look. "Not that you'll be around to see it. Consider this a mercy killing."

"N...no! Please, I...I'm begging you...!"

She shook her head, drawing her machete. As the sun started to rise over the horizon, its rosy glow reflected off of the russet-stained blade. It looked twisted and evil in the morning light. Chaang stared at it, his breathing coming out in sharp, frightened gasps; his face alternating between a sweaty reddish hue and a sick yellowish oatmeal color.

"You've outlived your usefulness. I warned you, didn't I?"

And with that, the blade came down, cutting through Chaang's scream, and his throat, in one fell swoop.

* * *

It was cold and there was very little light.

Zuko shivered and unconsciously drew closer to the smaller person beside him. It felt like they were lying on marble that had been left out in a blizzard for two weeks, making her (he was pretty sure it was a girl) the warmest thing within arm's reach. Still on the edges of consciousness, he reached for her. But as soon as his fingertips touched her skin and felt the goosebumps there, he froze.

He cracked open his eyes. Squinting in the darkness, he could make out the shape of the girl lying next to him. His fingers trailed over the skin of her arm again as he inched closer...his hands were throbbing from the deep cuts in them, and his bones really ached, but he did it anyway. This person was...he knew who she was. This girl with the ridiculous cropped hair and the moon-peach skin...it was Julie. His heart sputtered at the realization.

She looked almost fragile there, barely breathing and her eyes closed. Zuko stared at her for a few seconds, trying to make sense out of this. But there were too many blanks in his mind, too many unknowns. And the memory of what had happened on Kyoshi Island, specifically right before he had blacked out, came in short bursts. It was like trying to follow the flickering light of a firefly.

The increasing chill in the air made his brain jump-start. _We're going to freeze to death_.

Moving slowly, he pulled Julie closer to him before sitting up. Even the most cautious of movements made his entire body groan in protest. He felt like an old, rusted over piece of metal that was expected to hold something very heavy. And it was only Julie's body he was trying to support, now. She was a petite little thing, in spite of all the hostility she carried inside of her. So small and so very, very cold and unprotected. She felt like a porcelain doll someone had left out in the snow.

Keeping her cradled against his chest, he tried to perform the breath of fire. He inhaled, feeling his lungs expand and trying to stir his body's natural energies, imagining them igniting in his diaphragm. But as he exhaled, all he felt was tired. No fire.

_I can't bend here_, he realized. _What is this place...?_

He looked down at Julie. Having no other options in mind, he pushed her bangs out of her eyes and tried to get her to wake up.

"Julie," he hissed. He glanced nervously around him. "Julie, come on...wake up!"

"_She won't wake_," a voice replied.

A green light exploded into existence mere feet away from them. Zuko jumped and shielded his eyes, curling protectively around Julie. She didn't stir as his grip tightened around her lithe frame. Her head bobbed lifelessly against his chest, as though it were a bouy on a restless ocean.

"_Don't be afraid,_" she said again as the light started to dim. "_I'm on your side._"

Zuko slowly dropped his arm, staring at the girl in front of him. His eyes widened. "J...Julie? But..." he looked back down at the girl in his arms, then back up at the smiling vision before him. "You're not Julie. Who are you?"

"_I'm a friend of Julie's,_" she replied. "_And I know who you are. You're Prince Zuko."_

He nodded, unconsciously pulling Julie closer to him. A protective gesture. He still wasn't sure who this person was, even if she claimed to be an ally. It made him uneasy to think that this person knew more about him than he knew about her. He wanted answers.

Zuko looked more closely at the glowing stranger. The resemblance between her and Julie was so striking they could have been twins. Only the hair and the clothes were different. He imagined that if he ever let Jee have his way and turn Julie into some doll-wife for an unsuspecting suitor, this would be what she'd look like. Yes, she was certainly pretty, this girl; but when Zuko stared at her it was Julie he imagined in those clothes. Her crazy red hair could stand to be a little longer...just long enough for the kind of hair-pin that the stranger was wearing now. That would look nice.

He shook his head, annoyed at having been momentarily distracted. "You still haven't told me who you are. And _where _we are."

The girl smiled. "_My name is Ayla. And this is...well...the Spirit World."_

Zuko frowned. "My Uncle Iroh's been to the Spirit World. He told me about it once...and it was nothing like this." Then, his eyes widened. "Wait...you said your name was _Ayla?_" As in, the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus's Ayla? "You're Ayla?"

_"Didn't I just say so?"_

He scowled, ignoring the jibe. "If you're Ayla, then you must know a lot about Energybenders, don't you?"

The girl hesitated. She turned part sideways and started playing with a strand of her hair, keeping her gaze on the snowflakes that had started to rain down from the empty gray sky. Zuko recognized that expression on Julie's face more than once whenever she was trying to hide something. Ayla bit her lip and shrugged.

_"I know what Julie knows,"_ she said after a long time. _"And if I remember anything else, it's from the time when I was alive and whole. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm barely even a spirit...if that's what I am. I can't really say for sure. Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter what I used to be. Right now, I'm a part of Julie...I live inside her and she talks to me sometimes." _She flashed a fleeting grin at him_. "But mostly she just tries to shut me out...especially when I tease her about that guy she likes."_

Zuko sensed that she was trying very hard to say only true things. He had to wonder if Ayla had purposefully slipped in the bit of gossip at the end to distract him. Not that he was even remotely interested in Julie's love-life. Well...not _especially _interested, anyway. No more than anyone else would be...and he was her friend now. That had to meant he had a right to be...more curious than some. Right?

But as _mildly interested _as he was (which actually encompassed a lot more interest than he was willing to acknowledge at this point), he forced himself to stay focused. He ignored the little barb stuck in his mind and kept his thoughts away from this supposed crush of Julie's. _Why would she think I'd care about _that, _anyway?_

"You've been a part of Julie," he said flatly. "For how long?"

Ayla frowned as she tried to remember. _"Um...a while, now, I think. After the Avatar freed me from the Southern Air Temple, I woke up inside of Julie. And I remember she was recovering from this duel thingy she had with some ape-man named Zhao. I think it was two weeks...maybe."_

Zuko's eyes widened. "The Avatar sent you to Julie? And you've been inside her this entire time?" Panic made him sit up pin straight. "Doing what?"

She looked at his decidedly paranoid expression and laughed. It was a quiet, refined giggle...nothing at all like Julie's laugh, which Zuko had heard seldom and usually at Shen-Long's expense. It made him uneasy. Someone wearing Julie's face shouldn't sound like that. It didn't feel right at all.

_"Nothing bad," _she told him. "_To be honest, Aang didn't really send me to Julie. She...well...dragged me there. I remember, once I wasn't bound to the temple anymore, I sensed a monstrous force pulling me away. And then I woke up and met Julie. She thought she was losing her mind when I started talking to her...tried really hard not to let anyone find out, either,_" she added, chuckling again. "_She didn't like me at all, then...but now we're friends."_

Friends.

Zuko shook his head, trying to keep his brain from swimming. All this time Julie had a person inside of her, talking to her? Teaching her how to bend? More importantly, she had a person inside her whose name was _Ayla_. Didn't she think it was _slightly important _to maybe mention it to him that the figurehead of the religious cult trying to capture her...was currently sitting inside her body?

He was going to _kill_ her. But first things first.

Ayla looked up at the sky, suddenly tensing. Zuko heard it, then...a long, angry snarl that shook him to the marrow. His eyes darted to the clouds and saw the serpentine shadow crawling through the massive stretch of gray. His eyes narrowed.

"The Unagi."

* * *

Chin Village, referred to by some as the "ass" of the Earth Kingdom, and "the worst village ever" by everyone else, had its good points. Granted, they were few and far in between, but that only made them more...um...noticable to the naked eye. And for the harried group of travelers perched on Appa's back, it was these very apparent perks that called them here.

"Get your fried Chin-cakes here!" a vendor called. "Deep fried Chin-cakes at only two copper apiece!"

No. It wasn't the gratuitious demolition of the fourth wall that called Team Avatar to the shores of Chin...if that was what you were thinking. Just because these so-called Chin-cakes happened to look like twinkies did not mean a giant penis-shaped cake wearing a cowboy hat was about to mosey into town and swing a lasso at people. Seriously, people.

"That's it, all right," said Merle, pointing down at the bakery they just flew over. "That's the bakery, so the inn should be close by. Our Uncle runs it...he's our Dad's twin brother, you know. And those cakes that guy is selling are a special recipe made by their sister, our Aunt Cui. See, she wanted to be a master..."

"Earthbender?" Kuba asked weakly.

Katara dabbed a moist cloth against the boy's forehead, ignoring the faces he made in an attempt to cool him down. He seemed to be doing a little better since the fight. He had regained consciousness a few hours ago, and after another change in bandages he was even able to sit up. Katara had to hand it to the kid. He sure was resilient for someone his age.

Merle looked at him. "Actually, I was going to say a master dessert chef. See, our Aunt Cui invented a new type of cream-filled cake that you fry like a donut. It's kind of weird...even though they boil them in oil, the cakes stay nice and soft. She sends them to Grandpa on our birthdays."

Kuba sighed. "Whatever."

Sokka nudged the boy's foot reassuringly. "Hey, I know you're still mad we left without Julie. But if you ask me, she seems like she can take care of herself. I mean, you should have seen what she almost did to Zhao. It was..."

"Terrifying," Katara interjected. Then, seeing the look on the boy's face, thought better of her reply. "So, it's a good thing Julie is on our side, isn't it?"

"I guess so," he assented. "But she can't really _do _anything. Not without help."

"Even so, Sokka's right. Julie is really strong. And we'll find her...just as soon as we rest up and get some supplies, we can head North."

"Why North?"

"Aang has to find a Waterbending teacher so he can master the four elements," the Water Tribe girl explained. "I'd teach him myself, but I'm only a beginner. So we have to head to the North Pole as soon as possible. We'll look for Julie while we're traveling."

Aang winced from his place on the saddle, as if all of this was just another uncomfortable reminder about what he was expected to do. Back in the clearing, he thought he had finally figured things out...not just about Julie, but about himself too. It had all seemed so clear to him at the time...about the meaning of power and responsibility. But he had never expected Julie to just _drop _like that...or for her heart to stop beating. Even if his words had done any good, they had come too late. Clearly, she had spent herself in her rampage, and now she could be...

He grimaced, forcing Appa to pick up his speed a little. He was always too late. He was always running away.

Kuba, oblivious to Aang's internal conflict, was busy thinking about what Katara had just said. "So...after we drop off Merle and Sanji at their Aunt and Uncle's house...your plan is to just keep going about your business and just hope you run into Julie on your way to the North Pole? Doesn't that sound kind of stupid? She could be _dead _for all we know! Or _worse_...a _hooker_...!"

Everyone stared at the boy for a good minute.

"Why do you keep bringing up hookers?" Aang finally wanted to know. As miserable as he was, he was having trouble tuning out the conversation. At this point it had become so unconventional that even he couldn't resist chiming in. "I mean...the monks were very tolerant about self-exploration and all, but that doesn't mean..."

"Don't you mean _self-expression_?"

"That too."

Long silence.

"Okay," Sokka sighed, stretching out on the saddle and bumping into Katara. She gave him an annoyed look. "I think I just learned a lot more about Air Nomad culture to last me a lifetime. No offense, Aang."

The Airbender just shrugged. Since he had woken up from the iceberg after a hundred-year nap, he was used to culture shock by now. It was actually a bit refreshing to see it on the opposite side for a change.

"I don't get why you guys are so uncomfortable. I mean, we were taught that it's important to acknowledge the body and its urges if we want to overcome them and achieve spiritual enlightenment. Besides, it's all natural. I'm just curious about why Kuba has hookers on the brain, is all."

"It's the most dangerous job I can think of," Kuba replied. "You know how many whores I've seen getting scraped out of dumpsters while I was a street kid? As far as I'm concerned, that's the fastest way Julie can get herself killed."

Sokka stared at him. "But...there's a homicidal fire-breathing naval commander out for her _blood_. You're saying she'd be in more danger if she just became a hooker?"

"Yup."

"Wow...you're pretty cynical for a six-year-old."

The Earthbender glared at Sokka. "I'm _nine_."

"Well, there _are _younger children on this bison, you know," Katara snapped, shoving her elbow into her brother's side. "Why don't we stop talking about prostitutes until they're asleep. Or, you know, not here." She looked out over the edge of the saddle, trying to hide the embarrassed flush in her face. "Look, I think we're here. Aang, you can probably land Appa in the town square. There should be enough room there."

Ten minutes of pointless and uneventful narration later, the Gaang had tracked down the inn that Merle had told them about. It was a quaint-looking building that was obviously a refurbished stable, but all of them were too polite to comment on the ostrich-horse smell. And those of them who _weren't _too polite were otherwise encumbered. In other words, Sokka was carrying Kuba on his back.

"Oh, my!" a woman at the check-inn counter exclaimed. "You all look like...well...like someone set you on fire...!"

"You're half right," Sokka replied. "We need a room and a healer, please."

"Aunt Cui!" Merle cried, running out from behind Katara (who was carrying a half-awake Sanji). "Kyoshi Island got burned down by the Fire Nation...!"

Seeing the two children made the kind-faced woman freeze in her tracks. She clutched a hand to her heart in surprise, sinking down into the nearest chair. She looked from one to the other, as though making sure they were actually there. When she had decided they weren't hallucinations, she slumped again.

"Oh, my..." she murmured.

* * *

The Unagi pierced the clouds like an arrow, screaming as it made an impossible twist in the air and streaked towards the ground. It was making a beeline for him and Julie. Zuko pushed the unconscious girl behind him and got into a defensive crouch, wishing to hell he was still able to firebend. He only had his Dao swords, but with his hands being in such poor shape, he could barely hold them.

Ayla didn't look as concerned as she should have been. While visibly nervous, she didn't act like someone who was in real physical danger. She squared her shoulders and followed the massive beast with her eyes as it circled closer and closer, like some kind of monstrous vulture-hawk. She lifted out a hand in Zuko's direction, silently beckoning him to rise from his stance. Puzzled, he obeyed.

"_It must be hard for you to talk to us in that form,_" Ayla commented. "_It takes so much of your energy to appear as something so intimidating..._"

The Unagi grumbled and vanished in a flicker of light. After a few seconds, it reformed into a decidedly more human shape. It still had a fin running down its back and arms, and it had to be about seven feet tall, but at least now Zuko could look it in the eyes without having to struggle with his fight or flight instincts. Though he had no idea if it was supposed to be male or female...not that it mattered.

"_She was too fragile,_" it said, looking directly at Julie. "_Only half an hour and she broke. Humans are so useless. And I didn't even get to kill that man...Zhao._"

"_Well, maybe you'll have better luck next time,_" Ayla replied.

The Unagi gnashed its teeth in a poorly surpressed bout of rage. "_What next time? That was my one shot at getting revenge! I don't have the power to return to the mortal realm, not even as a spirit! That stupid girl drained me of all my chi and left me to dry in this wasteland!" _It glared at Zuko and Julie with narrowed eyes. "_It was all your fault, you sordid little meat-sack! If it weren't for you and that Avatar, I'd have ripped Zhao to shreds...but I guess I could always settle for killing you and the Energybender. She doesn't seem to be in a fighting mood, does she?"_

Zuko reached for his swords, broken hands or no. "You're not going to touch her..." he said in a low voice. "Not again."

"_What Prince Zuko means is that killing Julie won't help you_," said the glowing spirit girl, hastily. She gave the exile a quick, stern look that told him to let her do all the talking. A look that said to trust her. Fat chance. "_You may not have the power to return to the mortal world on your own, but under the right conditions...you could have everything you need to take your revenge. But if you kill Julie, that all goes up in smoke._"

The serpent leered at her. "_Explain_."

Ayla smiled, a benign expression of a negotiator. "_The only way you can come back is to reincarnate, something that requires a lot more power than you have at your disposal. But if you had some help...if someone were to amplify your power for the short time it would take to make the transition into a new body...well, that would change everything, wouldn't it?_"

"_And why would your Julie want me back in your world?_" it demanded. "_I remember very well that the Avatar and his friends did everything in their power to stop me. You cannot possibly mean to become their enemy...unless you have your own motives._"

"_Julie will use her power to amplify your chi, but only after you use your remaining power to save her life. You can manage that much, at least...can't you?_"

The Unagi tossed its head. The inexplicable light radiating from Ayla's body reflected off of the numerous scales on its face, carving every detail of its expression in a hideous baas relief. Zuko couldn't remember looking at an uglier face.

"_And how do I know if you'll follow through with your end of the bargain?_" it demanded. _"How do I know you won't just flee the moment the girl's life-force is restored? Do I look like a fool to you...?_"

Ayla sighed. "_So, we'll use Julie as your supplicant. Her life will be the Seal in our contract...and will be forfeit in the event that she interferes in your revenge._"

Zuko's golden eyes flickered from the girl to the serpent in alarm. He may not understand the nature of supernatural negotiations, but he was saavy enough to realize what was happening. They were going to use Julie..._Julie_...as a personal stake. Ayla was willing to put Julie's life on the table...but why?

"What do you think you're _doing_...?" he exploded.

Ayla glanced at him, as though just remembering he was there. "_I know this looks bad, but trust me...this will work out just fine. Anyway, without the Unagi, Julie will die...probably within minutes. Like it or not, we need its power. And it needs Julie as badly as she needs it._"

Zuko stared at her in mounting horror. He was utterly speechless.

"_So, let me get this straight,_" said the Unagi slowly. "_I save the girl's life...and she will assist me in killing Zhao?"_

"_Not immediately. She'll need time to recover and train. In the mean time, it might behoove you to travel with Julie and look after her until she is ready to fight Zhao...and you already got a taste of her potential. Imagine the possibilities."_

The serpent smirked, something it was only able to do in this form that barely counted as anthropomorphic. The effect the presence of lips had on its overall charisma made Zuko, in comparison, feel like a spirit's gift to women everywhere. It was a hideous sight.

"_Very well. Bring me the girl."_

Zuko stood up, making to stand in between the Unagi and Julie. "You're not using her. I won't let you."

Ayla looked startled. "_But...but, Zuko! Julie will _die _if she stays like this much longer! Is that what you want? For Julie to die?"_

He glared at her. "I don't know what it is that you're really after, Ayla...but it's not worth this. Do you think it's _easy_ taking another person's life? Julie will be...scarred for life! She isn't a killer...and making her commit murder will drive her over the edge. She won't be able to handle it."

"_So, you are letting her die here? Letting her life be extinguished mercifully before the toils of life erode the delicate foundations of her mind?"_ the Unagi queried. "_Because she doesn't have much time left. Don't delude yourself into thinking that she'll recover. She won't_."

"I know that." Zuko took a deep breath. "I can't let her die...but I can't let her do this, either. She doesn't deserve this...and it isn't honorable to force this on her without her consent." He looked up at the Unagi with serious eyes. "So I'll be the one to kill Zhao. Place the burden on me...and if I fail, then my life will be the one that's taken."

There was a long silence.

"_Zuko..._" said Ayla, her voice muffled by awe and disbelief. "_This isn't your duty. And it isn't your destiny to die for Julie._"

"I know my destiny," he replied. "And I don't intend to die, either. I will help the Unagi fight and defeat Zhao...on one condition. It has to do everything in its power to protect Julie. If she gets seriously hurt...or dies...then the whole deal is off."

The Unagi stared at Zuko for a long time. "_You have a strong heart...and I think I can believe what you say. Very well. I will allow you to take the girl's place in this contract if you agree to take Zhao's life."_

"And you can't tell Julie," he added suddenly, realizing in an instant that this was not something she needed to know. He didn't want to think about what Julie might try to do if she realized what Zuko was doing. "About _any _of this. Understand?"

"_Agreed. Hold out your hand._"

Zuok hesitated for a few seconds, pausing to look down at Julie. She looked pale and wan on the ground. The snowflakes were starting to accumulate, clustering into a tiny bank of slush around her body. It made the vibrant color of her hair really stand out, like a fire moments before it burns itself out. She looked so frail and cold...

He remembered how it felt to have her arms around him, how it felt to hold her...the way her heart fluttered against his ribcage, like a moth's wings against a paper lantern. The way her eyes lit up when she was excited; the way her nose wrinkled when she scowled; the way her skin flushed whenever she got upset. The defiance and the stubbornness that made him want to pick her up and toss her overboard...and the reckless bravery that made her want to protect the people around her. He only knew her for a short time, but already he knew she wasn't like anyone else he had ever met.

He didn't want this to be the end. He still hadn't figured out who...or what she really was. And he was only now starting to suspect where she really came from. No way could he let the peasant die here. Not now.

Turning to the Unagi, Zuko stuck out his right hand. The glove was barely recognizable as a glove as it hung in tatters around his badly scarred fingers. His left hand was no better, and despite the fact that he could use both hands equally it was the right one he presented to the Unagi. The serpent stared at it for a long time, and it wasn't until it was too late to do anything that Zuko noticed the eerie blue blow surrounding it.

The glow spread to his entire body, and everything inside of him felt like they were being squeezed tight. He choked from the feeling, the creeping sensation of the icy hand around his heart. Already, he could sense his life in peril...every moment, this hand would be waiting for the cue to close its fingers around it and crush it in a frozen fist. Panic filled him.

Another blue glow surrounded Julie's body. Zuko's eyes flickered to her as her hands spasmed, clenching into fists. A sharp gasp tore its way from her throat.

And just like that, they vanished again.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," said Merle and Sanji's uncle. "You kids just escaped from the Fire Nation? And Kyoshi Island got taken over?"

The gaang had been settled into a private room of the inn. They were now seated on various chairs and sofas. The bed was occupied by Kuba, who's burn wound was being carefully inspected by the kids' aunt Cui. She kept making tsking sounds as she applied the healing poultice, holding the boy's shoulder so that he wouldn't squirm. Uncomfortable was an understatement to how he looked at the moment.

"That's pretty much the story," said Katara. She was sitting on the other side of the bed, watching Cui tend to Kuba. "We did our best to stop them, but..." she hesitated, looking pained by the memory.

"But they were too much for you," said Cui's brother, Daizo. He was a broad-shouldered man with a ruddy complexion. He folded his arms and fixed the Waterbender with a level stare. "That's understandable. Those were trained soldiers, honey. You and your friends did all you could. And it was damn good of you to bring us our niece and nephew here, safe and sound. Thank you."

"It was nothing," said Aang quietly, his gaze directed out the window.

No one said anything.

"Well, that should do it," said Cui, patting Kuba kindly on the head. "Just stay put, and that wound should heal itself up within a week. You're lucky it wasn't that serious of a burn."

"I can't stay here for a whole week," he snapped. "I'm going to go with Aang, Katara, and Sokka."

Their heads shot up in surprise. Aang was fixing Kuba with a searching look, but the boy stared back at him defiantly. He bit his lip and forced himself up into a sitting position, gripping the blankets with trembling fists.

"Back there, I got my butt kicked," he said. "Even you couldn't stop Zhao, and you're the Avatar. We both need to get stronger if we want to protect everyone. And I _want _to protect Julie. I'm sick and tired of being weak...! The only way I can do that is to master Earthbending. I'm going with you...to find myself an Earthbending teacher!"

Cui nearly dropped the tray she was holding. "The...Avatar?"

"That's right," said Sokka. "You know...master of all four elements? The guy who's going to beat up the Fire Lord and save the world?"

"Oh, _that _Avatar," Daizo sighed. "Look, kids, I know you mean well...but the Avatar's been gone for over a century. Sure, I admit it'd be great if the Avatar were to come back and save the day, but...this isn't the best place to go shooting your mouths off."

Katara frowned. "What do you mean? Aang helps people...and he really _is _the Avatar."

Cui and Daizo exchanged looks. The kids' aunt left the tray of medicines on the nearest flat surface and moved swiftly to make sure the window was shut and that the curtains were drawn. The man, on the other hand, stared at Aang for a long time. He started rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Nice tattoos. Still doesn't prove nothing...and to be honest, even if you could prove it...well...it's just not a good idea. People here aren't too fond of the Avatar."

"What?" said Aang, surprised. "Why?"

"You never heard the story of our village?" Daizo's eyes widened when he saw the perplexed looks on their faces. "You kids ain't never heard of Chin the Conqueror?"

There was a long silence.

"Something tells me we're going to be here a while," said Sokka dryly, sinking back into his chair. He couldn't have been more right if someone had permanently glued his butt to the seat...and then found a way to cement the chair to the floor...and then decided to cover all the windows and doors with bricks.

Or if someone decided to draw this out for another chapter. Just saying.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I get it. I need to pick up the pace, here. Sheesh, I was just kidding.**

**Anyway, a lot is brewing in the Southern Earth Kingdom. Mantis tightens her grip on Kyoshi Island and takes out her frustration over her lost prey on Chaang. Can't say he didn't deserve it. You have to admit, getting kicked in the balls repeatedly is a fitting punishment for a would-be rapist. In a weird way, justice has been served.**

**But then, is it ever justified to take someone's life? Zuko has to ponder this very question as he finds Julie's life on the line...again. By keeping her out of the Unagi's clutches, he forms a contract with the vengeful spirit...with his own life as the seal. If he doesn't follow through with his end of the bargain and kill Zhao, his own life will be forfeit. Julie sleeps on, unaware of the sacrifice Zuko just made on her behalf. **

**And he's not the only one looking to protect someone he cares about. Kuba makes the declaration to master Earthbending just as the Gaang is about to uncover the story of Chin the Conqueror. Just one season ahead of schedule. Not bad, huh? **

**How will they respond to the Anti-Avatar sentiment strangling the town? And how will this new contract with the Unagi change Zuko's destiny? And what's going to happen when Julie wakes up?**

**Wanna find out? REVIEW!**


	58. Nothing but Bad News

**A/N: My carpet is soggy.**

**So, remember the really humid weather I was bitching about last author's note? It turned into a full-on, practically apocalyptic lightning storm with so much rain that it could have carried away a baby elephant. Needless to say, I woke up extremely early due to the loud clashing of thunder (but more so due to the lamp I knocked off my nightstand when I heard the BOOM; it landed on my chest, and that thing is kind of heavy...so, yeah, it woke me up pretty quickly). As I staggered around for a light-switch, I ended up putting my bare foot down on something very wet and very squishy.**

**Me: "Waaaait...why is my carpet soggy?" (a few moments of sluggish brain action later) "...fuuuuuuck."**

**In other news, w****e're celebrating my Dad's birthday (you remember, one of the parental bots responsible for kicking my ass to the curb last year?) on Labor Day, and it should be fun considering that my stepmother actually knows how to cook. And in spite of his many quirks (besides the whole "kicking me out of the house" thing, I mean) my Dad can actually be downright sociable...just so long as you don't get him started on his traditional "Dad Rants." He has a special one about how anime is evil and should be annihilated from the face of the planet through the usage of tactical nukes.**

**I'm not kidding. Tactical nukes. **

**And once you get him started on his rant, he'll start referencing that one really creepy anime as his prime example as to why anime needs to die, and die immediately. But, I'm sorry; "Rape Man" isn't exactly the norm for most anime. To base his entire argument around one fucked-up-the-ass show about a guy who saves young women by _raping _them is...well...kind of stupid. Hell, the most frequent offense seen in anime are a bunch of large-breasted pre-teens forgetting to wear bras. I guarantee you that you'll see a lot worse shit on reality TV. Anyone here used to watch "The Simple Life" or "The Hills?" Talk about a generation going straight down the toilet...**

**Go on, then, anime-haters. Rant at me about the big eyes and cheap, repetitive animation-style (what, you think making an animated series is _free? _Of course the animator is going to look to save money whenever he or she can! You'd be a really stupid business person not to). Vomit abuse towards the numerous clichés and the pointless gore and cleavage (many of which are _just as_ prevalent in American films and animations, if not more). And when you're done, go plop yourself on the nearest sofa and go watch "Jackass," and see if you can call yourself a true connoisseur of televistic art.**

**(Disclaimer: No, seriously; go watch Jackass. It's low-brow, but highly amusing!)**

**Ahem. But I digress...and a lot more than usual, it seems. In any case, I just hope you enjoy the chapter, in spite of how long it took for me to update it. I think you'll understand given the ridiculous amount of stuff going on in my life right now.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Two: Nothing but Bad News**

Zuko was completely enveloped in light. He drew in a startled breath, but the air felt like ice in his lungs.

"_Relax,_" said Ayla, who was suddenly right next to him. The Fire Prince snapped his head to the right to stare at her, the pupils of his eyes constricted with anxiety. "_Your body is going to have to adjust to your new...condition. It might take a while._"

He barely managed to part his lips to whisper, "...Condition...?"

She nodded solemnly. Her soft, gentle eyes were troubled as she turned her face away. It was like she couldn't bring herself to stare at him anymore. As though guilt had grabbed her by the chin and twisted her head to the side.

"_I didn't mean for this to happen,_" she murmured. "_You weren't supposed to interfere...and now your life is going to constantly be in jeopardy. I'm so, so sorry..."_

Zuko wanted to ask what was happening to him. But all he could do was spasm uselessly as he felt that same cold presence slamming into his chest...as though a pair of icy hands were ripping him wide open and caressing his organs. He threw his head back and tried to scream, only to realize that he couldn't breathe. He could barely move. The Dao swords had slipped from his broken hands and clattered soundlessly against the stone floor.

His head was locked into place as his wild eyes found what they frantically sought. Julie's body was pulsing a crimson light as the Unagi's spirit coiled around her. The girl seemed awake, her face blank with shock. Her chest rose and fell unevenly as frightened gasps escaped her.

Their gazes met. Zuko felt the cold slam into him again. This time, a scream tore its way out of his lungs.

Something inside of him was changing. Like an invisible sculptor with uncaring, calloused hands were shaping his insides into a new, convoluted mess. It felt so jarringly wrong; his heart felt sluggish and cold, struggling futilely to resume beating. He squirmed against this force, trying to make it stop; trying to force it out of his body. It was all he could do to stay conscious. Spirits...why couldn't he just black out? What was the point of all this agony?

"_It is your mission to take the life of Commander Zhao,_" said Ayla, as though answering his question. Zuko couldn't even turn his head to look at her again. His eyes were locked on Julie, who was staring sightlessly at him. "_You must put your best effort at this, Prince Zuko. For every day that passes that you don't take decisive action against Zhao...that you don't make plans to eliminate him or train to kill him...for every day you do nothing, you will grow weaker until you die. Do you understand?_"

Julie couldn't see or hear him. Zuko wondered what she was staring at. Was she trapped inside a nightmare of her own?

"_I said do you understand?_" Ayla repeated, placing both hands on Zuko's shoulders. "_You must kill Zhao. If you don't, he'll come back to hurt Julie...he'll try to kill her and steal the Avatar from you. You two are the only people that stand in his way, and he will stop at nothing to eliminate you. End him before he ends you._"

"I...I will..." he gasped.

"_And this is especially important,_" she added, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "_You must never, under any circumstances, go back on this vow. To do so will break the Seal of this contract, and your life will end._"

With every ounce of concentrated effort in his body, Zuko nodded. Teeth clenched, eyes set and determined, he agreed. Zhao was his enemy now...perhaps had always been his enemy. He knew that deep down inside, knew that the time would come when he would have to make a stand against his father's favorite naval officer. This whole mess with Julie and the Unagi just made the issue come to head sooner rather than later.

If Zhao succeeded, he, Zuko, would never get his honor back. Not only that, he would gleefully murder the girl in front of him, force him to watch as he tortured her like he had done during the Agni Kai. The memory of the Commander burning her wrists cut through his insides, leaving angry scars burning in their wake. The man was a monster, and the world would be better off without him.

It was a matter of honor that he be the one to take Zhao's life. Resigning himself to this fact, Zuko closed his eyes and let the mysterious force consume him. In his mind's eye he could see Zhao's face smirking at him. It was the last thing he saw before blacking out.

* * *

Twelve hours had passed since Zuko had embarked on his rescue mission. At this point, Bo-Fen had run out of humiliating detours down memory-lane (or perhaps had gotten tired of talking now that Shen-Long had finally given up struggling), and she, Iroh, and Lieutenant Jee were all playing strip poker. So far the female soldier was doing very well, having everything but her shoulder-pads and her helmet to boast about. The Dragon of the West wasn't doing half-bad himself, but had lost most of the clothing on his upper body. Jee, on the other hand, was down to his skivvies and was seriously considering retiring for the evening.

"How much longer do you think he'll be, Sir?"

Iroh frowned over his hand, staring at the two sevens, three of clubs, and the jack of diamonds he had been dealt. "It is hard to say. This is a very delicate operation, and could take more than a whole day...my nephew has to track Julie down first, and then he has to wait for the right opportunity to set her free. If he is too hasty, it could spoil everything." He looked up at Bo-Fen. "Perhaps we can play a sporting game of Pai-Sho after this hand?"

Bo-Fen smirked. "Not a chance, General. My luck is hot tonight."

Shen-Long mumbled something through the gag, something sarcastic judging by the tone of voice he used. His sister didn't even look up as she stretched her legs, "accidentally" kicking him in the side. The man winced and fell into a sullen silence. Instead, he focused on trying to gnaw his way through the silk sash clamped mercilessly in between in upper and lower jaws.

"While we are waiting for Prince Zuko to return," said Jee. "...maybe we can use this time to answer some questions. Namely, about this whole "Ayla" situation. This whole time you and your brother were _involved _in all of this?"

Bo-Fen gave him a level look. Perhaps she had spoken too soon when she mentioned her unbreakable lucky streak. She knew it had been a mistake to invite the Lieutenant to a poker tournament so soon after Iroh had discovered her true identity. But her greed had gotten away from her, and now she would just have to ride these rough waters until they washed over. So be it.

"Yeah," she replied. "In a matter of speaking, Shen and I are involved. Not because we chose to be, mind you. We're the reincarnations of two people who were very close to Ayla...back when she was alive and whole. We were...very close friends."

Jee nodded while Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"And according to you two, Julie is Ayla's _reincarnation..._?"

"We're not sure what Julie is," said Bo-Fen. "I mean, Shen-Long's pretty sold on the idea, but back in the day he had this huge crush on Ayla. After she died, he was completely heartbroken. Personally, I think it would be a lot of wistful thinking to say that Julie and Ayla are the same person. Still," she added. "The resemblance is uncanny. And there're times when I look at Julie and think I'm talking to _her _again. The expressions she wears and the things she gets upset about are exactly the kind of things that would provoke Ayla. And there is the fact that both Julie and Ayla are...were...powerful Energybenders."

"It's _not _a coincidence," Shen-Long gasped, finally managing to wrestle the gag free. He spat it out, making a single poignant noise of disgust. "And it's _not _wistful thinking. I wasn't convinced in the beginning, but you kept pointing out the similarities, sister. And when we found out that Julie could Energybend, I knew that there was only one explanation...only one. She is the current incarnation of Ayla the Red...only she doesn't know or remember what she truly is."

The young man looked extremely pained for a moment, looking despondently into the shadows.

"Not that it matters," he muttered. "Either way, Ayla never felt that way about me. Things haven't changed, even now that she's a different person. Julie only has eyes for Prince Zuko. It's never been more obvious."

Iroh patted him on the shoulder. "Love can be a difficult battle, often fought on many fronts. And very rarely does a battle occur without either side suffering some casualties. But life, much like love, goes on. I am certain that you will move on to a better place."

Shen-Long looked bitter. "There is no better place. Ayla is the only woman I will ever love...even if I lose her I'll do whatever I have to, to keep her safe. I _will _protect her, even if she never really understands why I'm doing it." He smiled sadly. "Julie is a tough cookie to crack...but she's a good kid. She can be difficult at times, a lot more difficult than Ayla ever was...but her heart is always in the right place. She may hate me for it, but I'll stand by her to the bitter end. Spirits help us all."

"I'll drink to that," said Bo-Fen.

"You'll drink to anything," her brother shot back, nudging her foot. "And don't pretend like this doesn't matter to you. Ayla was your best friend. She saved you from an arranged marriage with an evil spirit, didn't she?"

"I owe her a debt is all," said the female-soldier stoutly. "But yeah...I _guess _we're friends. So long as it suits me, I guess I have no reason not to help the girl out here and there. In all honesty, I kind of like Julie better as she is...not as she was. She's way more gutsy and entertaining now."

Jee and Iroh exchanged glances. And why not? Vows of eternal love? Arranged marriages with evil spirits? Da-yamn!

"It sounds like the three of you led an interesting life together," said the Dragon of the West cautiously. "How long ago _was _all of this?"

Bo-Fen didn't even look up. "Must have been at least a thousand years ago...during Avatar Yang-Chen's time. Back then, the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus was just as dangerous. I never thought they'd ever make a comeback after they split up into five different sects. They hate each other, you know...but they all work to expand their greater mission. To bring the world back into the old ways, back when there was no elemental bending...just Energybending."

"Come to think about it," said Shen-Long suddenly. "I don't think it's a coincidence that they came back _at the same time _Julie appeared to us in the South Pole. Something's fishy about this."

Before anyone could reply, a shout was heard from above them; up on deck. The group looked up towards the ceiling, wearing matching frowns as the sounds grew louder and more frantic. Jee cursed under his breath and reached for his pants, realizing that someone would have to deal with whatever disorder was occurring on deck. When it all boiled down to it, someone usually meant him.

"I'll handle this," he said, slipping on his boots and walking towards the door.

He almost ran smack-dab into the servant running in to give them news. A slight, nervous man, the messenger was practically sweating and panting for breath as he saluted the bemused Lieutenant framed in the doorway.

"S...sir!" he gasped. "We found...we found something in the...the water...!"

Jee narrowed his eyes, glancing once over his shoulder at General Iroh. The respected warlord rose slowly to his feet, raising a curious eyebrow at the harried newcomer. Bo-Fen and Shen-Long just stared and stared.

"Two people...one of them is Prince Zuko. We're fishing them out as we speak, but...it's all so strange. You have to come quickly!"

That just about did it for Iroh, who pushed his way past Lieutenant Jee and strode quickly up the steps and emerged up on deck. The men were standing over a soaked, dripping heap of blankets. The old man caught sight of a distinct, person-shaped lump underneath it all and ran over for a closer look. But every now and then, a blast of fire would lash out at the bordering soldiers, causing them to jump back in alarm. They all were too spooked to get closer than five feet of them.

Iroh made his way over cautiously. As gently as he could, he pulled the blanket away. He found himself staring his own nephew in the eyes. He had never seen a more wild, paranoid expression on Zuko's face in his entire life.

"Stay away...!" he rasped. "I said I would do it myself! Leave her alone!"

The Dragon of the West was forced to step back when another blast of fire came inches away from singing off his eyebrows. It was then that he noticed the frail-looking person huddled up behind Zuko. Julie lay there, dead to the world and paler than the moon. Her hair and clothes clung to her small body, making her resemble (in an eerie way) a newborn kitten that had taken a plunge into basin of cold water. He could tell she was still alive; though unconscious, she was shivering and twitching from the shock of being dunked into the ocean.

"Zuko," he said slowly. "We are trying to help you. For your sake as well as Julie's sake, you _must _calm yourself."

"Get back..." the Fire Prince growled weakly, sinking to his knees. "Dammit...I won't let her die. I promised...!"

"Yes," Iroh assured him in a low, soothing voice. Slowly, he approached Zuko and put a comforting arm around his trembling shoulders. The tension in the young man's body seemed to drain out of him, as though that simple contact had pulled the plug on all of his anger and hostility. Either that or he was too exhausted to put up a decent effort at resistance. "And you are doing a fine job. She is safe now. You both are. It is time to rest, nephew."

"But, Uncle...!"

"It will be all right, now," Iroh insisted. "It's all over. You brought Julie back safely, and now all that is left is getting some well-deserved rest. A man needs his rest, Prince Zuko," he added pointedly.

Wearily, Zuko slumped over into his uncle's arms and lost consciousness again. It took no time at all and that greatly worried the ex-General. He stared broodingly down into his nephew's face for a minute, only glancing up as he was joined by Lieutenant Jee and the others. Seeing Julie collapsed on deck like a fish out of water, Shen-Long (who had been untied for the sake of convenience) ran over to her and took the girl in his arms. Jee hovered nearby the lifeless girl, shouting for someone to fetch a medic.

Meanwhile, the servant stayed by Iroh's side like a lost puppy; unsure as to what he should be doing.

"What happened?" he demanded. "How did you find them like this? Where did they come from?"

The messenger swallowed. "That's the weird part. There was no boat, no warning...they just appeared in a flash of light. The next thing we knew they were floundering around in the water. They would have drowned if we hadn't fished them out so quickly. Good thing you thought to post look-outs so early in the morning, eh, General Iroh, Sir?"

Iroh's face clouded over, undoubtedly thinking along similar lines. Though, obviously, this did little to comfort him. If anything it only made things worse.

"Let us look after Prince Zuko until he awakens," he said after a long pause. "Hopefully, he will be in a more amiable mood after a nice, long rest. And with luck he'll be able to explain what happened on Kyoshi Island."

"Should we have the crew pull anchor, Sir?"

Iroh nodded grimly. "There is nothing more we can do here," he said solemnly. "It is best for us to be moving on before we are noticed."

* * *

**Several Hours Later...**

The very first thing Zuko was aware of was the damp cloth mopping his forehead. Soft and gentle, but unpleasant all the same; it made him realize that he was having a cold, nervous sweat. He wasn't surprised, either. He vaguely remembered having nightmares, all short-lived, disturbing, yet impossible to recall. But he could still hear her voice in his mind..._hers_.

_Julie_...?

He grimaced, swatting the hand away when it drifted too close to his scar. "What...where am I...?"

"Easy, nephew," a familiar voice soothed him. "You gave us all quite a scare."

"Uncle?"

"Yes, it is me. Go back to sleep, Prince Zuko. You are still in bad shape and need your rest."

Despite his aching temples, he forced his eyes open and blinked blearily at General Iroh. If the sudden and painful reunion of light and color in his life didn't cause the sharp spike in his migraine, the disorientation probably did. How on earth had he gotten back to the ship?

"What happened?" he demanded. "I was on Kyoshi Island...and then I was in the Spirit World with Julie. How did I get here?"

Iroh sighed. "I see you refuse to be distracted. Very well..." He glanced towards the other person in the room, whom Zuko just noticed was there. "Do you mind leaving us alone for a few minutes?"

Shim the healer smiled benignly and bowed. "Certainly. I have to go check on Julie, anyway. I hate to be away from her too long...such a fascinating speci...err...young lady. She'll probably wake up soon, if we're lucky."

Humming cheerfully to himself, the tall, grinning man picked up his bag and shuffled out of the room. Zuko stared after him for a long time, wondering how anyone could be so harmless and creepy at the same time. It made him think of the one time when he was ten, and he had tried drinking honey and vinegar after losing a bet to Azula; meeting Shim's gaze gave him the same queasy feeling and sour aftertaste. He felt a shiver running up his spine just from the memory of that eerie grin.

"I know how you feel," said Iroh quietly. "Something is not quite right about that man...but he is certainly qualified for the job. After we found you two floating in the water, he lost no time in bandaging you up and closing up Julie's chakras. It turns out he has a number of chi-suppressing drugs at his disposal...though how or why he has them is probably something better left unasked."

Zuko ignored that. "You found us in the _water_...?"

Something about this sounded familiar...no, not just familiar. It was the exact same thing that had happened to Julie back when they had first met. They had found her drifting in the icy surf without any memory of how she had gotten there.

"You don't remember?" Surprise colored the ex-general's tone. "That explains it...you were practically senseless when we pulled you out. You wouldn't let go of Julie and would have undoubtedly attacked anyone who got too close if you weren't so exhausted already. And then you slept for almost fourteen hours straight. It was like you were in some sort of trance."

"I was in the Spirit World."

"So, you have told me, nephew. I remember." Iroh took a seat next to the bed and settled in for what would prove to be an interesting tale indeed. "I take it Julie was with you, when this happened."

"She was dying..." he said with some difficulty. For some reason, words were eluding him today. He could barely rationalize what had happened in his own mind, let alone try to explain it to someone else. "It's...a long story, Uncle..."

* * *

I felt like I got run over by a truck.

It didn't help that there were other people in the room...arguing. My first waking instinct was to chuck something at them to get them to shut up, only I was really woozy. My hands were shaking too badly to even close into a fist. I was so groggy that I could barely make out what they were saying.

"...needs rest...can't just...so soon...!"

I grimaced. Words may not have been coming through as coherently as I would have liked, but I could at least recognize voices. And I knew that flamboyantly indignant tone of voice anywhere. It was Shen-Long.

Wait...Shen-Long? How the fuck...? Where was I?

"You can't run more tests on her now," he snapped. "Dammit, she almost _died _out there, and you want to make her into your freaking guinea-hamster-pig!"

Shim's calm tenor broke the soldier mid-exclamation. "I am under orders, Shen-Long. General Iroh agrees with me that Julie is extremely dangerous in her current state. He wants me to do everything I can to stabilize the girl before she wakes up...and to do my job, I'll have to conduct more research on Energybenders. You and your sister need to stand aside, or I'll report you both to Lieutenant Jee."

I felt something clench inside me. A cold knot of fear balled up in my stomach. They were talking about me? About doing experiments on me?

"Julie doesn't have it in her to hurt anyone else," Bo-Fen spoke up. "'Sides...if Prince Zuko wakes up and realizes what you're planning he'll throw a huge fit. You saw him before, when we first dragged them out of the water. He was half out of his mind...wouldn't even let you near Julie, if I recall."

Zuko?

He had somehow gotten us back to the ship, then. He had brought me back from Kyoshi Island. But what...why couldn't I remember anything? The last thing I could recall clearly was running through the woods with Aang...and running into Zhao's trap. I could remember Kuba standing in between us...and him fighting Zhao...and then the impact of Zhao's fire colliding with the boy's ribs. And then...then...

_"Let me go...!"_

_Zuko's hands were on my wrists, holding me back. "No. You let go...! You're stronger than this!"_

It all came back to me: Dad's laughter in my ears…the cold embrace of the Unagi's scales. A wave of nausea rippled through me and sent me gagging back into consciousness.

Everyone turned to look at me as I jerked up into a sitting position, coughing and gasping for air. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to swallow back the bile I could feel rising from my churning stomach. If I wasn't already so miserable, I'd probably be regretting making such a hasty motion so soon after waking up. Now my head was spinning on top of everything else. I never felt so sick in my entire life.

"Julie," Shen-Long's voice was in my ear. Not too loud, but urgent...insistent. "Easy now...take a deep breath, girl. You're going to be just fine."

Zuko had said that too, before. He had pulled me close and told me over and over again that everything would be okay. He had promised to protect me...and now...where was he? Where was Zuko?

"Zuko?" I demanded in a single rasp. "Where...? Where is...Zuko?"

I broke off again as a fit of coughing racked my body, practically paralyzing me in Shen-Long's arms. He held me a little closer and kept a firm grip on my shoulders, probably trying to keep me from falling off the bed. When the fit subsided a minute later, I weakly opened my eyes and met his gaze. It was really hard to focus on the blurry image of his face, but he seemed really worried. His blue eyes seemed to burn the darkness surrounding us.

"Where is he?" I whispered.

Something tightened in his expression, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Resting, like you should be."

A terror without a name seized me. "Is he...all right?"

Shen-Long looked away. "He's fine. Quit worrying about him, all right? Stress is the last thing you need right now."

I stared at him. It was almost like he was mad at me all of a sudden, even though he had been sticking up for me not even five minutes ago. Had I done something wrong? Or was he just trying to keep me from thinking about Zuko? If that was what he was trying to do...why? Was Zuko in some kind of trouble? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the eerie conviction that he was. Without knowing why, I really, truly believed something terrible had happened to him.

"Don't tell me what I need," I grumbled. "I want...I have to talk to him. Is he...where is he?"

Bo-Fen sidled over to us. "Hon', if you went to find him right now, you might just scare him into an early grave. No offense, but you're a mess."

There was a soft thunk as Shim placed his clipboard aside and made his way over to the other side of the bed. He looked at me bemusedly, an almost friendly interest alive in his expression. Unlike Shen-Long and Bo-Fen, who seemed determined to glue themselves to my side, he kept a professional distance. He watched every single thing I did...like I was a wild animal he was observing from afar. He didn't say a single word as I struggled to get free.

He had been determined to "stabilize" me before I could wake up...but now that I was conscious again, that seemed to put the kibosh on that. His stare made me feel nervous and agitated.

"Just rest first," Shen-Long pleaded with me. "You can visit Prince Zuko later, once the General says it's okay. I promise."

"Oh, yeah?" I said roughly. "And what'll happen to me while I'm asleep? You'll _run some more tests...? _I'm a person, god-dammit! Not some freaking science project for the next aspiring human-centipede psychopath!"

Kind of diverting from the plot somewhat, but here's some advice, reader: NEVER watch Human Centipede. That movie is seriously fucked up. The trailer for it made me vomit in my mouth, and not just because it looked like a bad porno. Who the hell thinks up a way to surgically combine three or more people into a giant centipede by connecting their digestive tracts into one long, hideous mouth-to-butt tube? Not even Ramon could sit through that monstrosity, and he's this huge fan of slasher-esque horror-films. He must have seen Saw and its sequels, like, nine-hundred times!

Both siblings made motions to deny my accusation (something they found difficult since neither of them had actually _seen _Human Centipede...or even heard of it, to my best of knowledge). But before either of them could get a word out edge-wise, Shim finally broke his silence at the foot of the bed. My eyes flickered to his benign countenance as he cleared his throat.

"Excuse me," he said. "But how can you expect me to treat you effectively if I know nothing about the physiology of an Energybender? Any of the medicines I give you could interfere with your body's natural chi-flow...and for a bender, especially one as powerful as you, Julie...that could be fatal."

What did it matter to me if my chi-flow got disrupted? All that mattered to me was making sure that Zuko was all right. After all, he had risked his life to try to bring me back to the ship. He had even put his mission on the line to try to reason with me, back when the Unagi was using me as a human hand-puppet. No matter what, I had to see with my own eyes that he was alive. It was the only thing I could think about.

"I don't care," I spat. "Keep your hands off of me! I want to see Zuko! NOW!"

I pushed myself to the edge of the mattress through sheer will alone. Shen-Long was still holding on to my shoulders and tried to hold me back, but a quick elbow to his ribs fixed that. Before either of them could stop me I pushed the blankets away and ran for the door.

No one followed me.

It was like being in one of those cliché nightmare-scenarios. You know the one; everything is dimly lit, you're desperate to reach the door all the way at the end of the hallway, and the floor seems to stretch into infinity right before your eyes. It probably shouldn't have looked so surreal to me, only I was having trouble seeing straight. It took forever for me to find the way to where Zuko was resting. Plus, I still kind of felt like vomiting.

What had they meant by _unstable? _And dangerous? What the hell did I do to deserve being babysat by a freak-job like Shim?

I had been holed up in the infirmary when I woke up, and obviously Zuko hadn't been in there. The only other place I could see him staying would be his own room. It took me a little while in my disoriented state to navigate the ship's lower intestines. But eventually I found my way to the upper decks and inched my way down the hall to Zuko's bedroom.

I had been hell-bent on barreling in, pistons blazing, to make sure he was all right. But I found myself hesitating when I heard Iroh's voice reverberating down the other end of the corridor. He sounded angry...something extremely rare and terrifying to behold.

"You did _what...?"_

"Uncle, what choice did I have?"

Zuko was trying to calm the ex-General out of his rant. But the older man was apparently so infuriated that he barely took the time to draw breath before plowing on.

"How could you behave so _recklessly_, nephew? Did you think for once what this could possibly mean for your _future?_ If you get caught by Zhao, you will be branded a traitor...and possibly even executed! Didn't you _think_...?"

"I didn't have time to think!" the Fire Prince yelled back. "I didn't have time to do anything except to go with my gut instinct...and I saved her. It was the only thing I could do, Uncle. She wasn't breathing, and the only thing I could do was...do you _want _me to have just left her there? Is that it? Do you wish I had let Julie die?"

I felt myself stop short, listening at the foot of the door.

"No," Iroh sighed, and I could imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose as he fought with his patience. "But you should have let Julie see this task through rather than take it on yourself! It is true, now, that she is your friend, and I am...proud that you tried to do the honorable, just thing...but this is your _life_. How can you expect me to be calm after you tell me how you almost died to take this burden away from Julie? Or how you almost were killed from the backlash of her bending?"

I drew back, stung. Iroh was talking as though I had almost gotten Zuko killed.

And what was this task they kept talking about? Did Iroh mean when the Unagi was trying to get me to kill Zhao? I screwed up my brow, trying to think. All I could remember was the seemingly limitless energy that had been surging through my body, making my heart sky-rocket out of control, and then...spirits, what had happened after that? It was all darkness and snow...wait, snow? The fuck?

I must have blacked out, but then...what was I doing back here? Had Zuko done something he shouldn't have to save my life?

"You can yell and be angry all you want," Zuko snapped. "But if you ask me, it's a little late for regrets. What's done is done...and I don't think I could have done anything differently, even if I had the chance to go back and change things. Julie already risked her life for my mission..._twice_. Once, when she fought Zhao in that Agni Kai to keep the Avatar's return a secret...and then before, when she tried to stop the Avatar from escaping my ship. She almost succumbed to that infection in her shoulder, but she still dragged herself after them..."

"And we found her passed out on deck," Iroh finished tiredly. "I remember. It certainly was unusual, that's for sure."

I felt a sharp stab of guilt, like I had swallowed a piece of glass or something. Zuko had risked everything...his mission...his life...all to save me. Was all of that because he thought I was trying to _help _him capture Aang that night? Was this the reason he suddenly and inexplicably sought my friendship and trust? Shit. What would he do if he ever found out that I was the one who set Aang free?

The other bit about the Agni Kai...well...that was nothing worth sneezing at, as far as I was concerned. Everything that had happened in that sparring ring had been a total accident. The fancy-bending, the maiming...and really, if you think about it, I was trying harder to save Kuba than I was trying to keep Zhao off of Aang's scent. Besides, that probably helped Aang as much as it did Zuko. So why was I suddenly worth saving in Zuko's eyes?

Simple. I had duped him. Conned him. Played him like a baby-grand piano. Coined some other ridiculous euphemism to represent the fine, but treacherous art of deceit and trickery. I was a horrible, untrustworthy...um...peasant. Not to mention a bad friend, considering how I had been inadvertantly leading him on, but...come on! Zuko was the bad guy, wasn't he? And I knew which side was supposed to win this war...so there was no reason for me to be feeling like this.

"This is the least I can do for her now," said Zuko. "Anyway...there's no reason I can't still capture the Avatar."

"Did you forget your hands are still...badly injured?"

Huh? His hands?

"They'll heal. They're just cuts...and some muscle bruising. It looks worse than it actually is."

"I hope so. It looks awful..." Iroh paused to shake his head. "You are very lucky it wasn't anything worse than that. Julie could very well have killed you if what you told me about the Unagi is true. If she had kept going..."

"...but she didn't. And I don't want to talk about this anymore. As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed for us. We'll continue to hunt for the Avatar, and if we meet Zhao along the way, then...well...so be it. I'll do whatever I have to do."

Iroh made a frustrated noise, something between a grunt and a sigh. I cringed in my hiding place behind the door. I had never imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that this jolly old man could ever have it in him to be so angry...which meant that I really must have deserved it. I had almost gotten Zuko killed, apparently. He must have been hurt during that fight with Zhao. And all of it was my fault. No wonder Iroh hated my guts right now.

"What choice do we have?" said the ex-General. "Being angry won't fix this, it is true. In the meantime, we should devote our energies into resting up and refining some strategies against Zhao. He will not be an easy enemy to defeat...and I won't let you do this alone."

Zuko seemed surprised by this. "Do you really mean that, Uncle?"

"You are like a son to me, Prince Zuko. I will never turn my back on you."

I bit my lip, trying to keep the lump from forming in my throat. I had to keep quiet, to keep these petty emotions at bay. Zu was pretty damn lucky to have someone looking out for him the way Iroh was. I tried not to feel bitter or jealous; or even guilty about what went down on Kyoshi. But curiosity itched away at me until I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to see this tender moment with my own eyes.

I peeked around the door. I got a good look at Zuko, then. For the first time in several hours, I finally got to see him...and what I saw made every cell in my body ache. Not because of some lingering aftershock from the Unagi's possession; not because I was admittedly a little jealous of Zuko and Iroh's powerful familial bond, or even because I was worried that Iroh would never forgive me for what happened to his nephew (and believe me, I was _really _worried; messing with the Dragon of the West is no freaking joke).

I was fixated on Zuko's hands. They had been bandaged up good, but Iroh was in the middle of changing the gauze. Now unwrapped and exposed to the open air, I got a good look at how badly scarred they were. The skin (where it wasn't sliced up or bleeding) varied from a splotchy purple to a sallow yellow from the muscle bruising. I stared and stared at them, feeling time stop for me.

The memory of his hands wrapped around my wrists was very clear to me now. No matter how hard I tried to reason with him, he had refused to let go of me. And I had...I had...oh, my God. I had done this. I had completely and totally fucked up Zuko's hands.

I was a monster.

"Julie?"

I wheeled around quickly; too quickly. As I stared wordlessly up into Shen-Long's concerned face, the door creaked. We both gave a start as the occupants of the room stirred at the noise, suddenly alert to the eavesdropper in the hallway. Namely me.

"You shouldn't be here," he said quietly. "Come back with me."

I shook my head, jerking away from his outstretched hand and backpedalling down the hallway. I rounded the corner just as Zuko and Iroh came to the door, only to find Shen-Long staring at my retreating back. I think he'd have probably gone after me if it weren't for that. No doubt they were asking Shen-Long what the hell he thought he was doing. I could only hope that he wouldn't sell me out before I could get away.

What did it matter? I wouldn't be talking to Zuko or Iroh...or anyone else for that matter. I really was unstable. I had to hide somewhere no one would ever find me. Every person who I talked to would be in danger. Everyone who associated with me could get hurt worse than Zuko...or even killed. I couldn't take that risk. Not after I had come so close to becoming like my father.

Obviously, I couldn't hide forever...but hopefully I could stay there long enough to figure out what I should do next. And fortunately, there was one place I knew where I could do just that.

_Monsters need cages, _I thought.

My feet knew where to go. It wasn't long before I found myself inside the prison hold. I found the deepest, darkest cell in the whole place and huddled into a little ball in the corner. Taking deep breaths and burying my face in my knees, I tried to get a hold of myself. I could feel hot, angry tears staining the fabric of my dress, humiliating me even more.

For once, I was glad that Ayla wasn't pestering me. The one thing I wanted was to be alone; and for once, the Universe gave me exactly what I wanted. No one found me or bothered me for the rest of the day. Solitude became my blanket as I eventually fell into a long, but restless slumber.

* * *

**A/N: I really wanted to fit Team Avatar into this chapter, but my heart just wasn't in it this time around. Next chapter will be entirely devoted to the Gaang and the anti-Avatar sub-plot. As a reminder, Chin Village and the legend of Chin the Conqueror gets explained in the episode "Avatar Day" during Season two of the series. If, for whatever reason, you skipped that episode (and I _really _don't blame you; it's one of my least favorite episodes by far), you might want to go watch it. Or go read the episode transcript on . Seeing as this fic is already the length of six short novels, I have no choice but to keep all in-series canon exposition to a minimum.**

**Just don't skip the next chapter. As sucky as Chin Village is, there is bound to be plenty of laughs to keep things fresh. Plus, a lot more gets revealed about Mantis's true ambitions for Kyoshi Island, as well as some Brotherhood backstory. If you guys are good and review, I might just find a way to tar and feather Mayor Tong…that pompous, mustache-twirling fuck. Someone should go boil _him _in oil.**

**Ahem.**

**Speaking of exposition, we get some more backstory behind Shen-Long and Bo-Fen's relationship with Ayla. Before too much can be revealed, however, Zuko and Julie appear in a flash of light, and are rushed into immediate and intensive medical care. And then we learn the details behind Zuko's curse, something that leaves his Uncle extremely displeased.**

**But before anyone tries to flame me for making Iroh so angry at Julie (I can see the reviews now: _"Iroh would NEVER blame Julie! He's too cool and smart and AWESOME, and besides, secretly wants Julie and Zuko to have lots of inappropriate Zulie fluff moments and EVENTUALLY give him grandchildren..."_), just think about it. And I mean, really. THINK. **

**Yes, Iroh likes Julie. Yes, to a certain extent he would like to see her and Zuko become closer; if only to get Zuko to relax more often and to slowly let go of the past. He probably sees Julie as a blessing, given that she's the first person around Zuko's age that he opens up to (and about). Even as just a friend, she could be a great asset in helping Zuko heal.**

**And while logic dictates that Julie didn't endanger Zuko on purpose, Iroh's natural-born "daddy instincts" raise their hackles and snarl. Zuko is like a second son to him, and he already lost one child because he couldn't protect him. Is he really just going to be happy that Zuko put his life on the line to protect Julie? Especially after she went and wrecked his hands? Plus, because of her lack of control over her powers, Zuko had to make an unbreakable vow with a vengeful snake-monster thing. Zuko could _die _if he screws up in killing Zhao...that is, if Zhao doesn't kill him first.**

**Throw that in among all the Brotherhood crap and you'll get a pretty clear picture why Iroh is so bent out of shape. He probably wishes Zuko had taken up with a safer, more stable young woman than Julie. But, as Zuko pointed out, the damage is already done. So Iroh might just have to swallow his hurt feelings and deal with the issue (he's good at that, you know). It might take a while, but he'll work things out with Julie...hopefully.**

**Anyway, did you guys like? REVIEW!**


	59. Unforeseen Consequences

**A/N: Ugggh...Avatar Day. I freaking hate this episode. Writing this chapter was _excruciating_.**

**You might ask why I feel the need to include it at all. Like other seemingly filler-esque filler chapters, the readers question why an author like myself would bother putting them in. Believe me; I wanted to avoid Chin like the _PLAGUE_. But I had to set up a very important plot point, and this was the only way I could really think of to get it done. So, I figured I'd just girdle my loins and get this episode out of the way...putting it out of its misery once and for all.**

**I threw in a little Zuko introspection, too. I figured that if I didn't, no one would bother reading the chapter. It's kind of unnerving how many people like the "Zulie" pairing, but I'm sure as hell not complaining. Iroh might be, later on, but not me. **

**In other news: I got promoted. I'm now being paid a decent living wage to be a bookkeeper. The only problem is that I'm starting to realize how freaking difficult the job is. Seriously, do you guys know how stressful it is being responsible for all the money in the store? Plus, there's so much paperwork and company procedures to memorize that my head is swimming. It takes me so long to count out a cashier that we may as well be paying them overtime. And, apparently, I can't staple anything to save my life.**

**I'm not kidding. I'm stapler-retarded. I have to say, it doesn't really help one's self-esteem to be so completely fail with a universally-appraised office supply such as a stapler. A five-year-old can use a stapler better than me. But noooo...I keep jamming it and fucking up the staples, have to take out the damn staples and do it all over again...and again...and again...and, oh, fuck it. Where are the god-damn _paper-clips?_**

**I'm drained. So please, just give this chapter a chance. I didn't have to write it. I sure as hell didn't _feel _like writing it. I'm kind of considering just skipping work today and sleeping the entire day...and never getting out of bed. I'll just pull the covers over my head and stay there for the rest of forever. And when I eventually starve to death because I refused to get up and eat something, they'll put a charming little epitaph on my grave about my dexterity with a stapler. Or maybe some bull about me being a beloved writer of meaningless prose.**

**(Rolls eyes) My legacy. Cheers.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Three: Unforeseen Consequences**

"So, let me see if I get this straight," said Sokka slowly. "The people here think Avatar Kyoshi murdered their leader, Chin the Great, hundreds of years ago? And every year they even celebrate a holiday devoted to their eternal _hatred _of the Avatar?"

The innkeeper nodded seriously. He had just gone through a very lengthy, much more detailed exposition about Chin Village, and was trying to drive the point home that Aang should be careful while staying here. Unfortunately, as he looked from one face to another, all he could see was indignation and defiance. Even the young Avatar himself, whose self-confidence was at an all-time low in the wake of the Kyoshi invasion, looked upset.

"That's ridiculous," said Katara. "Aang would never do something like that. No Avatar would!"

"Yeah!" said Merle, balling her hands into fists. "Aang tried to stop the Fire Nation from burning down our village! And he was giving everyone rides on Appa's back! He helps people!"

"Look, I'm not saying I agree with them," said Daizo quickly, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You know your aunt and I both feel very strongly about the Avatar...we come from Kyoshi, after all. Loving the Avatar is in our blood. But _this_ is our home now, and shooting our mouths off could very well turn our neighbors against us. We'd lose everything."

"Wait, if you guys come from Kyoshi Island, why did you move to a place like Chin?" Sokka wanted to know. "I would think it would be the last place you would want to go if you really believed in the Avatar."

Cui, who was straightening up the room, put aside her broom for a moment and glanced at the Water Tribe boy. "Chin wasn't our first choice, but it was the closest to Kyoshi Island. And Daizo and I wanted to live our own lives without cutting ourselves off from our family. And our brother and his wife had just had their first child..." she paused, smiling warmly at Merle. "And we knew that she would soon have a younger sibling to look after."

Sanji wiped his runny nose on his sleeve, as if that settled everything. He grinned at his aunt.

"But why leave at all?" Aang asked. "Why not just stay on Kyoshi Island instead of watching them grow up from a distance?"

For a moment, neither adult moved. They exchanged gloomy looks.

"Look, kid," said Daizo finally. "Life is complicated sometimes. We spent our whole lives growing up on Kyoshi with almost no contact from the outside world...wondering what it was all like. And...well, to be honest, Cui and I weren't content just sitting and waiting for the real Avatar to come back the way our brother and father were. We knew we wouldn't live forever. We're already out of our prime and we wanted to live our lives to the fullest before it was too late. Even if it meant endangering ourselves to the Fire Nation, we wanted to see the world."

Aang frowned. "You mean...you spent your whole lives waiting for me?"

"Waiting for the Avatar, yes. No one from Kyoshi ever really expected you to return, anyway. They just like to live in the past rather than deal with the present...they ignore a war going on right at their back door and shun the rest of the world, choosing instead to reminisce endlessly about a leader who has been dead for nigh two hundred years now. We couldn't take it."

Cui put a hand on Daizo's shoulder, looking at the group with soft eyes. "It wasn't that we didn't believe in the Avatar...but he's been missing for over a hundred years. There was no reason for us to think he'd return now; no reason to spend our lives in a vacuum. On Kyoshi, it was as though time was at a permanent standstill. All anyone cared about were traditions...and how things _used _to be."

"So we left," said the innkeeper simply. Then, he laughed. "Ironic part is we wound up in another time warp. Chin Village lives in the past too, only instead of holding on to their pride people here hold a never-ending grudge towards the Avatar...which is why you kids shouldn't be playing 'savior-of-the-world.' Here, it can get you tarred and feathered right quick. Trust me; it ain't fun."

Aang squared his shoulders, fire coming into his eyes for the first time since the invasion.

"No one is playing," he said firmly. "And I'm not going to run away anymore." He looked at Katara and Sokka. "I have to let the world know that I'm back. I have to take responsibility and to restore balance between the nations...and to give people back their hope."

Katara beamed at him. "Hope is exactly what this world needs."

"Yeah," said Sokka with a sigh. "That's real great and all, but how are we supposed to _do _that? Everyone here hates the Avatar, remember? And I'm willing to bet other people are holding grudges too given that Aang sort of let the world fall out of balance to begin with. They might do worse than tar and feather us if they find out who Aang is."

The Waterbender looked shocked and angry. "That wasn't Aang's fault! He was frozen in a block of ice!"

"Hey, I know that! I'm just saying..."

"No," said Aang solemnly. "It really _is _my fault. But that doesn't mean that I can't fix things...right? Anyway, I have to try. If I don't, more people are just going to get hurt...more villages are going to get burnt to the ground and destroyed. People are _dying_."

No one said anything. Katara put her hand on Aang's shoulder and his entire body slumped. He looked like a plant wilting in the sun, weighed down by the heat of an intense drought. She rubbed circles into his back, trying to reassure the monk.

"I don't know how, but...I have to get strong enough to protect the world. I have to."

"We all do," she said gently. "You're not in this alone."

"Yeah," Sokka agreed. "We've got your back. As bad as things get, we're all in this together...every step of the way."

Kuba frowned at the group, trying to make sense of the camaraderie between them. "You guys have only known each other for a few weeks...and you're already acting like a family or something." He scowled, looking away. "You're all so weird."

He tried not to think about his own family; the same people who had given him up as a sacrifice to the clan elders because he was an Earthbender. Instead, he thought about Julie and his new friends Merle and even that whiny little Sanji. He thought briefly about Jee, Shen-Long, and Bo-Fen; but decided that they didn't really count. They didn't really care about him the way Julie did. So, he went back to thinking about the redhead.

_We need to find a family too,_ he realized. _I'll have to remember that once I get stronger. Once I'm a Master Earthbender, I'll find Julie and get us both a real family...and a home. A good one far, far away from Zhao. And that Prince Zuko, too...I don't like him at all_.

He was distracted when Sokka reached out and ruffled his hair.

"You talk big," he said. "But you've only known Julie for a few weeks. And you took a fire blast in the gut for her, didn't you?"

Kuba scowled at him. Why did grownups have to pretend to understand everything when they clearly had no idea what they were talking about?

"That's different," he replied. And he left it at that.

* * *

Zuko lay on his side, his hands freshly bandaged and his head spinning.

_"Don't worry, Prince Zuko_,_" _his uncle had said. _"I will take care of this. You just get your rest."_

He had wanted to go with him. He had wanted to hear for himself why Shen-Long had been eavesdropping on their conversation, wanted to get that sorry bastard by the throat and pin him to the wall until he talked. He didn't trust that man with as much as a ball of lint...let alone with Julie. Anything but Julie. It was all he could stand to leave her alone with him in the infirmary.

It was all so weird, too. Julie didn't belong to him...but lately Shen-Long had been treating her like something fragile and utterly precious...had been utterly fixated with her well-being to the point where he had even stood up to _him_. To _Prince Zuko _of all people. Exile or no, he was still the only son of the Fire Lord...and he dared to confront him that night when Julie had first gone missing?

Zuko didn't like that he had challenged his authority; didn't like that he had the temerity to insinuate that he was the cause of her disappearance. But what he liked the least was the way he got so close to her that night. Zuko knew he wasn't crazy. Julie had looked intimidated as Shen-Long towered over her. If only he could have heard what they had been talking about.

It had only been a couple of days ago, but it felt like an eternity. Come to think of it, since he had woken up from his encounter with the Unagi, Zuko had been feeling like yesterday and today were separated by an immeasurable distance. Like yesterday belonged to another lifetime, to a part of him that had died long, long ago. He felt like an old man on his deathbed, looking back on his childhood. It was all so ridiculous...or was it?

That icy hand around his heart was still there. He could feel it all the time. He knew without having to really think about it that one flinch would be enough to send him into cardiac arrest. Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to think about it.

His uncle had once said that the future belonged to no man. Right now, Zuko didn't even have the present. He hadn't felt this lost and confused since the day he had been scarred and banished. He felt so different inside...so unlike himself. And if he wanted to survive, he would have to kill a man. He would have to kill Commander Zhao with his own two hands.

It had been an easy decision to make when someone else's life hung in the balance. Now that the danger had passed, now that Julie was safe and (for the most part) sound, Zuko had to ask himself if he had made the right decision.

_I should have at least asked the Unagi to help me capture the Avatar_, he grumbled mentally. _What was I thinking?_

He hadn't even been thinking about the Avatar when the choice had been made. It didn't even cross his mind to take advantage of this opportunity...to make this deal work for him. It was all Julie's fault. Ever since she came, he had let himself get completely distracted with her nonsense. When was the last time he had really sat down to focus on capturing the Avatar? Lately, his head had been filled with her deeply engrossing stories about strange worlds with no bending; her secrets and her bizarre reactions to commonplace things; the cute little faces she made whenever she got annoyed or frustrated.

Wait..._cute_?

A familiar voice cut through the silence and made Zuko start. "_You look terrible._"

His eyes shot open and blinked in bewilderment into Ayla's face. Her ghostly, eerily similar face. Zuko reeled back with a startled cry and held up his hands in an improvised Firebending pose. It took a minute for his heart to stop racing, for his mind to actually grasp what he was staring at.

"You're still here?"

Ayla bowed her head. "_I'm always here. I'm linked with Julie, remember?_"

"I thought you lived inside of Julie..."

"_She's asleep right now. Ever since that kidnapper hit her on the back of the head, I've been getting pushed out of her mind every time she falls asleep. It's kind of weird...but I'm sure not complaining. I like being able to move around and talk to people. Actually,_" she said as an afterthought. "_You're really the only person besides Julie who's been able to see me._"

Zuko stared and stared at her. "You talk a lot."

"_Get used to it. I haven't had anyone but Julie to talk to in ages...!"_ She floated closer to the bed, her eyes wide with a child-like curiosity. "_Julie was really worried about you, before. She's really sorry about hurting your hands. How do you feel?_"

He knew at once that she wasn't just talking about his hands anymore. "This feeling...it won't go away. It's like I'm about to die...but all the time. I can't stop thinking about it. It's...insane." He looked up at her. "What's happening to me?"

She sighed. "_That's the Seal. And you _are _about to die; all the time until Zhao is sufficiently made dead. That feeling is going to weaken you if you try to ignore it. It's to remind you of your obligation to the Unagi._"

Zuko frowned. "I won't get weaker while I lay here in bed, will I? Or while I eat or sleep?" He probably should have thought to ask these questions before he made an unbreakable vow with a spirit monster, but in his defense he had been reasonably distracted. A good friend had literally been on death's doorstep...what else was he supposed to have done?

Ayla shook her head. "_No. Keeping yourself healthy is necessary to completing your mission. Making plans, training, anything that can even remotely be considered as a means to ending Zhao's life will keep your heart beating. Just don't make any detours and you should be fine_."

"What about my other mission? To capture the Avatar?"

She considered this for a moment. "_Well," _she said slowly. "_Zhao is trying to capture the Avatar, too. By searching for the Avatar, you're bound to run into him at some point or another. So I don't think it'll _hurt _you to keep searching for Aang. But..." _she trailed off, looking troubled.

"What?" he asked flatly.

"_Julie and I...we're both Aang's friends. She doesn't want anything bad to happen to him or the others...especially not after they tried so hard to protect her from Zhao. She feels terrible for hurting everyone back in the clearing. Right now she's holed herself up in the ship's prison hold so that she wouldn't put anyone else in danger. She's scared she going to lose control of her powers again."_

Zuko sat up sharply. "She did _what?_"

Ayla met his gaze, not speaking. She glanced once towards the door, her eyes turning sad.

"_She won't talk to anyone. She wanted to talk to _you _before, but she...when she came to find you she heard you and your uncle arguing. And she saw what she did to your hands. The bandages were off..._"

He winced. "_Julie_ was the one eavesdropping?" Surprise, surprise. Shen-Long had lied to him. "How much...what did she hear? She doesn't know about...about _this_, does she?"

"_She thinks you were talking about what happened on Kyoshi Island. She doesn't remember even being in the Spirit World...and just assumed that you were the one who brought her back to the ship. I've never seen her so confused or upset. I'm...afraid to speak to her after what happened._"

Zuko pushed himself to the edge of the mattress, testing the rest of his muscles as he did so. His neck and shoulders felt incredibly stiff, but there was nothing wrong with his legs. Rest and relaxation be damned; he wasn't about to let the peasant lock herself up like some kind of beast, not after what he went through to keep her alive. He didn't do all of this just so she could sit in some cage and blame herself for everything.

It was why he had taken this burden himself. Julie had enough problems without adding Zhao's death-sentence to the pot. Spirits, what a mess.

"_Wait,_" said Ayla quickly, moving into his path. "_I know you're worried, but...you really should wait a while. Get yourself healed up before talking to Julie. If she sees you like this, it's just going to make her feel worse._"

Zuko hesitated. Then, reluctantly, he slumped back. "She can't stay down there forever," he reassured himself. "Anyway, we'll just get someone to carry her out while she's asleep. What is she going to do? Yell at us?"

The spirit girl gave him a sharp look. "_She yells really loud, you know."_

* * *

The next morning had brought forth a new sense of purpose for Team Avatar.

"Okay," said Sokka. "So, we'll stock up on supplies here and then make a direct trip to Omashu starting tomorrow morning."

"And once we're there," Katara finished, "...we'll find a way to let everyone know about Aang. And maybe we'll even find an Earthbending teacher for Kuba somewhere in the city."

Kuba, who was tired of all the bed rest, looked cheerful at the prospect of leaving Chin Village. He was also pleased that no one had forgotten about his desire to master his bending. As far as he was concerned, Omashu was everything he could ever want. And it was such a big place that it was bound to have information on what was going on in the world. Maybe someone there will know how to find Julie.

A good night's sleep had rejuvenated Aang's spirit; and while he still wasn't back to his old, care-free self, he certainly looked better than he had been last night. He was relatively hopeful that going to Omashu and telling the world he was the Avatar would fix things. Not everything...but the things he cared about the most. He had to make up for what had happened on Kyoshi Island.

"Plus," he added. "Omashu is a lot of fun. Once we're there, we absolutely _have _to take a ride on their delivery slides!"

Merle and Sanji were crushed that they were leaving so soon. But they were happy enough to be reunited with their aunt and uncle, even if they still hadn't heard anything about their grandfather, Oyagi. In fact, it was this worry that made it impossible for them to go with Aang and the others. They were desperate for any news at all about their conquered homeland.

"I just hope Miss Suki is okay," Merle added. "She's too pretty and strong to be killed by the Fire Nation."

Sokka had gotten a tight look in his eyes when the girl had said that, but chose not to comment. Katara, understanding, slipped him their last piece of seal-jerky and left him to brood in silence.

No one talked much as they went about their shopping. Everywhere they looked, people were going about their day, completely unsuspecting that the supernatural world figure they universally feared and hated was among them at this very moment. Aang tried to act natural, even when they had passed by some construction workers designing and building what would eventually become floats for the upcoming Avatar Day parade. It disturbed him to a certain extent that people were willing to put so much fervor and cheerful enthusiasm into _hate_.

"Just ignore them," Katara whispered to him. "We'll just bring these rations to Appa and..." she trailed off, staring at the town square. Namely, the place where they had left the sky bison for the night.

The reason she stopped in mid-sentence was because she was too busy staring at the throng of people gathered there. A number of villagers were gawking at the large, furry beast. No one had actually seen a sky bison in at least a century, so it was no surprise that they were so bewildered by it. Katara felt a stab of paranoia when the muttering of the crowd turned excited.

"We need to move Appa out of town," said Sokka with a groan. "He's too noticeable. People are going to see him and realize that he belongs to an Airbender...and if _that _happens..."

Aang scowled. "No one is going to tar and feather my bison."

"Um..." said Katara. "We're more worried that they'll tar and feather _you_, Aang. Come on, Sokka's right. We need to hurry."

They pushed their way through the crowd of people, but not before the Waterbender discreetly placed a conical hat on the monk's head to hide his arrow. Aang resisted the natural compulsion to Airbend his way up onto Appa's saddle. He frowned as he took the time to actually climb up the bison's back like some kind of flea. Appa let out a rumble, but otherwise didn't seem to notice the difference. Katara and Sokka quickly passed up the supplies while Aang strapped them down to the saddle.

Before they could take so much as a single pace out of the town square, a tall, yet gangly official stepped forwards. He wore a ridiculously ostentatious hat and robes and his thin mustache seemed to be meticulously-groomed. People parted ways to let him pass, something he made sure to emphasize with large, dignified steps.

"Halt! Not another step, you three! Is this creature _yours_...?"

Aang, who was used to liking everyone, was surprised to feel an immediate and instinctive dislike for the pompous man in front of him. He tried to swallow it back, though, remembering the teachings of the monks.

"He's not a creature," he replied. "This is Appa, my...um...bison."

"And I am Mayor Tong, leader of this fine village. You caused quite a stir yesterday, flying this thing into town...parking him in front of this inn without a _permit_. You will have to pay some hefty fines for that."

Katara and Sokka looked at each other hopelessly. "We already spent all of our money on food and supplies," she tried to explain. "We really don't have any money left to pay fines...but we're sorry if we caused you any trouble."

"Sorry?" the beaurocrat exclaimed. "Being sorry won't pay the bail when you three are sitting in a cold, dark jail cell!"

"You're going to arrest us? For what?" the Water Tribe boy demanded. "Breathing?"

"Talking back to an authority figure," Mayor Tong listed. "...loitering in the town square, leaving an animal unattended, blocking traffic, refusing to pay fines, and resisting arrest _actually_."

The trio stared at him blankly.

"Is he serious?" Sokka asked.

"I dunno," said Katara in a low undertone. "But I've had enough of this place. Let's go."

Mayor Tong tsked in a loud voice. With an ostentatious snap of his fingers, four members of the town guard surrounded Appa, forcing the Water Tribe siblings to back up against his fluffy hide. Sokka drew his boomerang as a precaution while Katara eyed the crowd, her hand resting a little too casually on her water skin. But it was Aang who finally jumped off the saddle and landed on his feet, his staff extended protectively in front of him.

"You're not arresting my friends. Let us pass."

The mayor squinted at him for a few seconds, seemingly perturbed by the monk's temerity. "Wait a minute...I know who you are...!"

Aang tensed his shoulders. "You do?"

To his surprise, Mayor Tong broke out into a wide grin, his eyes bright and gleeful. "You're the child who brought Kyoshi Island to her knees a few days ago! By pretending to be the Avatar...!" He waggled a finger teasingly at the Airbender. "Very clever. We've been enemies with Kyoshi since this village was founded three hundred and seventy years ago...we knew it was only a matter of time before those Avatar-lovers got what they deserved."

"Aang didn't destroy Kyoshi Island," Katara protested angrily. "It was invaded by the Fire Nation! Aang was trying to stop them!"

"Yes, yes, of course," the mayor agreed, winking broadly at the girl. "Don't worry, young lady. We can keep a secret. After all, we wouldn't want to go around blowing your cover. I'm certain you have other places to do your Avatar act, and it wouldn't do at all to spoil it now."

Aang looked like he wanted to say something, but Sokka grabbed his arm.

"So...you're _not _going to arrest us?"

"Of course not. Why, you three are _heroes_!"

Sokka stared very hard at Mayor Tong. It was clear from the look on his face that he found him a very, very small man indeed. Eventually he had to look away, too perturbed at the ludicrousness of the situation to maintain eye-contact.

"Then we'll be taking our bison and _leaving_," he said firmly. "But first, could you maybe answer a few of my questions?"

"Certainly. But surely you're not leaving so soon. We'd be honored if you allowed us to hold a feast for you. We should take this time to celebrate and rejoice over your stealthy handling of those villainous Kyoshi-curs."

Aang tightened his grip on his staff, looking pained and stung by this gross misunderstanding. These people were praising him for something terrible...something he had tried and failed to prevent. He lowered his face to the ground, his stormy eyes troubled and confused.

"But...I really _am _the Avatar," he said.

"_Sure, _you are," Mayor Tong agreed in a patronizing tone of voice. Then, he winked again. "Come now. Surely you can afford our hospitality for a few more days. What's the worst that could possibly happen?"

Unfortunately, the Gaang now knew all too well just what could happen if they stayed in one place too long. It had been a hard lesson, but it only needed to be taught once. Once was more than enough for them to get the point.

"Hey, what's going on here?" another voice demanded.

Everyone turned in time to see Kuba emerge from the door of the inn, flanked by a very anxious-looking Cui. She appeared to be trying to coax the boy back into bed, but nothing she said or did could change his mind. He stared hard at the group, his eyes narrowing at Mayor Tong. Holding his side gingerly, the young Earthbender made his way over to the group. He turned to Aang.

"What's happening?"

Katara put her hands on Kuba's shoulders, causing him to give her a _look_. She didn't seem to notice, though. "We're going to be leaving sooner than we planned. Are you feeling up to traveling with us?"

He scowled. "You're not leaving _me _behind."

She nodded distractedly, glancing over at Sokka again. She appeared nervous as her brother stood toe-to-toe with the village leader. Mayor Tong seemed completely at ease, too assured with his authority to feel any threat from the boy in front of him.

"So, you won't be staying, then?" he asked.

The Water Tribe boy glared at him. "No thanks. But I _would _like my questions answered, if you don't mind."

"Ask away."

There was a brief pause as Sokka drew a breath. He tensed up all of a sudden, as if he already sensed the answer to his question and didn't like it one bit. He steeled his resolve, rallied his courage, and let out a sigh.

"Just what happened to the defenders of Kyoshi Island?" the warrior asked slowly. "You know, the Kyoshi Warriors? Did they survive, or..."

Mayor Tong tossed his head. "Oh, those girls. From what I hear they were all taken prisoner by the Fire Nation. Good riddance. The last thing this world needs is any more Avatar Kyoshi wannabee's."

Sokka gritted his teeth. "But they're _alive_?"

"As far as I know. And being such a notable individual and such a vital asset to this community, I happen to have _very reliable _sources."

Kuba perked up. "How reliable?"

Mayor Tong turned to the boy, pleased to see someone interested in his alleged excellence. "Let's just say I have some friends in very high places. You won't be seeing _us _conquered by the Fire Nation any time soon." He squared his shoulders, as if he had just received a round of applause from an invisible audience. "I know everything that happens on this peninsula...and beyond it, too."

"Then can you tell me what happened to Julie?"

The man stared at him. "Joo...lee? I don't know anyone by that name."

"She has red hair cut short, like a boy's. And she used to be traveling with Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

Mayor Tong thought for a minute. "Now that you mention it, I do remember hearing about a person fitting that description. But I'm not sure it's the same person you were talking about, child." He turned away for a minute, reaching into his satchel and rummaging around. Finally, his hand closed around a rolled up piece of parchment, which he handed to Katara.

The Waterbender frowned, unrolling it.

"It's a Wanted poster," she said, staring down at the sketch of a red-haired teenager. "Julie, wanted alive...for _five hundred gold pieces_? It says to contact the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus with any information on her whereabouts..."

Kuba went stiff as a corpse when he heard that, but no one noticed. They were all too busy staring down at the poster.

Aang blinked. "That's the religious cult that Chaang was talking about. The one that attacked Zuko's ship trying to take Julie away."

"They must want her pretty badly to offer five-hundred gold pieces," Mayor Tong commented. "If you're after that reward, I'm afraid I don't have any information for you. Believe me, if I knew where that girl was, I'd have turned her in already. Five-hundred gold is a lot of money, you know."

"You can go now," Sokka snapped at him. "Thanks for the help!"

The man sniffed, turning on his heel and walking away and muttering to himself about ungrateful guests. He snapped for his entourage to follow him, leaving the Gaang to brood over what they had just discovered. The air seemed lighter as he disappeared down the street, something they all took advantage of with a group sigh. They turned back to the poster, contemplating.

"Well, this doesn't tell us where Julie is," said Katara finally. "But it does tell us that we're not the only ones looking for her."

"For her sake, we had better find her before someone else does," Sokka agreed. "She could be in some real trouble if these get spread around. Who knows how far these posters have circulated?"

Kuba clenched his hands into fists. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get our butts to Omashu...!"

Aang looked up at the sky. His face became determined as he stared at the gathering clouds, indicating rain. Turning back to the others, he nodded.

"To Omashu, then."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about me being such a whiner just now. I'm just having a bad day...or a string of them. Plus, I haven't been sleeping very well. It's starting to wear on me a little.**

**Anyway, we're starting to see some unexpected repercussions for what happened on Kyoshi Island. Aang is stepping up and asserting himself as the Avatar. Chin Village, rather than arresting him and the others for being Team Avatar, welcome them as heroes and try to hold a celebration in their honor. And things get really shaken up when they find out that the Brotherhood has yet to abandon their plans for Julie? What will this mean for Team Avatar? Will they ever come to clash with the Brotherhood? **

**And Zuko realizes just how steep of a price he'll have to pay for Julie's safety. He contemplates whether it was worth the sacrifice; especially given how much Julie has been distracting him from his true mission; to capture the Avatar. Almost as if proving his point, he finds himself unable to brood properly, too worried by Ayla's news to work up any genuine resentment. And those are only a few of the unforeseen consequences of his decision. You'll get a better idea of this next chapter...at least, if the characters stick to the script for a change, you will.**

**One last important note: I've been looking over the earlier chapters of this fic and am considering re-writing them. There are some inconsistencies that I've noticed; also, the tone of the first fifteen or so chapters doesn't really match up with the rest of the story. Reading them gave me the impression that this wasn't a serious story, and obviously it is...or it will be soon enough. **

**I've been trying to drive home the theme of "the butterfly effect" in this story; of how changing a few choice events can change the entire outcome of a person's destiny. Theoretically I could leave the crack in, leave the chapters as they are and still be able to maintain that theme. I mean, even with all the crazy things happening in the beginning, Julie quickly learns that this fun has a steep price.**

**What do you guys think? Does the first half of the fic need to be re-written? I won't take down the story or anything. I'll just repost the edited versions and mention in the author's note (of that chapter) that it's the revised-version.**

**Okay, enough talk. REVIEW!**


	60. Analyzing the Threats

**A/N: ****Huh. It seems I'm still alive to write this story. How convenient for all of you.**

**No, seriously. We just got whaled with a hurricane. Just when my carpet finally stopped being soggy (I can't afford a wet-floor vacuum yet, so I had to wait for the damn thing to dry...uggh!), along comes Hurricane Irene with a shitload of rain and enough wind to uproot several trees in one fell swoop. I just snuggled in my basement apartment and watched the ceiling leak during the commercial breaks. The rest of the time I just watched FMA Brotherhood. Not a bad way to pass the time, I daresay.**

**I'd have been writing, but I just knew that the power would go out and delete pretty much everything I toiled over. So I kept myself busy with non-perishable snack foods and anime reruns. **

**Of course, because I did _that _I never lost power. Freaking Murphy's Law.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. It will rock you like a hurricane...maybe. Who knows?**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Four: Analyzing the Threats**

"This is getting out of hand," Lieutenant Jee sighed.

He and General Iroh were both assembled in the infirmary, along with Shen-Long, Bo-Fen, and the healer Shim. They stared at each other with matching expressions of deep disquiet, none of them willing or able to offer any useful commentary. They had all been brought up to speed with what had happened at Kyoshi Island, and were at this moment discussing what should be done in regards to a certain Energybender. The most urgent issue being...

"Well, we always knew that Zhao would be a problem," said Iroh. "Even before Julie came along...even before Zuko had been banished by his father...he was always antagonistic towards him. I am not sure how much of his hunt for Julie was about punishing her...and how much was just another excuse to discredit my nephew. At this point, though, I think it is safe to say that Julie has made herself a permanent enemy out of Zhao."

"Which means he'll be back," said Jee quietly. "He'll come looking for our ship...and then..."

"No," Iroh interrupted. "Zuko tells me that Zhao was knocked unconscious by Julie's bending. I think he will assume that Julie has escaped with the Avatar and his friends and continue the pursuit. He will not have any reasons to suspect our crew."

"Yet," said Shen-Long miserably. "It's only a matter of time before he catches up with the Avatar and realizes that Julie isn't traveling with him. He'll put two-and-two together eventually, you know."

Bo-Fen shook her head. "It won't matter. Julie'll die of pneumonia long before Zhao thinks to look here. Not unless she comes out of the prison hold...which she won't do, now that she thinks Shim wants to slice her up like a fresh corpse." She shot the healer a withering look here.

Shim was unaffected. In fact, he didn't seem to be paying much attention. He was too busy looking over his scrolls on chi-therapy. He had covered the table with a number of diagrams of the human body with colored illustrations of the seven main chakras. Annotations littered every spare inch of the parchment, and every now and then Shim would pause to scribble down something he had heard from the conversation regarding Energybending.

"You know I never mean my patients harm, Bo-Fen," he said without looking up. "Everything I do is for the greater good...for the advancement of my knowledge of ailments and ways to treat them. It's a never-ending war...and there are casualties in war."

"Julie," Shen-Long growled. "...is _not_ going to be one of your _casualties_. If you so much as think about messing with her treatment, your dream for greater good is going to turn into a fucking nightmare."

There was a long silence.

"So, how are we going to get Julie out of the dungeons?" Bo-Fen asked flatly.

"Isn't it obvious?" blurted Jee in surprise. "We wait until she's asleep and then carry her out."

"That won't work. She's a light sleeper. The only time I've ever seen her sleep through the whole night straight was when she was running that fever from that shoulder-infection. Anyway, what's to stop her from going back down there when our backs are turned?"

"What does _that _matter? Once we bring her up, we'll lock her in the infirmary...or tie her to the bed. It can't be that hard to restrain her."

"I'm sure that'll go over _real _well," said Bo-Fen darkly. "Think about what you're saying, Sir. How do you think Julie'll react when she wakes up strapped to a mattress? Especially after everything she went through in the past couple of days. She'll panic."

The Lieutenant went quiet. His face clouded over as he pondered what the female soldier had said. "I can only imagine what she's thinking and feeling right now...she probably doesn't know who to trust on this ship anymore. That's why she locked herself in the prison hold. It's the one place people won't go looking for her." He clenched his hands into fists. "No young woman should live like this. Julie needs a sheltered, disciplined environment...not the hell she keeps stumbling into everywhere she turns."

He was quiet for a minute.

"You're right. She can't be forced to come out...not unless we have no other options. We just need to reason with her."

Iroh wasn't saying a word. He had a carefully blank expression on his face, his hands folded in his sleeves as he listened to the conversation.

"She's not just hiding from people who want to hurt her," Shen-Long muttered, speaking for the first time in several minutes. He stopped glaring at Shim to look at everyone in the room. "She's scared of herself. I just know she feels terrible for losing control of her bending back on Kyoshi Island...especially once she got a good look at Prince Zuko's hands. The look on her face was..." he trailed off, averting his gaze. "She just seemed so traumatized by it all. And I think that's why she's hiding. She's worried that she'll do it again to someone else. She doesn't want to hurt anyone."

"Unfortunately," said the ex-General quietly. "There are too many people who wish her harm. She will most certainly be attacked again. Most likely, she will be forced into bending again...and eventually she will go too far and kill someone. Hiding and refusing to train will only delay the inevitable."

"So, what do you recommend, Sir?"

Iroh thought for a minute. "If Julie refuses to see reason," he said slowly. "Then I don't know what else to do. She will not be able to stay a member of this crew; that much is certain. She is a danger to herself and the people around her...even if she never used her bending again there is the issue of the Brotherhood and Zhao. They both will continue to attack us to get to her. We are risking lives just to have her around."

Everyone looked at him in surprise. "So...you want us to make Julie leave the ship?" Jee asked, winded by the suggestion. "General Iroh, she's just a girl...and right now she's scared and confused. She can't even protect herself! She'll die on her own!"

The Dragon of the West nodded in agreement. "You are right. And I do not wish for things to come to this. I know for a fact that my nephew will take it rather hard if Julie leaves. He might not even allow her to go. He will insist on doing everything we can for her...and I feel the same way. Since she's come here, I've seen such an improvement in Prince Zuko's demeanor. They both have matured over the past few weeks...they bring out strength and fortuity in one another. It's inspiring."

"But if she doesn't learn to control her bending..." said Jee slowly.

Iroh nodded darkly. "She could seriously injure Zuko. She could kill him."

"It won't come to that," said Shen-Long, getting to his feet. "I'll talk to her. She just needs some time to...adjust to the situation. I'm sure once we make all of this clear to her, she'll...well...maybe I can get her to come out of the dungeon at the very least. We'll take this one step at a time."

He paused for a moment, thinking to himself.

"Maybe she won't come out for her own sake," he said slowly. "But if someone else needed her..."

"What are you driving at, Shen?" asked Bo-Fen.

He smiled. "I think I have an idea."

* * *

It should be said that while everyone else was trying to figure out what to do, a certain Prince of the Fire Nation was having a dilemma of his own. He had just woken up from his nap to find himself face to face with what could only be described as a dead man.

At first, Zuko thought he was seeing things. Perhaps he hadn't completely woken up and was still dreaming. Or maybe that blasted healer that slipped him some experimental drug that was making him have bizarre hallucinations. Either way, his mind, still only half-awake, was unable to compute the translucent man-shaped figure dressed in ridiculously old-fashioned Fire Nation armor.

It didn't help when the man, upon making eye contact with the prince, winked at him. The combination of that and the rather lewd grin made Zuko seriously consider crawling under the bed.

"_Havin' sweet dreams, boy?" _the dead guy asked in a ridiculous accent. Zuko could only assume it was some dialect spoken in the Fire Colonies. "_Bet you had a sweet young thing turning tricks in your mind, eh? You seemed so restless just now..._"

"Um...what?"

"_So, who is she? This girl you're so keen on?"_

Zuko could only stare and stare at him. "Are...are you...a spirit?"

The soldier shook his head impatiently. "_No," _he sneered. "_I be fluffy white bunny rabbit! Of _course _I'm a spirit. What are you? Daft?_"

"Um..."

Daft? No. Crazy, perhaps, but Zuko wasn't an idiot. He had remembered his uncle's stories about spirits and how they usually only showed themselves to people in times of great need. At the time he had chalked it all up to fanciful stories meant to amuse gullible children...but if this guy really was a spirit (and only an idiot could think otherwise, given that the man was _floating_ and had a pallor chalkier than talc) then that meant that he had dropped in on Zuko for a matter of great importance.

He sat up a little straighter, awake at last. "What are you doing in my room?"

The man wasn't really listening anymore. He was drifting around the room, looking at the few decorations that hung on Zuko's wall. The Fire Nation banner, the Dao swords (which had been returned to their old spot on the wall hooks), and the world map he had left unrolled over his table. "_Ye don't entertain much, do ye, lad? It's damn depressing in here. Why, I bet you don't even have a single bottle of fire sake around here..._" He looked hopefully at Zuko.

He frowned. "No."

"_Ah, well...not like I could enjoy it, anyway. No throat for it to burn, you see. Still, it might have come in useful...you could have invited that nice girlie over for a drink. I've known many a young lass to be _quite _obliging after a shot or two of good fire sake...if you know what I mean_."

Zuko just blinked. "What girl?"

"_Why, the one you were dreamin' about, lad."_

"I wasn't dreaming about any girl. I was just...sleeping. Look, is there any reason why you're here?"

"_Not particularly. I was just passin' through when you happened to notice me. Not many people can see us unless we want them too...and usually only powerful spirits can make themselves known to the livin'. I don't suppose you knew that." _The Fire Prince shook his head numbly. "_Well, now you know._"

Zuko furrowed his brow at that. No one he knew could see spirits. As far as he knew, people weren't supposed to be able to do this...and up until that mess with the Unagi and Ayla, he hadn't even seen a spirit before. He hadn't even gotten so much as a chill in a graveyard. What's more, he preferred to keep it that way. He had enough problems with _living _people without having to deal with dead ones too.

"_Hey, Zuko,_" said Ayla cheerfully, fazing into existence a few feet away. He jumped violently, almost falling off of the bed.

"Stop...doing that...!"

She smirked, and he was immediately and unpleasantly reminded of Julie. "_No wonder Julie likes teasing you so much. You make the funniest faces when you're bothered by something_."

"_Ah, so the girl's name is Ju-Li, now is it?_" the soldier asked, craning his neck in interest. "_Translates roughly to "beautiful flower"...hmmm...interesting name. And who is this charming creature? I don't believe we've met_."

To Zuko's disgust, he actually went so far as to waggle his eyebrows suggestively at Ayla. The spirit girl smiled politely, as though unaffected by the blatant flirtation. Encouraged, he ignored the scarred young man completely and took to hovering around her; as though examining her from all angles.

"_I'm Ayla,_" she said, oblivious. "_I take it you're another dead person. Nifty._"

The soldier took her hand. "_I may not have a beating heart in my chest, but the moment I laid eyes on you, Miss Ayla, I swear I could almost feel it stirring again. Your beauty is..._"

"_Thanks_," she interrupted, pleased by the compliment. "_I didn't know you were friends with Prince Zuko._" She glanced inquisitively down at the exile, tilting her head to the side like a small bird staring at a ladybug. "_How did you meet_?"

Zuko felt his patience waning, fast. "Just now," he said through gritted teeth. "Apparently I can see spirits now."

"_Oh!"_ Ayla exlaimed. "_That happens sometimes to humans after they've visited the Spirit World. They tend to become more...sensitive to supernatural presences." _She smiled reassuringly at him. "_There's absolutely nothing to worry about. This is just the low-level spirit. He can't hurt you. Though he might become a little grating after a while,_" she added, noticing for the first time that the soldier was planting kisses up her wrist and into the flowing sleeve of her kimono. "_Can I help you_?"

"_No,_" he said with a smirk. "_But I think I can help you. What do you say we...cross a few planes of existence...maybe get to know each other a little better? Hmm?_"

"_You completely disgust me_," she said in that same, affable tone of voice. Her smile never faltered an instant. "_Sorry_."

"_It ain't a wedding proposal, lass. I'm just talking about a little toss in the sack._"

Zuko was horrified. "You don't even have a body to...to..." he trailed off as his mind conjured up a very unwanted mental image. It didn't help that Ayla looked almost exactly like Julie, or that the old soldier was so ugly that his face stood out even with his eyes closed. "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

They both ignored him.

"_Can't you show an old man a good time?_" the soldier persisted, not letting go of Ayla's hand. "_I haven't had a good lay in about eighty years...and it's not like I have the leisure to..._interact _with my memories. I mean, look at me! The most thrill I've been able to get is peepin' at girls in the bath, and no offense, but the only women on this ship are flatter than an ironing board."_

It took Zuko a few seconds to process that. Then, he choked on his own spit.

"_Ah, don't get all worked up, boy," _he replied to the unspoken exclamation. The dead man sounded almost disgusted for some reason._ "It ain't worth peekin' at _those _broads. I mean, the redhead is kinda cute...but not my type. She's all scrawny like a boy."_

He glared at him. "Out. NOW!"

The soldier squared his shoulders, affronted. "_You'll end up like me one of these days, boy. Mark my words. Don't waste the time that you're here and solid...enjoy yourself while you can...in _both_ senses of the word. And while you're at it, show some respect for the dead!_"

In response, Zuko sent a wave of fire swooshing out of his fist, directly at the spirit's face. In five seconds flat, the man darted back and phased out of existence, making a loud raspberry as he went. Ayla tsked at him as he clutched the hand he had used Firebending with, cursing like a sailor.

"_You shouldn't push yourself so soon_," she chided him. "_Julie wouldn't want you to hurt yourself over a harmless old pervert_."

"Does Julie know that there are spirits watching her in the bath?" he wanted to know. "Or is that something else you decided not to tell her?"

Ayla frowned at him. "_What does she need to know that for? She's got enough to freak out over, don't you think? And besides, it's not going to change any time soon. Spirits are just drawn to Julie, like I was. It's only going to happen more and more as she gets stronger._"

Zuko was aghast. "And that's a good thing?"

"_Well...just look on the bright side. At least they're not _all _perverts._"

The Fire Prince gave her a disparaging look. "Yeah. Some of them are just homicidal...or manipulative. Some of them don't just want to stare at her. Some of them want to eat her. Or use her as a weapon. I feel much better."

Ayla beamed. "_Well, good. I'm glad." _She floated down and got right up into his face, causing Zuko to draw back in surprise. She giggled, winking at him. "_Now, take care, Zu. You don't want to give Julie any more reasons to worry about you, do you?"_

Before he could answer, she disappeared. The only thing that indicated she was even there to begin with was the sound of her voice echoing in the darkness. A girlish, disembodied chuckle. The sound of it brought shivers up his spine.

Eventually, though, Zuko had no choice but to slump back over his pillows and close his eyes. But the entire encounter had left him feeling cold and a little slimy. The thought of being able to see ghosts, the unwanted knowledge of what they were capable of, and the nagging paranoia that he was being watched made it impossible for him to relax. He wasn't able to unlock the muscles in his back until he started thinking about something else. Anything but this weirdness, or even his blood vow to murder Commander Zhao. He couldn't even bring himself to muse over the Avatar.

Something inside him was aching.

_Stupid peasant...stupid spirits..._ His thoughts began to drift as he fell asleep again. _Why would that girl worry about _me, _anyway?_

* * *

_The sun throbbed as it sank low against the horizon. Red, orangey-pinks, even purple crawled along the clouds, painting the never-ending stretch of sky above me. It was the kind of beauty that makes you feel like you're one with nature; the color-tinted waves lapped up against my toes with the rise and fall of the tide. It was almost like the ocean was synchronized with my breathing. Inhale...exhale..._

_I couldn't remember the last time I felt so whole...or so happy. I never wanted to leave this place. I couldn't understand this bubbling feeling surging inside of my tiny body. I couldn't have been more than eight-years-old. I had never felt this way before._

_"Wow..." I whispered._

_"It's just a sunset," said someone beside me. The boy's face was in shadow, and what few details were prominent in the light became blurry for some reason. But I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was confused. "Don't tell me you don't have _those _wherever it is that you're from."_

_I shook my head, wrinkling my nose. "That's stupid. Of course we have sunsets...it's just...usually there's too much smog and clouds to really notice them." I thought of the grey concrete and cheap neon lights back in the city and felt sad. "The colors are deeper here..._better_."_

_I closed my eyes, letting it all wash over me. I felt like a piece of driftwood someone had left on the beach. I couldn't remember how I had gotten here, or even the name of the person beside me. It didn't matter. All of this was right; who cared about the details? All I wanted was to curl up in the sand and become a part of this magical place. The pristine white grains covering my feet were radiating heat left behind from the summer sun. It was like a warm blanket._

_The water rushed back towards the ocean. It felt like the planet was sighing._

_I sensed the boy move closer to me. "You say that like you have to leave," he said. "I thought we were going to do this together."_

_"I know, but..." I hesitated. "I keep getting the feeling like...like I can't stay. This is going to end really soon. I can just feel it...right here."_

_Without realizing it, my hand drifted over to my stomach. My palm was covering the circular scar where Dad had taken that broken bottle and...I shook my head, pushing that thought out of my head. It didn't belong here. None of my old life belonged here. I was safe on this beach, with my friend beside me. If only I could see his face..._

Who are you?

* * *

"Julie..." the hand on my shoulder nudged me again. "Come on, wake up."

Someone was touching my face. The unfamiliar hand took my by the chin and tilted my face towards the light. It jarred me from my slumber. I sat up with a start, gasping. Without thinking, I swatted at the person kneeling beside me. I felt my arm connect with his shoulder, and the force of my swing sent me hurtling off of the cot. Seconds before I could hit the floor, the hands caught me, steadying me.

I found myself staring at the chest of a Fire Nation tunic. My eyes drifted up and met a pair of blue ones. "Shen-Long?"

He smiled, but it was a rueful smile. "I didn't mean to startle you. You weren't answering me, and I...well...after what you heard and saw...I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

I didn't answer him. Everything was coming back to me. The angry voices of people arguing...the marred skin over Zuko's hands...Shim's eerily avid curiosity and alive expression as he stared at me...and the memory of the Unagi coiling and writhing inside of me, twisting me into a more violent, hateful version of myself. And then I remembered how close I had come to slaughtering everyone in that clearing. The desire to rip Zhao into pieces, once tempting to me, now made me want to vomit all over the cold metal floor.

I had almost murdered someone. I had almost killed my friends. And I had hurt Zuko.

"You shouldn't be here," I said automatically. I jerked out of his grip and climbed back on to my cot, hugging my arms to my sides; as though to rid them of the feeling of his hands. I kept my gaze on the floor, hoping that he'd get the hint and leave.

"Neither should you," he replied smoothly. "Come on. Let's go back upstairs. I promise not to let anyone bother you; not even Shim."

"I came here to be alone."

Shen-Long shook his head, his eyes disdainful. "And you can't be alone somewhere that's _not _infested with elephantrats? I thought you hated those things"

"I do. I guess I'm just used to them by now. I mean, this whole ship is infested..." I trailed off, glaring at him. "But that's not the point. The point is that you shouldn't be here...with _me_. I'm unstable, remember?"

He got up and moved so that he was sitting next to me on the cot. The cell was so cramped that he ended up putting himself in my way; and I ended up sandwiched between him and the wall. I flinched and felt my back brush up against the metal. My heart skipped a beat as my eyes met his against their will. I rallied myself and gave him a furious look.

"What's the big idea?" I demanded. "Move!"

"I don't think so," he said lightly. "If you're not coming out, then I'm staying right here."

"The hell you are!" I tried kicking him off the cot, but Shen-Long caught my foot and held it firmly in his hands. I squirmed violently, trying to pry myself free. And since I was such a weenie, I had about as much chance of getting loose as a Chihuahua does from Paris Hilton's purse. Come to think of it, the Chihuahua might actually have better odds considering that one time she lost her own dog...whatsitsface...or something. Who cares?

"As I was saying, you're not getting rid of me. I'm staying with you whether you want me or not. You may as well get comfortable."

I was getting frustrated. Hell, I was past the point of frustration. Everything I said went straight in one ear and flew out the other; as though my words were being sucked up by a high-powered vacuum cleaner with a gaping hole in the bag. I wanted to beat the meaning of my words into Shen-Long's thick head. I wanted it more than I wanted a Big Mac during one of my dinners with Zuko (no chopsticks involved and it was fish free; besides the fact that I was really craving one, it was an entirely win-win situation).

"Listen," I said through gritted teeth. "I'm not screwing around here. I mean it...you can't trust me. Back at Kyoshi Island, I almost..."

"I know what happened at Kyoshi Island," he interrupted me. "Believe me, I pumped General Iroh for every single detail while you were sleeping down here. He told me everything...I can't imagine how confusing this must all be for you."

I frowned at him, cautiously meeting his eyes. "Yeah," I said slowly. "It's...really confusing...and I don't know how to control it. So I really need to be left alone so I don't hurt anyone else."

"That," said Shen-Long. "Is the _last _thing you need right now. What you really need is a fresh start; some good news. And I think I have just the thing..."

He reached into the satchel at his side and withdrew...holy _crap! _It was my _egg! _The egg I had won from that seedy gambler almost a week ago! All right, fine. Technically, Ayla had most of the work by telling me how to win, but still! It was _my _egg. And it was beautiful and not smashed by a bunch of sadistic sex-offenders in tin-man outfits.

"Omigod!" I gasped, reaching out to grab it. I was so happy to see it that I completely forgot that my foot was now free; all thoughts of kicking Shen-Long's butt were immediately driven from my mind. My hands stopped short inches away from the shell, trembling a little. "It's cracked...why is it like that?"

Shen-Long looked pleased with himself. "It's going to hatch very soon. I thought we could go upstairs and watch it together. Lieutenant Jee and my sister said they'd join us, and Shim has everything set up so the baby eelhound can be assimilated to the ship. He said it might not be a good idea for it to imprint in this kind of environment, you know."

I shivered. I didn't like the idea of a newborn opening its eyes to this festering little shit-hole of a cell. I could handle it, but a baby?

"Then take it away. I shouldn't be near it," I whispered. "What if I...what if I hurt it?"

"You won't. You carried that egg yourself all this time. You're practically its mother. So you're the one who's going to take care of it. You're lucky I was nice enough to keep an eye on it while you were gone."

"Kuba carried it more than I did," I muttered. Then something occurred to me. "Hey, where _is _Kuba? He's not hurt too badly, is he?"

Shen-Long blinked at me in surprise. "Kuba? We only found you and Zuko in the water..."

My stomach clenched tight. "He's...not here?"

It seemed that Shen-Long just realized his mistake. I could tell that he had been using the egg as a lure to drag my butt out of the prison hold...that he had been hoping I'd feel obligated enough over the newborn eelhound to end my self-imprisonment for good. It was obvious that he had never meant to drag Kuba into this conversation. And now that he had, he wished he could rewind and stuff a sock in his mouth. At least, I assumed as much given the look on his face.

"I'm sure he's fine," he said hastily, pushing the egg in my hands. "He's a strong boy...and he's smart enough to take care of himself."

I shook my head slowly, a groan escaping my throat. With nothing better to do I pulled the egg into my stomach and hugged it, trying to press its warmth into my skin. I still felt cold, though. Kuba was missing, and I...how could I have been so selfish? I should be out there looking for him, not down here in this dingy little cell. He needed me...I just knew it. For fuck's sake, he had gotten kicked in the gut with a _flaming boot! _Of course he needed help!

I hadn't realized I had stood up until Shen-Long caught my shoulders, steadying me. "Easy! Where's the fire?"

I looked up at him with wide eyes. "I have to find Kuba. He's hurt, and I...he got hurt protecting me." I swallowed. "I have to find him."

"You're not going back to Kyoshi Island," he said firmly. "Come on...let's go upstairs. We can talk about this with Lieutenant Jee if it makes you feel better. And we can take care of the egg while we're there. Now, how does that sound?"

He spoke in a low, even tone. He didn't lose his temper with me the way Zuko might have; he must have realized that I'd only plant my heels in the ground and argue with him if he got angry. Instead, he kept his tone nice and calm. It was somewhat soothing, even though it irritated me to see how placating he was being. It made me realize how much I actually enjoy a good argument now and then.

Shit. I missed Zuko.

"And Jee will help?" I asked hopelessly. "He'll...he'll fix this?"

"He can try," Shen-Long offered. "We all will. But only if you come out of that cell."

I nodded. I may have been a hazard to the people around me, but when it came right down to it that boy was more important. He was just a child. If it weren't for me, he'd never have met Zhao in the first place. Kuba didn't deserve to be dragged to a strange place like Kyoshi Island and then left to die. It wasn't right!

Anyway, I figured I could keep a lid on my powers for as long as it took to find him. And after that...

_I'm dangerous_, I thought. _I can't have Kuba near me. He could get hurt again._

Shen-Long took me gently by the arm and led me out of the dungeons.

* * *

**A/N: So, in a weird way Shen-Long gets Julie to come out of hiding...but at what price? Now that she knows Kuba is missing, she's willing to do anything to get him back. Even if it means being around other people. Even if it means asking for help. But will this last? Or will she go back to not trusting anyone and laying around in the dark?**

**Angsty? Yes, it is. I just feel like I'm weighing this fic down with angst lately. So, I threw in the Zuko scene for a few laughs. A few notable points about that part of the chapter: Zuko can now see spirits; no, he could not see them before; and yes, a creepy dead guy is trying to hook up with Ayla. In short, Zuko learns really quickly that not all spirits are enlightened. In fact, a lot of them are deadbeats.**

**Things get much lighter-toned next chapter. We'll see the egg finally hatch, and lots of fluff is on the way. I just hope you all enjoy it when it gets here.**

**In the meantime, REVIEW!**


	61. Bending Over Backwards

**A/N: Okay, so something really creepy happened to me not long after posting the last chapter. And it was sufficiently creepy enough to put me off my writing for a few days after it happened...which is why I'm updating later than usual. Sorry, guys.**

**Anyway...I think I need to change the locks on my door.**

**Heh. That sure got your attention. Honestly, I don't know if this thing actually _happened_ or whether I just dreamed it. I mean, it was the middle of the night. I could have been...you know...asleep or something. But I don't usually dream so lucidly, so...**

**Right. Getting to the point.**

**Okay, so a few nights ago I was sleeping. Nothing out of the ordinary, there. I was having better dreams than usual, I might add. There was a car chase and everything. I'm pretty sure we were the ones that hijacked that bus...and the explosions. My God, the explosions. Anyway, typical sleepy-time bad-assery, all around. Nothing to lose sleep over.**

**Heh. Bad puns.**

**All of a sudden, I find myself lurching painfully back into consciousness. And standing over me is this guy. Like, a strange man I never saw before in my life. The dude was staring at me from underneath his glasses and not saying anything. So, of course, my first instinct (in my limited span of consciousness) is to swat at him with my palm as though he were a fruit fly and go, "No! Go! Get out!"**

**Scared the bejeezus out of me, that he did. And two seconds later, he just _vanished_. Like, he wasn't even there to begin with. And, I swear to anything that could possibly be construed as _sacred _that I am not making this shit up. This really happened to me!**

**So, I'm sitting there, blinking at the spot where he was standing. All around me you could hear those stupid cricket things chirping away, like nothing was wrong. And my heart is pumping adrenaline and God knows what else through my veins. I'm not even saying anything anymore. I'm just staring at the darkness. And then two things hit me at once: **

**One, the spot I had seen him was actually over my bed. Not either side of the bed; not the foot of the bed. _Over _the bed.**

**Two, it was pitch black. So, how the fuck had I even seen him in the first place? How could I even tell he was wearing glasses?**

**I know, I know. I'm overreacting. I had gotten up to check the front door (the only exit, having no windows in my _basement _apartment) and it was locked up tight. There was no one in the house. Just me and the stupid cricket things. God, I hate those crickets. Smug-assed sons of bitches, with their incessant _chirping_.**

**Finding no one around, I blinked around at my dark, empty apartment, lumbered off to pee, and then went back to sleep. Hell, I probably dreamed the whole thing. I mean, come on. This is exactly what happened to Zuko in the last chapter (minus the pervy dialogue and supernatural flirtations; the guy I saw wasn't even passably attractive in the two seconds I got a look at him). My mind could have just been playing tricks on me. It was four in the morning, I'm pretty sure.**

**And let me tell you right now that it's much more fun to write ghost stories than to actually experience one. It's a lot of chills and no answers. It was the single most heart-stopping moment of my life (I lead a boring existence, all and all), even though it could have all been a dream. Only...I've never had a dream like _this _before.**

**But, whatever. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy in case the ghost comes back and eats my face or sucks my soul into a screaming vortex that opens up into another dimension, from which there is no return. Because apparently that's what _all _ghosts want these days. Or so I'm told.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Five: Bending Over Backwards**

It was raining. And raining. And raining.

"This sucks," Kuba muttered, drawing the blanket tighter around his shoulders.

For the past hour he had been sitting at the mouth of the cave and staring morosely up at the sky. The storm had come upon them so suddenly that they barely had time to land Appa before the clouds had opened up. And they had gotten a good soaking for their troubles. Wet, dripping, and miserable, the gaang moved their belongings into their temporarily shelter while waiting for the bad weather to pass them by.

Sokka was trying and failing to get a fire started. He knelt in front of his pyre in the making, futilely rubbing two sticks together in hopes of lighting even the smallest of sparks. He was grumbling under his breath, giving everyone the signal to avoid him until he was dry and fed. Fat chance of that happening any time soon.

Aang was still outside, trying to cajole Appa under some trees so that he could have some place to hide from the rain. Katara sighed as she climbed back into the cave, having failed to coax the Avatar back inside. He was being unusually stubborn about it. He wouldn't come inside until he was sure that Appa would be all right. No amount of reassurance would persuade him.

Katara took a moment to wring out the rainwater from her hair before plunking down next to Kuba. "Why don't we go deeper into the cave?" she suggested. "You'll just get wetter over here."

Kuba shook his head. "I'm fine here."

The Waterbender furrowed her brow. "All right then," she consented, giving him an odd sideways look. She hesitated for a moment, not really sure of what to say to the boy. Granted, she wasn't feeling up for a conversation herself, but she figured that Kuba was a part of their group now. She may as well make a genuine attempt at getting to know him. Besides, he must have been lonely without Julie.

She cleared her throat. "So," she began. "You're an Earthbender, huh?"

He glanced at her, eyes wary. "Yeah," he said, a tad defiantly. "So, what?"

Katara sensed that there was something guarded in the boy's expression. Something he didn't want to discuss...a sore spot.

"I think it's great," she said. "How long have you been able to bend?"

Kuba hunched his shoulders, pressing the small of his back against the cold stone. He shivered, glaring outside again. The sky was swirling greys and blacks, shifting into monstrous shapes with the wind. Not a single light from the midday sun emerged from behind those clouds.

"I couldn't always," he muttered. "I noticed I could do it when I was five." He slumped a little. "I don't want to talk about it, okay?"

Katara frowned. "Why not?"

He didn't answer. He just stared at his shoes, his eyes glassy. The Waterbender felt her expression soften at the genuine sadness on Kuba's face. She stared at him, wondering how someone so small could carry such a deep hurt...whatever it was. His shoulders were slack, as though a heavy weight were pressing them down.

"You know," she said slowly. "I'm a Waterbender. I know it's not the same as Earthbending, but...I think we have something in common. We both want to get better at what we can do. And we both have people we want to protect."

Kuba glanced at her. "I've heard about your kind. Bending of the elements is dangerous...a false art. True bending comes from the energy inside of us, not from the forces surrounding us. Manipulating nature is wrong and should be punished."

Katara was surprised. And a little angry. "Who told you that?"

"My parents."

For a moment, he considered telling her the truth; that his mother and father were both loyal acolytes of the Brotherhood's Raven sect...that they despised the elemental benders in any shape and form...that this made him afraid to reveal what he truly was. But that would also mean telling these people that he ran away. He would have to tell them about how his parents gave him up as a sacrifice the moment they found out he could bend earth.

No. They wouldn't understand. They didn't seem to understand bad things like Julie did. He could just look at her and _know _from the look in her eyes. She had been in bad places and had bad things happen to her; and yet she did good things like save him from Commander Zhao and become his friend.

_Katara and Sokka are good, but that's just because they haven't met the bad things yet, _he decided. _They wouldn't get it at all._

Almost as if proving his point, Katara started to shake her head slowly. Incomprehension and indignation were the most prominent things flashing in her crystal blue eyes.

"Why did they say something like that?" she demanded. "If they knew you were an Earthbender, than wouldn't they be..."

"I _said _I don't want to talk about it," Kuba snapped, balling his hands into fists. He folded his arms and turned his back on the Water Tribe girl, not giving her another glance. "And quit acting like you understand everything. You may be older, but you're still just a kid."

There was a low whistle coming from the camp-fire. "Ouch."

Katara shot her brother a look. "No one asked your opinion, Sokka."

"Hey, I'm just calling them as I see them. Besides, we won't be reaching Omashu for another five days at least...given the weather. Anyway, we may as well try to get along until we get there."

"I'm trying to," she replied impatiently. But nothing more was said for the next five minutes as they watched the wind tear apart the trees and the rain pelting down on the rocks and dirt, forming a thick layer of mud underneath the grass. Everyone felt like bad company at the moment.

Katara glanced at Kuba, deciding to try again.

"You want to know how I found out I was a Waterbender?" she asked innocently.

Sokka groaned. "Not _this _story again. Please."

"You want me to freeze your mouth shut, Sokka?"

Kuba watched the exchange between the two siblings, uncomfortably reminded of the brother and sister who worked on Zuko's ship. The ones that were always following Julie around and muttering about the other clans of the Brotherhood. It occured to him, suddenly, that even if those two knew too much and couldn't be trusted, they were still human. As human as the brother and sister from the Water Tribe. What's more, they were a real family. A strange ache burgeoned in his chest.

_I could have a real family too, if I wanted,_ he grumbled. _Once I find Julie, we'll be a family._

"I want to hear the story," he said loftily, cutting the siblings off from their argument.

Katara and Sokka looked at each other.

"It was a long time ago," she began, when it looked as if no one would say anything. "I was just a little girl. Dad had taken some of the other warriors to go hunting for tiger-seals, and Sokka was supposed to be looking after me since Mom was preparing dinner. It was going to be a feast celebrating the approach of winter...an end to day after day of cold darkness."

Kuba looked confused. "Darkness?"

"We live in the South Pole," Sokka explained. "Our summer is like your winter...only the sun never rises. It's probably the same at the North Pole, only during the winter."

"Oh. So, what happened?"

"Sokka got the idea for us to go hunting," Katara continued, smiling at the memory. "He was mad because he didn't get to go along with the men, so he was going to prove he was a hunter by catching something for the feast. He wanted to do it alone, but he had promised to look after me...right, Sokka?"

He sighed. "I remember."

"And he had taken us over to this ridge with his boomerang. We were making good progress. I was doing my best to keep up with Sokka, but he kept jumping ahead trying to scout out an animal for us to hunt. I ended up slipping off of my perch and sliding all the way down to the bottom of a snow bank. And I wasn't alone."

Kuba unconsciously leaned in, drawn in by the story. "Something else was down there with you?"

"A full-grown male walrus-seal," Sokka replied grimly. "He wasn't feeling very sociable, either. He would have snapped Katara's head clean off her shoulders if she hadn't surprised him by sliding into him. But he was quickly getting over that. I only had time to hear her scream before I realized something was wrong. I had turned around in time to see her fall into the ditch."

"It was scary," Katara admitted. "I thought I was a goner. But then all of a sudden Sokka was leaning over the edge, yelling and waving his arms...trying to get the walrus-seal's attention. It looked at him, then looked at me. The noise was making it angry."

"It loomed over her, ready to bite her in half with its tusks...I drew my boomerang and threw it, but I was a terrible shot back then. It missed and fell into the snow...useless."

"And I just sat there in the snow, waiting for it to eat me. I put my hands up over my face to protect myself, even though I knew it wouldn't do any good. I had never felt so scared in my life. And then..."

"And then?" Kuba repeated.

Katara smiled. "The ice underneath it suddenly melted. A giant hole appeared in the ice out of no-where, and the walrus-seal fell in. I just sat there staring at it in shock when Sokka ran in and grabbed me by the arm, pulling me back up the slope. We ended up running all the way home...as if it were chasing us."

The young Earthbender frowned. Then, he understood. "You melted the ice underneath the walrus-seal."

"By accident. We didn't even realize what had happened until later, when we told our mother what had happened. She was the one who figured out that I had used Waterbending to save our lives."

"Yeah," said Sokka dryly. "And then she told Dad...man, were we in trouble, then. Remember how mad he was that we had gone off on our own?"

"Remember? We had to miss the feast and everything. He sent us both to bed without any supper, and then we got saddled with extra chores for two whole weeks because of your little stunt..."

"_My _stunt," the Water Tribe boy repeated, as though the words were foreign to him. "Don't you mean _your _stunt? I mean, you were the one doing the Waterbending."

"Yeah," Katara retorted. "But it was _your _idea to go down there in the first place."

"No, I wanted us to go to the far-off ridge to look for a penguin or something. _You _were the one who couldn't keep their balance and _fell_ into a walrus-seal's lair."

"You were the one who just _had _to go hunting! I would have been fine with a snow-ball fight, but instead you decided to drag me off into the _wilderness _so I could almost get eaten!"

Kuba watched the siblings go at it, back and forth until his eyes started to ache. Shaking his head slowly, he edged back towards the other side of the cave's exit. He didn't notice Aang, who was just coming in at that moment. The monk seemed to be so wet and dejected that he didn't see Kuba either, and he almost tripped over the smaller boy in his haste to get inside.

"Sorry," said the Airbender quickly. Then, he noticed Katara and Sokka bickering. "Um...what happened?"

Kuba thought for a minute. "I guess...family stuff."

_I wonder if all families are this weird, _he mused. _Or if it's just them._

* * *

I felt like a condemned prisoner as I sat in front of Jee and Iroh. Bo-Fen stood behind me, slightly to my left...as though she were some sort of guard. I didn't like this set-up. Having so many people around and so close to me tugged at my frayed nerves. It made me wonder if this was how phobias were born; to feel so trapped so often was starting to give me an unwanted sense of claustrophobia. The walls of Jee's study felt like they were inching closer, smothering us all.

I wanted to go back to my cell. It was cramped down there too, but at least I could be alone.

It was only the thought of Kuba that kept me from bolting. If I had any chance of tracking him down, I would have to cooperate with these people. Even if they hated and feared me after what happened on Kyoshi. No matter how much I couldn't be trusted, I had to find a way to keep my promise to that boy; at the very least I could do that. After all, hadn't I told him that I would never leave him? And not even a day later I had abandoned him...that was how he would probably see it, anyway, my own intentions be damned.

Breaking a promise to a child is one of the worst things you can do. I knew that all too well. My dad had broken so many of them when I was a kid that I couldn't keep track of them anymore. My entire world had been made of lies.

_Make things right_, I told myself. _Fix this. It doesn't matter what it takes...or how much it costs_.

"I know I'm not in the position to ask for favors," I said in a low voice. "But...if Kuba is out there, somewhere...I have to find him. I have to make sure he's okay. It's my fault he got dragged to Kyoshi Island in the first place. Please..."

"Spirits, girl," Jee said, shaking his head in surprise and (I could see) chagrin. "You barely survived that last ordeal. You're telling me you want to go looking for the boy, now? You're barely on your feet right now."

My knees felt unsteady, like a newborn deer's. But I wasn't about to acknowledge that to anybody. It kind of made me mad that I was so easy to read.

"I have to try," I whispered. "Kuba's just a kid. And he's my friend. I _promised _that I wouldn't leave him, and I...how can I just leave him behind? He could be dead right now, and if I don't at least _try _to find out what happened to him...then..."

"Is this about easing your conscience?" Iroh wanted to know.

I blinked at him, not comprehending. "Kuba needs me. And...I need him too, I guess. Isn't that enough of a reason for me to want to help him?"

His gaze slid over me, his countenance wrapped up in a contemplative frown. "You don't owe him anything, you know. You already saved his life when you fought for him during your Agni Kai. If anything, he was the one who chose to follow you. It sounds as if he knew the risks...and was willing to stay by your side regardless of the consequences."

"He's just a kid," I repeated in frustration. "If he were older...if he had anywhere else to go, he wouldn't have chosen to go with me. And it isn't right for me to put him at risk just because he's too young to understand that he was putting his life on the line." I tightened my hands into fists. "I _won't _take him for granted like that. I won't take anyone for granted like that."

"You already have."

I flinched in my chair, but Iroh was already up and pacing towards the other side of the room. He passed by me as if I wasn't really even there. I wasn't used to him being so cool. It reminded me that this man was so much more than he appeared to be at a glance. Gone was the jolly persona, replaced with something almost business-like, a ruthlessness that belonged to a leader of men...to a bringer of war.

He glanced at me with piercing golden eyes...like Zuko's. I never understood his title, Dragon of the West, so poignantly as I did now.

"Even if you were to find Kuba, it sounds as if he would be better off away from you...and I say this only because you said as much yourself."

"It's the truth," I replied quietly.

"Only if you let it be," said Iroh firmly. "If you don't take responsibility for your abilities...if you continue to refuse to train and hone your bending, you truly will become a danger to the people around you. In that case, I would have to agree. Kuba would be better off elsewhere...which would make your pursuing him pointless...even harmful to him. Well?"

I swallowed. "I...I...don't think I can leave him by himself, but..."

"Then there is only one option for you," he continued. "If you are serious about wanting to protect your friends...if you truly meant what you said about not taking your loved ones for granted, then you must master Energybending. As soon as possible."

I stared at him in shock. "But...General Iroh, that...how am I even supposed to do that? I'd have to practice on someone else...I could hurt them. It's just so easy for me to lose control." I closed my eyes, feeling the memory slide over me; what it had been like to hold a person's life in my hands, like a twig I was about to snap in half. "I'm not doing it. Not again...not after what I did to Zuko."

To my mortification, I could feel tears under my eyelids, pushing to get free. I squeezed my eyes shut more tightly, trying to act as though I were using my fist to wipe away sleep crust. I could feel my hand shaking a little. Damn...how long had it been since I had last eaten?

"It scares you," said Iroh softly. "But this problem will not go away by ignoring it. We must take decisive action." He hesitated for a few seconds before putting a hand on my shoulder. I could sense his former coldness washing away, smoothing the rough edges of his fading anger. "It will be all right. We'll do whatever we can for you until you reach your goal. And in the meantime, we can keep an eye out for Kuba."

My head shot up in surprise. "You...you're going to help me?"

He patted my shoulder again. "Of course. My nephew almost died trying to save you. I'm not about to spit on such a noble sacrifice by turning my back on you in your hour of need."

I fell mute, strangely touched...and at the same time, a familiar ache twisted a knot in my stomach.

"Zuko...almost _died_...?"

Iroh nodded. "It wasn't _your _fault. I realize that now. It should have been clear from the very beginning, but for some reason..." he smiled ruefully. "I can be a bit overprotective of my family, Julie. You understand?"

I nodded, my throat swollen. I didn't look at him. I couldn't.

"Even if he doesn't show it, Prince Zuko cares about you very much. You know that, don't you?" Iroh met my startled gaze with a much warmer smile than I had seen all day. As if the look on my face had endeared myself somehow. "You are one of the only friends he has made during his journey...so you should understand that he is a complicated young man. He doesn't always express himself very well."

"I haven't done anything," I muttered. "And I won't help him capture the Avatar. He should hate me."

"I don't think he hates you. Not at all."

Jee got up from his chair, alarmed by the look on my face. He shooed Iroh away before putting his hands on my trembling shoulders, rubbing the spot on my back in between my shoulder-blades. I think he thought I was going to cry. Hell, I felt like crying.

"It'll be all right, Julie," he said firmly. For a moment, I was surprised at the extent of the fierceness and sincerity in his voice. I had never expected Jee to give a damn about my emotional state, but there it was. "We're going to get this under control. General Iroh and I have been talking, and we think we might have a way for you to train without endangering anybody."

I turned my face to the ground so that no one could see how torn up I was. "How?"

There was a knock on the door, interrupting the Lieutenant before he could muster up an answer. We all looked up in tandem and saw Shen-Long leading Shim into the room. He glanced pointedly at the egg I had been cradling in my lap the entire time. Instinctively, I pulled it closer, trying to hide it from Shim's unnerving stare. If he so much as laid a finger on it, I would claw his face off.

"Ah," said the healer, smiling benignly. "So, your egg is about to hatch, I see. Well, I wouldn't hold it so close to you, Julie. It'll be pretty messy when the newborn gets out of its shell, and I don't think you want embryonic fluid all over your dress."

"It's practically in shreds, anyway," Bo-Fen commented, startling me. She was being so quiet I had forgotten she was even there. "We should get her some new clothes, don't you think?"

Jee nodded, a new focus coming into his face. "That's the least of what she'll need. We'll have to go shopping at the next port...we'll need a new wardrobe, I think...some simple, but feminine outfits should suit you just fine. And, of course, a new bed."

I glanced at him sharply. "...the hell?"

The Lieutenant fixed me with a stern look. "Did you forget? We made arrangements weeks ago for you to meet with your suitors as we traveled around the world, searching for the Avatar. You don't think you'll win them over wearing armor all the time, do you?"

My mouth went dry. Because, of course I had forgotten. Even with all of his boring lady-lessons practically beaten into my skull, in spite of all the hours I had wasted perfecting my posture and manners, it all was driven clean out of my mind in the wake of...well..._everything_. Now that Jee was bringing it up, again, I was shocked. Not just shocked; horrified. And extremely confused.

"I'm a walking disaster, Jee...and you _still _want me to meet a bunch of _guys_? And what the hell is the bed for?"

"For your new room. We're not having you sleep in the prison hold anymore...and quite frankly I don't want to leave you in the hold with the rest of the crew. Especially after what happened. An unattached young lady shouldn't keep such company, anyway. It's for your own good...and I don't want to hear any arguments," he added, taking a more unyielding tone of voice.

Arguments? I hadn't even begun to _understand_, let alone argue.

Jee noticed the bewildered look on my face. I saw his eyes soften. "Don't worry. Hopefully, by the time you have your first appointment you won't have any problems with your bending. I think you can do this if you put your mind to it. I really do."

I looked over at Iroh, who nodded, then at Bo-Fen and Shen-Long (the latter had a very chagrined look on his face, but I couldn't figure out whether it was the side-effect of standing so close to Shim or simply all this wedding talk. I know it gave _me _a headache, so I wouldn't be surprised if it did the same to him). Abruptly, I turned my gaze to my hands and sighed.

"Fine," I said. "What's your plan?"

* * *

Zuko was hoping that this newfound ability to see and hear spirits would ebb over time. If anything, it only got worse...that is, if the rising frequency in spirit traffic on his ship was any indication. On one hand, meeting so many dead people certainly helped him forget about that mind-scarring first encounter with that sex-crazed colonist. On the other hand...

"_Arrrrrgh...!_" the one-eyed man growled at him. "_Big as a whale, was he...and twice as hairy! I had him pinned with me harpoon, but it did little good. Ol' Captain Dead-Eye was certain he would end up at Davy Jones's Locker, that he did_."

...he never really got any sleep anymore.

Ayla nodded in child-like fascination. "_Wow_," she breathed. "_So, how did you get away, Captain Dead Eye?_"

"_Get away? I fought that beast to the death! Sure...I ended up losing me eye...and a few limbs, but all in all it was a worthwhile catch. I'm the first and only man ever to go toe-to-toe to a lionturtle-fish and...um..._"

"_Live?_" she offered helpfully.

"_What? No. I died horribly. But I think I might've scratched him as I went down...!_"

Zuko groaned, smooshing the pillow over his head and trying to drown out the conversation. This was getting ridiculous. He would have thought that since _Julie _was the one these spirits were drawn to, _she _would be the one they'd be harassing. But no. Sweet Agni, no. They all decided to migrate into his room instead. For the entire time that Captain Dead-Eye was there, Zuko laid awake trying to figure out what he could have done to deserve being exposed to his presence. It was unbearable.

Just when he thought things couldn't have gone any weirder, another guest decided to drop by.

"_Huh_," a man in his early-twenties murmured, glancing curiously around the room. "_This doesn't look like the Spirit World. Where am I?_"

Zuko moved the pillow off of his face and gave him a weary look. "My room. And no, you're not welcome here, so you may as well leave...and while you're at it, take Captain Dead-Eye with you."

The newcomer blinked at him for a few seconds. "_Honestly, I'd say you're the one with the dead eye. Hey, wait a minute...I know who you are!"_

The Fire Prince was so exhausted that he couldn't even muster up the right indignation over the "dead-eye" comment. Besides, he had heard enough commentary from Julie to desensitize him from most stray remarks about his scar.

"Wonderful," he muttered. "Now, go away."

"_No, really. You're Prince Zuko...Fire Lord Ozai's son...right?_"

"Uh, huh."

"_Holy Spirits...! You know, my boss really had it out for you...still does, as far as I can tell. You've met him, I think...Commander Zhao."_

That got Zuko's attention. "You worked for Zhao? But...you're dead."

"_Yeah. Shit happens during a war._"

Ayla and Captain Dead-Eye both nodded in sympathetic agreement. In a surreal way, he felt as though he were sitting in on a support group-therapy session for the recently departed. But was he the mediator...or just another inmate? Granted, Zuko was pretty sure he was still alive; but if this kept up, he was pretty sure he would kill himself just to be rid of present company. Already he was resisting the urge to swallow a razor blade.

"How did you die?" Zuko asked the young man.

"_It was a bitch...no, I mean literally. A bitch killed me._"

He frowned. "I don't think I understand."

The ghost sighed in frustration. "_I was a new recruit when she first showed up. Commander Zhao was still recovering from the injuries he had gotten from the Agni Kai...he was expected to die, too. But then this Lady Mantis showed up and said she could fix him. And she did. None of us could figure out how she did it, but...well...Zhao's alive. Anyway, the upshot of it is that the bitch went and killed me. For no good reason!"_

"_That sucks,_" said Ayla. "_I can understand your frustration. Senseless murder is never the answer_. _Maybe you should apologize._"

"_Weren't you listening? I didn't _do _anything. She just went and cut my throat a few days ago because she was _bored_." _

He paused for a moment, as though reconsidering his former statement.

"_Well...okay, sure. She did take me behind one of the life-boats and fuck me senseless one night, but what kind of way is that to treat a booty-call? Sure, I have hard feelings for some of my exes...but I never went and carved my initials into their larynx for crying out loud! I mean, I didn't think I needed a safety word for _that_, you know what I'm saying? There are just some things you don't..._do._"_

Zuko felt his jaw drop. "W-what? She did..._what_ to you behind a life-boat?"

Everyone ignored him.

"_Arrrrrrrrgh...!" _Captain Dead-Eye grunted in an unnecessarily loud voice. "_She's a keeper._"

"_I dunno," _the spirit girl contradicted thoughtfully._ "I was kind of starting to think that she was a rotten skank. But I guess to each their own, right?_"

"_ARRRRRRRRRRGH...! I was being sarcastic, lassie._"

"_Oh...! I see...!"_

Zuko groaned. He could feel a migraine coming on.

"_Say,_" said the young man suddenly, looking at the Fire Prince with renewed interest. "_Is it true what she was saying to Commander Zhao? About that Julie-girl? About her being an Energybender...and how she's trying to destroy the fabric of reality and all that metaphysical garbage? I mean, you would know. You were the one that found her, right?_"

He stared at the ghost in shock. "Julie isn't trying to do anything except...not die. As far as I know, at least." And granted, he didn't know as much as he would have liked, but still. Julie didn't seem like the maniacally evil type. "Where on earth did Zhao get that idea, anyway?"

"_Not the Commander. Mantis said it. She was telling anyone who would listen that Julie is going to destroy the whole world. I mean, I don't know if _she _really believes that...either way, it's pretty clear that she wants the girl dead. I'd hate to be her right now._"

Zuko winced. Great. Another enemy.

He was uncomfortably reminded of the woman leading the invasion forces on Kyoshi Island; the conniving femme fatale in black leather who he had met in the woods, with the sharp tongue and invasive hands. Mantis...the woman who claimed to know Julie better than Julie knew herself. Come to think of it, they had looked a lot alike, too; only Mantis had long ebony hair. Maybe they were related or something.

Spirits. Zuko hoped not. That would just add insult to the injury that she had tried to molest him back there.

It could be that she had been lying about her connection to Julie. After all, if Mantis was the kind of woman to slit a guy's throat after seducing him, she probably had no qualms about lying either. Hell, she sounded bat-shit insane. _It doesn't change the fact that she wants Julie dead_, he reminded himself. _Agni...how many people want to kill this girl, anyway?_

And how long could he hold up against the inevitable? How long would it be before he wasn't strong enough to protect her? Before this lost cause destroyed his chances of returning home with his honor intact? He had already made a mortal enemy of Zhao. If the Commander ever put the pieces together and figured out that he was the one in the Blue Spirit mask, it would all be over. He'd be a wanted criminal...a stain on his father's name.

"I need to get some air," said Zuko quietly, getting up from the bed and trying very hard not to walk through any of the spirits. To his irritation, he noticed that a few more had shown up, and were happily setting up what looked like a full live band-complete with strings, woodwinds, and even back-up singers. Groaning to himself, he ducked out the door and all but sprinted down the hallway.

_This is all too much, _he thought mechanically. _I need to find Uncle._

He wondered if Iroh was still trying to coax Julie out of the dungeons. But this thought died prematurely as he almost collided into another ethereal presence. This time it was a much older woman with a sad face. Zuko felt his breathing hitch at her sudden appearance. The woman gave him the once-over, her expression decidedly tired and woebegone. Something about her seemed familiar, though.

"Um..." Zuko said slowly. "Do I know you?"

She nodded slowly. "_I wasn't sure at first...but there's no mistake. You're the one who killed me._"

The air seemed to go eerily still as the Fire Prince tried to switch his brain back on. Words meant nothing to him as he struggled to grasp this concept, but it was like trying to hold on to water with his bare hands. He stared hard at the elderly woman, trying to remember who she was. He didn't remember killing anybody...certainly not someone who couldn't fight back. He wasn't a murderer.

But then why did she seem so familiar?

"Wait," he said slowly. "You're the healer."

"_And you're the Blue Spirit,_" she replied. "_Who would have guessed that the young man under that mask was the Prince of the Fire Nation?_"

Zuko swallowed. "But...I never killed you. I only knocked you out. You were still breathing; I checked!"

She glared at him. "_Don't lie. You left an old woman to burn alive inside her own house. You locked the door so that I couldn't get out!"_

It was then that he remembered the burning village, the rampant destruction that consumed the village like a ravenous beast. A cold feeling settled in his stomach as he met the old woman's icy gaze. He had locked her in her house so that she wouldn't warn the other villagers that he was looking for Julie...but he never thought that a fire would break out. How was he supposed to have known?

"I...I didn't mean to..."

"_You're a Firebender. Of course you meant to._"

Her scornful voice seemed to melt in the quiet air. Right before Zuko's eyes her skin started to dry out and crack before his eyes. It became a charred black before melting off of her bones. She never took her gaze off of him as she crumbled into ashes and whipped herself into a terrifying whirlwind of blackened dust. Zuko fell to the ground, covering his face to keep himself from breathing it in.

"_I'll never forgive you_," she hissed, right next to his ear.

"Get away from me!" Zuko yelled, lighting up a flame and swiping at the air around him.

It was suddenly very quiet. Slowly, he took the hands away from his face. There was no one in the hallway...just him and his racing heart. He sat there on the ground for a long time, breathing strained as he stared down at his hands. The bandages looked much worse for wear at this point, and he could see some of his own damaged skin peeking out at him. He drew a deep breath and clenched them into fists.

_No...I didn't kill anybody. I didn't._

Not strictly true. It was a war. Of course he had killed people, but that was usually in self-defense. For as long as he lived, Zuko had never stained his hands with innocent blood. He had never harmed a person who couldn't fight back; never fought someone who wasn't a warrior. The thought of being responsible, even indirectly, with the death of a civilian made his stomach turn.

What's more, he would have to murder again. He would have to kill Zhao.

_Forget Uncle_, he thought numbly. He couldn't deal with anybody right now. He had to get away from all these ghosts and demons hell-bent on haunting him; he had to breathe some fresh air and clear his mind somehow. He had to find a way to stop thinking.

He needed to be alone. His feet started to take him towards deck, not really as intent on their destination as they were with the prospect of getting _away_.

* * *

"It's simple," Shim explained, after he had set up a diagram for me to look at. There was a silhouette of a person with various parts of the body highlighted in different colors. I stared at it, not understanding. "Your problem is that your chi-paths are unstable. They fluctuate unpredictably, making you vulnerable to outside spiritual forces...such as the chi-flow of the people around you...or a wandering spirit. This makes you a literal ticking time-bomb for Energybending."

I frowned. "So...? How do we fix that?"

"We need to figure out the source of your bending," he said impatiently. "The catalyst, if you will. Is it a feeling? A situation?"

Everyone looked at me.

"I...I don't know."

"All right then. I didn't expect you to know, anyway. Fortunately, there is a temporary solution to our problems that could buy us the time we need to figure it out." Shim reached into his sleeve and pulled out a vial of a weird, amber-colored liquid. It looked like fossilized piss. "These chi-suppressing drugs should regulate your spiritual energy if taken in small, regular doses."

I felt myself wincing. "It looks awful. Does that stuff really work?"

"It's a powerful substance," Shim responded vaguely. "It can even be dangerous if too much is consumed. It can also be highly addictive, like opium. We need to be extremely careful with it if we decide to use it."

Jee left his spot behind me and went to stand next to the healer. "We don't want you to become dependent on these drugs, Julie...but if we combine them with training, it could help you learn to establish some control over your abilities. Over time, we can decrease the number of doses until you have mastered control over your chi-paths."

The egg stirred on my lap, almost as if agreeing with the Lieutenant. My hand drifted over its cracking shell in concern. It would be out of its shell any minute now.

"Well," I said slowly. "It's not like I have any better ideas."

Shen-Long clasped me on the shoulder. "Atta' girl. You'll be just fine...you'll see." He looked down at the egg and smiled. "That thing has a lot of energy...kind of reminds me of someone."

I scowled at him. "Back off."

To my chagrin, the soldier only laughed. I felt my momentary optimism turn sour and began rubbing my egg with a vengeance. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Shen-Long may have had good intentions, but he was really starting to get on my nerves. He sure wasn't winning any charisma points by comparing me to an unborn lizard monster. If it weren't for the precarious arrangement of the egg on my lap, I'd have kicked the bastard in the shins.

Piece by piece the shell flaked off under the infant's squirming black hide. I found myself intrigued. It couldn't have been an eelhound, then. I remembered from the show that eelhounds had green scales, not black. I wondered what was inside.

"So, what're you going to name it?" Bo-Fen asked.

"Dunno," I responded. "Maybe Charmander."

The Pokemon reference was completely lost on these people; but it was immediately forgotten as the rest of the shell crumbled away. Shim immediately started forwards with a towel, but Shen-Long (seeing the look on my face) had the sense to snatch it away from him and hand it to me. Wincing at the goo covering its scales, I started dabbing my new pet dry. It made a keening sound, squirming deeper into my chest. At first I thought it was drawn to my body heat, but then I noticed it resting its head right over where my heart should be.

It was listening to my heartbeat...just like I had listened to its, back when it was just an egg.

Its eyelids peeled open as it stared up at me. It was definitely an eelhound, all right...but it was all the wrong colors. Yellow hawk eyes. Glistening black scales. And a very extendable, very moist tongue that immediately started attacking my face.

"Aaack!" I cried, almost falling out of my chair. I caught the little guy and turned my face away so he couldn't lick it again. Everyone in the room started to laugh at the ridiculous sight. I found myself grimacing at the saliva dripping from my cheek. "Okay, I think I have the perfect name for you."

"And what's that?" Iroh inquired.

I stared into the eelhound's face, my own expression softening at the blatant cuteness staring back at me. "Yoshi," I replied quietly. "Your name is Yoshi. Got it?"

It blinked at me. Then, it's tongue smacked me in the eye.

"Hey!" I gasped. Yoshi had managed to squirm its way out of my arms, making my heart lurch in horror as it plummeted towards the floor. To my relief, it landed on its feet...almost like a cat.

"Well, isn't he resourceful?" Shen-Long commented. "A regular tactician."

Yoshi ignored him. The dog-sized lizard was staring intently at something in the hallway. I followed its gaze and saw the largest elephantrat I had ever seen staring at us with beady eyes. As a low, fierce growl rippled from Yoshi's throat, the rodent let out a squeak and darted away into the shadows.

To my shock, the eelhound took off after him, barking like a mad-man.

"And off he goes," said Bo-Fen calmly. "Spirited little guy."

"Hey, wait!" I cried, jumping out of my chair and running after him. "Come back!"

I don't think they were expecting me to chase Yoshi down the hallway or up the stairs. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure they would have tried to stop me. After all, according to their medical professionals, I was unstable and dangerous. Either way, the hands that tried to restrain me came too late, and I was tearing off after the baby eelhound as though my life depended on it.

"Julie," Shen-Long called. "Wait up!"

But I couldn't wait. Yoshi was almost out of sight already. I could barely keep up.

I couldn't believe a newborn could run so fast. And I may have been back up on my feet, but that didn't mean I should have been running around or anything. Even a simple jog wore me out. My knees felt unstable, like a pair of towers with flimsy supports, threatening to collapse on themselves at any minute. It was all I could do to keep up with Yoshi as he scrambled down the hallway, hell-bent on chasing down the elephantrat.

I caught sight of the little bastard going up the steps leading to the deck and forced myself into a sprint. I could feel my heart sputtering in protest, as though it were gasping, _"What the fuck, man?" _But for a fleeting moment I was terrified that the eelhound would somehow manage to fall overboard. Or that he would get stepped on by someone who still hated me.

"Yoshi!" I yelled. "Get back here right now!"

I don't know what I was expecting. I mean, he was an eelhound. It wasn't like Yoshi could understand what the hell I was saying, let alone what I was so angry about. Anyway, he was so fixated on the rodent that he completely ignored me.

_Goddammit..._

I staggered up the stairs and burst out on deck, my eyes peeled for the lizard monster. But I never found Yoshi. Instead, I was completely bushwhacked with the most distracting thing since Youtube was invented. And I'm not even sure this counts since, technically, Avatar world seems to utilize nineteenth-century technology and doesn't even have the internet.

Zuko was Firebending. Not only that, he was...well, let's just say that he was making me feel completely insignificant.

He moved so fluidly and so fiercely, his motions as intent as a boulder is of its path down a mountainside. The flames that shot out of his hands and feet appeared to be nothing more than vibrant extensions of himself. Every breath pushed the fire out into magnificent crests and arches, making shapes I couldn't have imagined on my own. And his body was like someone had expertly sculpted it. His muscles glistened with fresh beads of sweat from the mid-day sun. It was really hot today, even though it was the middle of fall.

And, of course, he was shirtless. Damn, that was just so unfair.

I was so spell-bound by the display that it didn't even occur to me that his hands were still messed up. It was only then that my brain, grasping at straws rather than coherent thought, finally came to this realization...only then that I noticed Zuko wincing. He was still hurt, but he still managed to blow me out of the water with his bending. And yet...his face was a picture of frustration and anger. There was a sort of raw pain staring out of his eyes as he shot flame after flame at the air. It almost scared me to see him like that, in a state of carefully honed rage.

What the hell was he even training for?

Zuko's moves were becoming increasingly more complicated as the seconds passed. I choked on my own spit when he abruptly launched himself into the air. He spun his body around, shooting a steady stream of fire with his right foot prominent. They flared over and around him like a massive halo. I swear to God that I couldn't even breathe in the seconds it took for him to make his landing. The deck seemed to shake from his impact, but his stance was firm. His whole body had sunk into a low, deadly-looking crouch.

He took a deep breath and glanced over his shoulder. His searing gold eyes met mine. That anger and pain never left his face. If anything, seeing me standing there seemed to solidify his expression...as though it were all directed at me for some reason.

_Oh, fuck._

* * *

**A/N: So, they finally come face-to-face. Julie and Zuko, reunited after the tempestuous Kyoshi-Island saga at long last. I'm sure all of you Zulie fans are reaching for your torches and pitch-forks after the last cliff-hanger I casually dropped in. Just when it looked as though they would have their moment, I end the chapter without so much as a "WTF...?"**

**Well, okay. Maybe an F...just not the WT part.**

**It might interest you readers that the chapter title is a direct reference to the bending arts. Kuba is surprised by how open and even proud Katara is of her own bending (not to mention jealous of her familial bond with Sokka) while contemplating his reasons for initially wanting to hide his own. It says a lot that he's still willing to put those feelings aside and master Earthbending anyway, not just for Julie's sake but for his own.**

**Kuba's bending trauma draws an interesting link with Julie's unwillingness to use Energybending. But as Iroh lays down the ultimatum, she realizes that hiding from the problem won't make it go away. Reluctantly, she agrees to implement Jee and Shim's training strategy, relying on a combination of chi-suppressant drugs and sheer strength of will to regain control of her bending. But will it work?**

**Before we can find out, we find Zuko faced with an unusual dilemma. His spiritual awareness is only becoming more heightened as more ghosts show up in droves. Some of the newcomers are difficult to take seriously, but the chance meeting with the old woman healer from Kyoshi had the opposite effect on him. Anyway, the upshot is that Zuko is shaken up by her accusations. He realizes that what he essentially promised to commit murder to save Julie's life; and he isn't sure if he can handle that anymore. **

**His bending on deck was half fan-service, half angst. He doesn't have any other options, so he trains. He rends the air with fire like a trapped animal in a hunter's net. And Julie is left speechless in the wake of so much unspoken anger and confusion. What will she say to Zuko after witnessing this...not to mention hearing from several reliable sources that he almost died because of her? And how will Zuko react to seeing the very person responsible for his myriad problems? All of these answers and more in the next chapter! REVIEW!**


	62. An Unlikely Predator

**A/N: Okay.**

**I have stuffed this chapter so full of "Zulie" fluff that you guys are going to choke on it. It's one of those shipping fan-service episodes that exist solely to make the readers squeal while (hopefully) establishing a few plot points. And since the last one was so dark (what with Zuko finding out that he was an unknowing accessory to that healer's death), this one should be much more lighthearted. Well...it'll get there.**

**In other news...I bought a ceramic cat.**

**No, seriously. You guys WISH you had a ceramic cat as kewl as mine. I'm naming him "Korin" after the Dragonball character. I wonder if he likes Chicken of the Sea...? ****The ceramic cat, I mean. **

**What? Animals made of porcelain can appreciate fine tuna too! Or they would if someone had bothered to give them _tastebuds._ And I refuse to discriminate just because my poor little Korin is tastebudless. So if it's tuna he wants, it's tuna he's gonna get.**

**Korin: "Yes...now burn it all. Burn everything to the ground!"**

**Oh, I just remembered. I have to go set fire to my bedding. This shouldn't take very long...**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Six: An Unlikely Predator**

_Oh, fuck me..._

Zuko's eyes were telling me that I was in deep trouble.

I swallowed nervously, sliding back a few inches and edging slightly to my left; closer to the door. When his gaze followed me, I realized that I wouldn't be able to just slip back down below deck unnoticed. I felt my mouth go dry as he straightened out of his fighting stance and rose to full height using the balls of his feet. He flexed his shoulders and folded his arms, silent assurance that retreat would be pointless and futile.

Given all the excitement over the past couple of hours, I really didn't have time to mull over what I would say to Zuko when we eventually saw each other. I should have known that it would happen sooner or later. I guess I had been putting it off. Part of me was kind of hoping I could just steer clear of him all together...at least until this entire mess blew over, or until his hands had completely healed.

So much for that.

There was a tightness in the back of my throat, an ache that only got worse when I saw the bandages covering his fingers and wrist. I couldn't tear my gaze away until Zuko had got tired of waiting for me to say something. I had to resist the urge to bolt when I saw him striding towards me.

"I...I'll come back later..." I squeaked, slinking back towards the only exit.

Zuko reached out past me and pushed the door shut with a _snap_. I winced, feeling my back brush up against metal as he towered over me, glaring into my eyes. It didn't help that his body was angled over mine, his arm still outstretched over my shoulder and right below my ear. Holy crap, I had no idea whether to be aroused or afraid for my life. This was ridiculous!

I _felt _pretty ridiculous as I noticed the heat between our bodies. It was more likely that I had projected that; I mean, I had to have been blushing. I could feel an unnecessary warmth spreading across my cheeks and my heart had kicked up a notch in its rhythm.

"Eeep..."

Zuko gave me a flat look. "You're not getting away from me, peasant. I have a bone to pick with you. A lot of them, actually."

Wonderful. Meanwhile, I was persistently attempting to swallow my own tongue. Where was cyanide when you really needed it these days?

"C...can we do this later...?"

"No."

"Why not?" I whined, feeling petulant as ever. "I'm not going anywhere! We're in the middle of the freaking ocean!"

"If I let you leave, you're just going to sneak back down to the dungeons," he replied flatly. "And my uncle and my crew have better things to do than to try to coax you back into the infirmary."

I stared at him. "How did you know I had been down there?"

The look Zuko gave me was so scathing and severe that it made me cringe. I pressed myself flat against the door, being especially careful not to let my neck brush up against his arm by accident. Or even on purpose. Hopefully my self-preservation skills would kick in any minute now, and I wouldn't have to try so hard to resist the urge to close the gap between us. Because right now Zuko looked like he wanted to punch me in the face.

Not that he would ever do that...at least, I don't _think _he would, but...um...

Right. I was _not _going to touch him. Absolutely no contact allowed.

"Maybe," he growled, looking me dead in the eye. "You should ask _Ayla _how I know that."

Yup. There it went. I finally managed to get my own tongue down my throat...or I thought I did. I'm pretty sure I was choking on _something. _And I don't think saliva is usually this...solid.

"W-what?"

Zuko glared at me for a few more seconds, taking in my appearance up close. I shrank back on instinct, trying to think of a way to worm myself free from this Zuko-knot I was trapped in. I could feel his golden irises streak over my messy, uncombed hair, my glazed eyes, the tattered remains of what used to be a nice-looking dress...and I don't think I smelled too good, either. I mean, I had just taken a four-hour nap down in the ship's _prison-hold_. Plus, the last time I had a bath was back on Kyoshi Island.

He didn't seem to care, though.

"She had a lot to say about you," he said finally. "I'm not surprised. She must have had enough time to get to know you better, given that she's been inside of you _since your Agni Kai against Zhao_..."

"Okay," I said slowly, fighting the constriction in my chest. Too bad I didn't have a paper bag to breathe into. "When and how?"

Zuko closed his eyes, looking tired and angry and confused all at the same time. It made me get a really, really bad feeling deep inside of me. What was that look on his face for? That pain couldn't all be from the wounds on his hands...could it?

"A lot happened while you were asleep," he said flatly. "And Ayla decided to introduce herself after you nearly died from a self-induced heart-attack...we were in the Spirit World for a while, and the Unagi brought us back to the ship. Don't you remember?"

I shook my head numbly.

He sighed. "Figures. What _do _you remember, then?"

I bit my lip. "Enough to know that I don't know my own strength, apparently."

My attempt at morbid humor fell painfully flat. Zuko looked irritated that I hadn't given him a direct answer.

"Do you remember me asking you to wait by the lifeboat?" he asked.

I winced. Leave it to Zuko to bring _that _up.

"Um...maybe...it's kind of blurry."

"Really?" his voice was right next to my ear. I could feel the edge of his breath as he spoke in a low tone. He totally didn't believe me. "Do you remember me asking you to stay out of trouble and to trust me to handle things?"

"I...I...guess so..."

"Then you should know why I'm absolutely livid with you right now..._peasant_."

I flushed scarlet again. I was miserable and wanted to escape down the darkest hole I could find. Why was it that Zuko had the power to make me feel things like this? Dammit, I wanted to go back to the way I used to be before I met the bastard. I wanted to not be able to care what anyone thought or felt; I wanted to do whatever I liked without this gnawing anxiety that someone would get hurt from my actions.

"I had to go back for Kuba," I tried to explain. "The whole island was on fire, and I...I couldn't just leave him there."

"And you did a fantastic job of keeping him out of trouble."

Something inside of my chest gave way, leaving a gaping hole inside. As quickly as I had felt it, I pushed that feeling so far back inside that I couldn't reach it. It still ached, but so long as I didn't focus on it I would be fine.

"I didn't know Zhao would be waiting for us," I said quietly. "I didn't know this would happen, and I...I'm sorry, Zuko..."

I flinched when he moved his arm away from the door. His hand brushed my face, right under my left eye where I could feel a tear forming. I shied away from his touch, but his body kept me from sprinting out of his reach. He kept me still, still scowling; just not as fiercely as before. He looked frustrated and more confused. And me, I was just surprised he would even touch me with his hands this badly hurt.

He seemed miffed when I had cringed away from his bandaged fingers. "Stop crying," he said firmly. "I...what are you even apologizing for, anyway? I don't want your tears or your apologies..."

"I'm _not_," I snapped. "I'm not crying!"

"Good. Keep it that way."

I glared at him, frantically blinking to keep my eyes from watering. "Like I'd ever cry in front of _you_."

Zuko chose not to comment to that. He looked somewhat uncomfortable as he glanced at my face. Maybe he didn't like the thought of being the cause of a girl's tears, or maybe he realized how intimidating he was and didn't like that either. He hesitated for a second before pulling his hand away.

"You keep flinching," he said. "Whenever I get too close..."

"Well, I don't _like _this," I replied angrily. "I don't _like_ being touched or jostled around, and you seem to do a lot of that. Plus, you're mad enough to punch something and I really don't want to end up being the _something_."

This irked him. "I may be angry, but I'm not going to _hit _you. Besides, you didn't have anything to say when we hugged that night."

I was really shocked. I couldn't believe Zuko just went there. I had figured he'd be the type to let the dice fall where they may and then never mention it again. And here he was, not even pretending that it never happened. Why was he acknowledging something like that? Was he _trying _to completely humiliate me?

"T-that was a moment of weakness!" I choked. "And you surprised me!"

Zuko frowned. "You hugged back."

"No, I didn't!"

"Then whose _moment of weakness _was it?" he wanted to know. "Mine?"

I didn't want to answer him. I was too furious, too embarrassed to even open my mouth. He had actually _noticed_ when I had started to cling to him? Oh, God...I was going to die. I was going to die. No, correction. I was already dead. He would never, ever let me live this down.

The most I could do under these circumstances was steal an occasional glance up at his face. With every passing second he looked more troubled, less angry but _definitely _more confused. And frustrated. Like something wasn't making sense to him and it was really getting to him. I tilted my face up and scrutinized his expression, trying to figure out what was bothering him.

Our eyes met, and I immediately lost my nerve. I flushed red and averted my gaze.

"Fine," Zuko sighed. "Believe what you want about that. It doesn't matter anyway." I tried not to show how much those words stung. "The real question is why would I try to hurt you after I risked everything to save you?"

_Thunk_. That hole in my chest just got a little wider. My heart felt like a plaster wall someone kept punching holes into.

"I...I don't _know_..." I stammered. "I thought your mission meant everything to you, and you even risked that when you got in between me and Zhao. And I...even when I was _hurting _you, you didn't...you wouldn't leave." Suddenly, I was angry again. "What's the matter with you, anyway? How could you do something like that? Do you know how upset everyone would have been if you had _died_ back there?"

Zuko let out a frustrated breath. "You know, you have a lot of nerve asking me something like that."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really," he snapped. "The way you've been acting lately is ten times worse than anything I've done. You talk about how it would burden my uncle and my crew if something had happened to me; but how do you think they'd feel if _you _died? Or if something happened to _you_? How do you think _I'd _feel, you stupid peasant?"

I went rigid. My breathing hitched and my heart started having spasms. What the hell did he mean by _that_...?

Abruptly, someone rapped on door I was leaning up against. I felt the vibrations in my back and jolted forwards in alarm, lurching closer to Zuko. He caught a hold of me, startled into action by my sharp move. We both stared at the door for a beat, not saying a word. Then, slowly, our gazes slid to each other's face. We both turned faint shades of red and sprang apart.

"What's going on up there?" Shen-Long's voice called from the other side. "Why is the door locked?"

"It...it isn't locked, you moron!"

Zuko gave me a look. "Actually, it is." He reached out and pried the latch open, wincing as he did so. I had started forwards to open it myself, but he had blocked me with his shoulder and did it before I could even get my hand on the door.

Shen-Long pushed it open the rest of the way, not waiting for Zuko to show him basic common courtesy. He stepped over the threshold and into the open air. The moment his blue eyes caught sight of me they honed in on my appearance. I must have looked flustered to him. Ignoring Zuko completely, he strode over to me and put a hand on my forehead.

"Hey!" I swatted at him, but he caught my hand without so much as a second thought and held it. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm checking to see if you're running a fever," he replied. "You shouldn't be running around so soon after you've woken up. Too much stress and exercise at this point isn't good for you." Shen-Long frowned after a few seconds. "And you do feel warm. Come on, let's go back down to the infirmary. We can look for your eelhound later, okay?"

Suddenly, I remembered why I was even there to begin with. My eelhound. Holy crap! I had completely forgotten about Yoshi...!

"OH, MY GOD..."

What kind of pet-owner was I? The whole reason I had come up here to begin with was to find my eelhound, and I had let Zuko of all people distract me. Who knows what trouble a newborn animal could get into all on its own? And I had let it happen by not taking better care of him. He could fall overboard or get stepped on or...eaten by a swarm of elephantrats! He could be _dead_ right now!

Shen-Long gave me a flat look. "You...forgot about your eelhound? What were you doing up here, then, if you weren't looking for him?" He gave Zuko a brief, questioning glance; which the Fire Prince returned with a defiant glare.

"I was having a talk with her," he said. "And I'm not finished, yet. Leave."

This made the soldier bristle in irritation. "With all due respect, your Highness, Julie needs her rest. And I can't leave her alone in her condition."

"And you think I'm incapable of taking care of her?" The mild suggestion held a trace of the fine-honed rage I had witnessed in Zuko's Firebending. He was controlling his temper now, and doing a very poor job of disguising it. "Or do you think you think _you _could do better...?"

Shen-Long opened his mouth, looking infuriated. I grabbed his shoulders in a panic before he could say whatever it was he had been about to say. Seriously, it was just like a couple of guys to pay more attention to their testosterone than to the issue at hand. I wanted to smack them.

"Forget about that. We _have _to find Yoshi! If he corners that elephantrat, it could rip his little throat out!" My mind spiraled as a number of other horrific possibilities floated into conscious thought. "He's just a baby; he hasn't learned a healthy fear of the world around him yet. Forget the elephantrat! If we don't find him soon, he'll get his head ripped off by a hobo! A freaking hobo!"

I knew that the chances of there being a hobo anywhere on Zuko's ship were slim to none. But dammit, I wasn't taking any chances.

Shen-Long and Zuko both stared at me, the fight momentarily forgotten.

"Julie...I think you've been in the sun for too long," said the soldier slowly. "Let's just go back inside and get you a nice glass of water...and a sedative," he added as he put more thought into it.

"Screw that! What about Yoshi?"

Zuko scowled at me. "You should have mentioned that your egg hatched."

"Why would you have cared about _that_...?"

His mouth looked like an upside-down V as he glanced off somewhere towards his left. "It's annoying when you don't tell me things. If I had a copper piece for every secret you've tried to keep from me, I could probably _buy _the palace from my father if I wanted to."

Shen-Long put a hand on my shoulder, shooting Zuko an annoyed look. "He probably ran back down below deck while you were being talked at, Julie. Let's just go."

Zuko wheeled around and clenched his hands into fists. "_Watch your mouth_, you lowly, ungrateful colonist..."

I scowled. "Will you two _cut it out_ already...?" Then, I shot Shen-Long a look. "And how could Yoshi have run back down? The door was _locked_, remember?"

He fell silent, looking very unhappy. "Fine," he grumbled. "But that still doesn't change the fact that you need your rest."

"I'm going to keep looking for him. Once I find him, then I'll rest as much as you want, okay? Come on, let's go check by the supply barrels. Maybe he crawled into one of those..."

I started off towards the roped down barrels on the far side of the ship when Zuko of all people got in my way. I glared at him, not in the mood for whatever BS reason he had for interfering.

"Shen-Long's right," he said firmly. "You need rest. I want you to go lie down this instant, peasant."

"No."

He glared at me. "It wasn't a request. Do as I say _right now_, or so help me, Julie..."

I stuck out my jaw. "Make me."

And that was how I found myself dangling over Zuko's shoulder. I choked in shock when his arms suddenly went around me and held me in place; probably because he knew that the moment I got my wits about me I would start kicking and clawing for what it was worth. Except now I was totally freaked. He was carrying me with his hands all cut up and bruised...that was how determined he was about this.

"Like I said before," Zuko muttered in my ear. "You're a terrible listener."

I blinked, still trying to figure out which way was up.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shen-Long cried in outrage. "Put her down!"

Zuko flicked him a glance. "She isn't going to listen to reason. She'll just wait for your back to be turned before sneaking off and doing whatever the hell she wants." I gave him a hateful look, something that was difficult given that all the blood was starting to rush into my head. "So, I'm going to keep an eye on her while _you _look for this eelhound."

"But..."

"That's an order. Get moving."

Zuko and Shen-Long locked gazes, as though they would have liked nothing better than to rip each other's faces off. Or have a very bloody Agni Kai. Sheesh, what was _with _them, anyway?

The soldier gritted his teeth. "Very well." He glanced at me ruefully, and I felt a twinge of regret for not listening when I had the chance. Because now it looked as though I was stuck with Zuko's company...something Zuko seemed to find excrutiating, but necessary.

"Zuko," I said. "Put me down. I...I'll listen, all right? Just let me go with Shen-Long. You're...busy."

He tightened his grip on me. "Don't argue with me. You just want to be with Shen-Long because he'd let you get away with murder."

"That's not _true_...!"

Zuko ignored that. We had already passed through the doorway leading below deck, and he was being careful not to miss any steps. I guess he didn't want to drop me...or fall with me on top of him. Either way, I was inclined not to distract him until we were on flat, solid ground again. Not for nothing, but Zuko was at least a head taller than me. I did _not _want to fall from his height.

"Zu," I tried again. "Dammit, will you listen to me?"

"Shut up."

"You're such an idiot! I don't want you watching me sleep! It's creepy!"

His eyes flicked up to my face. "And Shen-Long is any better?"

"Shen-Long's four years older than me. He'd never stare at me while I'm sleeping. That's wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to go into it right now."

The corner of his mouth twitched. "I take it you're not into older men, then."

"I already dated someone older than me. It didn't work out."

Zuko was quiet for a minute. I couldn't see his face from my angle, but I could tell by his silence that he was mulling over something I had just said. I sighed, turning my face away and wishing my feet were touching the floor.

"You know we're the same age, right?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I wanted to know.

That shut him up. I felt a momentary surge of smug triumph, even though I had no idea why I was feeling it in the first place. But then, it hadn't made any sense for Zuko to point out our nonexistent age-difference, either. Man, we were acting like bickering children, weren't we?

"How much older?" he asked.

"Huh?"

That question had come completely out of left field.

"This guy you were dating. How much older was he?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "At the time I was fourteen, and he was...I dunno...sixteen...seventeen. Why?"

Zuko's knuckles did a quick, unconscious spasm around my waist; as though he had resisted the urge to clench his hands into fists. Either that, or he really wanted to stretch his aching hands. Maybe both. Who knows?

"Was this that Ramon guy?"

I felt all the blood rush to my head. The floor seemed to lurch, and I realize it was because I had jumped so badly that Zuko had stumbled trying to keep a hold of me. I was that startled to hear that name pass his lips. As far as I could remember, I had never told anybody about Ramon...except for Kuba, who wasn't here. I could feel myself shaking I was so angry.

"Who the fuck told you about Ramon?" I growled.

Zuko gave me a look. "Believe me, I know a lot more than you give me credit for."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" I demanded, tensing my entire body. "You don't know me. You may do crazy, stupid things to keep me alive, but that doesn't mean you have me all figured out. And it sure as hell doesn't mean I'm going to let you, either."

"I can figure things out without your help, Julie."

"About me?" I almost laughed at this.

"About everything," Zuko snapped, his patience finally gone. "I've been paying attention. For the past month I've been watching you and keeping track of every single thing that's happened since you came aboard my ship...and I've been putting the pieces together. Right now I know things I wish I _didn't _know...complicated things that imply spirits know what. And it's a little difficult to cope with."

The pain was flashing in his eyes again. I recognized it from his bending rage up on deck, the same emotion-twisted explosion of fire that had me frozen in my tracks. Whatever it was that was bothering Zuko, it was eating him up but _good_. And that worried me.

"What do you know?" I asked again.

He took a deep breath, trying to reign in his thoughts. "You want to know what I know? All right. How about the fact that for the past two weeks you've had the disembodied presence of the figurehead of a religious cult _living inside your body_, and you never bothered to mention it to me?"

"Cripes, are you still _on _about that?"

He gave me an infuriated look. "Sometimes, I just want to strangle you. You're impossible."

I tried to give him the finger, but I couldn't get my hands free. Also, we had reached our destination. To my numb surprise we weren't in front of Shim's freak show of an infirmary like I had thought. Instead, we were standing in front of Zuko's room. I don't think this guy realized how creepy he was being. It was like my whole rant about him being a creeper went in one ear and straight out the other.

Whatever. I had bigger things on my mind right now. Namely...how the fuck did Zuko know any of these things? Ayla, I could sort of understand. In the right circumstances I could see her reaching out to other mortals in an attempt to preach her mindless philosophy about the _virtues _of _friendship_. Or to fight bad guys. Sometimes it's just hard to tell with Ayla; she's kind of a loose cannon.

But Ramon? That was just...insane. Zuko should _not _have known about my ex-boyfriend. He shouldn't even know that the guy _exists_, let alone that his name is Ramon and that he's older than me by some number of years. It made me wonder what else he knew about me. It kind of freaked me out, I'm not going to lie.

Priorities. Which was more urgent...? Zuko's inner-stalker crossing the lines of common decency (and into my past relationships)? Or Zuko bringing me to his room to do even more creepy stalkerish things like stare at me and brood while I took a nap drooled all over his pillow...?

Fuck it.

"And we're going in your room _because...?"_

"I'm tired," Zuko grumbled. "If I have to keep an eye on you, I'd rather it be in the relative comfort of my own room."

I blinked at him. "They don't have beds in the infirmary?"

He didn't dignify that with a response. He turned the handle of the door (with some difficulty; apparently he was really trying not to let the pain in his hands show, but I caught him wincing as he grasped the knob) and practically kicked it open in his frustration. I sucked in my breath, a little startled when the metal rebounded off the wall and left the door creaking on its hinges.

_Shit. He's really pissed about something_.

"Enough is enough!" he barked into the empty room. "Leave, all of you, before I cremate you a second time!"

I stared and stared. "Um...Zu? Are you feeling all right?"

"I'll be feeling better once I get rid of these freeloaders and deadbeats," he fumed. "Get out! OUT! _Don't make me use this!" _And then he started waving me around like I was a log he intended to smash into the first unfortunate who crossed his path.

"Put me down!" I shrieked. "What's the freaking matter with you? You're a goddamn nut!"

I kicked and swatted at Zuko with a vengeance, twisting my body like cat in an attempt to break his grip. At this point I think I stopped caring about whether or not I bruised his hands any worse. The moment he started swinging me around like a bazooka was where the buck stopped. Not to mention it was absurdly out of character for Zu to go around attacking imaginary enemies with a human meat shield. The brooding and the antisocial behavior I could tolerate. I might even be able to tolerate his otherworldly knowledge concerning my love-life...once I figured out how he got said knowledge in the first place, that is.

Probably, I'd have to beat it out of him. But first, I had to get down.

"Dammit, stop it! I'm going to throw up on your shoes if you keep swinging me around like that!"

Abruptly, Zuko dropped me on to the bed. I lay there on my back, extremely disshevled and gasping for breath. My hands were clinging to fistfuls of his sheets, like claws. I was so irked by this rough treatment that I was practically snarling.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Zuko was looking around the room, his eyes flickering from one spot to another. He was wearing a wild, desperate expression...as though he were at his wits end. Or passed it miles ago, given the evidence I had just witnessed. Slowly, he lowered his gaze to meet my angry, bewildered one.

"You can't _see _them?"

I spoke through gritted teeth. "See _what_...?"

We both paused as something started growling. A lumpy thing that I had assumed was a pillow started squirming under my butt, causing me to shriek and throw myself off the bed and on to the floor. I didn't care that it was hard and made of metal.

"It's alive!" I squeaked, clinging to Zuko's ankles. "Don't just stand there, you bastard! Save me!"

He nudged me behind him with his leg, something I had no problem with. Screw feminism; girls, it's a somewhat cold-blooded game called survival of the mentally astute. I'd let the monster eat Zuko's face and then run like hell. I'd also make an emotionally compelling speech at his funeral, outlining the fact that he died an honorable death, locked in a valiant battle, man versus beast, to save the fair damsel in distress. And lost miserably.

It's the way he'd probably want to go. Maybe.

Zuko reached for the blanket with one hand. With the other, he cautiously lit up a flame. _One...two...three..._! With a snap of his wrist, the Fire Prince whipped the blanket off the bed and let it fall to the floor dramatically.

There was a brief silence as we got a good look at what I had almost sat on. And then I screamed like a banshee.

I have to say, I was extremely surprised to find the black-scaled eelhound pup crawling around Zuko's sheets, sniffing suspiciously at the pillow, as though it embodied everything evil and malevolent in the world. Every few seconds, he would snatch the edge of the pillow with his jaws and shake it like a ragdoll, growling fiercely. It was the single most adorable thing I've seen since I fell through a plot-hole and straight into the Avatar dimension.

"Yoshi!" I cried, scrambling around Zuko and snatching him up into my arms. "There you are, you little son of a bitch! I didn't mean to almost accidentally flatten you; honest!"

The baby eelhound regarded me for a moment, wagging its tail cheerfully. A second later, a massive tongue whacked me in the face. I fell on to my back, spread-eagled on the floor while Yoshi scurried on to my stomach. He hopped up and down with an expression (and I shit you not, that reptile had an _expression _on its face) very akin to David besting Goliath. I grimaced and tried to wipe the slobber off my eye.

"I think he's hungry."

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

Julie clearly couldn't see spirits. Which, obviously meant she couldn't see what Zuko was seeing right now. Or, for matter, what he was hearing.

"_MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" _the eelhound rumbled in a demonic voice. "_I am the destroyer of worlds! The slayer of cowering mortals and flesh-beasts everywhere! Look upon me and tremble! TREMBLE!"_

All while jumping around on Julie's torso, looking as though he just toppled a mighty giant. Which was even more ridiculous when you thought about it, given how short the girl was. She barely passed his shoulder in personal stature. Still, to an eelhound pup, she must have seemed larger than life.

"I think he's hungry," Julie said, scraping the thick layer of saliva off her face. "He keeps doing that thing with his tongue."

Zuko didn't reply. He was still staring at the eelhound, horrified.

Disembodied voice aside, there was something eerily familiar about it. And that was a weird thing to say in general about an animal, especially one as strange-looking as Yoshi. He had been around plenty of war-steeds during his time spent in exile, and as far as he knew eelhounds didn't have glistening black scales. Or such piercing eyes. Not to mention the fact that newborn eelhound pups didn't usually come with a token evil-overlord voice that only he could hear.

"_Mommy, get up!" _Yoshi commanded, nudging her with his snout. "_I'm gonna go fight the accursed one again! Watch me!_"

The eelhound darted off her chest, and Julie pulled herself into a sitting position. "Man, he's a live-wire, isn't he?"

Yoshi clamped Zuko's pillow in his mouth and started mauling it. "_Die! DIE! I will kill you with my own fangs! I'll kill you to death!"_

Well, this was...disturbing.

"Hey, cut it out," he said, snatching up the torn and drool-covered cushion and scowling at the pup. The eelhound stared up at him, standing up on its haunches and snarling into his face. At the same time, a dorsal fin literally sprouted out of his back, looking razor-sharp and arching with his spine.

That dorsal fin was really what tipped off Zuko. But, of course, it didn't hurt to have more evidence; such the shadow of an old foe that stirred in Yoshi's intent yellow eyes. Zuko, realizing just what it was he was looking at, felt the pillow fall out of his aching, throbbing hands. He stared and stared until he couldn't find a trace of doubt anywhere in his mind. After all, he _knew _that voice.

"Shhh..." Julie soothed the newborn. She picked him up and held him close to her, trying to calm him down. "You can't play with that. It belongs to Zuko. Oh, quit growling, already...!"

Yoshi let out a frustrated whimper, the dorsal fin retreating into its back. He sulked as the redhead stroked him behind his ear-spots, glaring at the Fire Prince with hateful eyes. "_Impudent human. The moment mommy is distracted, I will crush you._"

"Julie," said Zuko slowly. "That's _not _an eelhound."

Yoshi snapped his head up and snarled at him. "_Silence, fool! I am anything mommy wants me to be! And if you suggest anything contrary to that, I'll jump on you and crush you like the insignificant mortal that you are...! I will feed her your still beating heart and receive her undying praise and _tummy rubs_...!"_

Of course, they both ignored him.

She blinked at him. "If he's not an eelhound, then what is he?"

Frustration had almost rendered him mute. "Isn't it _obvious_...?"

Julie drew back her shoulders, clutching the so-called eelhound to her chest and looking defensive. "Well, excuse me for not being a freaking zoologist! I've never exactly seen an actual eelhound before, so this is kind of new to me."

"Julie, it has a fin sticking out of its back!"

"Hello! _Eelhound_?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Part eel, part hound," she replied. "Shouldn't he have some sea-creature parts like a fin or maybe gills?"

Zuko wanted to smash his head against something. "For the love of...it's a _land-based reptile_...! Look at it! What could it possibly need the fin for? And it has _lungs_! It breathes _air...!_"

Julie bit her lip. "Well," she said slowly. "Maybe it's a birth defect...and stop calling him _it!_ He has a name, and it's Yoshi. And I don't care what he is because he's mine, got it numb-nut?"

"_Yeah,_" the eelhound sneered. "_Fuck off_."

How could she not know what she was holding? Zuko couldn't believe it; it was as if Julie had some hidden, deeply unsatisfied maternal instinct that drove her so far in her denial. He could only assume that had been the reason she had taken in and risked her life for a street urchin she had known for approximately two days. At least the Kuba situation had been understandable. _This _on the other hand...this was suicidal.

Because the creature snuggling contentedly into Julie's arms was none other than the Unagi.

"Julie," he tried again. "It doesn't matter what it..._his _name is. He's dangerous. Just put him down, and I'll go get Uncle."

She glared at him. "Zuko, he's just a baby. He's harmless!"

"_Am not,_" Yoshi protested. "_I once slaughtered an entire cove of bull-sharks with my sheer might! And I eat elephantkoi for a light snack...! Rawr!"_

Zuko closed his eyes and counted to ten. This was all too much. He had reached the end of his rope a long time ago; the breaking point had been meeting that perverted ghost yesterday. The rest of it (the additional spiritual interlopers, not the least of which was _Ayla_, the haunting encounter with the healer he had accidentally left to die in her house, the nagging paranoia of his impending life-or-death battle against Zhao) he was only able to cope with by pushing it to the back of his mind, promising himself that he'd address it later, when he was sane again. Needless to say, it was a feeble promise, indeed.

Leave it to Julie and her stupidity to completely destroy that flimsy house of cards. _Damn, freaking peasant._

"He is _not _harmless. That's the Unagi."

Julie's jaw dropped. Then, she narrowed her eyes at him. "All right," she said. "There's only one way to settle this."

Zuko gave a start when she suddenly shoved Yoshi into his face. He flinched and darted a few steps back, but the redhead stubbornly pursued him until his back was up against the wall. The eelhound looked completely unassuming, wagging its tail in delight at the new game.

"Yoshi," said Julie carefully. "Tell Zuko that you're _not_ a vicious reincarnated sea-serpent hell-bent on revenge."

"_Oh, I am. But he doesn't have to know that. I still get to eat his face, right?_"

"See? How can something so cute and friendly be _evil_...? If this little guy were the Unagi, he'd have gone for your jugular by now...or mine. You're just being paranoid."

Zuko regarded the drooling, scale-covered face for a tense moment. The jaws were clamped together in what could almost pass for a wicked grin (which was weird considering that reptiles generally didn't have facial expressions) and the eyes rarely blinked. The pupils were nothing more than contracted slits that stared endlessly at him, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. It had to be the ugliest, most blatantly un-innocent living creature he had ever laid eyes on.

"_That_'s cute?"

"Oh, screw you. I think he's adorable."

"You're deranged."

"Whatever," Julie huffed, pulling the eelhound back to her chest. She resumed stroking it, and it crooned in pleasure. "You're just jealous because you don't have a dorsal fin or a tail."

"Do you even listen to yourself when you talk?"

_WHAP! _Yoshi's tongue suddenly lashed out past Julie's shoulder and smacked Zuko on the wrong side of his face. The force of it sent him smacking back into the wall. He sank to the floor in a momentary daze, cursing under his breath as fresh saliva dripped down his chin. He glared menacingly up at the offending reptile, who only cocked its head in poorly-masked amusement.

"That's it," he growled.

Zuko jumped up and lunged. Julie yelped and stumbled backwards, hugging Yoshi to her chest and dodging his outstretched hands. When she suddenly ducked to the left he almost stumbled and fell; but at the last minute he recovered his footing and turned to face her. Gulping, Julie squeezed the eelhound tight and backed away slowly. He narrowed his eyes and jumped at her.

Yoshi squirmed out of her grip and scurried under the bed. Zuko ended up colliding with Julie, and the two fell back on to his mattress with a loud CRASH. It was a soft enough landing so that neither of them were seriously injured, but Julie (who was being squashed by the Fire Prince) was gasping for breath and looking extremely bewildered as Zuko held her down. His eyes, once they had regained focus, were searching for the escaped reptile.

There was a sudden rush of footsteps. Someone kicked open the door, like an actor straight out of a seventies cop show.

"What's going on in...here...?"

Jee's voice sounded strangled as he took in the scene in front of him. A frustrated looking Prince Zuko was holding Julie down. The girl was struggling to get free, and her dress (what was left of it, anyway) was revealing a lot more in the collar and shoulder area than could be considered appropriate. The skirt had ridden up a little, exposing her legs past her knees. Her appearance was so collectively disshelved that it could be safely assumed that she had been caught and dragged to the bed against her will.

Bo-Fen whistled as she stared at the two. She turned to Jee.

"If you let me tell Shen-Long about this, I'll work free for a year."

* * *

**A/N: I had so much fun writing this. I am so freaking evil. Anyone want to bet that Jee will read Zuko the riot act for this? Any takers for General Iroh giving Zuko an "important talk" about the importance of consensual relations with women? And what are the odds of Shen-Long challenging Zuko to an Agni Kai when he gets word of what happened?**

**Even though he was just born, I am already madly in love with Yoshi. He's chaotic evil with a fixation with pleasing "mommy." Whether or not he actually remembers that he was the Unagi, let alone his contract with Zuko, is another story.**

**If I don't get a shitload of reviews for the blatant fanservice, I'm going to be really disappointed. It's crack, but I was careful to weave in the plot points so that it can have an actual place in the story. I figure it should please a majority of the general audience...the crack-addicts, the romance nuts, the artsy people who actually care about literary techniques and character development, the Zuko fangirls...the Zuko fangirls...oh, and the Zuko fangirls!**

**Nuff said. REVIEW!**


	63. General Iroh Clears the Air

**A/N: I have a monster headache.**

**Yup. This is going to be another one of those pointless drabble author's notes that you guys seem to like so much. I still haven't figured out _what _exactly people like about them; I guess my trivial day-to-day fail adventures are amusing in a way. Either way, the fact that you all take the time to comment on them makes me feel pretty damn good about myself...probably more than I'm entitled to feel, as a matter of fact.**

**Anyway, I get headaches a lot. Ever since I was a kid, I've been plagued with chronic migraines that would last for _hours_. And the worst part of it was, no one could figure out what was causing them. Seriously. It got to the point where I could actually _sense_ differences in my headaches. It's like how a person can taste the difference between red and white wine; I could feel the difference between a "slept-on-my-neck-wrong-and-woke-up-with-a-morning-headache" and a "sinus-build-up-leading-up-to-monstrous-post-nasal-drip-headache." I also get "guess-what-time-of-the-month-it-is-headaches," "you-really-shouldn't-have-skipped-breakfast-you-moron-headaches," and "your-parents-are-in-denial-you-totally-have-TMJ-because-your-teeth-keep-grinding-during-the-night-headaches."**

**For a long time, my parents suspected (in a very cruel way) that my headaches were solely caused by a fictional allergy to chocolate. I say fictional because I got headaches regardless to whether or not a piece of chocolate found its way to my tongue. If I _told _my parents that, though, they'd just say I was lying. Clearly I must have eaten a piece, and that was why I was suffering.**

**I think maybe I was just allergic to the waves of pure Stupid radiating from the authority figures structuring my young life. Or, it could be all of the stress caused by my home environment (not that school was much better, seeing as most of the people I met as a kid were fickle and switched friends faster than a fashionista changed outfits; but I digress). And I know my dentist mentioned more than once that the teeth grinding thing could cause the headaches and jaw-clicking that happens when I stretch my mouth open too wide (it really freaks Jessie out; it's WAY fun).**

**As for cures, I have a very methodical approach to the whole thing. I pop two Exedrin immediately and plop on to the nearest sofa in the dark until it goes away or I fall asleep. If I don't have that leisure, I pop the Exedrin and hope to hell I don't barf on any of the customers on my line (who irritatingly inquire as to why I'm not my usual chipper self. They totally _deserve_ to get thrown up on...except some of the pervier ones might actually _enjoy _it, so...yeah). If I try to ignore the headache, it usually leads to me projectile vomiting into the nearest garbage can.**

**Not a pretty sight, that.**

**The last resort (if I'm lying down and the migraine is just getting worse and worse) is a tall glass of orange juice. I say last resort because orange juice is one of the skankiest beverages ever to darken my refrigerator. It is simply a foul, foul substance and I despise it almost as much as I despise the sickeningly sweet slop known as _ketchup_. But, oddly enough, it has amazingly curative properties. Which is another reason why I don't drink it that often; I don't want to develop a tolerance to the damn stuff.**

**You might laugh, but I'm pretty much immune to most pain medications because I've taken so much of them as a kid. Tylenol, Motrin, Aleve, Advil, Bayer...you name it, it's useless on me. I guess the next step is rhino tranquilizers. Today (since it's dangerously close to my weekly chapter-update) I have chugged two glasses of orange juice and chained myself to the computer, headache or no headache. I already threw up the first glass (and the two Exedrin I took hours ago), but I am a girl on a mission.**

**Nothing will stop me from updating. NOTHING. So you better enjoy this chapter. I am suffering more than you guys will ever know, so please..._PLEASE_ find it in you to be entertained on my behalf.**

**Here we go:**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Seven: General Iroh Clears the Air**

For the record, I should probably start off by saying that I've endured many embarrassing moments in my life. Given the fact that my home life had been in shambles for as long as I could remember, and given the fact that I had to raise _myself_ pretty much from scratch, I could say with no doubt in my mind that growing up put me in more compromising situations than I knew what to do with. And since I went and stumbled into another dimension, it's like I've been running blindly into one crisis after another, each one more mortifying and humiliating than the last. I'm not even sure what dignity _looked _like anymore.

That being said, getting caught underneath Zuko was _the _most excruciating moment in my young life. Seriously, thinking about it makes me go hot and cold at the same time. I'm not even sure how that was even _possible_, but there it was.

Silence roared through the room as Jee stared at us, mouth agape and eyes blank. I could hear engine in his skull coughing up exhaust fumes as it tried repeatedly to start. That was what his face looked like, anyway. Like a car-engine that refused to start.

And then it all clicked into place.

"Son of a..."

In a single lurch of apoplectic rage, Jee rushed in and grabbed Zuko by the collar of his shirt. Now, I know what you're thinking: _What the hell? Zuko is a main character! He couldn't have actually been caught by surprise...could he?_

Let me just say that, yes, Zuko has been highly training in martial arts and in Firebending since he was a small child; not to mention the fact that he's been drilling advanced Firebending techniques under General Iroh himself for the past three years. That being said, the fact that a minor character like Jee was able to get the drop on him (because let me tell you right now, I am _not _making this shit up) could only mean that Zuko had been utterly fixated on roasting my eelhound. Like, fixated to the point where he was incapable of noticing anything else.

In which case, he probably deserved what happened next.

Jee must have been experiencing a sudden adrenaline surge (you know, the kind you get when your baby gets stuck under an armored van and you have to _lift _it) or something; because the next thing I knew he had bounced the unsuspecting prince off of the adjacent wall. As Zuko rebounded back towards us, Jee punched him soundly in the throat.

My eyes widened as the scarred teen dropped like a brick. Jee stared coldly down at him, looking like he wanted to snap his neck. It was like something out of the WWF professional wrestling tourneys...only real.

"Holy shit," I squeaked.

The Lieutenant turned a sharp gaze on me. "Are you all right?"

I couldn't find the air in my lungs to articulate a complete sentence. So, I just nodded weakly.

Yoshi started yapping as he ran out from under the bed (so, that's where the little bugger had been hiding the whole time). Zuko had been trying to peel himself off the floor (to no avail) when he was suddenly assaulted by the baby eelhound. The Fire Prince was just moving gingerly into a sitting position, clutching his adam's apple in extreme pain, when Yoshi clamped his tiny jaws around his ponytail and dragged him back to the ground.

My little badass.

"Let's get you to General Iroh," he said curtly.

Then, before I could even explain anything to him, Jee had snatched me by the wrist and dragged me off to the ex-General's cabin for a very stern talking to. I had been too stunned to do much besides keep up with his angry stride. Despite that, I sensed I was in a lot of trouble.

_Shit. Iroh's going to fucking murder me...!_

Bo-Fen followed us, looking interested for a change. "You know, the prince is gonna have your head for that, don't you, Sir?"

"He's lucky I didn't break his ribs," Jee muttered. "Arrogant little bastard. Who does he think he is, taking advantage of a young woman like that? He thinks that just because he's the Fire Lord's son he can get away with this? Does he?"

"Apparently."

"Um..." I said, trying to get a word in edgewise. "Zuko wasn't..."

"I mean, the girl almost got raped and killed back on Kyoshi Island! That's bad enough! Think about how traumatized she'll be now!" He jerked me by the arm, like a dog on a chain. "Look at her, Bo-Fen!"

We stopped short in front of Iroh's door. I blinked bewilderedly at the female soldier, my eyes wide and uncomprehending. I suppose I should have been acting more like an assault victim (you know, hysterical and all that), but I guess I just wasn't feeling it. I was still trying to process the fact that Jee apparently thought that Zuko had been trying to have his way with me. _ME_, the flat-chested little she-demon from another dimension who people continually kept mistaking for a _boy_. The insignificant peasant who couldn't even hold a pair of chopsticks.

The thought of Zuko mustering up that much unbridled passion for someone as incompatible as me caused me to burst out laughing. Jee and Bo-Fen both stared at me as though I had finally snapped (and I probably had, let's be honest). Almost as quickly as I started laughing, I lost my voice; feeling sorry for myself. Because that's when I remembered that Zuko is really freaking sexy and powerful, and a prince no less. And I was...well...me.

Bo-Fen gave me a nonplussed look. "She _does _look pretty traumatized," she acknowledged neutrally.

God, I felt like such a loser. A loser who would soon feel Iroh's wrath. Because no way would he believe that Zuko had been about to do what Jee thought he had been about to do. Not on my sorry ass, he wouldn't. More likely he'd think I had tried to assassinate him or something, and that Zuko had somehow pinned me in self-defense. I felt a spasm of panic as I envisioned myself crumbling into a pile of smoldering ashes.

"Wait a minute!" I shrieked, grabbing a hold of Jee's arm before he could knock on the door. "It wasn't what you thought! It was an ACCIDENT!"

They both stared at me some more.

"She's in denial," said Bo-Fen. "I've seen it before."

"Really?"

"Yup. Eleven times as a matter of fact."

The inadvertent Spongebob reference caused my mind to temporarily implode on itself. It was too late for me, anyway. Iroh (hearing the commotion coming from outside his room, undoubtedly) had cracked open his door. He regarded the unusual scene in front of him almost tiredly; seeing me clinging to Jee's arm like a deranged koala was apparently nothing new to him.

"It has not even been an hour," he stated, giving me a pointed look.

_It wasn't me_, I wanted to say. But I couldn't because I had forgotten how to speak. All I knew how to do was to blink up at him stupidly while imagining myself getting set on fire repeatedly. Oh, my God...I was going to die...! I was GOING to DIE!

"Eeeeep..." I whimpered.

Iroh lifted an eyebrow in confusion, probably wondering why I was looking as though death had warmed over. Then, we all heard it.

Angry footsteps echoed through the whole ship as someone stomped down the hallway. We all turned in tandem to see an enraged Zuko charging at us. I could see a fresh bruise forming along the base of his throat (my God, Jee must have really slugged him hard) and felt my stomach tighten. Jee was probably going to get in a lot of trouble for laying hands on a royal person (even an exiled one), regardless of his reasons or intentions; and besides, Zuko looked like he was about to set the entire hallway on fire, he was so mad.

"You...!" he rasped. His voice sounded strained, like it hurt him to talk, let alone snarl like Zuko was doing. "How dare you attack me like that? Just who do you think you're dealing with, Lieutenant?"

Jee's nostrils flared. "How dare _I? _How dare _you_, forcing yourself on a fragile young woman like that? Someone ought to teach you some respect! I don't care what kind of lofty, untouchable being you think you are. To me, if you're willing to stoop to such a low, then you're nothing but a spoiled, selfish prince."

Zuko growled and started forwards. I jumped in between them, using myself as a human shield.

"Hold it!" I snapped. "This is just a huge, HUGE misunderstanding!" I turned to Jee, spreading my arms wide so that he couldn't go after Zuko, or that Zuko couldn't suddenly jump out from behind me...not without knocking me over, anyway. "Zuko was _not _trying to molest me or anything. He would never do that...I mean, yeah, he can be a jerk sometimes, but for the most part..." I glanced at him from over my shoulder. "He really tries hard to do the right thing. He saved my life when he didn't have to...more than once. And there are times when he can really be kind. He's a good person."

I saw the Fire Prince pause at my words. He was staring at me very hard now, his mouth drawn in a firm line of confusion. Then, realizing that I was still staring at him, I snapped my head back to Jee. I think my whole face was on fire at that point.

The Lieutenant just shook his head, giving me a level stare. "Then what _was _he doing? How did he happen to end up on top of you _on his bed_, with you pinned underneath him and struggling to get loose?"

Iroh's eyebrows rose so high that they practically disappeared into his topknot. Zuko flushed red in anger and humiliation, and seemed unable to articulate the many, many things he wanted to say to the Lieutenant. Unfortunately, none of this compared to one person's reaction. I hadn't even noticed him joining us in all the chaos of trying to keep Zuko and Jee from killing each other.

"He did _what_...?" Shen-Long's voice cracked the silence like a whip.

I wheeled around, surprised and a little chagrined. Dammit, this was getting ridiculously out of hand...not to mention awkward.

"What are _you _doing here?" I blurted out.

Wordlessly, the soldier held out Yoshi. The little eelhound was yapping and snapping playfully at his fingers, but Shen-Long ignored him. I found myself blinking in confusion as he plopped the newborn reptile into my arms. Immediately, Yoshi snuggled against my chest and yawned, ostentatiously readying himself for a nice, long nap. God, I wished everyone else could have been this relaxed. I could use a nap, myself.

"He was lurking outside Prince Zuko's room," he stated, shooting the exiled prince a scathing look. Then, he regarded me flatly. "I am never leaving you alone ever again. What, are you a magnet for trouble or something?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't need a babysitter, Shen-Long."

Bo-Fen just burst out laughing. Everyone gave her a look, but she just wiped a mirthful tear out of her eye. She tried to stuff her fist into her mouth, but even that didn't stop the amused little spasms that were making her shoulders heave. It looked like she was having a violent coughing fit.

"Sorry," she choked. "Just that one thing she just said...heh...heh...bwa, ha ha ha...!"

I felt myself scowling at her. "What the hell is so damn funny? I can _so _take care of myself...! Right?" I demanded, wheeling around and staring at the others.

There was a long, awkward silence.

"Well, fine...maybe I have some shitty luck every now and then," I admitted grudgingly. "But I'm not a _trouble magnet_. Come on, that's just stupid."

Shen-Long put his hands on my shoulders, reeling me in until we were standing shoulder to shoulder. "_Right_. Sure you're not. And I'm sure that this is all just a big misunderstanding. I'm sure Prince Zuko had nothing but the best intentions when he pinned you to his bed...did I hear that correctly?" he inquired, looking up at Lieutenant Jee for confirmation.

He just nodded, his brow furrowed and his fists clenched.

"Just what are you insinuating?" Zuko snapped. "That I was trying something funny with the peasant? With _her_...?"

Okay, really? Did he have to go there? He couldn't have just left it at, _I would never do such a vile, untoward act against a young, defenseless female_...? No, instead he felt the need to point out how glaringly undesirable I really was. I mean, it was obvious that Zuko and I encompassed two separate lifestyles that didn't even _touch_. He was a prince and I was a peasant. What's more, he was ridiculously attractive and could breathe fire if the whim possessed him. He could probably have anyone he wanted if he'd just take a little initiative and quit brooding in the dark all the time like the freaking phantom of the opera.

Me? I was constantly getting mistaken for a _boy_ because I had no curves worth mentioning and a bad haircut. The only boy who had ever taken any remote interest in me only saw me as a warm body...which is, incidentally, another reason why I kept my hair so uneven and short. He thought I would look a little sexier with longer hair, and he was always trying to get me to grow it out. I kept chopping it off every month or so, mostly because I never wanted to go there all the times he did, and why rock the boat?

Well, that and the time my Dad had almost ripped a chunk of my hair out of my scalp for being late. I'm pretty sure that had something to do with it, too.

_Quit feeling sorry for yourself_, I growled internally. _Don't get mad. Get even._

"Yeah," I added for good measure. "Zuko would _never _make a move like that. He's way too busy angsting over how to get a twelve-year-old boy in chains to be interested in _women_. No offense," I said, looking over at Zuko again and smiling sweetly.

He just glared at me. "It's _your _grave you're digging, peasant."

"Don't you threaten her!" Jee barked. He then turned to General Iroh, a very decided expression on his face. "Julie may be willing to lie in his defense, but I know what I saw, General Iroh, Sir."

"I'm not lying!" I protested. "I can explain everything if you just let me or Zuko get a word in edgewise!"

Iroh and Jee exchanged looks. The ex-General then nodded at me.

"By all means," he said.

I perked up. _Finally._

"Okay, so this is what happened," I said slowly. "After Yoshi had run out I thought I saw him go up to the deck. And then Zuko was there Firebending, and I got distracted because...um...well..." I stumbled a bit, glancing once at my shoes. "Well, we started talking about Kyoshi Island and...other things...and then Shen-Long showed up, and then I _remembered _that I was looking for Yoshi, and then..."

"For the love of Agni," Zuko snapped. "You're not telling them _anything _worth mentioning. Let me tell them what happened."

"Screw that. You'll just get it wrong."

"What do you mean I'll _get it wrong?_ I was there too, you crazy little peasant!"

"Yeah, but you also were convinced that there were invisible people in your room and tried to fry my eelhound," I said snippily. "And you're calling _me _the crazy one? For fuck's sake, you were calling my baby the goddamn Unagi."

Zuko opened his mouth, then paused. "Did you just call that thing your _baby_?"

"Shut up."

"No, seriously. Am I the only one who heard her say that?"

"I don't think that's relevant, nephew," Iroh cut in. "Though I'm interested in hearing more about this...particularly about the invisible people."

Zuko just stared and stared at me. He looked almost nauseated as the Yoshi snuggled deeper into the folds of my shirt, making little puppy noises that clearly meant that he needed more attention from me. I had been stroking the little guy behind his ear-holes, occasionally scratching along where the dorsal fin had appeared (something Yoshi definitely appreciated). God, he was so freaking cute.

"And am I the only one who can _hear _what that thing is saying?" Zuko said finally, pointing at the eelhound.

"He isn't saying _anything_," I snapped. "God, what is _wrong _with you? He's _sleeping!"_

"It's singing a song about dragging people under water and pulling off their limbs!"

"You're a nutcase!"

Zuko turned to Iroh, looking desperate. "Uncle, please tell me you can hear it. Tell me I'm not losing my mind. No, more importantly, tell_ her_. And while you're at it, get that little monster away from her before it rips her throat out."

Iroh frowned at me for a moment, glancing occasionally at Zuko. Then, as though someone had flipped on a light switch, his eyes widened slightly. It was like a sudden change had come over him in that instant. Now, he was scrutinizing his nephew as though he were a very rare species of bird that had decided to perch right outside his window or something.

"I think," he said. "I understand what is happening. But let us continue this conversation inside, shall we?"

The Dragon of the West held open his door and motioned for us to follow him inside. Jee, Shen-Long, and Bo-Fen all piled in after him. I had tried to slink away, not really in the mood for whatever weirdness was about to ensue. But just before I could make my daring escape, I felt a hand close around the crook in my elbow, pulling me back to the door.

Yoshi made a noise of discomfort as I was jostled. I glared up at Zuko. "What?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "He means you too. Come on."

"No thanks. I want to live."

"Will you just move your feet, already? Damn, troublesome peasant..."

Against my will, I was dragged over the threshold. I made a miserable face as everyone stared up at me, having all taken seats around Iroh's table. Zuko snapped the door shut behind me, sealing my fate. Jee motioned for me to sit in between him and Shen-Long; and I shot Zuko one last bitter look before I complied with the silent request. I saw the Fire Prince's lips tighten at the blatant seating arrangement, but he chose not to comment. Instead, he went to sit next to his uncle.

This was going to be a very weird conversation. I could tell.

"Is everyone comfortable?" Iroh asked pleasantly.

If by comfortable, he was referring to how I was sandwiched in between two older guys who weren't above putting me on a leash to keep me out of trouble, or how I had to constantly avoid looking at Zuko, who kept scowling at me from across the table...then yes. I was certainly comfortable, all right.

He didn't wait for any of us to answer in the affirmative, however. He had already gone around and poured us all a cup of freshly-brewed tea, and the time for exchanging pleasantries had long passed. He set the kettle down at the center of the table with a very solid _thump_.

"It is clear," he said simply. "It is no coincidence that we have all come together as a crew. And I think it is time we cleared the air as far as that matter is concerned." He sat back down next to Zuko and fixed me with an intent look. "When my nephew and I first set out on this mission, I had left it in Lieutenant Jee's hands to seek out a crew of honest, hard-working men. He ended up meeting a pair of colonists seeking their fate serving the Fire Navy." He nodded at Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. "Both of whom have confided to me as to having connections with the Brotherhood's Ayla in a past life."

Zuko's head shot up. "What?"

Iroh looked at his nephew. "I knew that they were not what they appeared to be when they first signed on to our crew...but at the time, I didn't know anything about this Brotherhood or Ayla. I couldn't have possibly forseen any of what has happened in the past month since Julie came to our ship. And anyway, finding willing and able-bodied men to help track down the Avatar was almost impossible. You remember how it was, Prince Zuko."

He glared at a spot on the table. "Yes." Then, quietly, he mumbled. "_Cowards_."

I stared at Iroh, not sure what to make of all this. "You could tell they were reincarnations?" I asked. "Just by looking at them?"

"The General told us himself," Bo-Fen replied. "He can see spirits, and apparently that includes reborn spirits, like us. It was really unnerving, finding out that this entire time he knew exactly what Shen and I really are. I'll never underestimate the man again, that's for sure."

Iroh smiled and lifted his cup of tea to his lips, taking an appreciative sip. He chose not to comment.

"When Bo-Fen and I first signed up," Shen-Long told me. "We had just left home. For our entire lives we had grown up with memories from another time, and neither of us knew what it meant until we started our combat training. Then we could remember other things...about fighting for our lives and traveling with Ayla. We had wanted to find out more, and to do that we had to travel around the world...the _entire _world."

I blinked. "So you signed up with Zuko?"

"Well, it wasn't like we had the money to fund a trip like that ourselves," Bo-Fen commented. "And besides, the Prince was hell-bent on scouring the Air Temples, which was where Ayla had spent a lot of her time before she was killed."

I felt something squirm inside me again and then I understood. Ayla was listening.

_Where the hell have you been? _I demanded, trying not to let my surprise show. _Do you know what hell I've been through since yesterday? _

"_Shhh,"_ she hissed. "_I want to hear this story. And I don't want to talk about where I've been. I'm tired._"

_Spirits can get tired?_

"_I'm not usually this active, Julie. Actually, you might not hear from me for the next couple of days. I'll be sleeping._"

Whatever. It's not like it'll be much of a difference. Ayla had been so quiet lately that I barely noticed her just now. To say the least, it was really bizarre when you took into account how much of an attention-whore she was. Or her inherent inability to keep her mouth shut, especially when it came to my love-life. It was a cold day in hell when she wasn't commenting on my passionate, fictional romance with Zuko.

To which I could only say, _yeah, right._

Zuko was paying very close attention. Not to me, but to Bo-Fen.

"Ayla lived in the Air Temples?"

"Well, she visited all of them, but she spent the most time at the Eastern Air Temple with Avatar Yang-Chen. Ayla had a complicated past, and she had always been concerned with her spirituality. The Avatar was helping her work through all of that while helping _us_ stop the Brotherhood from purging the world of elemental bending. It was a really troubled time."

"History seems to be repeating itself," said Iroh.

None of us said anything for a long time.

"But that still doesn't explain what they want with me," I grumbled. "They have this idea that Ayla is some kind of saint or spiritual being...and I know I _look _like her, but it sounds to me like she was just another member of their clan. That's all. Why are they so freaking obsessed?"

"We're not sure," said Shen-Long. "But the reason can't mean anything good for the world. I think that part of it is the fact that Ayla was a part of their inner circle...she was considered to be a part of their elite when she suddenly defected to the other side. They branded her a heretic and burned her alive..." he stopped, the thought clearly sickening him.

I shivered, remembering the dream I had. The one where the men in cloaks had tied me to the stone altar and set me on fire.

"It could be that the Brotherhood don't remember that Ayla was a heretic." said Jee. "I mean...Avatar Yang-Chen's time had to have been at least a thousand years ago."

"The Brotherhood don't forget," said Bo-Fen darkly. "They _never _forget a face. I think they just know something about Ayla that we don't."

Everyone looked at me.

"What?" I demanded. Being at the center of attention had never really suited me. "Why is everyone looking at me? I don't know any more than you do. I mean, I'm barely following all of this...I mean, the Brotherhood calling Ayla a heretic and all of that. I don't even know what that means."

"It means," said Shen-Long. "That Ayla renounced her clan and warned Avatar Yang-Chen about what the Brotherhood wanted to do. They were planning to rid the world of all of the Waterbenders, Earthbenders, Firebenders, and Airbenders...the elemental benders, from what I understand, were considered deviants to them. They believed that Energybending was the only true form that should be practiced. Elemental benders and those who went against their clan were called heretics. Usually, the Brotherhood would send assassins after them, and would have them killed..."

He trailed off, looking miserable and grief-stricken.

"And that's what happened to Ayla, wasn't it?"

He didn't answer me. I frowned.

"Why didn't you tell me all of this when the Brotherhood first showed up?" I asked him. "Why wait until now? I mean, I don't want to be a bitch about this, but it would have helped if you had mentioned this to me earlier. Especially since everyone here has this stupid idea that Ayla and I are the same person."

The look on the soldier's face turned rough and pained. I felt myself go very still as the carefully composed mask slipped a little, revealing a fraction of the immense sadness that flashed in Shen-Long's icy blue eyes. I stared and stared, suddenly unable to speak.

"You have no idea how badly I've wanted to tell you," he said thickly. "I wanted to tell you _everything_...but...it was too soon. You wouldn't have understood, Julie."

Something stirred inside of me; an inexplicable, gut-clenching feeling that made me want to run away.

"What?"

Bo-Fen nudged her way into view. She put a hand on her brother's shoulder, steadying him as she glanced at me. "Come on, hon'. Didn't you just hear the General? It ain't a coincidence that we all met like this. Just like it isn't a coincidence that you suddenly showed up out of no-where a month ago...or that you look so much like Ayla, and act like her too. Or even that you're an Energybender...like her."

Why was it suddenly very cold in that room? Was it just me?

"That..." I said slowly. "That's just...I mean...I don't know _why_ any of that stuff happened, but I..." I swallowed, not liking the way my mouth had gone so dry, or how the way Shen-Long was staring at me. "What are you saying?"

Shen-Long's hands were on my shoulders, pushing me back down into my chair. I sank like a stone.

"You and Ayla...you're the same person. You're her reincarnation, Julie."

Oh.

That was it? My God, I had been scared that whatever it was that Shen-Long and Bo-Fen had been about to say was something about an inescapable fate or some impossible connection to this world that obviously _couldn't _exist since I wasn't even _from _here. But instead, they were only making an assumption. A _way _off the mark assumption, might I add.

I felt relieved and irritated. "Sheesh, get a clue, would you? Ayla and I aren't the same person."

Shen-Long frowned. "I know it's hard for you to accept, but...there's no doubt about it. I look at you and I see her so clearly. And I didn't want to believe it at first. I was ignoring all the signs until your Agni Kai with Zhao...and when you turned out to be an Energybender, I couldn't look away anymore. You are her...and she is you. You're the same."

I tensed my shoulders. "No, we're _not_." My gaze flickered to Zuko. "Tell him. You know the truth. You met Ayla, didn't you? Tell him the truth!"

Zuko had a contemplative look on his face. "Reborn spirits," he said quietly. "Uncle, does a reborn spirit usually share a body with their past incarnation?"

Shen-Long stared hard at the prince. "What do you mean? What are the two of you talking about?" Then, something clicked in his mind. "You _met _Ayla? How did you...what's going on here?"

Iroh nodded, as though everything were making perfect sense to him. And it probably was. I mean, the guy was a freaking genius.

"Recently, Prince Zuko and Julie were both pulled into the Spirit World for a short time. You clearly don't remember this," he told me, noticing the confusion on my face. "Zuko mentioned that you were unconscious at the time when Ayla appeared to him and explained her connection to you. That she was a spirit trapped inside your body...at least, that is what we believe to be the case."

Shen-Long turned to me. "So...Ayla is inside of you? Right now?"

"Um..."

"And you didn't say anything to anyone? Spirits, Julie, what's the matter with you?"

I scowled and lurched away from him, bumping into Lieutenant Jee. "Look, I didn't want to tell anyone because no one was going to _believe _me! I mean, come on, listen to yourself! What would any of them have thought if I had just went around telling people there's a _person _in my head who talks to me and tells me what to do? You'd think I was insane! Or a schizophrenic!"

Shen-Long looked mad. "I would have listened."

"And how the hell was I supposed to know that? I've only known you for a month! For all I knew, you would have sided with everyone else!"

He looked like I slapped him in the face.

"You don't know me?" he said simply. "And _she _doesn't know me? She doesn't...neither of you remember, do you?"

I breathed out through my nose angrily. "I don't remember because _I'm not Ayla! _And I don't know what the hell she knows because she talks in fucking riddles and plays head-games all the freaking time! When she isn't babbling about love and friendship or feeding me Energybending tips, she's sticking her nose in my personal business and telling everyone who can see and hear her about my _ex-boyfriend...!_"

Ayla bristled. "_I didn't tell Zuko anything about Ramon!"_

"Then how the hell did he know about that?" I snapped, not caring if I looked crazy for talking to myself. It was all moot point anyway. "Seriously, what _didn't _you tell him, anyway? My zip-code? My bra-size?"

Zuko was watching me intently. "Julie, you're making a scene. Sit down and stop yelling at Ayla."

"SHE STARTED IT!"

"Yeah? Well, I'm finishing it! Besides, Ayla wasn't the one who told me about your stupid ex-boyfriend. I could care less about all of that, anyway...stupid peasant."

Shen-Long and Bo-Fen just stared and stared at me, like I had completely and totally lost my mind. I had knocked over my chair in my violent rant to Ayla, and was brandishing my fists at a person they couldn't even see. I must have looked just like Zuko had when he had started making noise about the invisible people loitering inside his bedroom...wait a minute...invisible people?

"You can see spirits, then," I said, reaching an epiphany.

Zuko slumped. "You _just _figured that out?"

I glared at him, my face turning red and my breathing unsteady as I fought back my frustration. "I was a bit distracted just now, in case you didn't notice." I let out a sigh, burying my forehead in my hand. "Is that why you were acting like such a freak before? When we were both in your room, I mean?"

"You mean when I was trying to get that thing away from you?"

"It's not a _thing,_" I growled. "His name is Yoshi."

"He's the Unagi, Julie. I don't know how, but it reincarnated into your eelhound."

I felt the corners of my mouth droop as I glanced down at the sleeping puppy in my arms. The monstrous serpent that had taken over my body and tried to get me to commit multiple counts of homicide was _this _little guy? I couldn't believe it. What's more, I didn't want to believe it. Yoshi was my baby, my itty-bitty bad-ass. I had only had the critter for about half an hour, but I loved him. He was _mine_. He needed me.

"But..." I said. "That doesn't matter, right? I mean, it's not like he remembers being the Unagi. It isn't fair to punish him for something that happened in a past life."

Shen-Long went still.

"I mean, it doesn't matter who he used to be," I continued, not really noticing. "It's who he is _now _that matters. And I'm going to take care of him, because _right now_ he's not the Unagi. He's Yoshi. That's all that matters for either of us."

Zuko turned to Iroh. "Uncle, please deal with her. She won't listen to reason."

"I don't know, nephew. I think she has a point."

"What?" he sputtered. "But...but..._you _can see spirits, too. _You _must hear what that thing has been saying all this time!"

"I have."

I glanced at Iroh. "Bitchin'."

"No," Zuko snapped. "It is NOT _bitchin'_...it's a disaster waiting to happen! That thing keeps talking about slaughtering mortals and establishing a reign of terror over all humans that will last until the end of time. That doesn't _bother _you, Uncle?"

"Zuko," said Iroh patiently. "_All _animals are like that. Yoshi _does _come from a long line of war-steeds. Blood thirsting is in its nature. That does not mean it can't feel genuine affection for Julie. Besides, if that eelhound is really the Unagi, hasn't it occurred to you that it might be here for a reason?"

"Yeah. That's what worries me."

"_Sheesh,_" Ayla commented. "_He's so noisy. What does a girl have to do to get some peace and quiet around here, anyway?_"

I growled. _Shut up. Quit playing the martyr and fix this. He's obsessed with killing my eelhound. Don't you care?_

"_I'd care more if my head didn't hurt so much._"

_You're a freaking spirit! You don't _HAVE _a head...!_

Shen-Long noticed the way my nose was wrinkling, like I had tasted something really nasty. He pulled me closer to him, making me look up at him sharply. In my defense, I wasn't the best company right then and there. I was kind of having a moment.

"She's talking to you right now, isn't she?"

I sighed. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

The soldier looked punch-drunk as he digested that. "Can she hear us? Can she...can she see me?"

I turned and gave him a funny look. "She sees what I see...and she hears what I hear. We're kind of in the same body. It's like being roommates, only I don't have the luxury of kicking her out when she pisses me off." I saw something lighting up Shen-Long's face, something like hope and hesitation and awe all in the same instant. "Um...why, is there something you wanted to tell her?"

He was silent. Abruptly, he got to his feet and left the room.

"Shen," Bo-Fen called, looking surprised and chagrined. "Dammit. I better go after him. This isn't really easy for him either, you know," she added, looking pointedly at me as she got up from her seat. We all stared as the female soldier took off after her brother.

I felt strangely guilty.

"I...I didn't mean to make him leave," I muttered, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice. "I mean...what's his problem, anyway?"

Jee put his hand on my shoulder. "I imagine he must have cared about Ayla a lot," he told me. "Having the chance to speak to her again after all this time must be deeply unnerving to him. He just needs time."

I scowled. "What, and that wasn't an issue when he thought I was her reincarnation?"

"You know, for that matter, we haven't entirely ruled out that you're _not _her reincarnation," Zuko reminded me. "Just because you can talk to Ayla doesn't mean that you two aren't separate incarnations of the same spirit."

I felt deflated. "But...but I...I mean...that can't be. It just...it doesn't make any sense."

"We've done a lot of reading on the matter," Iroh explained. "Seeing as the Avatar reincarnates into each of the four nations, it was necessary to research past-lives...and it mentioned that the Avatar retains the knowledge of all of his or her previous lives. In a sense, they relearn the techniques they have mastered over thousands of years from a spiritual mentor. Like, a teacher."

"And according to the Fire Sages' records," said Zuko. "That mentor usually takes the form of the most recent incarnation. It must be the same for you. Ayla must be the same thing for you."

_Well?_

"_I dunno. I'm kind of sleepy. What's the big deal, anyway?"_

_It's kind of important._

"_I already told you, I don't remember this stuff," _she said petulantly. "_I don't even know what I am, really. I only have a few memories, and none of them are very pleasant. Why don't you just figure this out yourself? I'm too tired to think straight_."

Sheesh. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.

"She's talking to you again," said Zuko. "I can see you arguing with her. I never noticed before."

"She's being a moody bitch," I grumbled. "And she says that she doesn't remember. Also, she doesn't care because she's all tired out from whatever it was she's been doing since yesterday."

I let out an exhausted sigh, flopping forwards and resting my forehead against the table. All right, so I was being dramatic. Whatever. I think you guys can forgive me in light of everything I had just found out. Seriously, this was so messed up. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen knew Ayla in a past life? Was _that _why they were sticking to me like glue these days? And Zuko could see spirits? How long had _that _been going on?

What did all of this mean?

"This is very interesting," said a new voice. "I've never seen a case of someone communing with their past-life. I wonder how that affects her chi-fluctuations..."

I jolted and almost fell into Jee's lap. I clawed away from Shim like a lynx desperate to avoid a bear-trap. The Lieutenant grunted in surprise, moving out of my way and watching in shock as I darted behind Zuko. The prince gave a start as clung to his arm, using him as a human-shield.

"Stay the fuck away from me," I growled. "Who invited _you _in here, anyway?"

Shim sighed. "I've been here for the past ten minutes. You didn't see me?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "No."

The healer smiled at the crazed gleam in my eyes. "There's no need to be so hostile, Julie. I'll give you my word that I won't perform any unauthorized experiments on your person without General Iroh or Lieutenant Jee's direct consent. And we already agreed to your chi-therapy treatment, didn't we?"

I glanced at the cup of liquid he was holding, plopping Yoshi down on the floor where he could sleep soundly, undisturbed. "Is that it?"

Zuko stared at Shim. "What are you giving her? What's going on?"

"Nephew," Iroh explained. "Shim has prepared some chi-suppressants to help neutralize some of Julie's power. We're hoping to help her develop control over her bending by regulating her spiritual energy. She's going to be resuming her combat training as soon as she has recovered from her injuries."

"I thought I wouldn't have to take that crap until tomorrow," I complained.

"Do you want to master Energybending, or don't you?" Shim replied. He came over and placed the cup in my hands. "Drink it."

Zuko made a face. "That looks horrible."

"Shut it, Zu. You're not helping."

"Unfortunately, it has to be taken directly. Mixing it in with a beverage only nullifies its special properties."

I held the cup in my hands and stared miserably at the amberish-piss colored liquid. It smelled like a bad combination of bubbling sweat and stale hobo. I had to resist the urge to gag as I brought it to my lips and took a slow, cautious sip.

No surprise. It tasted like the inside of someone's ear canal. I choked, almost spitting it out on the carpet.

"It's expensive," Shim said hastily, steadying the cup before I could drop it. "We can't afford to waste it, Julie."

Eyes watering, I managed to swallow the tiny mouthful of medicine. "It...it's so bad...! How much do I have to drink?"

"All of it."

"FUCK!"

One excruciatingly deep cup of slop later, I felt myself getting drowsy. The room around me starting shifting in and out of focus, and I was having trouble sitting in one place. Without warning, I ended up flopping against Zuko, who caught me before I could smash into the table. My eyelids drooped.

"Is this supposed to happen?" I heard him ask.

"Minor side-effects," Shim explained.

There was more, but I didn't hear any of it. I had passed out.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry. This was a boring chapter with nothing but dialogue, but I feel like crap. Maybe I should have waited until I wasn't crippled with head-vibrations to post this. I should have waited a day or two until I felt better.**

**But then again, I already feel terrible for making you guys wait for so long. Plus, I wanted to get this chapter up just in case this migraine ended up killing me. It _feels _like I'm going to die. Seriously, how does anyone _live _like this? It's impossible!**

**This wasn't as fluffy as I would have liked, either, but there was some plot development at least. Now everyone on Zuko's ship is on the same page...well, almost. Zuko still hasn't told Julie about his secret pact with the Unagi. And don't think Zuko is off the hook with Lieutenant Jee, either. The man clearly knows what he saw, and he's paranoid enough to do something about it.**

**If the part about Jee punching Zuko in the throat was OOC, you'll have to excuse me. I'm clearly delusional with nausea. Plus, it was too funny for me not to run with it. Is anyone complaining?**

**Um...on second thought, don't answer that.**

**REVIEW!**


	64. The Great and Illustrious Omashu

**A/N: "...I feel like I am the Dead..."**

**(Cartoonish flop) No joke, guys. I was really, really sick this week. Despite the fact that everyone has been waiting on the edge of their seats for this update, and knowing full well that the last thing anybody wants to hear is a sob story, sob I must. Because I'm sorry...I barely had the energy to drag my sorry ass to work all week. I would have called in sick if I weren't so paranoid that a move like that will haunt my work life until the end of time. The next time I lose a limb or something, my superiors will open my file and see the Sick Day.**

**"She's clearly faking," says Corporate Overlord Number Q. "Let's fire her lazy ass!"**

**"I'm not so sure," the underling disagrees tentatively. "Wouldn't we then have to train a new bookkeeper in her stead?"**

**(Narrowing eyes at the underling) "I'm in a firing mood. Wanna get in line?"**

**(Gulps) "Shall I get the unemployment noose, my lord? Perhaps there's still time to mail it to her..."**

**"No, no. That won't be necessary. Why waste company funds when she can clearly make her own?"**

**So, you see? I had no choice but to slave away over a sweaty calculator, whose buttons kept sticking because someone spilled coffee all over it. It smells like three day old creamer and won't type right. Plus, I feel all shaky and cold, my head keeps alternating between its two favorite default statuses at random intervals (stuffy and perpetually throbbing), and every time I talk I sound like a seventy-eight year old hag on a respirator. I could probably sneak on to the set of the Exorcist and no one would be able to spot the difference.**

**But I'm somewhat better now. And while this chapter isn't the most inspired for me, I felt compelled to post _something_ given the...erm...enthusiastic nature of the last bunch of reviews. I'm not sure whether I should be flattered or...um...oh, screw modesty. This is fucking AWESOME! You guys really love the crap out of this story!**

**I think I gave birth to a cult. I've got the shivers...! No, wait. That's just the sickness crippling my immune system and paralyzing my train of thought. What was I talking about again...?**

**...**

**WHO ARE ALL YOU PEOPLE?**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Great and Illustrious Omashu**

Omashu. The towering metropolis perched ominously on top of a mountain, like a monstrous bird sitting on a cliff. Katara and Sokka, who had never been in such a large urban area before, were momentarily speechless. Kuba, on the other hand, regarded the great city and breathed a sharp sigh of relief. He too used to the twisting underground catacombs he had lived in as a child growing up in the Brotherhood to be very impressed by Omashu; but seeing civilization again dragged out a sense of urgency within him. He was feeling an intense need for walls and noise.

His eyes became brighter as they focused on the pair of guards standing at attention at the only gate leading into the city. No one noticed when he unconsciously quickened his pace. They were all intent on reaching the city.

Aang was practically bouncing on the toes of his feet in excitement. It seemed as if the prospect of entering Omashu brought back his goofy, fun-loving attitude that he had almost lost back on Kyoshi Island. He seemed extremely unaffected as Omashu loomed menacingly in front of them.

"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu," he announced grandly, gesturing towards the seemingly impregnable fortress in front of them. Then, he paused, noticing the looks on Katara and Sokka's faces. "Hey, are you guys all right?"

"We don't have cities like _this _in the South Pole," Katara explained weakly, eyes glued to Omashu in the distance.

Sokka's expression was decidedly more envious as he remembered the tiny village from which he hailed. "They have buildings here that don't _melt_," he mumbled in amazement. It was clear he was thinking about his shamble of a snow watch tower that had crumbled under the bow of Prince Zuko's warship.

Kuba sighed, glancing impatiently over his shoulder at the others. "Can we hurry it up a little? I'm falling asleep over here...!"

The Water Tribe siblings looked down at the Earthbender. Contrary to the claim, Kuba looked more alert and edgy than he had been since they had left Kyoshi Island. The longer he stood in the same spot on the crest of the hill, the more uncomfortable he became. He was hugging his arms to his sides and was clearly resisting the urge to look all around him in a nervous, agitated manner. In fact, he had been jittery since they had left the mountains about half an hour ago.

"Are you all right, Kuba?"

"I'm _fine_," he snapped. "I just...it doesn't really matter, but...there's too much room out here. I don't like it."

Aang looked at him. "You don't like open spaces?"

Kuba's eyes darted to him. "How could anyone like them? They make you feel so small and...exposed. Is anyone else having trouble breathing?"

Katara knelt down and put her hands on his shoulders, steadying him. He flinched under her hands, but didn't move. Apparently he was having trouble deciding which was worse: Katara's incessant mothering, or the rising panic he was feeling the longer he found himself not surrounded by a comforting force field of objects and people. Finally, he surrendered, letting the Waterbender rub circles in his back and trying to resist the urge to claw her arms off.

"But you were fine before...and you've been outside plenty of times."

"It's not being _outside_ that bugs me," he grumbled. "The villages I've been to were fine. They had buildings and people and everything. It's all this air and space...and quiet. There's _nothing _out here. I feel there's a giant eye in the sky that's staring down at me because there's nothing else to look at...and I can't breathe!"

The gaang exchanged glances.

"Maybe you'll feel better once we reach Omashu," Aang suggested. "It always makes me feel better. I used to come here to visit my friend Bumi all the time, and I never had a bad time. And just wait until you see the delivery slides."

"I dunno," Sokka replied. "He looks kind of twitchy, Aang. I think we should just put him on Appa and let him sleep the rest of the way. Maybe he'll feel better surrounded by fur and luggage. I mean, think about it: the last time we went flying he was fine. I mean, nothing is more open and spacious than the _sky_, but he slept like a baby most of the way to Chin Village."

Kuba's gaze flicked to him. "The last time we rode on Appa I was delirious with fever. Do you really think I noticed what was going on around me?"

"Um..."

"It won't help."

"Let's just keep moving," said Katara, nudging Kuba towards the mountain path leading to Omashu's gates. "Standing around arguing isn't going to get us to the city any faster. Honestly, I think that's the only thing that'll do any good."

The others acknowledged the logic in this and acted accordingly. But they hadn't gone more than half a dozen paces down the slope when Sokka abruptly lunged forward and caught a squirming Aang by the shoulders. The Airbender choked out a surprised cry as he was dragged back behind a giant boulder. Katara and Kuba stopped in their tracks, watching the scene impatiently.

"Sokka!"

"Aang can't go in there undisguised, Katara. Not after what happened on Kyoshi Island."

Her face clouded over. "You're right. It could be dangerous if people realize who Aang is."

Aang blinked at the Water Tribe siblings, trying to keep Sokka's forearm from crushing his windpipe. "W-what am I supposed to do?" he choked. "Grow a mustache?"

Sokka and Katara frowned contemplatively at the monk. Kuba simply gave up any pretense of bravado at this point and frantically curled into a ball, coating his body in a thin layer of rock as he did so. To a stranger passing by, he would have been mistaken for an oddly-shaped boulder hyperventilating against another boulder. The image was made complete when Momo, tired of perching on Appa's head, flew over and sat on the quivering Kuba. The lemur licked its forepaw, unconcerned by the movements of the Earthbender underneath him.

Appa let out a contented rumble from the adjacent hill. He had been happily enjoying a meal of fresh, high-altitude grass, and now it looked as though he were getting a show too. Humans were so strange.

Sokka's gaze slid from the massive bison to Aang, an idea forming in his brain. "I think I have a plan..."

* * *

Zuko sighed. "How long will she be unconscious _this _time?"

You couldn't really blame the guy for being so exasperated. He had found himself standing watch at Julie's bedside so many times as of late that it was starting to go out of style. If only things would stop happening to her...but then, what were the odds of that? Practically everyone she met either wanted to corrupt her unfathomable abilities or kill her. It also didn't help that Zuko had added Shim to the top of the list of people to watch out for. He was one of the creepiest people that had ever stepped foot on board his ship; which was saying something given that he was now also boarding a demented lizard harboring a vengeful reincarnated spirit in its body and looked at Julie like its own mother.

Shim was a little too interested in Julie for comfort. Zuko had his suspicions that he had botched the first dose on purpose just to see what would happen.

"Who knows?" he replied cheerfully, flitting from one end of the infirmary to the other like an overzealous ghost hell-bent on reaching the light. He was looking through his supplies and pulling things from shelves that he could add to the next dose to neutralize the negative side-effects. "It could be hours...or it could be longer. It depends on Julie's constitution. To be honest, I don't think she's in any medical danger. She'd have gone comatose if she were overdosing."

Zuko scowled. "Then why is she like _that_?" he demanded flatly.

Julie chose that moment to let out a sigh that sounded too similar to a sob. She couldn't seem to lie still on the cot, and nothing he and Iroh said or did made any difference. Lieutenant Jee had left the room ten minutes ago to refill a basin of water for the cold compress, but he hadn't come back yet. Personally, Zuko thought he just wanted an excuse to get away. He couldn't blame him.

"Hallucinations are common," said Shim evenly. "The drugs act as a chi suppressant, and too much can cause a build-up of the body's natural energies...which often result in delusions and unexplained visions. Normally, the effects are pleasant to the patient, but Julie might be having a bad trip. Rather unfortunate for a first-time experience." He tsked his tongue sympathetically. "Might make it harder to convince her to take the _next _dose..."

"You are not giving her any more drugs," said Zuko through clenched teeth. "Julie's going to master Energybending through hard-work and consistent training, not through the use of illegal hallucinogens. I know what you gave her...and I also know you can only get it on the Black Market. It's as rare as it is dangerous."

The healer smiled blandly at him. "The negative effects can be balanced out with the correct ingredients, your Highness. In Julie's case, they can provide her with enough stability to practice her bending without endangering herself or the people around her. Once she becomes more confident, we can slowly decrease the doses until she obtains mastery over her chakras."

Zuko glared at him. "No."

Iroh sighed. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

(Julie's POV)

_Snow was falling._

_"You don't have to do this," he said. "Ayla, please...you don't owe him anything."_

_I could feel my breath misting in the air, the icy strain on my lungs that made me feel hollow inside. Because I knew I didn't have a choice anymore. Not since I had made the decision to leave the Air Temple, not even since the moment I had that vision. The fact that my mentor was involved in all of this only made it more necessary that I make things right. I had to save him...even if it meant saving him from himself._

_But Len wasn't hearing any of it. _

_"They'll kill you."_

_"They can try," I replied calmly. "I think if anyone pulls a sword on me, Anju will cut them into ribbons."_

_He came up to me, making me very aware of the head's difference in our heights._

_"Is this because of me?" he whispered. "Is it really that unbearable to have me love you, Ayla? I can keep my mouth shut if that's the case. Just please...don't do this. We need you. _I _need you."_

_I closed my eyes. I wished there was a way I could do this without hurting him. But it looked as if the only way I could possibly have done that was to lie to him...because I wasn't in love with Len. If only it were that simple. If I were in control over my own feelings, I wouldn't choose to be hurting right now. I probably wouldn't have had any reason to go back. My insides feel like someone sliced them open and rubbed salt into them._

_It's only worse, seeing him look at me like that. His icy blue eyes were piercing, intent on my expression. They were searching for the faintest hope that he could keep me from my mission._

_"I'm so, so sorry..." I breathed. And then I lost it. I started crying._

_Len put his arms around me and held me against him. I wasn't in love with him, but I loved him enough to accept that comforting gesture. He rubbed circles into my back and murmured reassurances in my ear._

_But I knew my duty. I had to leave him._

_"Let me go, Len," I whispered._

_His hands trembled, tightening a fraction of an inch around my waist. "I don't know if I can."_

_"Please."_

* * *

"Please..." I murmured, tossing in my sleep.

"Nothing to worry about," I could hear Shim's calm, professional tone of voice cutting into my subconscious. "I've seen cases a lot worse than this. She's going to be just fine, your Highness."

"If she isn't," Zuko replied in an icy voice. "I'm feeding you to the Bull Shark infested waters...in pieces."

He sounded like he was on the edge of his patience. I found myself shrinking away from the sound of his voice, trying to consume myself in another vision. His anger was so raw and _present_...it stung to be anywhere near him. I found my fingers tightening into knots around the sheets locked in my fists. The colors started swimming in front of my eyes again, causing my stomach to squirm in panic. Nothing I saw matched up with what I was hearing. The disorientation I felt made my insides to churn with nausea. I thought I was going to throw up.

"In Julie's case," Shim replied, completely unaffected by the death threat. "It could be quite a while before she comes out of it. Hopefully, her body will adjust to having the drugs in her system...then maybe she'll have less of a negative reaction to them. Otherwise we may have to reduce her next dosage."

The voices started floating away. The colors took on weirder shapes than before, brought me to more places I had never been in my life. The memories that did not belong to me came rushing back, slamming into me like a speeding train.

_Not mine, _I reminded myself with gritted teeth. _This isn't me. I'm not...we're not there. None of it is real._

Then what _was _real anymore? I couldn't tell the difference.

Obviously, I wasn't doing anything particularly interesting that day. Lying on a cot in a cold sweat while Shim tried to stabilize my condition was kind of exciting for about ten minutes. But since this is Avatar the Last Airbender and not a bad parody of E.R. or House, I'm going to switch back to the Gaang for a little while. After all, it's been a while since we've heard from them. And to say the least, they were having a way better time of it than I was.

* * *

Aang sneezed under his thick beard and mustache. Fluffy strands of bison fur fell from the messy disguise, dancing as a fresh breeze carried them away. The monk scratched uncomfortably at his neck, reaching to the back of his head and wincing. Katara and Sokka stood back and examined him from all angles, trying to find any flaws that would give him away as the Avatar.

"Uggggh," Aang groaned. "This stuff is so _itchy!_" He turned to Appa incredulously. "How do you live in this stuff?"

Appa rumbled vaguely.

"I dunno. I think we're good," said Sokka after a few seconds. "Bushy, but not too ostentatious. He may get a few weird looks, but he looks just like an old man."

Appa growled in a low voice. He had been offended by that stray comment. How could anyone look weird wearing his fur? It was amazing and stylish. Not to mention practical, considering how cold it got way up in the sky. After a moment or two, the bison just decided that Sokka was just jealous. His own hair was cut pathetically short and only stuck out in a ponytail on the top of his head while Appa's was luxurious and white, and covered his entire body.

_How petty._

"Technically Aang _is _a hundred and twelve years old," Katara replied, not noticing Appa's reaction. "It's a believable disguise."

"Well, let's get to skippin', young whippersnappers!" said Aang, dropping magnificently into character. "The big city awaits!" He started hobbling off towards the gates, using his staff as a walking stick. He glanced back at the others. "Come on, Kuba. You're lagging behind."

The young Earthbender sighed in frustration, shaking the rocks off his body and scrambling to stand in between Sokka and Katara. He ignored their looks and focused intently on his bare feet as they trudged towards Omashu.

The way forward was a single-file, switchback road that stretched across a bridge all the way up to an impregnable gate. Kuba felt better about this until he realized that the bridge they had to cross laid across a seemingly bottomless chasm on all sides of the great city. For once, he was grateful that Katara was so relentless in her scrutiny; she caught the boy before he could stumble from sheer lightheadedness and guided him the rest of the way across.

"You guys are going to _love _Omashu," Aang was gushing, not the Kuba could hear much of it over the ringing noise in his ears. "The people here are the friendliest in the world."

"Rotten cabbages!" a deep voice bellowed in outrage. "What kind of slum do you think this is?"

_On second thought..._

The Earthbender looked up in time to see a cart full of cabbages careening over the side of the access path, plunging into the valley below. An older man raced to the edge, clenching his hands into anguished fists.

"STELLAAAAAAAAAA...!"

"Weirdo," the guard muttered, shaking his head in disgust. Then, he noticed Aang, Katara, Sokka, and a queasy-looking Kuba standing there. He immediately got into an Earthbending stance and lifted an unnecessarily large boulder to hover menacingly over their heads. "State your names and your business."

There was a brief silence. Then, another guard walked over to the first guard and muttered something urgently into his ear. The expression on the man's face changed from idle interest to consternation in about two heartbeats.

"Already? But the audience was supposed to last for about three more days, and his Majesty said specifically that..."

"I know what he said, but they're asking to be let out. Some of them, anyway. The more highest-ranking ones have decided to remain in the royal court until further notice. It seems as if the negotiations are set to continue for longer than either of them expected, and the Brotherhood apparently has business elsewhere."

Kuba's ears perked up. "The Brotherhood are here?"

The guards were too busy bickering to notice. Sokka, deciding that no one would hold it against them if they all moved, herded the gaang out from underneath the boulder, which had started to wobble ominously. The two men didn't appear to notice, too engrossed in their heated discussion to care about a small band of travelers.

"Of all the audacity," the first guard groused. "Business elsewhere? They were so insistent on seeing the King...and now they can't even be bothered to sit through the entire appointment?"

"Only the grunts are moving out, it seems," the other replied. "Anyway, it doesn't matter either way. We have to let them out. They're blocking traffic."

"Damn religious fanatics..."

The guard motioned up to the soldier stationed at the top of the wall. He gave him the signal to open the gates. With a massive groan, the doors were pulled open by the team of Earthbenders, making everyone in Team Avatar tense up in expectation. A hush fell over the group as a formation of young men and women in maroon cloaks went by, ignoring everyone present and remaining disciplined and silent. Kuba shuddered and ended backing up into the Water Tribe siblings.

"So that's the Brotherhood," said Sokka slowly, scrutinizing them. "Nice outfits."

Katara hugged her arms to her sides as her blue eyes went from one vacant face to the next. "I'm getting the creeps. Something about those people aren't..._right_. Am I the only one who thinks so?"

No one replied. The last of the acolytes had left the city gates and followed the train of followers back up the slope. In about thirty seconds, the first wave of Brotherhood members mounted the crest of the distant hills and vanished from sight. All in all, it was a very unnerving display of manpower.

"I hate them," Kuba whispered. "They only do what they're told...no matter how bad it is. They don't even think for themselves anymore."

Aang looked at the boy. "How do you know that?"

The Earthbender looked very uncomfortable. "I...I knew people who were in the Brotherhood. And they're really, really bad; trust me. They're trying to get rid of all of the elemental bending in the world and replace it with Energybending. They take people who are benders and...they kill them."

The monk and the Waterbender both looked at him in shock. Their expressions were almost comical, as though the boy had pimp-slapped them both across face as hard as he could. Sokka's reaction was less severe (not being a bender himself), but that didn't make him any less repulsed by what he had just heard. Surprise quickly melted into anger and disgust.

"That's terrible!" said Katara. "How could they? Why would anyone buy into something like that?"

"Yeah!" Aang agreed. "Bending is a part of who we are. It's a gift...and to kill people for it is sick and wrong..."

"Either way," said Sokka. "I think it's a lucky break that they're leaving. And this tells us something very important. If they were in Omashu, I'm willing to bet they had a tip about Julie that brought them here. Maybe if we find out what they were up to, it can help us find her before _they _do."

"The guards said that they were here to see their king," Kuba muttered.

The ponytailed warrior snapped his fingers, his eyes bright with a freshly-laid goose-egg of a plan sitting in his head, waiting to be cracked open. "So, we just get an appointment with the King. And I think I have the perfect way to get ourselves inside."

The guards were staring at the group. "You know we can _hear _you, right?"

There was a long, awkward silence. Then, Aang strode up to them, waving his staff like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings.

"That ain't any of _your _business, you whippersnapper!" he scolded fiercely. "My business is my business, and none of yours! I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"

The two men exchanged wary glances. "All right, old timer. Settle down," said the first in a low, soothing tone of voice.

"We were just saying, your grandson was a bit loud about wanting to see the King," the other chimed in. "He should know that no one can see his Majesty without an appointment. I assume you have official business with him, and not some fool's errand."

"Why I oughta..."

"Yes," said Katara quickly, stepping in between Aang and the guards. "My grandfather was assigned by the Brotherhood to assist them in a very important presentation to the King. You'll have to forgive him...all this traveling is making him a little cranky. It was a long trip," she added in a confidential whisper.

The guards blinked. "Can we have your names, please?"

"Bonzu Pipenpadoloxicopolis, the Third," said Aang on cue. "And these are my grandkids."

"Hi, June Pipenpaldoloxicopolis," Katara added serenely. "Nice to meet you."

Sokka was sulking. He had wanted to be the one to think up a master plan. Little sisters ruin everything.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I am so, so sorry for the long wait. I know that I cannot possibly be forgiven (violins start playing in the background), and yet I will continue my tragic quest to produce the perfect OC-fic, one deep enough to drown in the literary devices and entertaining enough to keep you all reading to the end. Needless to say, I am constantly encouraged and uplifted by your consistently constructive and insightful reviews. **

**Seriously, unless I get sick like this again, I'll continue updating on a weekly basis, give or take a day here and there. That's a promise.**

**So, we finally hear from Team Avatar, and it looks as though something is going down in Omashu. What could the Brotherhood be planning for the impregnable city? And will the group still get to play on the delivery slides? The SUSPENSE!**

**I threw in the tidbit of Zulie fluff on a whim. I'm constantly surprised at the level of devotion you guys have to this pairing. It's scary and flattering. I never expected this kind of response over an OC-main character pairing. I'm really happy about it, actually. (Grins)**

**Okay, nuff said. Must chug a hot thermos full of vegetable soup.**

**REVIEW!**


	65. Doubting Bumi

**A/N: Thanks for the get-well wishes, everyone! I'm feeling much better.**

**Part of it, I think, had to do with the awesome street fair the town was holding for Columbus Day. A four-day extravaganza with all sorts of booths selling food and trinkets...not to mention the bitchin' carnival in the back lot, complete with a Ferris-wheel, gravitron, bumper cars, merry-go-round, and all sorts of rigged carnie games! I freaking LOVE those rigged carnie games!**

**I was terrible. I blew about eighty-five percent of my paycheck on that fair. It was totally worth it, too. I won a big-ass Pikachu cuddle pillow from the balloon-popping game. The lesbian running the booth gave me a really good deal, and only charged me for the balloons I popped. She kept calling me "pretty girl." I, for one, am not complaining. I really, really wanted that Pikachu.**

**Plus, I'm pretty dexterous with those darts. It wasn't hard to pop twenty of them. At five dollars for three darts, I only had to break two or three twenty's to get the prize. TOTALLY WORTH IT. (eye twitch)**

**I feel a little guilty when I think about all the money I spent, but at least I got all my Christmas shopping out of the way. I always get my shopping done in October because the holiday season in general is just plain exhausting. I get tired just thinking about it. The last thing I want to do during the month of December is have to deal with mobs of people getting their last-minute present-hunting out of the way. **

**Everyone ends up making such a big deal out of it, anyway, what with the ostentatious decorations...the stupid manipulative holiday specials on TV...the repetitive, overplayed Christmas songs being looped on every radio station...the overdone family holiday get-togethers, which really just boil down to the immediate household showing off to the practical strangers they foisted meaningless Christmas cards on, the same people they invited to their home for no better reason than to demonstrate how posh and successful they are...**

**Is it any surprise that Columbus Day wins out over Christmas as my favorite holiday, hands down? Hardly anyone makes a fuss over Columbus Day, and I guarantee you won't be seeing anybody foisting Columbus Day merchandise on the unsuspecting consumer. You don't get a Charlie Brown type griping about the "real meaning" of Columbus Day (because it almost always ends in a couple of historians pimp-slapping each other in a debate about whether Columbus should be regarded as a brave explorer and hero, or someone instrumental in the rape and annihilation of an entire culture, and who really wants to sit through that?). **

**Instead, you get a quiet day off from school or work, and in my case, a carnival. No going-through-the-motions, no hypocritical holiday cheer, no pressure to "do the family thing." Just peace, quiet, and hordes of teenagers running around publically intoxicated while stuffing deep-fried Oreos down their throats. I think I rest my case.**

* * *

**Chapter Fifty-Nine: Doubting Bumi**

"So, tell me again," said King Bumi slowly. "Why it is you need access to my city."

The hook-nosed man in the maroon cloak sighed heavily. "With due respect, your Majesty, we've been over the points at least a dozen times over the last three days. Surely you understand our needs by now."

"I'm an old man, Delun. I may need reminding every now and then."

Delun had to bite down hard on his bottom lip to keep himself from saying something nasty. It had been almost a week before he had been able to obtain an audience with the King of Omashu, and now he had deep suspicions that the old man was playing games with him. Not only couldn't he be bothered to remember the divine purpose of the Brotherhood or understand their reasons for migrating to the great city, he spent an infuriating amount of time talking in riddles and getting lost in tangents. He'd have figured it'd be easy to convince a clearly-demented, absent-minded king to see things his way.

Apparently not.

"Omashu boasts the second largest population out of all the settlements in the Earth Kingdom," Delun explained. "The Brotherhood may be affluent as of late, but after our run in with the Fire Nation we've become homeless. Our converts need a place to settle in peace...and hopefully, in time, we can acquire some new brothers and sisters into our noble clan."

King Bumi waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes. I heard all of that. I mean to say, why is it that _you _need access to my city."

Delun blinked. "Me? You mean...me, specifically?"

"Yes."

"We all seek the same thing in the Brotherhood," he replied without skipping a beat. "Together, we operate as a single body. We act as one mind and one heart, striving towards the same objective..."

"Objective," Bumi interrupted. "So you people have _objectives _now? I was under the impression that you were merely peaceful spiritual scholars...or am I wrong?"

Delun narrowed his eyes, feeling a seething dislike for the elderly King of Omashu. "That is correct, your Majesty. But we also seek to better ourselves and the world around us. We seek spiritual enlightenment, and our members work together to achieve this goal."

"And that is your motivation? To better yourself? Or to make the world better for you?"

The two men locked gazes.

"You seem to have a negative impression of the Brotherhood," said Delun slowly. "However, personal feelings aside, the issue remains. Your city needs more revenue to maintain its walls and fund its militia. We need a base of operations. Surely we can come to some sort of agreement."

"Perhaps," Bumi assented vaguely. "Though it will require some careful consideration."

Delun felt like planting his forehead into the table...repeatedly. "We've _been _considering it. Your Majesty, we need to reach an agreement soon. The Fire Nation is only going to get closer and closer to Omashu. Not to offend, but it is starting to sound as if you don't care if your city is overrun by invaders. The time to act is here and now. You need to choose..._today_."

The old man grinned on his throne. "Choose? An interesting subject of conversation...choices. I wonder why it is you chose Omashu when my sources tell me you already have a base of operations in Ba-Sing-Se. By my best estimate, several dozen refugees flock to the great city every day seeking shelter...and at least half of those people claim to be acolytes of the Brotherhood."

Delun stared at him.

"Are my figures wrong, then?" Bumi queried.

"It is as I stated earlier," the hook-nosed man responded. "We are homeless. Why should it strike you as strange that our brothers seek refuge wherever they can find it?"

"If that is the case, why can't your people settle in Ba-Sing-Se?"

Delun scowled. "There are only so many people that the city can hold, your Majesty. The city simply isn't big enough for everyone."

Bumi's eyebrows went up. Way up.

"Isn't big enough?" he repeated. "The great city of Ba-Sing-Se isn't _big _enough to support all of your members? Just how many people have you managed to convert to your cause? Hundreds? Maybe even tens of hundreds?"

"You are falling prey to the misconception of our size," Delun interrupted. "The people you see taking shelter in Ba-Sing-Se may be members of the Brotherhood, but they are not acolytes of our particular sect. They pay homage to the serpent spirit, Naga, while our particular clan is united under the blessing and guidance of the raven spirit, Kraje. We are all brothers, but our needs and priorities vastly differ."

"I thought you were all united under the same objective," Bumi commented. "Evidence lends to the contrary, it seems."

"We all seek to better ourselves. We share the same ends; we merely have conflicting ideas as to the means."

"Sounds complicated."

"It can be at times, yes."

Bumi's eyes lit up. "Tell me, then...are your views so different that it has made it impossible for your two clans to settle in the same city?"

Delun frowned. "I wouldn't go so far as to say _that_, but...it would cause some problems. Some of our brothers can be a bit...overzealous. Putting the two groups together might cause them to clash."

"And so you need Omashu, the second-largest populated region in the Earth Kingdom, to house your clan. This is what you are telling me?"

"Yes," he replied through gritted teeth. _For the umpteenth time, old man. Yes!_

King Bumi stroked his chin contemplatively. "Well, I suppose Omashu would be the only city on the map that can come close to Ba-Sing-Se in terms of size and population. It doesn't come as close as you would like, clearly, but my support must be vital if you stand any chance of rivaling your sister clan. What messy politics."

Delun gave a start. "What gave you the impression that we are trying to..."

"You said so yourself. Your two groups clearly don't get along. If that weren't the case, you would have brought your acolytes to Ba-Sing-Se instead. You would come together in your alleged hour of need. Am I wrong?"

The cloaked man said nothing, his dark eyes cold and distant.

"But perhaps I was too hasty in my judgment," said Bumi after a moment's pause. "As you say, it is possible for people to work together in spite of some disagreements here and there. That is what you are hoping to accomplish here and now, yes?"

Delun defrosted a little. "I am glad to see that you have come to your senses, your Majesty."

"As am I. It was naive and foolish for me not to realize from the beginning. You'll have to excuse an old man for not keeping his facts straight." Bumi straightened up in his throne, fixing the Brotherhood agent with a mad grin. "But you see, I'm insane."

"Err..."

"Your Majesty," a messenger suddenly appeared in the doorway. Delun and Bumi both looked up to regard the man. "A small group of people are here to see you. They claim to be from the Brotherhood, and that they have a very important presentation to show you."

Delun became tight-lipped. "I don't know anything about a presentation. What are their names?"

"A Bonzu Pipenpadoloxicopolis and his three grandchildren."

"I've never heard of them. They must be imposters."

Bumi grinned heartily at the news. "More guests? Wonderful. We should have a feast for them."

The hook-nosed man gaped incredulously. "Didn't you hear me? I just said that they were imposters. We should arrest them and interrogate them immediately, and...your Majesty? King Bumi!"

The King of Omashu had gotten off of his throne and was walking away from him, humming a tune under his breath. Delun stared for a moment, not certain as how to proceed; but eventually deciding he had nothing to lose by following. As he trailed behind the older man, he could hear him musing to himself about some roasted koala-sheep, which are quite plump at this time of year.

"No. Squirrel-hen would be better, I think," he quickly decided. "Then everyone can have one for themselves. They're only as big as my fist..."

"King Bumi," Delun interrupted. "What about the intruders?"

Bumi glanced at him. "Didn't you hear me? I said to throw a feast for them." He turned his back on the cloaked man, shaking his head as though despairing of him all together as a human being. "And they call _me _absent minded."

If the old man was trying to play him for a fool, he was doing a very good job of it, indeed.

* * *

Shen-Long had a hell of a headache.

"That's what you get for drinking so much of the rice sake," Bo-Fen replied to the unspoken complaint.

Beside her, the soldier looked as flushed and bleary-eyed as the most hung-over vagrant on the face of the earth. It had been a very good thing no one had been around when Shen-Long had decided to chug the entire bottle of their secret booze stash. Hours later, he still looked like a mess; but since Prince Zuko hadn't been around it had been easy to convince Shim to let them both in to see Julie.

Of course, there were some conditions that had to be met first.

"I have to drink _all _of this?"

Shim smiled. "You did agree to test it out. The good news is that if it works, it should clear your headache right up. You'll feel fresh as a panda-lily."

"And if it doesn't...?"

The healer subtlely averted his gaze, bending over to check his notes for the umpteenth time. "You'll probably be vomiting purple for the next few days. And you might also develop an ulcer. The chances are only sixty-forty against."

"ONLY?"

"Quiet," Bo-Fen nudged her brother roughly in the ribs. "You're the one who decided to get piss-faced drunk last night. If you really want to see Julie, you're not going to do it hung over. The girl's got enough problems without havin' to look at your ugly face right now."

Shen-Long didn't reply. He stared morosely into the unidentifiable liquid in his cup before quaffing it in one gulp. He made a face and shuddered; his expression twisted into a revolted grimace as he slammed the cup down on the nearest countertop. Shim hummed a tune as he took the cup away, smiling in content. The healer's mood appeared to be directly correlated with how busy he was and the level of suffering of the people around him. More work and sicker patients made him absolutely buzzy. It was really creeping the hell out of Shen-Long.

'_Maybe I shouldn't take anything else he gives me,'_ he decided, on the off-chance that Shim felt like extending his good mood. '_He might just make me sick on purpose if I'm not careful._'

"How do you feel?"

"Like I just drank a cup full of cat piss."

"Excellent," Shim replied. "You should be feeling the effects soon enough, depending on your weight and body mass, of course...and your overall immunity to fire salamander venom..."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. Just sit there and wait for me to come back. I have to go check on Julie."

The soldier felt chills coming on as Shim reached for his clipboard and cheerfully left the room. He couldn't tell if this was one of the unmentioned side-effects the healer had alluded to, or whether he was just unnerved. Either way, it didn't bode well for him, and folded his arms uneasily as he waited for him to come back.

Bo-Fen, on the other hand, wasn't content to leave him in peace.

"Don't look so down," she told him. "Just look at the bright side of all of this."

Shen-Long gave her a look. "You mean, besides the silver pieces you collected from Shim when you thought I wasn't looking?"

"Business is business. He needed a test subject, and you needed to see Julie."

"Sometimes, you worry me, Bo-Fen," he said wearily. Then after a pause, he asked, "How do you think she's doing?"

Bo-Fen leveled a gaze at him, her expression carefully neutral as she looked her brother in the eyes. "Which one?" she inquired.

They looked at each other, understanding each other completely. Shen-Long sighed, burying his forehead in the palm of his hand, hoping that he wasn't actually as dizzy and nauseated as he felt. He hoped he was just imagining the symptoms.

"I don't think that matters," he muttered in reply. "Either way, it's the same person in the end."

Bo-Fen gave him a long glance. She had her poker face on. "Your meaning, brother?"

Shen-Long slumped, rubbing the backs of his eyelids with unsteady fingers. He looked like he was ready to pass out. "I mean to say that things might not be what they seem to be. Not at all. Especially that part about Ayla being a ghost trapped in Julie's body...that part worries me more than anything else."

"You don't believe her?"

He looked frustrated. "Of course I believe Julie. She wouldn't lie about something like this. If she says Ayla is alive and talking to her, she obviously believes that it's the truth. And Prince Zuko telling her that he can see spirits is only feeding into it."

Bo-Fen stared at him, then understood. "You think she's imagining things?"

"I think she's remembering more details about her past life," he said darkly. "And the only way she can rationalize it is to make up a separate personality for it. Remember how Ayla herself had that same problem back when she was...back when she was...alive...? It was how the Brotherhood got her to go on all of those missions for them...got her to do all of those terrible things. Remember how traumatized she was when she realized who was assassinating all of those benders?"

"Remember? I still have flashbacks about some of the marks Anju gave me the last time she came out. That girl is monster."

"But still a part of Ayla," Shen-Long sighed. "Anyway, I think Julie might be having the same problems now."

Bo-Fen scowled. "I dunno. I've heard about split personalities, but those don't get passed down from one past life to another. Not that I know of, anyway. I think Julie might be right. I think Ayla might actually be in there, separate from Julie, but tied to her just like she says."

"Then I guess you also believe that crap Prince Zuko was saying, too."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're just jealous because he can see and hear Ayla but you can't. You're just mad because he's closer to her now than you ever were, then and now."

Shen-Long lurched, as though his sister had slapped him. But she had merely spoken the truth. It was a hard truth, nonetheless. His hands clenched into fists, and pain creased across his eyes. Abruptly, he felt a fresh need for an open bottle of wine...or anything else to dull the sting of reality.

"I just think it's a little too convenient that he can see spirits at the exact same time Julie starts hearing _"Ayla" _in her head. I think he's just telling her that so he can keep the girl under his thumb. Bastard."

Nothing more was said. Not because there wasn't any need for further conversation, but because Shim's draught had finally taken effect and Shen-Long found himself doubled over an empty basin Bo-Fen had grabbed. She had seen her brother's face turning a sallow yellow and had snatched the first thing she laid eyes on. She sighed as the soldier retched and heaved, comforting herself with thoughts of the profit she had made out of this.

As she patted him on the back, she went to steal his wallet, only to remember that she had already taken it a few days ago and emptied it. She scowled.

_Damn it._

* * *

"So as you can see," Lieutenant Jee concluded stiffly. "Commander Zhao is expanding his forces to cover the entire south-eastern side of the Earth continent. Clearly he believes that the Avatar is still nearby. He has left some of his forces to keep Kyoshi under Fire Nation control, but for the most part he appears to be going on the offensive."

Zuko nodded. He had expected that to be the case as well. "So that's where we're going to search as well."

Jee pursed his lips, choosing not to look up. Ever since the misunderstanding, he had been distinctly colder towards the Fire Prince; making it very clear that it was only their difference in rank and his relation the still very-much esteemed General Iroh that kept him from wrapping his hands around his throat. He had evidently not forgiven Zuko for being caught in such a compromising position with Julie, and would be damned if he left the two of them alone together any time soon.

Not that he said as much out loud. However, in a manner blunter than a dull butter-knife, he had found excuses to supervise while Zuko had been sitting at Julie's bedside. It had gotten to the point where Zuko finally lost patience and decided to give the Lieutenant enough work to keep him distracted for the next three weeks.

Hence the sudden briefing and change in mission objectives. Or so Jee had assumed.

"I want constant reports on Zhao's movements," Zuko continued, ignoring the bitter looks the naval officer was giving him. "I want to know where he sends his men and why. And I especially want details on his flagship."

That made Jee start. "Sir?"

"You heard me. I can't afford to let Zhao get ahead of me, and I'll need to know if he suddenly changes course or redirects his forces for any reason. Is that understood, Lieutenant?"

"I...yes, Sir."

The naval officer scrutinized the young exile's profile as he turned away from him. Just then, something about Prince Zuko had seemed...different. It was something without a name, something in the intensity of his gaze, which was now directed out the window and towards the vast, restless sea. This was what gave Lieutenant Jee such pause as he contemplated what should have been a simple order.

But then...since when had the Avatar ever been an afterthought for someone as ruthlessly obsessed as that young man was?

"And, of course," Zuko added quickly, unconsciously deepening Jee's suspicions. "If the Avatar is spotted, I want immediate notice. That is all."

Glancing once at Iroh, who seemed unusually grave in spite of the freshly brewed tea simmering in his cup, Jee saluted in the customary fashion before leaving the room.

_Something isn't right about this, _he thought. _I bet it has to do with what happened at Kyoshi Island._

He only knew a handful of details, some of which were supplied by General Iroh (who was strangely quiet about the whole situation), and the rest he had simply picked up by keeping his eyes and ears open. He had swallowed the abridged, outlined version of what had happened; he had also, just barely, managed to wade through the more miraculous aspects of the ordeal, such as the mythical Unagi having been reincarnated into Julie's newborn eelhound. But he had hadn't actually put the pieces together when he recalled what little he knew of Kyoshi's downfall at the hands of Commander Zhao.

Clearly Prince Zuko had made an enemy out of him. It only made sense for him to want to know where Zhao was so he could steer clear of him. Jee could only hope that the rest of the crew didn't end up getting dragged into this. Save for a handful of miscreants they had hired out of desperation, these were men he had served with back during the seige of Ba-Sing-Se. They were loyal and honest, and didn't deserve whatever punishment Zuko's rash action had earned them.

And then there was Julie herself. He could only guess at the trouble she was in if Commander Zhao had been on Kyoshi with her. What's more, he had grave doubts that the man had forgotten the events of their Agni Kai.

Jee paused to rub the circles around his eyes. They felt sore and tired. He needed sleep.

_First things first_, he reminded himself. He had to check up on Julie.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he heard her hiss as he stepped over the threshold leading into the infirmary. She scowled up at him, as though blaming the Lieutenant for whatever it was that had irritated her this time. "I can't get my hands to stop shaking."

Jee frowned, then noticed the tarot cards in her hands. And the ones she had dropped on to the floor.

"I've got it," he said, waving her back into her bed. He stooped down and collected them for her. "You really shouldn't be playing with these when you're supposed to be resting. I hope you're not going to make me regret returning those to you."

Julie made a sour face. "I can't sleep. It smells like dead people in here."

She went back to shuffling.

Jee sat down in the chair next to the bed, watching her for a moment. Her hands, though small, were agile, her fingers clever enough to stack the deck just the way she wanted it. If she hadn't already confided to him once about her involvement in a so-called gambling ring, it wouldn't have even occurred to him to watch for any sleight of hand. Even knowing what to look for, he barely detected it. The slightest wrinkle of her brow, the flick of her wrist, these were the only things that gave her away.

"I recall you mentioning that those cards used to belong to your mother," he stated.

The air abruptly changed. "Yeah? So, what?"

Jee knew a touchy subject when he saw one, and Julie wasn't exactly subtle with her body language. "It's just, I don't recall you doing a fortune in quite some time. Not since before we reached Kyoshi, in fact..."

Julie shrugged. "Zuko hasn't been asking me to, lately. I don't think he believes in this crap any more than I do."

This surprised him. "If you don't believe, then why bother keeping the cards at all? Why do you even bother shuffling them and reading them if you don't believe in fortunetelling?"

The redhead breathed a sigh. She put the deck down on the side table and folded her arms obstinately.

"Is there any reason why you're here?"

"I'm just checking up on you. Is that such a crime, girl? And don't take such an accusatory tone with your elders. It certainly won't get you anywhere as far as I'm concerned."

Julie glanced down at her folded hands, making another face. This one wasn't annoyed so much as it was troubled and confused. She bit her lip for a moment, visibly tongue-tied. After a while, she gave up on a reply and reached for her deck again. Jee noticed that her shuffling motions were more agitated than before, her hands sharp and merciless with her cards.

"You should pay attention to visitors," he reprimanded her quietly. "A lady never ignores her guests."

Julie winced.

"Who the hell are you trying to kid, anyway?" she muttered. "You know as well as I do that I'm not cut out for this. I'm only putting up with your etiquette BS because it gives us both something to do..."

"I wouldn't waste my time if I didn't have anything to work with."

"Whatever. I don't want to get married, anyway. I just want to be normal again."

There it was. A simple admission was all it took to drain the defiance and bravado out of Julie's face. She slumped over like a plant someone had forgotten to water, her hands trembling as they held her tarot in a pair of trembling fists. She was done shuffling.

Jee tried to think of the right thing to say. What would he have said if this were his own daughter?

_Spirits, I'm no good at this, _he realized. In all his years of being at sea, he had learned many things. But how to be an affective guardian to a rebellious teenage girl was not the kind of knowledge he had anticipated needing. Not since Cheng died, at least.

(**A/N: See "Happy Endings: the Deleted Scenes" for more info. I don't feel like lapsing into pointless, fanon backstory right now.**)

"You seem normal enough to me," Jee commented. "That is to say...you're not deformed or disfigured in any way. If you were a little better adjusted to society, you probably wouldn't have so many problems as you do right now."

Julie huffed. "I can kill people from the inside using their own spiritual energy. So far, I've only gone on two or three homicidal rampages since I came here. That's about as well-adjusted as I'm ever going to get, Jee."

He wanted to say she was being too hard on herself, but that sounded too much like stretching the truth. In fact, it stretched it so thin it was practically see-through.

"It was self-defense," he said shortly. "And it's never going to happen again. Because you're not going to get in any trouble like that ever again. Not if I have anything to say about it."

She scrunched up her brow. Jee realized that her finely honed temper was a sharp blade being worn dull by the constant danger and upheaval in her life. Julie kept a sullen expression on her face, too tired to muster up any of her usual sarcasm or stubbornness. Her hands weren't shaking from emotion, but from exhaustion. A day's rest should bring her back to her feet again, but...

_The only thing that will really help is structure, _Jee mused._ Stability. She needs a normal life, going to school with other girls her age, coming home to a family that cares about her..._

And then he got to thinking about her blood relatives. He thought about her drunk of a father, the one who allegedly abused the girl enough to make her run away from home and warp her into a fire-breathing she-demon. Julie was a good kid deep down inside; he had seen the softer sides of her personality firsthand. It was all this stress and hostility that made her so volatile and flighty. And it wasn't like she had a mother who could mold her into a respectable young woman.

Not one that he knew of, anyway. This gave Jee only one alternative.

"Don't think for a second that I'll let you neglect your lessons just because of your Energybending training," he said suddenly.

Julie looked up in surprise. "What?"

The Lieutenant stared at her, his face resolute. "A lady never says, '_what,'_ like a commoner. Never let me hear you say that again. Instead, you're going to say, '_I beg your pardon_.' Try it."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "This isn't a lesson, Jee. And anyway, what's the point? I'm not getting married. Even if you could con someone into proposing, I'm one hundred percent dead set against it. I refuse, dammit!"

Jee squared his shoulders. "We'll see about that."

And without another word, the naval officer stormed out of the infirmary, his nostrils flaring in outrage. He would show that impudent girl just how wrong she was. He _would _beat a sense of manner and poise into that thick skull of hers. He would give her so much structure that she could choke on it if she wanted to. He may not be able to give her a normal life, but dammit, he could give her the next best thing. And for Agni's sake, he would.

_Rally, Lieutenant. This battle is just getting started_.

Julie was going to raise hell when she realized what Jee had in mind, but it was for her own good.

* * *

The audience chamber was lightly furnished and bore simple decorations. The scarcity of its presentation only emphasized just how big of a room it really was. Katara looked warily at Kuba, worried that his phobia would kick in. Granted, he had been doing much better since they had entered the city. The crushing presence of walls and buildings and people seemed to bring out his old plucky self again. But this was a really big room, and the Waterbender couldn't help but stare at the boy in concern.

He scowled at her. "What?"

Huh. Katara guessed he was fine after all.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Just...looking around."

The boy shrugged, turning around to look at what few decorations hung on the walls. They were mostly Earth Kingdom insignia banners and a few simple tapestries. He amused himself with those for a few moments before it became stale. Instead, he turned to Aang, who was the closest to his own age.

"I've never been in a palace before...have you?"

Aang grinned. "My friend Bumi and I used to sneak around here a long time ago. He always knew the secret ways in and out of the gates. He never told me how he found them, though. He just told me that I had to keep my mind open to the infinite possibilities."

Sokka gave a start. "Wait a minute! If you knew of some secret ways in and out of the palace, why did we turn ourselves over to the guards? We could have just walked right past security and gotten the information for ourselves!"

The Airbender blinked at him before grinning sheepishly. "Um...I guess I...forgot..."

So much for keeping one's mind open to the possibilities. Everyone did a collective group facepalm.

"Aang!"

"Leave him alone, Sokka," Katara snapped. "It wouldn't look good for us if we were caught sneaking around the palace, anyway. At least this way we can talk to the King of Omashu face to face. He might even be able to help us find Julie."

"Yeah, but why would he want to?" Kuba put in miserably. "Look at us. We're dirt poor commoners."

"Aang's the Avatar," she replied. "The King might not be willing to help strangers, but the Avatar is different."

Sokka folded his arms. "Or, he could decide that Aang turned his back on the world and throw us all in jail. I dunno, Katara. It just sounds too risky to me."

The Waterbender met his gaze with a stern glare. "Then I guess it's a good thing Aang knows about those secret passages, isn't it?"

Aang put himself in between the two siblings. "Well, they aren't _passages _so much as they are sewage grates and air ducts...and part of the way leads past the servants' quarters..."

"Great," Sokka muttered. "We could have had disguises, too."

No one said anything for a beat or two. Aang had been sufficiently abashed into silence, both by the Water Tribe warrior's admonishments and the harsh reminder that he had let the entire world plunge into a century of war and discord. Not that Sokka was blaming him, but other people would. And what stung the most was that deep down, Aang knew these people had every right to. He had ran away from his responsibilities. He had failed.

Katara put a hand on his shoulder, sensing he was upset. "Don't listen to him, Aang. Sokka's just in a bad mood. I'm sure everything will work out just fine in the end."

The monk sighed. "Yeah," he muttered. But he managed a faint smile for the Waterbender. He felt a burgeoning warmth in the pit of his stomach as she smiled back at him. There was a genuine compassion and sense of optimism in those shining blue eyes that made him believe in himself again. After all, so long as Katara believed in him, what did it matter if other people didn't?

He never realized how much he cared about what Katara thought of him until just that moment. Before he had been trying to get her attention mostly because she was pretty and fun to be around. She had been there when he woke up from the iceberg, and she had personally taught him how to tame a penguin for penguin sledding. And they were going to learn Waterbending together.

But now there was something more there too. He trusted her, and she him. Aang suddenly felt much warmer, noticing her hand on his shoulder and realizing how alive that part of him felt in comparison with the rest of him.

"Will you two quit making eyes at each other and help me figure out what we're going to say to the King?" Sokka griped.

Aaaaand then the moment died. It crashed and burned.

"We'll have to tell him the truth, won't we?" said Katara, pulling away from the monk, who looked disappointed. "We'll tell him how we met Julie, and everything that happened on Kyoshi Island. We'll explain that all these people are trying to capture her because of her Energybending, and..."

"You can't tell anyone about Kyoshi," said Kuba suddenly. "What if the King ends up blaming Julie for what happened?"

Everyone looked at him.

"Why would they do that?" Aang asked. "I was the one who messed up, there. Julie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Wait, Kuba might be on to something," said Sokka. "I mean, remember how those villagers turned on Julie when Chaang told them about how she was an Energybender, and how dangerous she was? If the same thing happens here, we might just end up making things worse for her. We'll end up turning all of Omashu against her or something..."

Kuba looked upset. "And when the King finds out that she was with the Fire Nation in the beginning, he'll never trust her. Especially if he figures out that Julie has a crush on that stupid Zuko guy." He scowled at the memory.

Aang and Sokka gave a start. "Wait, really?" the monk asked. "Julie likes Prince Zuko?" The Airbender paused to consider this, his grey eyes round in contemplation. "Maybe that was why she was so upset that day, back when we were at the beach. She said she didn't know what she and Zuko were anymore, and she just looked so sad. She must have thought that he hates her."

"Believe me, he doesn't," the Earthbender replied stiffly. "He's always bossing her around and pays so much attention to her. He barely used to let her out of his sight before they got into that argument...and that blowup happened because he thought she liked someone else more than she liked him."

Katara looked triumphant. "I _knew _it!" she cried. "I knew it was him...!"

Sokka looked from Kuba to his sister, suspicion dawning in his eyes. He stared hard at the Waterbender for a beat or two. "Okay, am I missing something, here? What's got you so excited? Julie getting all mushy for a fire-breathing maniac is _not _a good thing."

"Don't you see, Sokka?" she said impatiently. "Prince Zuko _does _like her. They're in love with each other! He went back to rescue her because he must have found out that Zhao was invading the island!"

The Water Tribe warrior blinked. "But he wasn't even there. There was just us and...and..." Realization struck him. "The Blue Spirit was _Zuko?_" Then, outrage hit him like a ton of bricks. "I risked my life to help the Prince of the Fire Nation? Katara! Why didn't you stop me?"

But she didn't listen. She was too elated by the confirmation of her theory. The Waterbender was practically jubilant at her own discovery, even if the implications of it weren't exactly helpful to them.

"Well, if those two disappeared together," said Aang slowly. "Does that mean she's with the Fire Nation again?"

Everyone froze.

"You know, it would have helped if we knew all of this _before _we gave ourselves up to the town guard," Sokka muttered, facepalming again. "We don't even need information anymore. This stinks!"

"We still don't know why the Brotherhood was here," Katara reminded him. "I think that should be our focus."

"That's going to be a problem, though," said Aang worriedly. "I mean, won't they just look at us and realize we're not with the Brotherhood? We're not even wearing the cloaks those guys were wearing."

Sokka's eyes were bright as an idea possessed him.

"Kuba," he said, turning on the Earthbender. "You said you knew people in the Brotherhood, right?"

"Um...yeah," said the boy uneasily. He fidgeted in place. "Sure, I did."

Sokka ignored his discomfort and plowed right on. "So you must know how people in the Brotherhood spoke and acted, right? You can tell us what to do to convince the other Brotherhood agents that might still be here. And then we can get close to the King, and..."

He stopped as the sound of footsteps reached his ears.

"Someone's coming," Aang realized. "Quick, everyone act natural."

"And let Kuba do the talking," Sokka reminded them sharply. He smiled broadly at the stricken Earthbender, giving him the thumbs up. "Good luck, kid. No pressure, but we're all counting on you."

Kuba tried to swallow his panic as the footsteps drew closer, and the King of Omashu entered the room with his attendants.

_Here goes nothing_, he thought.

* * *

**_NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW!_**

**Ayla: "A fierce set of trials lie ahead for our heroes! Having barely survived her encounter against the legendary fiend, Commander Zhao, Julie begins her training to learn to control her super-special powers!"**

**Julie: "Hey, bitchin'. I finally stop being so damn useless."**

**Ayla: "But what's this? The rookie is thrown into peril when the Super-Special Flat-Chested Judo Kick-Boxing Dragon Queen Championship Belt is up for grabs, forcing her to throw her chips in before she can complete her training!"**

**Julie: "Wait, what the hell?"**

**("Eye of the Tiger" starts playing)**

**Ayla: "Rise to the challenge, Julie! Under the watchful eye of her manager, the once-great Master Ayla the Super-Amazing Fantastical Being of Sheer Awesome Sauce, she must set herself for the fight of the century. Once there, she will have no choice but to face her rival...the very same man to whom she has pledged her heart and soul!"**

**Zuko: "What the...! Why did you just show _my _portrait? What is this, anyway?"**

**Julie: "Slander! Lies! I should sue your ass!"**

**Ayla: "Will passions ignite in the ring? Or will outside forces, not to mention Commander Zhao's treachery and sheer buttheadedness, tear them apart seam by precious seam? And who will claim the title of Super Bad-Ass Charizard of the Fourth Dimension?"**

**(Super cuddly eelhound, Yoshi, jumps on-screen, a la Pikachu)**

**Yoshi: "It will be me. I will snap their necks and lap up their juices of VICTORY! It tastes like BLEEDING!"**

**Zuko: (Snatching Yoshi by the scruff of his neck) "Will you get out of here, already? Miserable beast!"**

**Ayla: (As Julie rushes in to save her eelhound) "NEXT TIME on Happy Endings, Book I: The Drifter: _The Million Dollar Ironfisted Maiden! Love Hits the Hardest! _The countdown to the ultimate showdown begins!_"_**

**Julie: "Where are you getting this crap, anyway? This is worse than a badfic on crack!"**

* * *

**A/N: Um...**

**I walked away from my computer, and this was what I found when I came back. I think my characters are rebelling against me.**

**Anyway, this chapter is basically a set-up for the next episode arc. You all probably were wondering where Delun had gone for all those chapters. No, he didn't die. He just dragged what was left of his dignity and went to Omashu. Apparently he needs King Bumi's support, but are things really what they seem. Are there other motivations besides a deep-seated rivalry with the other clans of the Brotherhood? The mad genius himself may know more than he is willing to let on.**

**While the Gaang are trying to glean some info on Julie's enemies, the Zu-crew are left to brood on what they now know about their shipmates...and it seems as if no one can find it in their hearts to trust one another. Shen-Long is dubious about Zuko's newfound spiritual awareness, as well as the true nature of Julie and Ayla's relationship. Jee, meanwhile, in a misguided attempt to bring some stability into Julie's life, is now more hell-bent than ever to find her a husband. To what lengths will he go to in order to succeed?**

**More importantly...Ayla, what the hell is a Super Bad-Ass Charizard of the Fourth Dimension?**

**Ayla: "Well...I thought it sounded pretty cool."**

**Um...seriously?**

**Ayla: "You don't like it?"**

**It's...interesting. (Coughs) Anyway, REVIEW!**


	66. That Which Does Not Kill You

**A/N: Hey, all. Apparently 7-11 happened to have a copy of the PS2 game, AtLA: Burning Earth. So I went and bought it at $9.99. At the time, I thought it was a steal. Now that I've run through the first four episodes of Book II...well...eeehhhhh...yeah.**

**The graphics aren't that great (no surprise, since it's still PS2 technology, the best I can afford at the moment; however, they're so bad that during the cut-scenes in between fights, the characters' mouths don't even move), the camera angles are fixed, making it difficult to follow a foe during a melee fight, and the plot is just badly scripted. Like, during the Swamp episode, the Fire Nation was attacking the Swampbender village for no other reason other than the fact that they were a bunch of evil douche-flavored Pop Tarts. I mean, it's a SWAMP. It's not exactly a strategic location in the Earth Kingdom. Sure, there are Waterbenders living there, but they wear leaves and eat giant bugs. It's not like they're itching for a fight the way the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are.**

**Oh, and by the way, Jet is there too. Don't ask me why. He just shows up randomly to help Katara stop the fires and beat up the Fire Nation soldiers. And then he conveniently disappears before Aang and Sokka show up. Katara just explains that he "went to Ba Sing Se." Yup. He just walked away into the spooky ass swamp and was never seen for the rest of the episode.**

**This, of course, leads me to believe that Jet was never actually there to begin with. He was just another illusion made from swamp gas or something; because it is obvious that the swamp ships Jetara, and took out its frustration over their falling out on the Fire Nation (who are also dumping their waste there, for some reason, and totally deserve a good tentacle rape by the giant vine monster).**

**I haven't even finished the game yet. That's about the only promising sign that it might not actually be a waste of ten bucks. I'm at Toph's debut episode, and I can't seem to beat her at the Earth Rumble Tournament. Even two against one (Aang and Sokka vs. Toph), I still get my ass handed to me in a dirt sandwich.**

**Either the designers are really paying homage to Toph's greatness, or I just really suck at this game. It's level four, for crying out loud.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty: That Which Does Not Kill You...**

The first thing that occurred to Kuba as the footsteps drew closer was that the people he was traveling with were the most unnatural people on the face of the planet. That is to say, if their heartfelt effort at "acting natural" had been any indication. And it probably was.

The second thing that struck the boy was that it really sucked to be thrown under the bus. Here he was, expected to be the hero and pull everyone else out of the mud, all while they had those pained grins plastered to their faces and Sokka tried to have a staring contest with one of the tapestries on the wall. It made Kuba wish even more fervently that Julie was here, just so she could put into words what he was feeling.

In short, Sokka tossing him the reigns had been a dick move.

Lastly and most importantly (and this only really came into focus as the King of Omashu entered the room with his small entourage of attendants, guards, and the like), Kuba learned that destiny was a bitch. People you wanted to be around were always leaving or disappearing or getting stabbed with a pitchfork. Or they became hookers and met an even more gruesome fate at a measly ten copper for twenty minutes. And the people you desperately wanted to get away from, the people you thought you had managed to shake yourself free from forever and ever just refused to stay gone. They were always coming back.

This was precisely what Kuba thought as he stared his older half-brother in the face, while the man himself stood in the Earth King's shadow and stared back at him intently.

_Fuck._

"Well," said Delun presently. "This is quite...unexpected."

Kuba swallowed. He felt himself reaching instinctively for his knife, only to realize that he had left it back on Kyoshi.

He sensed the others staring at him now too, expectantly. They didn't seem to realize that anything was wrong. None of them really knew anything except for the fact that they needed to seem like Brotherhood agents, and that Kuba was magically supposed to make that happen. He felt a stab of irritation, even at Aang, whom he liked almost as much as he liked Julie (just for different reasons). Really, he was the Avatar. He should have been able to keep a leash on Sokka if he wanted to.

_Julie wouldn't make me pull her ass out of a gutter, _he thought venomously. _She'd try to fix everything herself...and knowing her, she'd just make things worse somehow. _

Somehow, this made him feel a little better. Because then she would fail miserably, giving him another chance to prove to her how strong and clever he could be by doing something she couldn't. He may not be a master Earthbender, but he had gotten along fine without bending, anyway. There was always something else he had been able to do to compensate; like making her laugh with his Zuko imitation, or that time he had left teabags out on Zuko's dresser so that General Iroh would find them. Boy, that had been a day to remember, all right.

Julie just made him feel _needed_, and dammit, that meant something to him. She never asked for anything from him, though. She had never deliberately put him on the spot or tried to use him as a meat shield the way other people did...the way _these _people did.

Kuba scrunched up his brow, realizing on some level that this wasn't entirely fair. After all, it was kind of his own fault for lying to the Gaang about not being in the Brotherhood. And how were they supposed to know that Delun was the single person he would drive a knife into without a second thought or a moment's hesitation? They certainly didn't know about the horrible things he used to do to him back when he was still a fledgling devotee...the twisted training sessions he oversaw, watching Kuba clawing against children bigger and stronger than he was, just to survive...

That was Brotherhood philosophy. Only the strong were worthy of serving the cause. The weak were left to die...doing so was simply an act of mercy.

Kuba closed his eyes, remembering the mantra. _Death is mercy. Living is pain...and pain is life._

* * *

_Kuba had to dance backwards before the other boy's knife could bite through his flesh. He felt a chill when he saw the blade slice through his shirt. If he had hesitated even for an instant...if he had been just a second too slow..._

_He had to stifle that thought as the older boy came at him again, dagger flashing. Kuba flinched as he brought his own to block it. As the two metals clashed, he could feel the force of his opponent through the blade's recoil. He winced at the pain flaring through both of his arms, but he didn't dare lower his weapon; not even for a second because he knew all too well by now how much a second counted. _

_Seconds were precious; they were life itself. And they weren't given to you. Instead, you had to steal them. Kuba snatched them whenever and wherever he could; in the brief instances his opponents' guards were dropped, in the seconds they paused to regain their footing or catch their breath...those seconds he took without a single remorse. _

_From the dais overlooking the sparring field, Delun watched his younger half-brother fighting for his life. As an elite, he had undergone the very same rites of survival on his own, and had many scars to show from the experience. Being a Chosen, on the other hand, gave him new privileges that even the clan elders lacked. It was one thing to serve Lady Ayla as an acolyte or an elite...but being handpicked by their spirit guardian, Kraje the Raven, was something else entirely. It was something special and terrifying._

_The elders had mused on the possibility of Kuba being a Chosen as well, being of the same blood as Delun. And this was why his training was so much more rigorous than any of the others. And it was also why Delun was so merciless towards the boy; for the honor of being a Chosen was meant for him and him alone._

_Back down on the field, the knife came down again and again. Kuba parried each and every blow, feeling that his arms would drop any second and then he would be sliced open like a raw fish. He didn't dare stop moving. As his aching limbs screamed for respite, he tried to comfort himself with the assurance that every motion he squeezed from his body was another promise that he would stay alive. Only the dead stopped moving._

_Life was for the strong. Life was pain, and if you couldn't handle the pain you had no right to live._

_This was what Kuba told himself the first time his knife found another boy's unprotected ribs...every time he was told to finish it, so the weakling didn't have to suffer. Death was the ultimate mercy. It was this creed that the Brotherhood lived by. It was their bread and milk. It was the very thing they revered Lady Ayla for; during her life she had granted this kind of mercy to hundreds of heretics and their ignorant foes...and in death, she achieved a state of being unlike any other. For generations afterwards she inspired others to follow in her footsteps...to be merciful in hopes of optaining mercy._

_Ayla's blessing meant death. It always meant death._

I don't want Ayla's blessing_, he decided_. I want to live.

_Kuba was careful never to utter this thought aloud. It would have been heresy. Instead, he did as he was expected and stole another day for himself; catching with his keen eyes the spot where the older boy had left himself exposed in a frustrated lunge. Time stood still as Kuba's knife tore its way across his foe's collar, slicing open an artery and biting clean through the muscle._

_The boy's scream tore through Kuba's nerves like nothing else. Delun stared at him, his expression cold._

_"Well done, younger brother," he said. "You have earned your bread this evening."_

_Kuba swallowed the bile rising in the back of his throat and met his older half-brother's gaze. There was no affection, no warmth in those eyes. They were burning coals of ambition and malice that scorched with a cold flame._

_"Finish him."_

_The other children just watched with blank faces. They could care less about what happened to the fallen boy. They were more concerned with their own impending fights. And Kuba knew that if he didn't finish the job quickly, Delun would ostracize him as a voice of dissent. And there would be no trial for a lowly trainee such as himself. Delun, being an elite, could order the other children to cut him to pieces...and they _would_. He would end up bleeding on the floor for hours with no one to help him. No one who would _want _to, anyway._

_Trying not to look at his half-brother, Kuba knelt to the earth and held his knife over his opponent's throat. In one clean motion, he had sliced through it, killing him._

_"It is good," said Delun, and Kuba could hear the smirk in his voice. "For Ayla is merciful towards the weak. He shall serve her better in Origin."_

_Kuba kept his face down, so no one would see the tears that were stinging his eyes. It was a sign of weakness, and the weak perished._

I have to be strong, _he thought._ I _will _be strong...stronger than the others...

* * *

Bumi looked back and forth between the Delun and Kuba, noticing the flash of recognition on their faces. "Ah...so you two know each other, do you?"

Kuba swallowed. He tried to keep his face stoic, knowing he could never forgive himself if he let Delun catch sight of his fear and anger. Averting his gaze, he muttered, "We've never met before in our lives."

Delun's smile was carefully controlled venom concealed by a subtle twist of his lips. "The child is a bit cold and aloof. One would think that your elders would have taught you better manners."

The Earthbender heard the particular emphasis on the word _elders_. He understood the offhanded comment as the veiled threat it was meant to be, even if the others couldn't. He felt relieved that his older half-brother was playing along, but was disturbed by the act at the same time; relieved because he didn't want these people knowing his personal business and nosing into his past; but disturbed because he had no idea why Delun was keeping his secret. Kuba knew well enough by now that Delun never did something without a reason, and his favors generally came at a steep price.

He sensed the others staring at him now, so he cleared his throat. "From which of the five do you hail from, elite?" he asked, forcing himself to look at Delun.

The man regarded him with cold, calculating eyes. "Kraje. I take it, then, that you also pray for the blessing of the Red Lady?"

A stiff nod.

"You are a bit young to be an acolyte, child. How is it that your clan gave you the privilege to leave your den at such an early age?"

Kuba felt a tremor running through him. _You know damn well why, _he thought angrily. _I ran away because you were going to have me killed_. His face flushed, making his tan skin turn a darker shade of reddish brown. His hands clenched into fists at the memory.

"I was told to escort these travelers to Omashu and present them to your fellowship, elite," he said through clenched teeth. "I was told by my elders to bring them safely to meet the king of this city."

Delun smiled, as though taking amusement from a childish game they were playing. "And your clan, child?"

"Renata," Kuba lied automatically. "The bat."

Aang, Katara, and Sokka watched the exchange with some interest, looking puzzled at the unfamiliar names and bizarre greetings.

"Ah, so there are more clans of this Brotherhood," said the elderly king, putting himself in between them. "You only mentioned two...but I gather now that there are even more than that. What say you?"

"Why not ask the boy?" Delun responded lazily. "He has the answers just as I do. He is clearly an acolyte, just as I was at his young age. Why, if I'm not mistaken, he even has the markings on his left hand."

Kuba jumped, looking down at his hand. He had been wearing wrist guards to hide the marks, and so far no one in his group had noticed them. But now they were looking at the Earthbender in renewed interest. Heart pounding against his ribs, Kuba tried his hardest not to look at them as he glanced warily into the king's face, gauging his reaction.

The old man certainly looked crazy with his piercing eyes and madly askew white hair. The purple robes he wore seemed to be concealing a hump-back, and he was staring very intently at Kuba. He shivered and looked down at his toes.

"There are five," he recited. "Kraje the raven and Renata the bat, and also Niptra the shark, Lang-Gong the wolf, and Naga the serpent." Noticing Bumi's curious face, he added, "They're named after each of the five spirits that act as the Red Lady's animal guides..."

_...or so I had been told, _he added mentally. _But everyone lies in the Brotherhood._

The King of Omashu nodded. "Interesting. But I'm more curious to see what this presentation of yours could be. It must be important to send you all this way. You must be half-starved for the feast I have prepared for you and Delun, here. But first, what is it that you wanted to show me, Mr. Pipenpadaloxicoplis?"

This was directed to Aang, who's head snapped up in alarm. "Uh, hum...y-yes. What was the question?"

Katara quickly came to his defense. "He's a bit on in years," she explained gently, taking Aang by the shoulder and seemingly steering him into the nearest chair, like a dutiful granddaughter. "He forgets things sometimes. Remember, grandpa? You had something very important to tell to the king? Something you wanted to show him. Remember?"

The monk nodded. "Ah, yes. I remember now. Thank'ee, young missie. I oughta tell your mother how kind you are to such an old man...make sure she gives you a raise in your allowance, you hear?"

"Yes, grandpa."

Sokka stepped forwards now, trying to seem inconspicuous as he broke the silence. "Um...I think you mentioned something about a feast?" he said hopefully.

Fortunately for all of them, the king took the bait. "Ah, yes," he exclaimed. "The feast. No sense in flapping our gums without any food in our mouths, now is there? Let's get ourselves nice and fed before moving on to business."

And so he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving a very surprised Team Avatar in his wake. Delun paused only to give Kuba a significant look before sweeping after the King of Omashu. Not having any other options (especially not with the guards staring at them like that), the four of them quickly followed, hoping that the feast would buy them some time to "remember" what it was they were supposed to be presenting to the king.

Kuba continued to ignore the stares of his companions, keeping his eyes firmly locked on his half-brother. Again, he found himself wishing that Julie were with him, even if it meant that Delun would find her. Having Julie around kept his priorities straight; it helped him remember to stay brave and to be strong. After all_, someone_ had to protect her. She was so hopeless on her own...

He realized at that moment that the strength to survive and the strength required to protect others were two very different kinds of strength. He wondered if he was capable of attaining both of them, or if he would merely die trying.

After all, he still had marks from the last time he had openly defied Delun. He had barely escaped from the Brotherhood with his life.

* * *

It took approximately twelve hours for the set-back over Shim's chi-suppressants to blow over. During that time, my world became swept up in a maelstrom of drama, stress, and on the whole, more general weirdness. To say the least, the road to my so-called recovery was going to take a long time. Mostly because no one could agree as to the best way to go about it.

Zuko's opinion of chi-suppressants had been completely soured by the last ordeal and had forbidden Shim to prepare them. I'll admit, I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the last dose had been the most foul thing that had ever come into contact with my taste-buds. But while I was not eager to repeat the encounter, part of me was genuinely afraid that I couldn't train without them.

At least Zuko wouldn't be the one in danger this time. He had waited for me to come out of my drug-induced stupor like a gentlemen before completely abandoning me to my impending combat training with Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. I think I would have been relieved if I wasn't so surprised. It was no secret and Zuko and Shen-Long hated each other, so the fact that he was leaving me alone with him and his sister for any number of hours during the day left me bewildered and confused.

"I already wasted four days on that detour to Kyoshi and then waiting for you to get better," he informed me when I confronted him about this. "I can't waste any more trying to teach you how to fight."

"But you hate Shen-Long," I sputtered. "You almost stopped talking to me because I wouldn't stop being friends with him."

Zuko gave me a look. "I almost stopped talking to you because you implied that he was more trustworthy than I am. And quit arguing with me. If I had any better ideas don't you think I'd go with them, peasant?"

In no plain terms, he was telling me that there was no one else for the job. Most of the crew wouldn't associate with me even before the Kyoshi Incident, some out of dislike, and the rest out of genuine fear. Now, it was like everyone went out of their way to avoid me. Iroh and Jee were too busy helping Zuko re-plot his course to pursue Aang and the others (obviously), leaving only two people able and willing to train me.

It just so happened that these were the two people he disliked more than anyone else on the ship. Besides me, I'm guessing.

Oh, I know Zuko doesn't like me any more than I like him. Us becoming friends didn't change the fact that we were constantly itching to close our fingers around each other's throats; in fact, if anything, it made it worse. The only time I ever saw him anymore was during meals, which he still insisted I'd share with him and his Uncle. But this was for no better reason than the fact that he was a stubborn asshole whose sole enjoyment seemed to be watching me struggle with a pair of chopsticks. Other than that, I barely saw him he was so busy.

Part of me sensed that his work was just an excuse to avoid me. I got the feeling that he would drop me off at the next port and wash his hands of me entirely if his chivalry and personal code of honor would allow it. I must have fit the criteria for a damsel in distress. Excuse me while I go swallow a razor blade, because I am now officially too pathetic to live.

"He isn't avoiding you," Shen-Long replied when I confided my suspicions to him. It was the first day of my training and he was escorting me up on to the deck, where Bo-Fen would be waiting for us. "Prince Zuko probably just has better things to do than to associate with the commoners on his ship. But I doubt he's any angrier with you than he usually is."

By commoners, he meant him and me. I didn't take offense at it since it was Shen-Long saying it at both of our expenses. I had noticed that the term "peasant" meant different things to Zuko and Shen-Long. To Zuko, it referred to someone of a much lower class with no sense of manners or etiquette; and when he said it to me, he was calling me a barbarian. When Shen-Long referred to us as "peasants," it was like we were members of a select group that Zuko wasn't allowed to join. It was kind of weird and a little ironic.

Anyway, I ignored the jibe. I had other things on my mind.

"What if he isn't angry?" I asked, my face heating up. "What if he...if he's like the others now? What if he's scared of me or something?"

Shen-Long gave me a flat look. "How can anyone be afraid of you?" he asked, poking me in the forehead. I scowled and darted backwards, rubbing the spot in silent aggravation. "You're hardly a threat, and if it weren't for the Energybending thing you'd be pretty much harmless."

"I'm threatening," I protested.

The soldier just shook his head, not looking at me anymore. There was a stupid smile on his face that made me want to knee him in the crotch.

It should be said that Shen-Long was doing much better since I had dropped the bombshell that I was hearing Ayla in my head. Towards the end of my stay in the infirmary, he had shown up looking bleary-eyed and a bit queasy, but fine all the same. He had explained to me that he just needed some time on his own to sort some things out in his mind, and now he was even friendlier than ever. It was starting to get a bit annoying, actually.

Still, I guess his company was better than no company at all. And I did like Shen-Long, at least a little bit.

"I fucked up his hands," I pointed out, irritated that he wasn't taking me seriously. "Sure, he's keeping me on the ship, but I barely see him anymore. He doesn't even speak to me much during dinner..." Hell, Iroh was more talkative, and he was the one who was supposedly angry with me for endangering Zuko in the first place.

"What does it matter?" Shen-Long replied. "You don't need Zuko's approval to be happy, do you?"

"I...I guess not...but..."

"So, don't worry about it. Anyway, think of it this way: now you're going to be too busy to associate with him now that you're training again."

I winced. "You're making it sound so...ominous."

Shen-Long met my gaze. "My sister isn't going to let you off easy just because you're a novice or her friend. And let's just say that she has a unique method to her madness...I mean...tutelage."

How fortunate for me.

The sun almost blinded me when I stepped past the threshold. I had been down below for so long that my eyes had adjusted to the poor lighting and perpetual darkness, like some kind of alley rat. Shen-Long caught my shoulder to keep me from walking into the door and steered me over to where his sister was waiting for us. By the time we reached her, my eyes were starting to get used to being outside, and I could make out the bamboo rod in her hands.

Uh oh.

"You're lookin' better," she commented.

"Um..."

"That being said, you had better be up for this. Because if you're not, I'm goin' to end up puttin' you right back in a hospital bed."

I swallowed. "Is...is she serious?" I asked, looking to Shen-Long for help.

"I warned you," he said, clasping me on the shoulder. "Bo-Fen's getting paid for results," he informed me in a confidential whisper. "And she's willing to beat them out of you if she has to. Prince Zuko is offering her two sacks of gold pieces for a job well done."

Fuck.

"You should have said that earlier!" I cried, feeling the color draining from my face. "She's going to kill me!"

"No, I won't," Bo-Fen replied. "If you die, I don't get paid. You'll just be bleeding internally for a few days, and if you _really _suck, you might just end up with some broken bones. But I'm not goin' for death blows. That's why I'm using a bamboo rod and not an actual weapon."

I dunno. That bamboo rod looked pretty menacing. I didn't like the way it flexed in Bo-Fen's square palms, pliant enough to bend, but firm enough to leave a bruise wherever it struck. What's worse was how long it was. I didn't have any delusions about my height, and going up against a weapon with so much reach was going to be a real bitch. I probably wouldn't even land a single blow.

"Shen-Long," I whined, trying to hide behind him.

But he caught me by the shoulders and guided me back so that I was facing Bo-Fen. I gulped.

"Oh, quit bein' such a whiner," she snapped. "I'm doin' this for your own good, so suck it up already. You want to find Kuba or don'tcha?"

That's right. I couldn't forget Kuba. He was still lost out there, all by himself. If I stood any chance of finding him and saving him (assuming he was even still alive) I had to get stronger. I had to master Energybending.

So, I tried to keep my stomach from churning, steeling myself in determination. "You're right. Sorry. I'm ready now."

Bo-Fen nodded. "Good answer." She handed me a blindfold. "Put this on."

I hesitated as she shoved the navy blue fabric into my sweating palm. She stood there tapping her foot, waiting for me to obey her command. Swallowing my grave, grave reservations, I fumbled to put it over my eyes. As my fingers closed the knot around the back of my head, I heard Bo-Fen walking over to my right. I tensed, expecting the worst (and who could really blame me?).

Instead, she just plugged up one of my ears with an earplug. As she moved around to do the same to my other ear, she started to explain.

"We're goin' to start with the essentials," she said. "Workin' with sensory deprivation. Shen and I noticed how good you are at dodging during your Agni Kai against Zhao, but dodging will only get you so far. And there'll be times when you won't be able to see your opponent...or hear them. You need to learn to be able to sense where they are and defend yourself."

"Um...shouldn't you be teaching me how to throw a punch or something?"

Bo-Fen clicked her tongue. "Like you'd be able to do much with those scrawny arms of yours. No, hon'. We need to build up your endurance and get you comfortable with using your bending to defend yourself before we teach you how to attack. 'Sides, from what I hear you only lash out in self-defense, don'tcha?"

I realized that she was right.

"Wait...I'm going to be Energybending?"

"How else are you supposed to sense your opponent?" she said. "Use your chi to feel for the people around you. Normally, your other senses get in the way, so you don't even realize you're bending in the first place. Blindfoldin' you and plugging up one of your ears should make it easier to feel for the chi. Less distractions this way, and it'll sharpen your other senses."

Bo-Fen moved me so that I was standing in an open area. I could feel plenty of space to move my arms and legs, and swung them around nervously.

"What will you be doing?" I asked.

There was a smirk in her voice. "Givin' you the incentive to keep movin' and to actually use your bending."

I didn't like the sound of that.

"Translation," Shen-Long explained with a sigh. "She's going to hit you with the bamboo rod over and over again until you can sense her coming and dodge."

"WHAT?"

"Whiner," Bo-Fen snapped. "This is just your basic motivation training. If you're motivated enough, you'll be able to do it. And if you aren't, I'm going to beat the motivation into you."

Immediately, I felt the bamboo rod slam into the small of my back, knocking me into the hard planks. I felt the air rush out of my lungs as I lay there, stunned and unable to move for a good ten seconds. Then I felt the sting of where the rod had struck me. It felt like a whip had cut into my back.

"Limitations are all in your head," she continued, projecting her voice so that I could hear her even with only one ear unplugged. "If you think you're too slow or too weak to move, I'll just have keep hitting you until you see through those illusions. Believe me," she added darkly. "Given the right incentive, you'll find the strength you never knew you had."

I didn't reply. The rod smashed into me again, and I let out a sharp gasp of pain.

"Get up," she snapped. "An enemy isn't goin' to wait for you to come to your senses, and neither will I."

I felt the whoosh of air as the bamboo came down again, but this time I rolled out of the way. I ended up on my knees and quickly pushed myself up, forcing myself into action. My back throbbed in pain, and I could feel myself wincing underneath the blindfold.

And so my training began.

* * *

General Iroh shifted his armful of scrolls as he reached out to knock on his nephew's bedroom door.

"It's open, Uncle."

"My hands are full, Prince Zuko. If you could please open it for me, I would greatly appreciate it."

There was a sigh heard on the other side of the door, and in a few seconds the latch was lifted. Iroh nudged the door open, remembering that Zuko's hands were still heavily bandaged and too stiff to grasp hold of a knob. The exiled prince didn't bother greeting his elder, but merely turned to sit back down at his desk, pouring over an old, dog-eared book. Iroh glanced at it too.

"Sozin's Great March of Civilization?"

"I had to do something while waiting for those maps," Zuko replied tersely. "Anyway, it passes the time...reading about my great-grandfather's noble pursuit of global unity, about his selfless effort to face Avatar Roku, who betrayed his country..." He glanced down at the book again. "It says that Roku was a traitor because he turned his back on the Fire Nation, where he was born, and stood against the Fire Lord."

He trailed off uncertainly, his eyes stirring with a restless flame of a dying candle.

"It sounds like you are in grave doubt over something."

The prince pretended not to hear him. "Doing this could be a good thing for the Fire Nation," he said. "Zhao is too ambitious and self-serving. He doesn't care about serving his country...or even about his own honor. He's a traitor in the making."

He furrowed his brow, turning another page in the book. Iroh didn't say anything, but chose to watch his nephew read for another moment or two. Then, breathing another frustrated sigh, Zuko snapped the book shut.

"But doing this helps the Avatar more than it helps the Fire Nation," he fumed quietly. "I admit it. If helping my country was my sole motivation, I'd have been cooperating with Zhao from the beginning. Instead, I've been more worried about my own honor and...that girl." Zuko looked troubled now. "And now Zhao is going to be hunting her too, Uncle. That man has always had my father's support..._always_. If he convinces him that Julie should be captured or...killed...I can't stand in their way, can I?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

Zuko looked angry. "All I know is that I already have stood against Zhao...and look where it got me. I just couldn't help myself at the time, but...I...even before I met Julie, hunting the Avatar has been more about personal gain to me. So technically...it isn't _her _fault, is it? That I'm turning into a traitor, I mean. I must have been born a traitor and my father must have realized it that day in the war meeting..."

He closed his eyes, his bandaged hands struggling to close into fists.

"You are thinking too heavily on the matter," said Iroh calmly. He put the scrolls of the desk and put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "You took on this burden for Julie's sake, because she is your friend and you care for her. A traitor does not act so selflessly for a friend, now does he?"

Zuko seemed to wrestle with that answer. "_No_, but...it's still wrong. Isn't it?"

"You must decide for yourself what is right and what is just in your heart. Just as no one can give you your own honor or your destiny, no one can tell you what the "right path" should be. Good and evil, nephew, are not always painted in black and white. There exist many shades of grey..."

The scarred prince tensed his shoulders, silently signaling to the older man that now was not the time for a long-winded metaphor.

"I should just stay focused," Zuko decided in a low mutter. "If I want to stay alive, I have to kill Zhao. That's all that matters right now. I'll worry about what to do about that girl later...maybe after I've captured the Avatar."

"Hmmm..." said Iroh vaguely. "Assuming you even have that long."

Zuko's head snapped up. "What's that supposed to mean, Uncle?"

"Lieutenant Jee is requesting that we dock at the next port so that he can take Julie shopping for some essentials."

His eyes narrowed. "What does that have to do with anything? And what do you mean, _essentials...?_"

Iroh attempted to appear nonchalant, but was, in fact, watching his nephew closely out of the corner of his eyes. "The man is serious about finding Julie a nice young man to settle down with. It will be difficult enough given Julie's many quirks, not to mention her hazardous bending abilities. But once he obtains a more fashionable wardrobe for her...and once he convinces her to grow out her hair...I think she should still be able to attract a fair number of suitors."

Zuko stared at his uncle, as though the ex-General had just sung to him in Swahili. "He's...wait, what?"

"Indeed," Iroh continued. "It might only be a matter of time before we'll have a wedding to go to. Jee intends to make Julie into a beautiful bride to behold...the future wife of some lucky stranger whom she has never met."

He pretended not to hear his flummoxed nephew choking on his own spit.

"And who knows?" the older man added mischievously. "We might even get invited to the baby shower."

"Absolutely not!" Zuko bellowed. The flame of the candle he was reading by shot up like a live firecracker, stretching several inches in the wake of the Firebender's unbridled fury. "What is that man thinking, exposing her like that? Especially after what almost happened to her on Kyoshi Island...! I can't believe he still wants to parade her in front of a crowd of sex-crazed thugs like a prize cut of meat!"

Iroh pulled out his fan and unfolded it, fanning himself as the temperature in the room skyrocketed.

"Relax, Prince Zuko. I am sure the men Julie will be meeting are all honorable and well-intentioned. And she certainly won't be un-chaperoned..."

"You're damn right, she isn't," the prince growled. "Because she isn't meeting anybody. Zhao probably has an arrest warrant out for her. The moment we go advertising where Julie is, he'll just come barging on to the ship and...and..."

He trailed off because Iroh's point had finally slammed home.

"You want me to use Julie as bait to lure Zhao into the open?"

"It certainly would be easier than fruitlessly staring at maps, chasing his tail into the long hours of the night. Don't you think so?"

"I...I don't know. I have to think about it."

"In any case," Iroh continued. "You might be surprised to hear the Zhao has yet to issue such a warrant. It has been a few days now, but normally we would have heard by now if he were hunting her. I don't think it would hurt Julie to meet a few of these suitors. Meeting new people might help her get over her trust issues...and if she falls in love in the process, it might be good for her."

"It won't be good for her," Zuko muttered darkly. In the dim lighting, his scar was thrown into a menacing relief, making him look rougher and more dangerous. It was a sharp contrast with the anxiety he was clearly feeling. "I don't want her around strangers. She'll just get into trouble again." He was quiet for a minute. "Why do you think Zhao hasn't done anything yet?"

"I can't say, nephew. He might have other business to attend to. I happen to know from some reliable sources that Zhao is under the Fire Lord's orders to set course for the Western side of the Earth Kingdom. In fact, I heard rumors about a blockage he was supposed to be leading...but those might only be rumors."

The scarred teen rubbed his good eye in exhaustion. "Rumors are better than nothing," he muttered. "But I still don't like this. Tell Lieutenant Jee that his request is denied. We'll keep searching for the Avatar. I'd rather use him as bait if it comes to something like that."

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"What?"

"I already gave Lieutenant Jee my approval. I didn't think you would have a problem with a short detour, seeing as we're also so low on supplies. The helmsman is changing course for land as we speak."

Zuko was aghast. "Well, take back your approval! I'm in charge of this ship, and I'm telling you, no!"

"Jee is determined to have his way," Iroh told him. "He's even threatening to resign. And if he leaves, he intends to take Julie with him."

The prince blinked speechlessly at his uncle for a few minutes. He was partly disarmed by the fact that he was too angry to utter a coherent sentence. The other half of him was shocked that Jee would stoop to such a low for a troublemaking young girl he had known for about a month. But then, hadn't he himself risked his life and his mission to save hers? Who was he to judge?

"He can try," Zuko muttered in a murderous voice. "He'll have to go through me first. And if he double-crosses me like that, I'm not going to hold back."

"Regardless, you would be hard-pressed to find yourself a replacement."

There was a long silence.

"Fine," he spat. "Do what you want, Uncle. I've got better things to do than put up with the petty antics of an insubordinate Lieutenant. Just make sure we actually get our supplies so that this trip isn't a complete waste of time."

"I am blessed to have such a patient, understanding nephew."

Zuko said nothing. He kept glaring into the flame, and if a gaze could burn it's likely that the candlestick holder would have melted into a smoldering pile of molten goo.

* * *

**A/N: Trouble looms ahead for everyone. But what else is new? This fic is just full of troubles for the characters. I just love all this angst. Winter has me in a foul mood, and I think I'm getting a bit vindictive.**

**Anyway, everyone seems to be brooding on various motivational techniques. Kuba looks back at how Delun motivated him into doing terrible things with promises of survival, and compares it to his new motivation to get stronger to protect the people he cares about. Meanwhile, Julie listens to Bo-Fen's speech about her special "motivational training," which surmounts to a lot of trial and error...and getting her ass whooped with a bamboo rod. But you know what they say, "That which does not kill you only makes you stronger."**

**Finally, Zuko is deeply troubled as he contemplates his true motives behind capturing the Avatar and in hunting Zhao. He senses that there might come a time when he has to choose between Julie and his own country. Not only can he not decide which means more to him, but he can't even figure out which side is "the right side." He can't even figure out what's right and wrong in this scenario.**

**But even that gets put on the backburner in light of this startling new development (okay, not so new, but whatever). Jee is pulling off the gloves and doing everything it takes to get Julie a husband. Will Zuko be able to sit idly by while his peasant gets swept off her feet by some bold, arrogant young suitor? Or will he take matters into his own hands to keep her safe?**

**REVIEW!**


	67. A Quick Note

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry it's taking me so long to update. Just a quick note saying that the next chapter is almost done. Within a few days I should have it up; maybe even tomorrow if I'm lucky. I'll explain the delay later. **

**Thank you for your patience,**

**~Distant-Moon~**

**P.S. See you soon.**


	68. Off With the Facade

**A/N: Okay. I can breathe now. Fan-freaking beautiful.**

**The past two or three weeks have been extremely stressful for me. To put it eloquently, I came _this _close to getting royally SCREWED. By screwed I mean pennyless. Broke. Bankrupt. Whatever synonym you can think of, feel free to use it. It probably fits.**

**Granted, I have never been all that great with my money. For one thing, I'm extremely absent-minded. In fact, I'm so bad at remembering things that I had to get my boss to directly deposit my paychecks because I would forget to bring them to the bank or I would misplace them. I had to do the same thing with my cell phone bill (in other words, get them to take the money directly out of my account so I wouldn't forget to pay them). It also doesn't help that money goes through my hands like shit through a goose.**

**I mean, look at what happened last Columbus Day. That was a couple a hundred bucks I didn't necessarily have to spend (ah, the pro's and con's of Christmas shopping in October...), but that didn't stop me from practically raiding the booths that weekend. **

**I thought to myself, '_It'll be all right. I got that promotion, and I'm making more than I ever did. I'll get that money back in a few weeks. I'll have time to pump some vitality into my bank account...and then...and then...'_**

**And then my student loans financer decided to _shank_ me. Three hundred dollars later, I found my rent due imminently with almost no funds left over for my other bills. Thank GOD I had enough left to pay the rent, but I'm still freaking out. All I need is another unexpected blow for me to be out on my ass. I had to claw my way out of this mess, and it took all of my energy just to work out a plan. If I'm extremely, _extremely _careful, I should be fine to pay my bills for the next month. But it'll be mostly ramen noodles from here on out. Whoopee.**

**Needless to say, that sucked all the writing out of me. I hadn't actually worked on this chapter in several days, but have finally managed to get it done. Sorry for being such a fucktard and not updating on time. Life, as you can see, can be a real bitch. Make that a premenstrual, fire-breathing sadist of a bitch...minus the tampons. That being said, I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me in spite of the fact that there is no one to blame for this but myself. As always, I hope you enjoy the next chapter. **

**(Microwave starts beeping) Oh! Ramen's done.**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-One: Off With the Facade**

"Eheheheh," the King of Omashu snorted with mirth. "The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts, so I hope you like your chicken with no skin."

The elderly man was dangling a drumstick in his fingers, glancing slyly at Aang. The monk, meanwhile, was finding it difficult to get food in his mouth with his fake beard and mustache getting in the way. He was attempting to navigate a spoonful of soup to his mouth, his arm twisting in an elaborate manner to reach his lips. However, the moment Bumi addressed him, Aang gave a start and dropped the spoon. It fell into his bowl of soup with a solid _plunk_.

The others weren't having any problem, by the looks of it. In fact, Sokka was heartily stuffing his face, while Katara and Kuba nibbled here and there at some choice bits. But Katara was watching the king while Kuba couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Delun. Neither of them, however, seemed ready to answer for the vegetarian; so Aang addressed that matter himself.

"Um...actually, I don't eat meat. Bad for my...uh...intestines. Yeah."

"Oh?" said the king, tilting his head in interest. "I never knew."

"Oh, yes," Aang confirmed with a nod, desperately trying to maintain his old-man facade. "You know us old folks. My stomach's so sensitive that I practically have to have my food chewed for me nowadays..."

The monk trailed off when he saw Sokka and Katara both giving him pointed looks. He laughed, hastily backtracking.

"...but I think I'll just stick with soup tonight."

"A fine option," Delun cut in, his voice forcefully polite. "But my curiosity is getting the better of me, you see. I hope you don't mind my asking where it is you all said you were from again."

The trio gave a start of surprise. But Kuba jumped in, fortunately.

"They're outsiders," he explained. "And the old man keeps saying that his business is his business as to where he's from..."

Aang blinked. "Ah...yeah. What he said."

The hook-nosed man lowered his cup of wine and scrutinized the monk over the rim of his glass. Everyone in the group simultaneously felt a chill coming over them that had everything to do with those dark, pitch-as-black eyes of his; the way they could stare at a person for minutes at a time without blinking. Kuba knew better than to look at his half-brother whenever he looked at someone like that, but the others were paralyzed by that gaze.

Only the king seemed relatively unaffected and sat at his place at the head of the table, gnawing on a chicken leg.

"Humor me," he said. "For I'm sure his majesty is curious as well."

Aang tried to launch into his indignant-old-man tirade, but something about those eyes distracted him. "Ah...well...see here, young man..." he began, but promptly he lost his train of thought. "Um...we're from...mmmm...Kangaroo Island!"

"Oh, Kangaroo Island, eh?" Bumi interjected. "I hear that place is really hoppin'."

There was an awkward silence that was broken by the sound of Sokka choking. Katara slapped him on the back, causing the piece of chicken trapped in his larynx to dislodge itself. The Water Tribe spat it out on his plate as he doubled over in laughter. Everyone stared.

"W-what?" Sokka gasped. "It was...funny..."

Katara blinked at him for a moment before turning to the king. "We're not actually related. His parents dropped him on his head when they left him on grandpa's doorstep."

"Hey!"

The King of Omashu chortled to himself, snorting in mirth at the Water Tribe siblings' exchange. "Ah, yes," he said, wiping a tear out of one of his bulging eyes. "A joke does a world of good, does it not? But all of these jokes are making me tired. I suppose it's time to hit the hay…"

Delun gave a start. "So soon? But…your majesty, what about this _presentation_ you were so interested in?" He shot another look at the gang that made them all shrink back apprehensively. "Surely you still wish to see it…"

"Of course I do. But they aren't going anywhere."

Those dark eyes flickered to them again. "No," he said darkly. "I suppose not."

"And besides," the king added as he toyed with his last drumstick. "It would be inhospitable to deprive such weary travelers of the rest they need. Isn't that right…?"

Suddenly, the squirrel-hen leg flew from his hands, speeding directly towards Aang's face. Startled, the monk could only act reflexively, and blocked the drumstick using a ball of air he had hastily bended in the palm of his hands. The sudden wind disturbed his fake beard and wild hair, causing it all to stand at an awkward angle; it was all pushed to one side of his head, revealing his arrow tattoo.

There was a hush as everyone stared at Aang. Then, with a sigh, the wig and beard crumbled into clumps on the floor, leaving white fur everywhere.

Delun's eyes widened. "An Airbender…?" he muttered in dismay.

"Not just any Airbender," said the king triumphantly. "It seems that our friend here is the Avatar!" He stood up from his chair, rising to his full height and grinning madly. "Now what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Pipenpadoloxicopolis…?"

* * *

My first day of training had been completely miserable.

"All right," said Bo-Fen, wiping the sweat off her brow. "That's enough for one day. Scrape yourself up off the floor and give yourself a hose-down. You're a mess."

I lay in an exhausted heap on the planks, and the slightest motion had my muscles seizing in pain. Not to mention the fact that there were a number of welts from where the bamboo rod had struck me. I felt like a tenderized piece of meat ready for the slaughterhouse. Unfortunately, death was too merciful for the likes of me, as I quickly found out a few seconds later.

"Be back up here same time tomorrow," the female soldier told me gruffly before turning and disappearing below deck.

I felt my insides churn in panic. "Tomorrow...?" I groaned.

Shen-Long helped me into a sitting position. "You need the practice," he reminded me. "It looked like you had no idea what you were doing. Most of the time you ended up running yourself into that rod."

I glared at him. "I'd like to see you try something like that. This shit is hard. It's impossible!"

"You say that now, but it'll get easier. You'll get better. Just keep trying."

And to my relief, he quit his pep-talk and started rubbing some feeling into my back and shoulders. I breathed a sigh, feeling my stiff muscles loosen up under his hands. I could feel his fingers and palms heating up from a mild Firebending technique he was employing, and I had to say it felt very nice. It made me forget all about kicking the crap out of him for touching me in the first place.

"Ayla wasn't so good in the beginning, either," he told me. "She had to train every day to get as powerful as she was."

I could feel Ayla stirring in the recesses of my mind. "Was she really strong, then?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah. She could do all sorts of things with her bending. She was creative like that...tried to find different ways to use her powers without hurting anyone. In fact, she managed to help quite a few people that way."

I slumped over. "Too bad I can't do something like that." I scowled at the railing as I contemplated this some more. "You know, I keep hearing different things about Ayla. The Brotherhood considers her to be some kind of guardian spirit or saint of theirs...and they're the bad guys. And when I first met Kuba, he was so afraid of me because he thought I was her. Because to him, she was the bad guy." I noticed Shen-Long stopped massaging my shoulders as he listened to me. "But you said you knew Ayla, right? You know the truth, right?"

He was very quiet for a minute. "I knew her. Yes."

"So? What kind of person was Ayla, really?"

Shen-Long gave me a dubious look that I only spotted because I turned my head. "I thought you could talk to her. I thought she was inside of you."

"Yeah. That doesn't mean she ever tells me anything...except to go on a friendship rant."

He snorted. "Friendship rant?" He shook his head, amused. "Yeah, that sounds like Ayla, all right. She always liked to believe in people until the very end...even after she had been betrayed by them. And she could never leave a friend behind. It just wasn't in her."

"_We have that in common_," Ayla suddenly whispered faintly. She sounded exhausted.

What do you mean?

"_You can't let go of the people you love, either..._"

Suddenly, I was accosted with thoughts of Jessie and of Kuba; my friends. They were the only people I had in my life who seemed to like me for me. They alone had no alterior motives for associating with me. Because as much as I liked Shen-Long and Bo-Fen, I knew deep down that a large part of why they liked me was because of my connections with Ayla. Jee was kind to me now, but he was probably just seeing his daughter in my shoes. Iroh was just plain curteous; I didn't even have to question why he was nice to me. And Zuko...um...well, I guess a girl couldn't account for insanity, right?

"You all right?" Shen-Long asked suddenly.

I nodded stiffly. I felt a lump forming in the back of my throat. Feeling it made me want to punch through a sheet of glass, just to hear it crack.

"You should probably rest," he said, looking doubtful of my response. "Come on. I'll walk you inside."

"No," I snapped. "I'm fine on my own."

I jerked out of his grip and forced myself on to my feet. My muscles groaned in protest as I lumbered towards the door. They ached so badly that I couldn't even bring myself to walk in a straight line. I must have looked drunk.

Shen-Long just sighed and walked over to me, catching my shoulder before I could stumble. "Your mood swings are unpredictable," he commented.

Yeah, like I wanted to be predictable in the first place. I fixed a death glare on to my face and kept walking, in spite of the soldier attached to my arm. He gave up after a minute, choosing instead to walk a few paces behind me. I hated that. I should have been glad that he was letting me have my own way, if rather loosely. Instead, I felt my blood boiling.

Zuko wouldn't have let me sulk like this. We'd be at each other's throats by now. Huh. Maybe that was what was bothering me about Shen-Long. Maybe I just wanted a good fight, and I was mad because he wouldn't give me one.

Then again, I wasn't so much in the mood to deal with Zuko either. I just wanted to be left alone.

"Shit," I groaned suddenly. "I'm supposed to meet Zuko and General Iroh for dinner...!"

Shen-Long frowned. "I don't know...you look exhausted. If you want, you can go wash up and lie down in the hold. I won't let anyone bother you if that's what you want."

I shook my head. "I'll wash up at least. But I'm not missing dinner. Zuko would take my head off if I just blew him off...and I know he wouldn't hesitate to do worse things to you for interfering."

"He doesn't scare me."

"He could give you latrine duty again," I pointed out.

There was a brief pause.

"On retrospect," Shen-Long amended. "You should probably eat something."

"You're such a wuss."

He shrugged, following me to the washroom without a word of complaint. I felt increasingly annoyed by his puppy-dog behavior and wanted more than anything to get him in a headlock and shake some aggression into him. Stupid jerk. He was just _letting _me tear into him.

"Aren't you going to say anything back?" I finally grumbled as I put my hand on the knob. "_Anything_ at all?"

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Shouldn't a man be able to think up his own insults? Sheesh!"

"Why do you want me to insult you?"

I glared at him. "That's the point of an argument, moron."

Shen-Long shook his head slowly. "I don't want to have an argument. And neither do you. You're just tired and you're having a bad day, and you're looking to stem off this pent up frustration left over from your training session. That's no reason for me to go and hurt your feelings on top of it all."

"Yeah, like you could hurt _my _feelings."

"If your feelings weren't being hurt, you wouldn't be so angry all the time," he replied. "Now go wash up before Prince Zuko accuses me of kidnapping you."

I froze, my hand on the doorknob. Because all of a sudden it occurred to me; why should Shen-Long care about _my _feelings? Wasn't he only taking care of me for Ayla's sake? Keeping me alive was one thing, and it was understandable. But that didn't mean he should have had to put up with my volatile moods. He wasn't obligated to make sure I was happy or anything. What was his deal?

"_Shen-Long reminds me very strongly of someone I used to know,_" said Ayla. "_Because he's so kind to you. He's just a compassionate person in general, I think. It makes me happy, watching him._"

I felt my eyebrows go up. _Excuse me? What was that?_

"_I...I didn't mean it like...like _that_, Julie..._" But the fact that she was stammering made me smile to myself. Because Ayla and I inhabited the same body, I could sort of get a sense of what she was feeling. Not necessarily what she was thinking, unless she happened to say something to me; but Ayla seemed to feel very strongly about things and it was difficult for me not to notice. Like how she was feeling now: Giddy and restless. Warm and fuzzy.

It hit me then. _You like Shen-Long._

"_W-what? Don't be ridiculous! I don't...I mean, I can't..."_

My smile widened. Oh, this was just perfect. Finally, I could get back at Ayla for all the times she teased me about...um...her _assumption_ that I liked Zuko. Which I don't, by the way! I am one-hundred percent NOT smitten by the Prince of the Fire Nation.

I just wanted to make that very clear.

"What's so funny?" Shen-Long asked, causing both me and Ayla to _jump_.

"Nothing," I said quickly. "I was just thinking how stupid that would be. If Zuko were to do that, I mean."

Hey, I wasn't so much of a jerk that I would have sold Ayla out like that. I mean, in spite of how much we annoyed each other (or at least how much she annoyed me), we also happened to be friends. And friends don't backstab each other. If Jessie was any indication, the main responsibilities of a best friend included keeping secrets and a number of other miscellaneous items; such as nagging me about my grades, forcing me to eat my vegetables, and making me feel better when my heart gets stomped on and crushed under the heel of Ramon's boot.

Oh, God. The last thing I needed was for Ayla to feel what I had felt when Ramon had...well...done what he did. Because more than likely I'd be feeling it too. We were that bound to each other.

"Okay," said Shen-Long, though not looking as though he believed me. He looked at me carefully for a few seconds before he smiled in resignation. "At least you're in a better mood now."

Ayla's heart skipped a beat. She must have really liked that smile.

"Don't push your luck," I said in a flat voice. "I'll see you later, all right?"

He nodded. As he turned to take his leave, I slipped inside the washroom and snapped the lock shut. Then, I smirked to myself a second time. Ayla was practically buzzing to herself, ignoring me completely. For once, it was kind of nice to see her in such a good mood. Maybe it was because she wasn't harassing me about it or yelling in my ear. So long as her feelings didn't cause me a headache, I had no problem with her being happy.

Little did I know that this would be the beginning of something painful for the both of us.

* * *

Kuba jumped to his feet. "He's not the Avatar!" he said quickly. "He's an Airbender, but that's it!" He looked quickly and worriedly at Delun, then looked away. "You can't prove that he's the Avatar..."

But Aang met the king's gaze and got up from his chair. He put a hand on the Earthbender's shoulder.

"It's okay," he said in a low voice. "I'll take care of this."

Then, taking a deep breath, he moved away from the table and stood in front of the King of Omashu. But he hesitated, confused by the victorious gleam in the old man's eyes. He was wearing a pouncing expression, like someone eager to snatch an elusive puzzle and shake an answer into it with brutal force. Aang swallowed heavily, trying not to be intimidated.

"You're right," he told him. "I'm the Avatar. You caught me."

There was a tense pause as Bumi tore off another piece of meat from his drumstick, the one he hadn't thrown at Aang's face. This caused a good deal of consternation for the group, particularly the vegetarian monk standing in his presence. But Aang swallowed and refused to look away from the king. It wasn't just the fact that he didn't want to seem intimidated; something about this man was familiar...and strange.

"We didn't mean to lie to you," Katara interjected apologetically when the silence continued. "But the Avatar has been missing for a hundred years, and some people blame him for the world falling out of balance. We couldn't risk exposing him like that..."

The old king swallowed his chicken.

"And yet in spite of this you were willing to take the risk to come and see me...?" he asked. "Interesting."

"We had a good reason," Aang assured him. "It wasn't just for us. It was for a good friend of ours."

Delun's eyes were locked on the young monk. He was careful to keep his expression neutral after his initial exclamation, but if you were careful to look at his eyes one might notice how they had widened a fraction of an inch before narrowing into contemplative slits. Kuba happened to be observant enough to notice. And he didn't like the fact that they were talking about Julie where his power-hungry half-brother could hear them. He didn't like it one bit.

"A friend?" Bumi repeated. "Ah, I see. Do tell."

Aang glanced at Katara and Sokka, who nodded at him. He turned back to the king.

"Her name is Julie."

"Ah, ha! I've heard that name before!" The elderly king turned towards the nearest guard. "You there! Isn't that the name of the girl on the wanted poster? The one Delun had us post around our city?"

"It was, sire."

Bumi looked extremely pleased...and insane. "Now, this _is _interesting. I had no idea this missing prodigy of yours was a friend of the Avatar's, Delun."

"Nor did I..." the hook-nosed man muttered under his breath. But no one heard him. The gaang all had their eyes glued to the cackling old man in the throne as he turned back towards Aang again. His eyes were ablaze with the victory of another piece of the puzzle in place.

"You absolutely _must _tell me how you met," he said firmly. "Well? Come on now, I haven't got all night."

Kuba shook his head _no_, frantically at the monk. Katara and Sokka shrugged, glancing uneasily from Bumi to Delun. Neither of them seemed to know what to do.

Unfortunately, there was nothing they _could _do. The king was insisting, and the gaang had no choice but to explain everything that had happened to them; from the time Sokka and Katara found Aang in the ice and met Julie on Prince Zuko's ship, all the way through to the present moment as they stood in the feasting hall. The King of Omashu listened intently as they described their reunion on Kyoshi Island, and how Commander Zhao had invaded and burnt the resisting village to the ground.

"And now none of us knows where Julie is or what happened to her," Aang concluded. "And we need to find her before the Fire Nation does. If they capture her, they're going to kill her."

"_Kill _her?" said Bumi in grave surprise. "My, that _does _sound bad; especially for them to be willing to invade Kyoshi on her behalf. She must have some enemies in high places...one can only assume, at least. The only other explanation is that the Fire Nation is afraid of her for some reason..."

The gaang were very quiet. Up until now, they had opted to omit all the details about how Julie was an Energybender. But now that it was clear that the king was some kind of mad genius, they were having second thoughts. It was never a good idea to lie to a wickedly intelligent and extremely influential person like Bumi. Not more than once, at the very least.

"The girl is an Energybender," Delun said quietly, grabbing everyone's attention. "Not only that, she has the most potential and raw talent I have seen in a long time. Though it was my understanding that the Fire Nation wanted to exploit those abilities. I'm surprised to hear that she is no longer a prisoner on Prince Zuko's ship...but I am even more surprised to hear that she has such influential and charismatic friends."

Everyone stiffened; that is, everyone except Kuba, who had been anticipating his interest from the beginning. After all, he had almost murdered Prince Zuko and his crew trying to take Julie away from them. But something wasn't quite right, regardless. There was something in Delun's face made him pause.

_Why is he so surprised?_

It was then that Kuba realized that Delun had no more idea as to Julie's whereabouts than they did. He felt his shoulders unknot themselves in relief.

_At least she's safe from the Brotherhood, if anything_. Then he sobered up. _For now..._

Sokka had completely forgotten about his half-full plate of steaming evening fare. He was staring at Delun the same way he had stared at Aang back when he first appeared to them in that block of ice: With suspicion and unease. Before Aang could answer, he had pushed back his chair and rose up to his full height. His hands were clenched into fists.

"Yeah. We're all her friends. But _you're _not...are you?"

Delun frowned. "I admit it. I do not know the girl personally, but I have seen her potential as a devotee of our organization. She has a very rare gift that my clan hopes she will master and share with the world...in due time, of course."

This last part was spoken to the King of Omashu, who was looking back and forth between them and listening intently.

"But perhaps some good can come of this," said Delun, looking again at the group of young people at the table. "We are both looking for the same person, it seems. We both have a common goal: To find Julie before the Fire Nation does. So why not work together with the Brotherhood? With our resources and your..._influence_," he said, stressing that one word as he glanced pointedly at Aang. "We should find the girl in no time."

Katara scowled at him. "I don't think so. You creeps posted a Wanted poster for Julie. Even if the Fire Nation doesn't capture her, someone else will. Who knows how many people are looking for her now?"

"Yeah," said Aang angrily. "If you really wanted to help her, why put her in so much danger?"

The dark-eyed man stared at them both. "If you've seen the poster, doubtless you'd have noticed it read, wanted _alive_. Besides, you are all too young to understand what a delicate situation this is. Time is of the essence, and Julie must be found at all costs."

At this point, Kuba couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"We're not working with you," he exploded. "...just so you can take Julie away!"

Bumi's eyes suddenly flashed to him. "Funny words for a so-called acolyte of the Brotherhood. If you were really what you claimed to be, you'd be on Delun's side, wouldn't you?"

Everyone turned to the Earthbender.

"I used to be in the Brotherhood," he admitted shamefully, realizing his game was up. "But that was...a long time ago. I only pretended to be an acolyte now because we needed the cover story to come and see you. And...and I'm not going back to the Brotherhood," he spat, glaring at Delun. "Not now. Not ever."

Aang turned to him. "Wait...so when you said you knew people in the Brotherhood...you meant that _you _used to be in the Brotherhood?"

Kuba swallowed heavily, staring at Delun. He didn't answer for a long time. The eyes seemed to be weighing heavily upon him, and it was almost as if he was standing out in that open field again with nothing but sky and silence enveloping him in a suffocating embrace. A cold sweat broke out over his brow.

"My parents were acolytes," he responded gruffly. "And I was too until...until I ran away."

* * *

_Kuba eyed his next opponent warily. It was an older, wiry youth with a confident stance. They faced each other in the circle, gazes locked intently as though they were the only ones there. As though the clan elders weren't watching from the dais, waiting to judge them in their combat initiation. _

_The younger of the two tried very hard not to look away from his foe. It took the concentrated effort of every ounce of will in his body not to search for his older half-brother among the elders, with his unblinking stare and cruel smile..._

_How ridiculous, expecting him to fight against someone bigger and stronger than he was. He wasn't going to win. The other boy would wipe the floor with his blood and laugh in his face. And, just like the last time, Delun would stand there and watch his younger half-sibling be humiliated in front of all the other acolytes. He'd never ascend to the next pillar at this rate._

_He'd die first._

_"I wonder how many ways I can bend your arms before they break," said the boy casually, cracking his knuckles. _

_Kuba didn't say anything. He just drew his knife. His opponent quickly did the same._

_They leapt at each other, blade clashing against blade. The heavy glow of the torches elongated their shadows as they danced and parried along the floor. The older boy had a better reach, and Kuba had a hard time not being overwhelmed in the first five minutes. Every time he tried to get close, the boy would reach out and make a swipe at a vital spot, forcing him to skirt back and defend himself._

_It was the natural way of things. The weak perished and the strong survived. The survivors were the ones Lady Ayla specifically chose to carry on her legacy...to ascend to Origin, and to cleanse the mortal world of the deviant benders. Kuba wasn't sure if he agreed with this philosophy, but he knew enough to know that he wanted to live. And if he wanted to live, he had to fight. It was that simple._

_The fact that he was a bender himself...well...no one had to know about that. He'd live longer if he kept it a secret, and surviving was what being in the Brotherhood was all about, wasn't it? Kuba had trouble convincing himself that he was nothing worse._

_The boy charged forward, aiming a slash at his face. Kuba prepared to dodge and felt his foot sliding out from underneath him. A spasm of panic crawled through his body as he started to fall._

_The rumble of earth...several gasps of surprise...the sound of a knife hitting the floor...the flickering of the torches...the hands grabbing him, pulling him away...the next thing he knew he was being locked in irons and brought down into the bottommost levels of the Clan base._

_Kuba had never been in these chambers before. They were usually kept off limits to everyone save the most worthy of their clan. It made no sense to him that this should be the place they would bring him after finding out he was a bender...an Earthbender. Why bring someone tainted by a deviation of the True Art into a sacred place like this?_

_No one said a word. More than once he had looked around at the people bringing him down into the deepest, darkest section of the hermitage. Everyone wore ceremonial russet-colored robes with the hoods pulled up. He could only see faint glimpses of their eyes, and all of them were cold._

_"Where are we going?" he asked the person holding his chains._

_The tall man glanced down at him. "We are bringing you to the salvation chamber. There, you will be purged of your false arts and saved in the name of Lady Ayla, the Crimson Maiden."_

_Kuba wasn't sure that he wanted to be free of Earthbending, but he knew that arguing would only get him a worse penalty. Death._

_The doors were opened with an ominous groan. The small boy glanced ahead of his captors and saw a very wide, empty room with no corners. The walls sloped in a circular shape where it met the ceiling in an awkward arch. He wondered about how they even built a room like this all those years ago without Earthbending-it would have taken the first acolytes years to even dig out all the stone...then to smooth out the edges...?_

_The glare of the torches felt even more stifling down here than they did up on the upper levels of the hermitage. Was that because they were so far underground? Because there was less oxygen for the fire to burn?_

_Kuba lost any and all curiosity when he saw the blackened altar at the far end of the room. The metal chains attached to it looked like something that could latch onto a person's wrists and ankles. Even from that distance, he could see how rusted they were...from disuse? Or from..._

_"Younger brother," said an unpleasantly familiar voice. _

_Delun's face was cold and blank as he stared down at the boy at his feet. Kuba hadn't noticed him approach. It was as though he had simply loomed out of the darkness of the shadows, with his dark cloak and chilling gaze. The young Earthbender had resolved long ago never to show fear in front of his older half-brother, but it was hard to follow through in this setting. After all, Delun was always the one with all the power...not just over him, but over the clan elders as well._

_He was the one who had been Chosen, after all._

_"Do you know why you are here?" he asked._

_Kuba bit his lip. He glanced briefly at the sea of cloaks surrounding him before shaking his head._

_"During your rite of initiation into our ranks, you demonstrated a false art in front of a crowd of witnesses. Earthbending." Delun spat the word in distaste. "A vile deviation of the true way. What do you have to say for yourself?"_

_"I...I didn't mean to hurt anyone," said Kuba in a low voice. "I just...it just happened, and those rocks just fell. I didn't mean for them to crush him! Honest!"_

_"We are not concerned for your opponent. He was a weakling who failed his rite several times. He would have been turned over to the Red Lady anyway had he failed his exam one more time. The fact that he was destroyed, and through elemental bending on top of it, proves that he was not worthy of being Saved. So be the will of Ayla."_

_"But I didn't!" Kuba protested. "It wasn't me! I'm not an Earthbender!"_

_"You insult us with your lies. Keep silent, child, or we will silence you."_

_It was then that Kuba realized the truth. All of this fighting, all of this bloodshed and death…it wasn't for any great and divine purpose. Delun could care less about "saving" him. He was only interested in perpetuating this trial to its inevitable climax._

_The boy looked at the restraints in front of him and understood. Nausea and fear clawed through his stomach, making him kick and flail at the people around him._

_"Let me go!" he screamed. "Let me go!"_

_They were going to "save" him according to Ayla's will. They would bring about this salvation the same way she had obtained it. Suddenly, it made perfect sense that there were so many torches in the room._

_In short, they were going to burn him alive._

_"No!" he howled. "I won't let you…! Get your hands off of me! Right now!"_

_The earth started to tremble. The acolytes holding him stumbled and Kuba broke free. As fast as he could he started to run…_

_He refused to look back._

* * *

He shot his older half-brother a defiant look, but the older man said nothing.

"And why did you run away?" Bumi asked, curiosity alive in his expression. "Did something happen to your parents?"

Kuba tensed. "No. They're alive...I think. I don't really know." Suddenly, he was angry again. "Why don't you ask him? He knows my parents. He's been pretending not to know me this whole time. Ask him!"

Delun raised a single lofty brow.

"What is this tale you're spouting, child?"

"Don't lie! You know who I am!"

"If I knew you, do you think I'd have wasted time asking you about your clan? In the middle of my audience with the king?" he replied scornfully. Then, he turned to face Bumi again. "I don't know what he's talking about. But clearly he's got a liar's tongue on him...his story has changed twice since this conversation began. Who knows what part of what he says is true?"

The elderly king stroked his chin. "Perhaps..."

Katara put both of her hands on the table, raising herself up. "Kuba is _not _a liar! He's told us all about the Brotherhood...what you people really do. You guys are trying to get rid of benders! All of them!" She paused, looking at the boy as something occurred to her. "And Kuba's...an Earthbender..."

Kuba flushed red and stared at his shoes.

"I had to run away...because they found out. They were going to kill me..."

Delun shook his head. "I will admit that my people are not overly fond of elemental bending. Those arts only serve to corrupt a person's spirituality by creating a fixation with the mortal plane. One becomes too attached to their so-called element and their entire being is thrown out of balance. But we are not _maniacs_, my liege. These tales are nothing more than the machinations of spiteful children."

"Keep talking like that and we'll show you just how _spiteful_ we can be," Katara growled.

But Sokka put his hand on his sister's shoulder, pulling her back. "You can call us whatever you like, but when it comes down to it, it's our word against yours. And we have the Avatar vouching for us. You know him, right? Master of all four elements? Protector of this world?"

Aang squared his shoulders and tried to seem more sure of himself than he actually felt.

"And how does the Avatar know that the child is being honest?" Delun sneered. "Who can say that the boy isn't playing on his sympathies?"

Bumi was quiet for a long time as he contemplated what was in front of him. But his mood seemed to improve as the puzzle grew more complex. His eyes were bright and cheerful as he glanced at Kuba again. The Earthbender had a betrayed, angry expression on his face as he glared at Delun.

"Kuba was your name, was it?"

The boy gave a start. "Y-yeah. Why?"

"Tell me, why did you bring the Avatar to Omashu?"

Kuba stared at the king for a moment, as though the answer should have been obvious. But when Bumi said nothing more, he scowled and said…

"I brought him so that we could find Julie…because Julie is in trouble. We need to find her right away!"

"But why do _you _need to find her?"

"Huh?"

The King of Omashu looked the young Earthbender in the eyes. "I mean to say, why are you looking for Julie? Do you have any special reasons? Do you need her for something, or…?"

"What?" Kuba blurted. "No! I don't need _her_…! _She's _the one who needs me! She's crap at fighting and she gets lost all the time! And she always gets into trouble! I can't leave her alone because…I just _can't! _She'd die! Or sold into slavery! Or captured by that bastard Zhao…or the Brotherhood…"

Bumi nodded. "And you are afraid for her?"

Kuba bit his lip. "I…I'm not _afraid_. But I…she was the one who found me and she protected me from some really bad people. And she almost died doing it. Julie is good and…she shouldn't be alone. I can't leave her alone!"

He clenched his hands into fists.

"She's my friend. That's the only reason I need to want to stay by her side, isn't it?"

The elderly man grinned. "I like the look in your eyes. Such a strong youth…you certainly seem devoted to your cause. I can see why the Avatar is putting his trust in you. I think it's noble of you to want to protect someone important to you."

Delun stared at him. "King Bumi, you're actually going to believe this street urchin? You know nothing about him except that he renounced his family and ran away from his home. He's a nothing more than a delinquent as far as I'm concerned."

There was a roaring silence.

"Wait," said Aang, his voice almost strained. "What did he say your name was again?"

Bumi winced. "Darn it. Looks like the cat's out of the bag."

"What do you mean?" Delun asked sharply, looking from the monk to the king in confusion. "What is this about? What's going on here?"

But the Air Nomad was in shock.

"Bumi?" he repeated. "_Bumi_…? You…you're the _king_?"

The old man sighed. He got up off his throne and wandered over to the other side of the table, a vague look of petulance creasing his wizened face. "And here I was, all excited because you didn't recognize me. _This is perfect_, I thought. _Aang is alive. Now I can see if he's learned anything in the last hundred years. What jolly fun this will be!_ But no. It was all for nothing."

The monk stared and stared at him. "So…you were pretending not to know me this whole time?"

Bumi glanced ruefully at him. "You never wondered how I knew all the best ways in and out of the palace, Aang?" He pointed at his skull confidentially. "You've got to open your mind to the infinite possibilities!"

Aang blinked. "Oh."

"Yes," Bumi agreed. "Oh."

"So…" Delun seemed to be, for once, at a loss for words. "You're saying that you and the Avatar are…that you two already know each other?"

Katara and Sokka seemed to understand at once. Kuba frowned, sensing that this conversation was taking another unexpected turn. But the Brotherhood elite was dumbfounded, as though the carpet had been pulled out from under his feet.

"We've known each other since we were kids," Bumi replied cheerfully. "About a hundred years ago, in fact."

Delun seemed to swallow this. "I see," he said stiffly. He turned back to Aang, scrutinizing him. "You seem determined to make yourself our enemy," he told the monk. "But you are still a child and know nothing about how the world works. You and his majesty know nothing about us or our ideals except for what one little runaway has told you. I cannot tell you where to place your trust, but know this: Julie belongs with the Brotherhood. If you should interfere with us again, we won't be so forgiving."

"I'm sorry, didn't you say you were _peaceful _scholars?" Katara quipped.

Delun's eyes cut to him. "We don't resort to unnecessary violence. That doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves...or enact retribution to our enemies." He rose swiftly, his maroon robe swaying majestically around his ankles. "Your majesty, you can still accept my proposal now, before I leave the city. However, I should warn you that I won't be making this offer a second time."

Bumi turned to him and grinned. "Are you saying something along the lines that if we aren't _with _you, we're _against _you?"

"If that is how you choose to interpret it, then yes."

The king nodded. He looked at Delun now with burning anticipation, as though he were moments away from a good worthwhile battle. And yet neither of the two acted as though they were about to draw blood. They faced each other diplomatically even as the elderly ruler basked in the cloaked man's seething.

"As a matter of fact," said Bumi. "I will. And in a way it's kind of funny. After all, _we_ are not the ones making assumptions of one's character. You seem to have done that more than I or the Avatar have."

"Oh?"

"You underestimate me, my friend. I may be as old as dirt, but I'm still kicking…and I'm not the doddering fool you think I am. Far from it," he added. "I know exactly what kind of people you and your acolytes are. I've known for months…after listening to countless rumors of Earthbenders going missing, of villages paying your organization protection money to keep the Fire Nation from destroying them…"

"Chin Village!" said Sokka suddenly. "Remember what Mayor Tong said? He said that the town wouldn't be taken over by the Fire Nation any time soon…and that he had connections in high places."

"He must have been talking about the Brotherhood," said Katara.

Delun smiled. "So…knowing all of this, you still gave me an audience and invited me to this lavish feast? Either you're a terrible liar, or just plain mad."

"I may be mad," Bumi replied. "But there's a method to my madness. I brought you before me so that I could see for myself what you are. And I think I have a pretty good idea now."

The smile was gone. It was replaced by an iciness that made everyone except Bumi shiver.

"You'll regret making a fool of me," he said.

Bumi shrugged, removing his cloak and letting it fall to the floor. Aang, Katara, and Sokka all jumped in shock to see the rippling muscles that the costume had hidden. Kuba stared at the king in fascination as he rose to his full height, looking very menacing.

"I don't take threats kindly," said Bumi. "And I don't advise you attack the Avatar either. He may be young yet, but there's much more to him that meets the eye. You just need to be more open-minded, Delun."

"So be it," he spat. He shot Aang and Kuba venomous looks before turning back to the king. "Now is not the time for violence. But I will be back."

With that said, Delun swept from the room. His tense posture seemed electrified with raw anger as he stalked down the hallway and vanished from sight. Some of the guards took defensive stances as he passed, but he paid them no mind. The head soldier looked at Bumi for instructions.

"Should we pursue him, sire?"

"No," said Bumi. "Leave him be. He's not hurting anyone…yet."

"I don't get it," said Kuba, brow furrowed in confusion. "You're just letting him go? He could come back and attack Omashu."

The king inclined his head gravely. "I am aware of that. But if I attack him now, it won't end well. Now is not the right time."

"But…look at you!" Aang interrupted. "You could probably take him easily."

"Appearances, Aang. I _am _strong for my age, but I have my people to think of…and Delun is no lightweight either. You need to understand that things are not always what they seem to be."

The monk thought about this for a while. "I think I understand. It's all about keeping an open mind…not just about your friends, but your enemies too. About everything."

"Yes."

Katara and Sokka got up and stood beside Kuba, but Aang walked over so that he was standing directly in front of his old friend. He looked up at the king, taking in the sight of him. There was recognition and nostalgia glowing in the monk's smile.

"I should have known it was you," he told him. "When I first realized that the monks had all been killed, I just assumed that everyone I cared about was…gone. I'm glad that I was wrong."

"I'm not ready to die just yet," said Bumi lightheartedly. "I feel as spry as I ever was."

Kuba didn't take his eyes off of him. "You're not just ridiculously huge," he said suddenly, causing everyone to look at him. "You're an Earthbender too," he said quietly. "Aren't you?"

The old king looked swiftly at the boy, who didn't flinch or turn away. He looked at him for a long moment, as though sizing him up.

Then he smiled. It was a smile that told of interesting things to come.

* * *

**A/N: Oh...my...God.**

**I have a new job. I'm not kidding. That resume I sent in actually cranked out some RESULTS. I'm now working for Farmers Insurance on a SALARY. With BENEFITS. Oh, my...I'm going to...faint...**

**(A few hours later)**

**I actually wrote the first author's note last night, before I got the job. I was really worried about what I was going to do to stay afloat. I guess my problems are solved for now. I am so, so relieved! I think I might just cry, I'm so happy. But enough about me. This fic needs commentary, and I will happily provide it for thee, oh wonderful readers!**

**No one is what they seem to be. Bumi proved himself to be more than a "feeble old man," keeping Delun on his toes long enough to find out what he was up to. Meanwhile, Julie finds herself surprised both by Shen-Long's kindness and by the revelation of Ayla's changing feelings. Just what does all of this portend for the group in chapters to come?**

**Okay, enough talk. I have to fax the offer letter back to my NEW employers. While I do that, please, please, please REVIEW!**


	69. Making a Breakthrough

**A/N: Yay! I'm having so much fun!**

**I'm sitting in my friend's dorm kitchen, watching her bustle around and basting the turkey for our annual thanksgiving gala. Jessie is especially in a good mood, even though I sort of caused her to topple over with a bowl full of stuffing. Apparently it isn't a good idea to give someone a half-nelson while they're cooking.**

**Still, we got the fire out…eventually. And the smoke alarms didn't even go off, so our feast can go on!**

**Anyway, I wanted to give you guys an extra-special Thanksgiving treat: The next chapter, stuffed with more Zulie fluff than a turkey is stuffed with…well…stuffing. I hope it's everything you're looking for. Actually, I'm really proud of how this turned out.**

**I know I said a weekly update, but this new job has me running around like a headless chicken trying to get myself ready for my first day. I have to buy myself a corporate wardrobe (because apparently jeans and sneakers isn't office-appropriate attire), not to mention wrestle with my old job to get my vacation hours in a check.**

**It's a hassle, and it's time consuming. Hopefully, once I'm back on a normal schedule I'll be able to update every week like I used to. But in a way, it might be better that I put more effort into what I write instead of cranking out filler after filler chapter. Maybe that's why my fic is so long.**

**Ooh! Turkey is almost ready! It's got BACON on it…!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Two: Making a Breakthrough**

The sun was shining high over Omashu. Team Avatar was enjoying a nice quiet stroll through the city with King Bumi and Aang simultaneously acting as tour guides. Only the monk constantly had to be corrected, as all of his knowledge about Omashu was about a hundred years out of date. Bumi seemed to find the whole thing amusing.

"Frozen in a block of ice," he kept saying. "Not my first choice for a vacation, but I'm sure it has its merits."

"I didn't do it on purpose," Aang replied. "And I kind of wish it hadn't happened…" Suddenly his face brightened up. "Hey!" he said excitedly. "Isn't that where we met that guy selling live hog monkeys, claiming they were really incarnated spirits?"

"Quite an entrepreneur that man was," Bumi nodded. "Though anyone with eyes could see that they couldn't enter the spirit world. Enchanted cages my foot."

Aang grinned at him. "Especially when you broke most of the cages, and the hog-monkeys all went for this other guy selling cabbages instead of zapping themselves back home." He trailed off, thinking of the man they had encountered at the city gates. Come to think of it, both cabbage merchants bore distinct similarities…

Suddenly, a large grotesque face started nuzzling Aang's side. The Airbender laughed and scratched it behind the ears. "Good boy, Flopsy."

Kuba was perched on the monster's back. He was smiling broadly for a change, enjoying the ride and the sights and sounds around him. "He really wanted to get out, huh?"

"I'm surprised," said Katara, putting a hand on Flopsy's hide. "He looks fierce, but he's actually a big sweetheart. And he's excellent with kids."

She was referring to the large number of youngsters that kept swarming around, only to get picked up and cuddled by the soft-hearted beast. Kuba's smile vanished, replaced by a stern scowl at having been lumped in with the rest of the children.

Bumi wagged a finger at the Waterbender. "Appearances, young lady. Nothing is as it seems."

Sokka sighed. Momo was perched on his shoulder, chattering. Absent-mindedly, he started scratching the lemur behind his large, bat-like ears.

"I know," he said to the animal. "I think he's crazy too."

And yet, not even he, the resident skeptic, could argue at the results. Within a few days after Bumi had dispatched Delun and his minions from the city, he had provided them with a number of intelligence reports regarding the Brotherhood. Kuba, after having been outted as an ex-acolyte of the Raven clan, had confirmed most of them…and none of those reports had hinted anything good.

"To say the least," Bumi had told them. "The Brotherhood are a force to be reckoned with. You will need to be on your guard if and when you encounter them again, for they are dangerous enemies to have. Especially if you insist on continuing your search for your friend, Julie."

"Well, we kind of have an idea of where she _might _be," said Sokka. He shot a look at Katara, who had planted her hands on her hips and said nothing in reply. "There's a small chance she might be with the Fire Nation again. My sister thinks that Prince Zuko—you know, the guy hell-bent on capturing Aang as a trophy for his father—somehow fell madly in love with Julie and chose to risk everything to fight his own country and save her back on Kyoshi Island."

He rolled his eyes, clearly disagreeing with the notion.

"Well, who else could it have been?" Katara wanted to know. "I'm telling you, it was him, Sokka!"

"Then why was he using those swords instead of Firebending? Huh? Care to tell me that?"

"I don't know," she said, frowning. "He probably didn't want anyone to know it was him. He probably knew that we wouldn't trust him if he came undisguised, and…and Julie said she knew him, remember?"

"Julie probably knows a lot of people," Sokka replied. "I mean, she's got a religious cult after her. If that's not popularity, then I don't know what is."

Katara was incredulous. "Why are you being so _stubborn?_ Spirits, you believed it before when we were waiting to see King Bumi…"

"And I changed my mind," the Water Tribe warrior finished curtly. "It's either that or I accept the fact that I fought alongside one of our enemies. It's a matter of honor, Katara. You wouldn't understand."

The young woman shook her head, her blue eyes reflecting nothing but irritation and dismay. "What do you mean I wouldn't understand? Just because I'm a girl, I can't be honorable? And what _is _it with boys that they're so obsessed with honor anyway?"

But Sokka didn't answer. Katara folded her arms, miffed by her brother's behavior. It was just like a guy to say something only to take it back later. Really, she was surprised that no one else had reached the same epiphany she had. Maybe it was because she was more in touch with her sensitive side and had an eye for this kind of thing. Of course, it had nothing to do with the romance scrolls she had been reading during the slow moments on Kyoshi.

**(A/N: It might interest you guys to know that Katara is the first closet Zulie fan in the Avatar universe. Ironic, isn't it Zutarians?)**

It was just so…perfect. Julie, with her mysterious powers and mysterious background, swept up in a forbidden romance with the crown prince of the very same country that seeks to capture and corrupt her. Zuko, with his deep brooding over his unbridled love for the Energybender, conflicted as he must choose between her and his country. It was all so complicated and engrossing.

Katara didn't necessarily think it was a bad thing for Julie to be involved with Zuko if it got him to stop chasing Aang. Too bad no one else seemed to feel that way. Well, no one except Kuba, that is…but he was too excited about having finally found an Earthbending teacher to care about much else. Besides, Julie-and-Zuko was old news to him.

"I hope you're sure about staying behind," Bumi said to the boy, who was busy rubbing Flopsy in that sensitive spot behind his left ear. "My training won't be easy, you know."

Kuba looked up. "I can handle it. I'm a lot tougher than I look."

The King of Omashu grinned wickedly. "As am I, Kuba. As am I."

"Obviously. That's why I want you as my teacher. You're not just strong; you're smart too. You know how to use your bending…you know that it's more than chucking rocks at people." The young Earthbender's face darkened. "I couldn't learn anything about it back in the Brotherhood. The only things I could practice were little things that wouldn't get noticed…things that helped me stay alive."

"You can't be the best until you know all the tricks," said Bumi. "Big and small…even the most insignificant skill could be invaluable in a tight spot. It's all about keeping your mind open to the possibilities."

"Is that a catch phrase with this guy, or what?" Sokka muttered to Momo.

The lemur tilted his head to the side and chattered something in reply.

"Hey, no need for that kind of language. Sheesh."

Momo made a displeased sound, flattening his bat-like ears with both hands and looking genuinely remorseful. The Water Tribe Warrior sighed and gave him a peeled litchi nut. That cheered him up right away.

"Well, at least _someone's _happy," said Sokka quietly.

He looked off towards the city gates in the distance. In the back of his mind, he wondered whether Katara might actually be right after all. He wondered where Julie was and what she was doing. He also felt himself growing worried about someone else.

_Even if we find Julie, _he thought. _That doesn't mean we'll be able to find Suki. Spirits, I hope she isn't…_

But he never finished that thought. A passing pidgeon-sparrow had just pooped on his shoulder. Momo squawked in alarm and flew over to Aang, sitting on the Airbender's head instead.

"Eeeeeew…!" he screamed. "Why am _I _always the one that gets pooped on by things? WHY?"

And everyone laughed.

* * *

It had been almost a week since I started training. All I had to say about the experience is that Bo-Fen hits about as hard as my Dad. I had begun to wonder whether she was just as mean-spirited too, the way she just tore into me day after day. It took every ounce of my will to drag myself up on deck every morning so that my torture could begin. I think you could play connect the dots with the bruises on my back and arms.

Those didn't bother me so much. I was used to blacks and blues. I was used to being stiff and sore. None of that bothered me as much as the fact that I wasn't getting any better. Or so I thought.

Having that blindfold on was ridiculously scary. I had no idea where that rod would strike next, and at first I tried listening with my one ear that Bo-Fen left unplugged. That was when I realized how much that rod whistled when it came down to land a blow; and that sound was everywhere. The first three days were the worst since I hadn't figured out what Bo-Fen and Shen-Long were trying to tell me when they expected me to "sense" another person's chi.

Ironically, it had been Zuko who had given me the answer.

"You look terrible," he commented as I sat down to dinner last night. It had taken me a while to realize that Zuko didn't generally say things to be a jerk. He just had a bad habit of voicing his thoughts out loud.

It had been a really bad day for me, and I knew I looked like crap. But I gave him the evil eye anyway.

"Keep talking and I'll make _you _look even worse," I growled.

But Zuko just kept scrutinizing me from across the table. Unable to suppress my irritation, I tried to distract myself with my bowl of rice. Woes to me, the chopsticks were as unmanageable as ever. I couldn't decide which of the two pissed me off more, to be honest.

"I think you have bruises on your bruises," he muttered in dismay. "Just what kind of training is Bo-Fen putting you through, anyway?"

I didn't look up. "You're the moron who decided to pay her for results."

"I'm paying her to teach you how to protect yourself, not to bludgeon you half to death."

I felt my blood pressure spike. "What do you mean half to death? I'm _fine_. It looks worse than it actually is."

Zuko opened his mouth to reply, but Iroh diplomatically decided to cut in right around here. Thank God; I don't think I could have been held responsible for what would have happened if he had let his nephew continue his thoughts. I'm not even sure I'd even get a trial if I murdered Zuko over his evening rice.

"It is always harder in the beginning," said the ex-General with a rueful smile. "However, I hear from Shen-Long that you are working very hard to get stronger. So long as you keep trying, you are bound to make some progress soon."

"If she doesn't _die _first," Zuko muttered under his breath.

The chopsticks snapped in my hand, which was now tightly clenched into a fist.

"A few bruises aren't going to kill me, you idiot."

He shot me a look. "With _your _track record, I'm sure it's only a matter of time, peasant."

"And just what the hell is _that _supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying you have a really bad habit of stumbling into life-threatening situations while doing even the most mundane things."

Okay, what the hell? I was NOT that bad. Sure, I've had a few close scrapes lately; but that was no reason for anyone to assume that I was some kind of trouble-magnet. Seriously, how many times do I have to say it before it finally sinks in?

I stuck out my chin defiantly. "Name _one _time when…"

"Two hours ago you came within a hair's breadth of impaling yourself on a mop because you insisted on swabbing the deck blindfolded."

I blushed. You know, when Zuko narrated it, the whole incident sounded pretty stupid on my part, didn't it? I mean the part about me trying to mop a deck I couldn't even see. On retrospect, not one of my better ideas…

"I know it's kind of counterproductive," I said hastily, trying to save what little dignity I had left. "…but I wanted to see if I could keep from bumping into anyone. I mean, I have to train blindfolded, so…"

"So you ended up tripping over Lieutenant Jee as you passed by. If he hadn't caught you, you'd have a mop handle buried in your intestines."

My eye twitched. "Freak accidents don't count, Zuko."

The Fire Prince just facepalmed. I could hear him muttering some more as he kneaded his brow, but I couldn't hear the whole thing. I could only pick out some choice words like 'thick-headed' and 'suicide.' He was one to talk, though. He was only digging himself an early grave.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," I said snippily. "Jerk."

Zuko glared at me. "Stupid peasant."

Iroh smiled serenely as he looked back and forth between us. "It's nice to see you two getting along for a change. You must really be quite fond of one another now." He took a calming sip of his jasmine tea, ignoring the deranged looks we were both giving him.

"Me? Fond of _him_?" I blurted. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," said Zuko in quiet mortification. He looked like Iroh had just suckerpunched him with a taiser.

But the Dragon of the West only chuckled to himself. I felt my cheeks heating up for no good reason. That was the problem with being a redhead; I blushed over every stupid little thing. At this point I was seriously considering going brunette.

"Whatever," I murmured. I glanced morosely at my broken chopsticks and sighed.

Zuko made a point of not looking directly at me as he reached for his knife. "Should I even ask why you're training blindfolded?" he asked in a strained voice.

I realized he was as desperate to change the subject as I was.

"Bo-Fen says I rely too much on my other senses," I replied with a shrug. "Apparently I don't even realize when I'm bending because I'm too easily distracted by things I'm seeing and hearing. And then when something actually happens, I panic and lose control of myself. Her words, not mine."

Zuko gave me a weird look. "So in other words you're so bad at this that you need physical danger as a catalyst for your own bending."

"Shut up. That's not it and you know it."

"Then how come you can't Energybend any other time?" he wanted to know. "Why only when someone tries to kill you?"

I scrunched up my brow, feeling worse than ever. "I can," I protested weakly. "I actually did, once. Back when I won Yoshi's egg, remember? Ayla taught me how to use my bending to cheat the gambler. It was…kind of bad-ass, actually."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "You mean the time you wandered off and forced me to turn around and go looking all over the docks for you? And all that time you could have been dead, and all you have to say about it is that it was _badass…?"_

"Um…yeah, pretty much."

His brow twitched, but thankfully he chose not to comment further. His facial expression pretty much said it all. I think he was despairing of me as a human being.

"All right then," he muttered. "If you could control yourself then, what's stopping you when it matters?"

I grimaced. "I wasn't in control, you dolt. I ended up throwing up in a garbage bin from the sensory overload. Shim was calling it a panic attack, remember?"

Zuko ignored my flippant comment. "So it all goes back to your senses," he said slowly. He thought about it for a minute. "When you bend, you must get really sensitive to things…like sound and light."

I looked up at him in surprise. The last thing I had expected was for Zuko to actually understand what it felt like to experience my kind of bending sickness; or any of my feelings for that matter. It kind of irked me, to be honest. It's easier to hate someone you can't relate to than to hate someone you can. "Yeah. And other things too. How'd you…"

"I listen," he cut in, making me glower at him in response. "Anyway, what other things were you talking about?"

I was still perturbed. "Um…heartbeats mostly."

"What?"

"Like…I can hear…no, not hear, but…I guess I _feel _all these heartbeats, and they're all in my head. They pulse through the air and echo inside my skull and…I just get so _sick_. Even thinking about it makes me want to gag."

Iroh looked intrigued. "I think I understand what you are saying. Your bending must rely on an external sense. Your chakras must respond to the chi you sense when you bend, and since a person's chi can travel through one's body through the blood passages..."

He didn't need to finish the thought. I was already off on another tangent.

"It sucks ass," I complained. Then I looked at Zuko. "Quit looking at me like I'm a psychopath. It's bad enough I have to acknowledge that there's a person living in my head and talking to me all the time. This just makes it worse."

Zuko rolled his eyes.

"We already established that you're not…completely out of your mind. I can see Ayla too," he reminded me. "Anyway I think your problem is that you're not used to using your bending as a sense. Obviously you're having trouble focusing when someone is attacking you."

I gave him a _derp_ look. "Yeah. Hence the blindfold."

"I'm not sure that's enough to just cut off your other senses and expect you to fight," he continued, unfazed by my quip. "You should be practicing what Ayla had you do with that gambler."

I thought about that for a while. Okay, it was one thing to even my breathing and synchronize myself with a target when I'm standing still and don't have umpty-dozen things distracting me. But how was I supposed to get into that kind of meditative state when I was _fighting_? It was impossible.

When I said as much to Zuko, though, he just wouldn't budge.

"If it were impossible, then Delun and the Brotherhood wouldn't have been such a threat when they tried to abduct you that night," he said bluntly. He looked me over one more time, making me really want to chuck something at him. "I don't want to see you like this anymore. From now on you're going back to meditating in the morning before your sparring session with Bo-Fen. Understood?"

I blinked in astonishment. "Zuko, this is nothing."

"I'm telling you, so that's an order, peasant."

Okay, now I was getting mad again. "Since when can you tell me what to do, you creep? Besides, it's not like I've never had a bruise before. Cripes, I know how to take a hit. I can handle it."

Zuko's golden eyes tore into my gaze. He looked frustrated, angry, and somewhat pained all at once. They were expressions that didn't make sense to me given the current discussion. He shouldn't have looked so…I don't even know what to call it.

"Is that what you said every time your father tried to hurt you?" he asked quietly. "That it was okay because you could _handle _it?"

Iroh jumped and quickly made a slashing motion to his nephew. Meanwhile, I was frozen in my chair, my spine having solidified into a single marble column, sturdy and cold.

"Because that kind of stupid thinking is going to get you killed," he said. "No one is strong enough to handle everything on their own, and I refuse to let your idiotic pride keep you from asking for help when you need it."

I waited for the rage to come, but all I felt was cold and empty. My body was quivering, as though someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.

I dropped my napkin on the table, rose stiffly from my chair, and left the room without another word.

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

Zuko scowled at the empty spot at the table, as though it had done him a personal wrong. "Spirits…why does that girl have to be so stubborn, Uncle?"

He made himself sound as indignant as possible, leaving no room for guilt or doubt to creep into his voice. In spite of that valiant effort, he couldn't keep himself from feeling bad. Personally, he hadn't felt as though he had crossed any sacred lines…except when he had made the mistake of bringing Julie's father into the conversation. The look on her face stood out in his mind as though someone had carved it inside his skull.

But damn it all, Julie never listened to reason. She always had to argue and complain. He had only said what needed to be said. Besides, it really disturbed him to see how unaffected she was by the bruises on her own body.

Iroh shook his head slowly. "You still have much to learn about women, Prince Zuko. In matters such as these, it is often better to take a more _sensitive _approach."

The scarred teen made a face and looked back at his plate. "Sensitive how? I only told her the truth. She's so reckless and headstrong…"

"Yes, but sometimes there are better ways to express one's thoughts. I imagine Julie doesn't like talking about her father, especially as it must bring up some rather unpleasant memories."

Zuko had to swallow to keep his anger down. "She isn't the only one with problems, Uncle. Do you think I don't know all about _unpleasant memories_…?"

Iroh met his nephew's gaze. The scar loomed in center view.

"I know all about her kind of problems," Zuko said quietly. "I could help her if she'd just let me. She's just so…difficult."

The older man smiled ruefully. "With some people, one can only be persistent and hope for the best. I know you care for Julie's well-being, nephew. But even with the best of intentions, if you don't take great care in regards to her feelings you could end up doing more harm than good."

Zuko turned his face away, staring at her empty chair again.

"Maybe that's the whole problem," he said. "She just doesn't know what's good for her."

Iroh didn't reply. He silently poured the tea for his nephew, who didn't even taste it as he swallowed it in a single fierce gulp.

* * *

As much as I hated to admit it, though, Zuko had a point. Meditation, or rather learning to focus, turned out to be the key to unlocking my potential. I wasn't about to _admit _it any time soon, but I couldn't ignore the results.

Oh, I sure as hell wasn't speaking to him. Zuko, I mean. I had made a point of ignoring the bastard for as long as I could, and if I had to address him I used whoever else happened to be present as a messenger. It really irritated him, too. I got an especially smug feeling when he came by the infirmary (my makeshift bedroom until the new space got furnished) the next morning, expecting to drag my ass to the meditation chamber.

I was already awake, so it wasn't like Zuko could sneak up on me like he did the last time he forced me to meditate. When he showed up, I pointedly turned my face away and looked over at Shim, who was sifting through his notes.

"Shim," I said. "Tell Prince Zuko that I am no longer in the habit of associating with _stupid pricks_, and that he should leave now while he still has all his teeth."

The healer glanced up at Zuko, who seemed, for once, stricken dumb with anger and surprise. "Erm…with all due respect, your highness…"

"I heard her," he snapped. Then he glared at me. "Do you think I care if you're mad at me? I'm in charge of this ship and you _will _do as I say, peasant."

I folded my arms and ignored him. Boy, did I show him a thing or…

"H-hey!" I cried as I was suddenly slung over Zuko's shoulder. "What are you…put me down!"

Zuko glanced at Shim. "Tell Julie that I am no longer in the habit of responding to stupid questions or requests, and that she should grow a brain while she's at it."

"Fucker! Put me down!"

"Also, that if she doesn't stop pulling my hair, I'm going to throw that stupid eelhound of hers overboard."

My hands turned into claws as I went for his eyes, but he turned so swiftly that I had to grab on to him to keep from falling over. I gave a squeak as he slunk out the door and carried me down the hall at a pace too brisk for me to feel safe letting go.

Stupid freakishly-tall asshole prince.

"Yoshi!" I cried, reaching towards the eelhound pup following us. "Defend your master! Rip his fucking face off!"

To my disappointment, Yoshi seemed to consider the whole thing a game. He let out a few happy barks before getting distracted by a passing elephantrat and scurrying off, leaving me at the hands of my kidnapper.

I could recognize a battle lost. Well, that and Zuko was smart enough to lock the door to the meditation chamber after tossing me in. There was only the single lit candle to keep me company in that small, dark room and nothing better to do than to meditate.

A few hours later Shen-Long came and let me out. He looked a bit angry.

"I have no problem with you meditating," he said slowly. "But that Prince Zuko is getting on my last nerve…"

"Join the club," I grumbled. I stood up and realized that my legs had started to fall asleep. "What'd he do to _you_?"

He shook his head. "I was delivering some charts he requested detailing Zhao's current whereabouts, and while I was in there he insinuated that I was letting you get hurt every day…or doing it myself. And I figured he had you trapped in here, so I decided to let you out a little early just to spite him."

"Good for you," I replied, grinning at the thought of Zuko coming across an empty room. "So what now? Sparring? Or something to eat? I'm actually kind of hungry…"

Shen-Long smiled and handed me a hard tac biscuit. "I know it's not much, but breakfast was finished a while ago and they won't be serving dinner for some hours yet."

I didn't even gratify that with a response. I was too busy scarfing down the biscuit. The soldier shook his head at me.

"You certainly have changed, haven't you? You were much daintier in your past life."

My eyes flickered to him. "What?"

He seemed to suddenly remember himself. "Oh, um…never mind. I was just thinking about Ayla again. You really do look like her…but sometimes you're like her complete opposite."

"I imagine she was a good girl who ate her food without complaint and had impeccable table manners."

"Something like that."

She hadn't said much to me today, but I could still feel Ayla swelling at the praise. For some reason she always seemed to make herself scarce these days unless Shen-Long happened to be around; or Zuko, but only so she could tease the crap out of me.

Still, it kind of bothered us to hear Shen-Long talking to both of us at once. He rarely bothered to separate us in conversation. It was as though to speak of her was to speak of me.

_See?_ I pointed out to her. _He knows you're here. See how nice he's being?_

Ayla considered this for a moment. "_He's nice to _you_,_" she murmured. "_Still…it's my name he says when he smiles. I think that smile just belongs to me. Just me._"

I smirked. This was really cute. Of course, the physical boundaries of this crush never occurred to me because Ayla was as real to me as a solid person. I didn't see anything wrong with encouraging this feeling growing inside of her, like a seed burgeoning up towards the light.

Eventually I would, but of course it would be too late. But that's a story for later.

"When you're finished, Bo-Fen is waiting for you," said Shen-Long. His smile dimmed. "Unless you think this is too much for you to handle too."

"Zuko doesn't know what he's talking about," I told him. "He's an idiot who wouldn't even recognize my foot if I put it up his ass…which I'm close to doing, by the way."

Nothing more needed to be said. But as we left the room, I caught a glimpse of his face under the candlelight. The orangey hue dyed his skin the color of an intense fireball. He was laughing quietly at what I had said, shaking his head at me.

Ayla fluttered in protest. "_I could make him laugh too if I wanted…_"

_Probably,_ I replied in mild surprise. _I mean, you're the one he likes, remember?_

She didn't say anything else.

Going up on deck was easier than the first day. I had expected to be assaulted by the excruciating beaming of the sun. Instead, it was pleasantly overcast, something I found a relief after some number of hours in a dimly-lit room.

Bo-Fen looked me over. "You know the routine. Get your blindfold on."

I was already tying the knot. As I did so I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. As the silk went over my eyes, as darkness clouded my vision, I imagined that darkness crawling through the entire expanse of my mind. I tried to be as utterly blank as possible.

I almost forgot where I was and what I was doing. It was like being back below deck, having to go around in near pitch blackness sometimes. After a while, you stopped bumping into people because you become used to them being around. You just sort of knew when to step out of the way.

I was so calm that I couldn't even register surprise as I felt the shape moving next to me. A moving heartbeat stirring to my left. Automatically I moved to the right, and I heard the _whoosh_ of the bamboo rod barely missing my ear. It came back up and I was already skirting back, out of reach.

The heartbeat didn't move for a minute. I didn't realize I was looking right at Bo-Fen from behind the blindfold. To me, I only had my face turned in the direction I could feel the pulsing of the air. She seemed to smile in the silence.

"Not bad, hon'. You're gettin' better."

She moved as she spoke, probably hoping her words would distract me as she readied her weapon again. I moved to duck the blow, but I wasn't quick enough to avoid it completely. Something cut across my left shoulder, knocking me over. I landed too hard on the floor, feeling the vibrations running through my body. It stunned me.

"Too slow," she said.

I flinched away, trying to find the heartbeat again. But all I could really feel now was my aching shoulder. I grimaced as I rolled out of the way. I heard the rod strike the floor where I had been lying seconds before.

Something else was distracting me. A new shape with a familiar heartbeat appeared on deck. As I looked towards it (futilely, since I was still blindfolded), Bo-Fen whacked me on the back. She wasn't using as much force as usual, though. I think she had noticed I was looking elsewhere.

"Oh, Prince Zuko. Need somethin'?"

_Fuck._

"Who let her out?" Zuko asked stiffly.

Shen-Long volunteered the information. "That would be me, your highness."

Reluctantly, I pulled off the blindfold. Zuko looked at me for a moment or two, taking in the blatantly guilty expression on my face. Then he glanced sharply at Bo-Fen.

"She's done for today," he told her. "I have to talk to her, anyway."

I dug my heels in the ground, metaphorically speaking. "Bo-Fen, tell Zuko that I'm _still _not speaking to him."

Zuko responded as though I had addressed him. "I said I need to talk to _you_. You don't have to say anything as far as I'm concerned. Now are you coming with me, or do I have to drag you like last time?"

"Hey," Shen-Long protested. "Now just wait one second…"

"Stop," I said sharply. "Let me handle this."

I pulled myself off the floor as gracefully as I could, rising up to my full height. Admittedly, Zuko was still staring down at me, but I think I managed to put some poise and dignity into my stance. It also helped that Shen-Long backed off when I asked him too. For once, I felt like a force to be reckoned with; for my hand was the only thing staying Zuko's imminent ass-kicking.

Well, assuming Shen-Long was a better Firebender than Zuko. And I couldn't really say for sure since I had never seen them Agni Kai. Man, that'd be one hell of a death match, huh? I don't even know who to bet on in that match-up.

"Whatever you have to say to me," I told him. "You can say in front of these two. But if I don't like it, you'll wish you kept your mouth shut."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at me. "You do realize I can floor you in half a second, right? Besides, if this guy is your best defense then you may as well just give up. He still has to follow my orders if he wants to stay employed on my ship."

I looked dubiously at Shen-Long. Then I looked back at him. "Touché. Now what do you want?"

The Fire Prince shot the soldier a seething look before giving Bo-Fen a courtesy glance. She nodded at him in turn, showing no sign of resentment for having had her lesson interrupted. This made Zuko relax a little, and I realized then that he really had nothing against Bo-Fen at all. Just Shen-Long.

I found that to be really weird.

Zuko looked back at me. "You don't want me to say this in front of them. So I suggest you come with me, peasant."

I frowned. Shit. This couldn't be good.

"Whatever," I huffed. "This had better be good…"

Shen-Long gave me a wary look. I ignored him and walked past Zuko towards the door. I folded my arms, trying to seem grudging rather than curious, which is totally what I was. Because what better reason could I have for letting this jerk lure me away from my well-needed training just so we could _talk_?

He caught up with me in a few strides. Damn him for being fast.

"My room," was all he said.

I stopped dead. "Nuh, uh. No way. We'll have this conversation in the galley."

Zuko gave me a look. "What's the problem?"

I flushed. "Just what are people going to think if someone were to spot me following you into your bedroom?"

He turned pink. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

But I noticed that after I pointed this out, he made a direct beeline for the galley. So much for Mr. Straight Arrow Prince Zuko. Either that or he really didn't want people to think he was messing around with a lowly peasant girl.

I plopped myself on the nearest stool, swinging my legs up over the sides and making sure I was good and comfortable. Zuko didn't sit. He just watched me procrastinating with an eagle eye until finally I had run out of pretenses to avoid looking at him.

"So," I said lamely. "What do you want?"

He frowned. Then he cleared his throat. "I, um…" he looked at the floor. "I just wanted to let you know…I still think I'm right. About yesterday."

I glared at him. "Gee. Thanks for sharing. Now try telling someone who gives a fuck."

Zuko's expression turned dark. It made me shut up in an instant.

"You didn't let me finish," he said.

I just gaped at him, wondering how the hell someone could pull off intimidation as well as this guy. Was it growing up with a psychopathic pyromaniac for a little sister or just the visual effect of that scar that made Zuko seem so lethal?

I swallowed. "Huh."

He seemed appeased. Not happy, but appeased. "I know for a fact that you're deliberately pushing yourself as hard as possible," he continued. "I'm not sure if it's because you feel responsible for what happened on Kyoshi, or because you have something to prove…but either way I don't like it."

I glanced once at his bandaged hands. From what I heard from Shim, they were healing up just fine. But that didn't stop me from feeling cold every time I saw them.

I looked away quickly. "I don't care if you don't like it. This is something I have to do. And I don't appreciate you insinuating that I'm too weak to pick up the slack."

"I never called you weak," Zuko told me. "I just said that you don't know your own limits." His brow furrowed. "I don't think you're weak, you know. You're not weak."

I blinked up at him in surprise. This really wasn't what I was expecting him to say at all. I had come down here tensed for an argument, and instead Zuko was being…nice? After the way he had talked to me yesterday? What gives?

I didn't say anything for a long time. I just stared at him, wondering what the hell was going through his head to make him act like this. After what seemed like forever and a half (but really probably was only a couple of minutes) Zuko sighed.

"Look," he said. "I don't want to fight with you. But you keep doing things that make me worry, and I just…how do you expect me to sit around and not _do _anything about it?"

I was flustered all of a sudden. "I…I never asked you to worry. I don't want you to go out of your way or anything. Just…can't you just leave me alone, Zu?"

He scowled. "You know the answer to that."

"I still think it's stupid."

"Well, too bad," he snapped. "You're my friend, and whether you want me to or not I…I'm going to look after you." He flushed a little. "So couldn't you just cooperate for once, Julie? Please?"

Again, I found myself disarmed. I felt myself turning red as I heard him say my name. He didn't use it that often, and I knew that he was trying really hard to be sincere when he said it now. I froze inside, not sure what to say or do. I was hot and cold at the same time.

"W-why should I?" I demanded heatedly. I kept my gaze on the floor because I just couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes. "You just keep making these decisions for me for my own good, but you could care less about how I really feel! You don't care at all…!"

Zuko looked away. He didn't say a single word. He just looked really angry.

"If you cared about how I felt," I plowed on. "You wouldn't belittle me all the time or treat me like I'm some kind of liability. Or force me to do things I don't want to do! You never ask me for my opinion on anything, and every time I _do _say something you either ignore it or act like I'm speaking in tongues!"

"I care about you," he muttered sullenly.

"Oh, yeah. Sure, you do. That's why you're always trying to protect me, right? It has nothing to do with you feeling sorry for me because you found out my dad is an _abusive drunk_…!"

I shook my head, bitter and inexplicably elated at the same time. Not only because I finally got the argument I wanted, but because suddenly Zuko's actions were making _sense_ to me.

"You must think that protecting poor little me must make you some kind of fucking hero, but…I hate you for it! I hate you and your stupid, hypocritical bullshit! I don't want anyone to save me. If I can't save myself then I don't _want _to be saved!"

Zuko was suddenly very close to me. He had caught my wrists in both of his hands and glared down at me with so much fervent intensity that I really thought he was going to hit me. I flinched, trying to cringe away from him. He tugged sharply, forcing me to look up at him.

"I don't feel sorry for you at all," he said in a low voice. "You're an angry, spiteful _child_ who isn't happy unless she's making everyone else as miserable as she is. You take out your feelings on people who care about you and can't go for one whole day without picking a fight with someone."

I flushed red in anger. "You…you…"

"Shut up," he snapped. I gave another start as his order was accompanied with another tug on my arms. I didn't like how close we were. I felt really vulnerable. "You're going to keep your mouth shut until I'm done. You might think you can walk all over Shen-Long and Lieutenant Jee, and even my Uncle Iroh, but you are _not _going to speak to me like that."

I was trying to squirm free, but Zuko's grip got so tight that I had to give up or have him cut off the circulation to my arms. I felt a wave of resentment rising in my stomach for the bastard. He clearly didn't like me, so why didn't he just leave me alone?

"I'm not like the others," he said quietly, speaking into my ear. "I'm not nice, I'm not understanding, and I'm not going to be sympathetic to your plight. You think I feel _sorry _for you? You want me to dance around the topic like everyone else does? Forget that. I don't have to feel sorry for anyone! I'm the last person you should be asking for sympathy."

It was kind of startling to hear him talking in such a menacing tone. It made it hard for me to rally my thoughts. "I don't want your sympathy. I just want…I want…"

Zuko waited while I tried to articulate what I was feeling. I was getting frustrated because deep down I didn't really know what I wanted. My emotions were strange and confusing, churning inside of me like a hidden current.

Finally, I just snapped. "If you don't feel sorry for me, then why are you even bothering? It's a pain in the ass trying to figure you out."

"That's because you don't think," he said. "Take a good look at me, peasant. Really look at me, and then tell me why I should feel sorry for anyone else."

I stared up at him, not understanding. I had no idea what he meant. He was just glaring at me and holding me still, his golden eyes filled with an unnamable emotion. Those eyes were really what held me still. Even while hating him as much as I did, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by his eyes.

Zuko frowned. "Understand?"

"No," I said. "You just keep glaring at me and…"

**!**

I froze. The scar. How the hell did I miss the scar? It took up about a third of his face and was glaringly obvious. Especially when the air got really dry and the skin around it started to flake and turn red from irritation.

How did I miss that? What the hell was so distracting that I forgot about Zuko's scar?

"You can't be serious," he said slowly, staring at me in horror. "You cannot be that unobservant. I don't care how cynical you think I am…no one is _that _stupid."

But I just gaped at him. I was feeling a little horrified myself for a number of reasons. Foremost was the fact that the _reason_ I wasn't so aware of Zuko's scar these days was because I was distracted by _other _things. Like the way his hands felt against my skin as he held my arms still. Like the way his eyes really were gold, not just a really pale shade of brown like they should have been.

I was horrified because I realized just how massively attracted to Zuko I really was. This was NOT good. This was NOT going to end well for me at all.

"Say something, you stupid peasant."

He was never going to go for this. I mean, I've seen the entire three seasons of the show. I know for a fact that somewhere along the lines he's going to get a girlfriend; namely Mai. For fuck's sake, I actually shipped Maiko a little back in the good old days when the world made fucking sense, and I wasn't totally love struck over a _cartoon_ _character_.

Oh, my God. Shit! No, this couldn't be happening to me!

"Julie?" Zuko said, probably noticing how stone-cold silent I was. It was starting to unnerve him. "Hey, listen, will you? Julie…!"

How the hell was I supposed to say anything? Cripes, no wonder Zuko didn't feel sorry for me. It made so much sense; I mean would _you _be in his shoes? His own father had challenged him to a duel and burned off half of his face. Mine just liked to smack me around a lot, and sure he leaves marks sometimes but that's nothing compared to what _Zuko's _been through.

Even with all this crap with my powers, at least I had people who actually wanted to help me. Who did Zuko really have besides his uncle?

"I need to go," I said stiffly, jerking away from him. He was so surprised that he actually let go of me. I slid off the stool and fled the room, leaving Zuko in a stunned silence behind me. He made no move to follow me, for which I couldn't blame him in the least.

Good God…why would he even bother after the way I've been treating him?

"_He does anyway,_" Ayla pointed out suddenly. Apparently she had heard the whole thing. "_Didn't he just tell you that he cares about you?_"

I stopped, leaning against a wall and listening. No footsteps. No one was following me. I closed my eyes and tried to catch my breath. My whole body felt cold as I hugged my arms to my sides and tried to keep the panic down.

_I can't be really feeling this, _I whispered in my head. _This isn't happening to me. Not again. I can't be feeling like this for someone else…I don't want to…!_

"_Maybe it'll work out,_" said Ayla hopefully. "_I mean, Zuko isn't like Ramon. He's better than that._"

_You just don't understand at all, do you…?_

"_Understand what?_"

But I didn't answer her. I couldn't put into words how doomed to failure all of this was.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, Zulie fans. Rejoice. Julie has finally seen the light.**

**Unfortunately, she isn't so thrilled by the discovery of her true feelings. Given her past relationship with Ramon, she isn't so ready to jump into a new romance any time soon; least of all with a fictional character who is so out-of-her-league that he may as well be untouchable. Not to mention off-limits.**

**But will Julie stick to canon this time around? Who knows. (Well, I do; but I'm not telling you! HA HA HA!)**

**Not only will he have a dangerously alluring girlfriend in Season Three, but Julie feels like her chances of actually getting with Zuko are virtually nonexistent after the way she's been acting. What's worse is that she can't decide which scenario will be more painful for her: Being with Zuko and getting her heart stomped on, or having to live without him.**

**More fluff and plot-related stuff on the way next chapter. In the meantime…REVIEW! **


	70. The More Things Change

**A/N: Okay, so I got all my Black Friday shopping done.**

**I know what you're thinking. "Gee, maybe you shouldn't be blowing a week's pay on shoes and stuff. Especially given how close you came to teetering on financial ruination and, simultaneously, your own personal apocalypse." But you guys don't UNDERSTAND! It was Black Friday! That's my SECOND favorite holiday!**

**In my defense, I actually needed a more corporate-casual wardrobe for my new job. Because it isn't a jeans-and-sneakers kind of work environment, I had to get some dressy shoes, and I figured I should get a pair of boots too since winter is coming. Actually, fuck winter. Boots justify themselves.**

**Julie: "Drama queen."**

**…I can off you next chapter, you know.**

**Julie: "Yeah. And I'll take your entire fic with me. I die, the Zulie fandom dies."**

**...fuck. I hate self-aware OC's. They're nothing but trouble. **

**Anyway, speaking of Zulie, this chapter is yet more fluff on the cotton ball of fluffy-fluffisms. In other words, the plot won't get here until next chapter. Sorry. I would have fit it in somehow, but I keep getting distracted and…EEEEEEEEE…! BOOTS!**

**Julie: "You are such a freak. I refuse to believe that _you _created me. I demand a DNA test!" -squints at something occurring off camera- "And stop FONDLING your new boots, woman! Good fucking grief!"**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Three: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same**

Lieutenant Jee was in a very good mood indeed as he knocked on General Iroh's door that morning. In his left hand was a very official-looking bound scroll, sealed with wax and stamped with a government office insignia back in the Fire Nation. The man was practically beaming as he was greeted by a somewhat surprised Dragon of the West.

"Ah, Lieutenant," he said with a friendly smile. "How nice. What brings you here at such an early hour?"

"The messenger hawk finally returned," Jee replied. "I have the papers and everything. All that needs to be done to is to have Julie sign them."

Iroh glanced at the scroll. "Hmmm…only? This sounds like the hardest part."

"She'll do it. I expect her to balk at first…what with everything she must have experienced as a child it makes sense for her not to understand the necessity of a parental figure in her life. I just need to be persistent…patient."

"Perhaps," said Iroh fairly. "However, I think it's only fair that I point out to you that it might take a long while to get that point across. Julie can be quite stubborn."

"Aye, that she is, Sir. Doesn't mean I can't hope for the best. Anyway, I think she'll be more inclined to say yes after our _supply run _at Fu Dong harbor." He grinned in a conspiratory manner. "After we pick up a few things for her new bedroom…"

"She's going to be quite surprised, given everything you have in mind."

"It's all necessary. Julie isn't going to find a man willing to marry her with those sparring clothes and that armor she always wears. And the one dress she has is for a commoner; she needs a more tasteful wardrobe…and a nice armoire to put it all in. And I'm thinking a few matching pieces of furniture, maybe a vanity table…a mirror…" Jee frowned for a second. "Erm…actually, I have a list of the anticipated expenses."

He handed Iroh a sheet of paper. The ex-General skimmed it for a few seconds before his eyebrows disappeared into his scalp.

"Oh, my…um…this is…" he coughed into his sleeve, looking away and thinking quickly. "This is not so bad," he corrected. "Just…a bit more than you can afford, my friend." He frowned for a few seconds as he reread the paper. "Perhaps the furniture I can slip in with our monthly expenditures for Prince Zuko's mission. The palace treasury usually pays that with no complaints."

"I can pay for the rest," said Jee, looking relieved. "Thank you, General Iroh, Sir."

"Don't mention it. After all, you said so yourself. It's all necessary. Julie can't keep sleeping in the infirmary, and she isn't safe with the rest of the crew. She needs her own bedroom."

The Lieutenant looked as though a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He smirked to himself as something else came to mind.

"Don't tell Julie, either," he said. "I'm having her bring her things up to the room that used to hold our old maps and the like. We cleared those out last night, and I set up a cot in there until we find a real bed for her. But she has no idea I'm going to fix it up for her."

Iroh winced, but was unnoticed by his subordinate. He was undoubtedly thinking about Julie's potential reaction to all of this. "Won't she be surprised," he commented weakly. "But I think she might notice you bringing everything into her room."

"That's the only problem. I need to keep Julie occupied somehow until I'm finished."

Before the older man could respond he found himself distracted as another shape appeared at the other end of the hallway. He paused as the figure drew closer, and Iroh could see that it was his nephew. As he came closer, he could see at a glance that Zuko was not in the best of moods.

"Prince Zuko," he greeted uncertainly, not yet knowing the reason for the sudden visit. "You seem…awfully lively at this early hour. Have you had breakfast yet?"

The young exile shook it off. "Forget breakfast. Where is…I mean…have you seen Julie, Uncle?"

Iroh sighed inwardly. _So soon…? They argue more than a married couple._

"No. Why? Has she done something…?"

Zuko wouldn't quite meet his gaze. In fact, he didn't seem to know how to respond to that. "She isn't in any trouble as far as I know. I just…" his blatant confusion was running amok all over his face. "I need to straighten something out. Do you know where she is?"

Jee tensed. "Actually, she's very busy and shouldn't be disturbed. Perhaps you should wait until later to have your talk with her."

The Fire Prince scowled. "I'll be the judge of that. Where is she?"

The Lieutenant looked very displeased, but Iroh hastily interjected before he could say anything contrary to the young man's liking. "I think she's moving her possessions into her bedroom. But I agree with Lieutenant Jee, nephew. Perhaps Julie shouldn't be disturbed today. After all, we have…quite a schedule ahead of us…what with our supply run..."

Zuko seemed to consider this. "Will she be going into town with us?" he asked.

Jee attempted to appear indifferent. "I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

But the scarred teen had heard enough. He walked away almost as soon as those words were out of Jee's mouth. The Lieutenant barely had time to process what had just happened before Zuko was gone. And of course, by that time it was too late to stop him from leaving, or to demand an explanation. He felt a familiar prickle of dislike for the prince nettling him in the silence that followed.

Iroh smiled almost apologetically. "It must be urgent business."

Jee shook his head. "I'm going to have some urgent business with _him _if he does anything to that girl," he muttered. "Meaning no disrespect, General Iroh, Sir."

"Not at all. What a father wouldn't do for his only child…"

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

Zuko wasn't quite sure what had happened the other day when he had talked to Julie. He had spent most of last night tossing in his sleep while his mind kept looping over their conversation.

_"Take a good look at me, peasant," he had said to her. "Really look at me, and then tell me why I should feel sorry for anyone else."_

_Julie frowned at him, her lips pursed in confusion as she did what he asked her to do. She seemed to scrutinize him without actually knowing what to look for. Seconds seemed to tick by without any response from her as her gaze went from looking at one eye to the other, ghosting over his scar as though it wasn't even there._

_As though she didn't even see it._

_"Understand?" he asked, because he couldn't for the life of him understand why she wasn't saying anything. Or even reacting._

_She scowled, with a petulance he almost found pretty casting a shadow over her face. "No," she snapped. "You just keep glaring at me, and…"_

_And then she froze._

Zuko closed his eyes. What in the name of the Spirits could be wrong with that girl? It wasn't as though she were blind or mentally-handicapped. She could _see _the scar on his face. So, why hadn't she been able to grasp what he had been trying to tell her? Why did it take her so long to even acknowledge the fact that there was even a scar there?

_Spirits know she's made enough wisecracks about it in the past, _he thought.

Though now that he came to think of it, those comments had become so sparse they may as well have been nonexistent. And that had only come about because he had decided to just stop reacting to them. It made Zuko realize that Julie was just trying to get a rise out of him. Other than that, she acted as though it wasn't even there.

When she glared at him, her gaze never drifted pointedly to the marred side of his face the way other people's did. Everyone else saw his scar as the stigma of his banishment, a mark of shame; something to be reviled or noticeably avoided on a whim of misguided pity. It became obvious when someone wouldn't look him in the eyes that they were trying too hard not to stare at the scar.

Zuko paused, tentatively pressing his fingers on the edges of his wound. His eyes closed as he breathed a frustrated sigh.

Why didn't it carry the same weight with Julie? She ever had any problems meeting his gaze (except when she was flustered or embarrassed). It was like she just didn't _get _it. In fact, she never displayed an appropriate response to _anything_. She sneered at other people's attempts at compassion towards her and seemed to welcome the promise of a good fight. She was antagonistic and paranoid.

With good reason, apparently. Zuko didn't want to think about what her father must have done to her to get her into such a twisted state of mind. And he sensed that her ex-boyfriend, this Ramon character, hadn't been such a good influence either…if the story Julie had told those kids back on Kyoshi had been any indication, that is. It really shouldn't have surprised him that she was more concerned about people's intentions than their physical appearances given everything that had happened to her.

For some reason that bothered him more than ever. She was the only one who treated him like a normal person, and yet she absolutely refused to accept the fact that he cared about her. She had no idea how much he cared; that he had even placed his own life down as a wager to a vengeful spirit to save her.

He could still feel the cold strain of the Seal on his heart. It was why he had to be careful now. He couldn't afford to get too distracted from hunting Zhao, and he was finding it very hard to focus with Julie acting like this. Stupid peasant.

_Why did she run off so suddenly? _He couldn't stop asking himself. _If it doesn't matter to her, why did she look at me like that?_

Zuko felt sick to his stomach every time he thought about it. Because it was starting to really sink in that Julie had never cared about how he looked; and now he was worried that he had screwed it all up by forcing her to really _look _at him. Spirits, what had he been _thinking_…?

He groaned inwardly. _Stupid_, he berated himself. _Stupid._ He had made his point all too well, and now she'd never look at him the same. She'd become just like everyone else, secretly nauseated by the ravaged half of his face, trying not to look at it unless absolutely necessary…and he couldn't blame her since he had been the one to point it out to her.

_Stupid…!_

It was too much to hope that he hadn't changed things between them. After all, she had failed to show up at dinner last night, sending Bo-Fen in her place to mutter vaguely about a cold she didn't have as an excuse for her absence. It was obvious that she was avoiding him…that she didn't even want to _look_ at him anymore.

Of course she didn't. It was disgusting, even on the best of days when the inflammation was at a bare minimum and the air wasn't too dry so that the skin chaffed. Hell, she had probably eaten her dinner with that bastard, Shen-Long.

Panic made him queasy. She had to prefer the colonist, who was charming and quite good-looking by all standards. He may have been a commoner, but even he could boast a higher social status than a disgraced, exiled prince…not even wanted by his own father, who had burned him and sent him away in embarrassment.

Zuko realized his hands were clenched into fists, something that was starting to hurt him since they were still healing. He took a deep breath and loosened their grip, trying to swallow his anger and shame. Why did he even care what one upstart peasant girl thought of him, anyway? She wasn't even _Fire Nation_. She was an outsider…and a freakish one at that.

She was a freakishly endearing girl in spite of all her standoffishness and abnormal behavior. And Zuko didn't want to lose her to that insufferable pretty-boy. He didn't even bother questioning the reasons for such possessiveness anymore. He could care less about reasons at this point. Either way, it was too late for him to stop caring.

He just had to find her and straighten this out. Even if he only ended up making things worse (like he always did every other time he had a talk with her), he still had to try. No matter how difficult it would be, he refused not to _try_…

…because it just wasn't in Zuko's nature to quit, no matter how hopelessly the odds were stacked against him.

* * *

It had taken me about ten minutes to put all my things in my rucksack and carry them up to what Jee promised would be my new bedroom. I only had a few outfits, my tarot deck, my Red Spirit mask (which I had been taking care of since it was so old and all), and a few other miscellaneous things I had gotten at one point or another every time we came to port. I tried not to think about how bizarre it was to be souvenir shopping given how unlikely it was that I'd ever see my own dimension again. Blowing money on such useless things made me feel better about that; it was the easiest way not to have to think about being stranded in the Avatar world.

I was actually glad to have something to do that morning. I was still mortified by what had happened yesterday. Even an indirect thought about Zuko made my whole face heat up. It happened so often last night that Shen-Long had been convinced that I was running a fever.

I hadn't exactly disabused him of the notion since it gave me an excuse not to have to face Zuko at dinner last night. Honestly, I don't think I could even bring myself to look at him ever again. That's how utterly humiliating this whole thing was. I never felt as pathetic as I did when I realized that I actually _liked_...maybe even more than _liked_…uggh! I couldn't even finish that sentence in my head. I couldn't think about it. I didn't want to!

I had no chance with the guy. It was that simple. He was a prince and he could do way better...like Mai, for instance. I, on the other hand, was just a boyish-looking piece of trash commoner who had treated him like…like…something I had found stuck to the bottom of my boot.

And I was in love with him…or _something_ like that. I couldn't bring myself to question exactly _how much _I cared about Zuko. Even having an insignificant crush on him was bad enough. I couldn't forgive myself for getting so attached to him.

_Stop thinking about it, _I grumbled mentally as I pushed open the door to my room. _It won't help, anyway. He isn't yours._

I swallowed my unhappiness and peered inside. Jee had made good with his promise to have the old store room cleaned out. It had been stripped of all the boxes and other clutter. The only telltale sign of what it had been was the shelves lining the walls, the ones holding all of these scrolls. I found myself interested in spite of my being miserable. I hadn't read anything in weeks, and I could never bring myself to admit to Lieutenant Jee that I couldn't read or write Fire Nation.

There was a cot in the corner. I dropped my rucksack on the floor, picked a scroll at random, and sat down to read it. Of course, it was all jibberish to me.

I puckered my brow and tried to make some sense of it, but I could barely distinguish where letters began and ended. Frowning in disappointment, I got up and put the scroll away. _So much for a bit of light reading_, I thought. _If I could only figure out what the letters meant…_

"You're holding it upside-down, you know."

I jumped so badly that the scroll literally flew out of my hands. I blinked up at my visitor in astonishment, the last person I wanted to see at this point. I shouldn't have been caught off guard, but I hadn't even heard Zuko come in the room. He hadn't even knocked…the jerk.

"W-what are you doing here?" I demanded after lurching off of my cot and on to my feet. I took several steps away from him and glared. I could feel warmth flooding my cheeks again. _Damn it._ "I…I've got a lot of unpacking to do, and I…I'll meditate later. Just leave me alone."

Zuko opened his mouth, then shut it again. He shook his head slowly, his eyes darting back to the scroll I had been trying to read. He wouldn't look at me directly, something I was grateful for since he wouldn't see how hard I was blushing. He also didn't seem to know what to say, something I found irritating since he had obviously come here for a reason.

After a minute of awkward silence, he seemed to make a decision.

"Well, don't let me distract you," he said. He crossed the room, ignoring the incredulous expression on my face as he took a seat on the edge of my cot. "It shouldn't take all that long. You only have that one bag of things."

I blinked. "You…don't you have something better to do than loiter here? What about the Avatar? Go chase him or something. I'm busy!"

Try as I might, I just couldn't keep the irritation out of my voice. I was way too interested in Zuko to really want him to leave. The dull ache I had been feeling in my chest constricted into an unbearable knot when he had first showed up; but I felt very alert, like all my senses were alive with energy. I restlessly waited to see what he would say or do.

Predictably, he furrowed his brow and dug his heels in. "The ship won't reach port for another four hours. In the meantime, I want to finish our conversation from yesterday. You just ran off before I could…before we could really understand each other."

I flushed an angry, embarrassed shade of red. "I…I already understand. You don't have to tell me twice." Zuko must have been able to Firebend with his eyes since I was slowly heating up under his gaze. The knot in my chest clenched tighter and tighter. "Look, I can't stop you from sitting there, but could you at least stop bothering me while I'm…doing things? I have a lot to get done."

I needed a distraction or some kind of stall so I could get my brain working. I had to find a way to get Zuko to leave. Having him here only made it jarringly apparent how deep this crush ran, and the last thing I wanted was for him to catch on about it. It was bad enough that _I _had to know about it.

"You can't have been too busy," he said suddenly. "If you have time to snoop around in my scrolls about the Avatar State."

I gave a start. "The Avatar State? Really?"

The moment the words were out of my mouth, I wish I hadn't said anything. Zuko seemed to take my interest as an invitation to pursue this pointless conversation. Picking the scroll up off of the floor, he came over and sat back down on the flimsy bed. He opened and skimmed over it, his eyes already familiar with the reading material.

"It mentions that the Avatar State involves the Avatar going into something like a cosmic trance, during which he or she will call upon the power of all of his or her previous past lives in an overwhelming offensive force," he read. He glanced up at me. "I'm surprised you're interested in this kind of thing. A lot of people find Avatar studies to be dry and unnecessary for anyone but the actual Avatar."

I quickly averted my gaze. "I…it interests me…" I said quietly, almost defensively. "Besides, I like reading. I haven't had a chance to read anything in a long time."

I felt no need to elaborate on the fact that I could only read in _my _language. Let Zuko think whatever the hell he wanted. Even though I refused to let myself get too close to him, my stomach squirmed at the thought of him finding out that I was virtually illiterate here. After having gotten near-perfect scores on my creative writing projects back in school, not being able to read or write really made me feel stupid. It was embarrassing as hell.

"I suppose I don't mind you reading these so long as you're careful with them," said Zuko loftily, but I saw him glancing at me out of the corner of his eyes. "Though I doubt you'd learn much reading them upside down."

I winced. "I…I didn't do that on purpose. Anyway…my eyes kind of hurt," I lied, realizing just how lame of a response that was.

_Dammit, quit worrying about your stupid pride and get him out of here! _My thoughts screamed at me.

"Uh huh," he said, not looking as though he believed me. He was still staring at me. "Well? Aren't you going to unpack? I thought that was what you wanted to do."

I felt miserable as I glanced at my rucksack, which was way too close to his left foot. I didn't want to be within an arm's reach of Zuko. It was so stupid, but the closer I was to him, the more of those idiotically cliché butterflies I felt in the pit of my stomach. God, could this get any worse?

"What's the problem?" he asked, noticing my red face.

"N-nothing!" I snapped.

Trying not to look at him, I stomped over and snatched my bag off the floor, darting away before Zuko could respond. Once I was safely on the opposite end of the room, I realized I had been hugging the rucksack to my chest and loosened my death grip on it. Nervously, I glanced at him.

He looked bitter for some reason. "You didn't have to do that, you know. I could have just handed it to you. Or are you afraid that scars are contagious?"

That came out of left field. In spite of myself, I found myself looking at him in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about," he said. "Ever since you noticed this…_thing _on my face, you've been avoiding me. You're acting like I've got some kind of horrible disease and won't come near me."

Zuko's anger seemed to linger just below the surface. I knew that just one push would be enough to set him off, that soon he'd be unable to control his temper. I felt something inside of me freeze up in response to that look in his eyes. That expression made it impossible to think.

"It isn't just _you. _I don't want anyone to come near me," I responded thickly. "You…you always try to get too close. I hate that…"

"Yeah, I get it," he said in a low voice. "You hate everything about me. I heard you the first ten thousand times."

"No, I…" I snapped my mouth shut. Zuko sat up a little straighter, his expression abruptly more intent at my outburst. "I…don't hate you at all. That's the problem. I've…been trying so hard to hate you. I really have."

I sounded like a little kid trying to explain to her teacher that her dog really _did_ eat her book report. Zuko stood up and crossed the room, and I was frozen in place, trying to look anywhere but up at his face. Anywhere but his eyes.

"I don't get it," he said. "You ran away so you could keep _hating_ me?"

"I ran away because I was embarrassed," I finally blurted out, desperate to have out with it so I could take evasive action. "I felt stupid for thinking that you…that you were only trying to help me to be self-righteous. It was so freaking stupid….because I know you're not like that. I always knew that. That's why I can't make myself hate you. Okay?"

Zuko was quiet. I started to edge away, but he caught my arms almost reflexively and dragged me back. My face burned in humiliation.

"Look at me," he said in a strange voice.

I did, not because I wanted to, but because if I didn't he would never let go. My eyes reluctantly met his in the tense minute that followed. Zuko seemed to be searching my face for something, but I didn't know what it was. I felt all the muscles in my body stiffen. I was way too aware of how strong his arms were as I subtly kept trying to tug myself out of his grip.

His expression seemed to sink. "You're not lying, are you…?"

I didn't understand what he was getting at. "I…I know it sounds stupid. I _feel _stupid. I…I guess I just…I'm not used to having decent people around."

"No, you…" Zuko's voice was marred with frustration as he tried to articulate what he wanted from me. "…you don't even know how I got it, do you? You don't know anything!"

"W-What the hell does that have to do with anything?" I demanded in an unsteady voice. "Let go of me already! You're freaking me out!" I turned my face away, too timid to look at him anymore. "I don't care how you got your stupid scar! I wasn't even _talking _about that!"

Zuko's hands didn't feel so strong anymore. I pushed him away and turned my back on him, my knees starting to tremble. Fuck, why couldn't a sinkhole just open up under me and swallow me whole? I just wanted to get away from there, but he was standing in between me and the door.

There had to be a way out of this mess. There just _had _to.

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

She was so utterly clueless.

Julie stood with her back to him, holding her bag and looking visibly distraught. Zuko felt a ripple of remorse, realizing that he had probably scared her, grabbing her out of the blue like that. But darn it, he had to keep her from leaving somehow. He had to see the truth for himself, to grasp the elusive something that kept him from really understanding her.

Even now, her mind kept skipping over the massive scar on his face. He had taken a huge risk by having her look him in the eyes a second time, but Julie seemed more distracted by the lack of distance between them, the hands holding her still. And when he had searched her face for the slightest hint of revulsion, the barest trace of disgust, all he could see was anxiety and frustration. Something else had been in her eyes, something just in between a nameless longing and a clawing desperation to free herself from his grip.

Zuko watched her, feeling a strange urge to comfort her and not knowing how to do it. More urgent was this feeling swelling inside of him. Her words kept repeating over and over again in his ears…

_"I don't care how you got your stupid scar! I wasn't even talking about that!"_

"Julie," he said, having finally found his voice. "You're saying that you…that you didn't show up to dinner last night…and you wouldn't go near me just now because you _feel bad_ for…for what?"

Her shoulders tensed. "I already told you," she said stiffly. "You've already done so much for me, and all I've done is ridicule you for it. You didn't deserve how I've been treating you." Her hands clenched into fists around her one bag of possessions cradled in her arms. "All right? Get it? I'm trying to apologize, stupid! I said I was sorry, so leave me alone already!"

But that was the last thing Zuko wanted now. The more he looked at Julie as she floundered through her explanations, her crazy logic and the like, the more he realized that she was telling the truth. She was like a truth-telling geyser right now, her face redder than the setting sun and her sentences marred by an uncontrollable stammer. It was somewhat endearing, if alarming.

She really meant what she said. As much as she hated to admit it (and he could see as plain as day how much she hated it), she cared about him; more importantly, she cared what he thought of her. Maybe even as much as _he _cared about what she had been thinking about _him_. Julie had been desperately trying to hate him, but had failed because…

…because she had been afraid that _he_ would start hating _her _right back. That was what Zuko suddenly understood.

"There's nothing to apologize for," he said. "We both were jumping to conclusions about each other, weren't we?"

Julie peeked at him over her shoulder and swallowed. "You act like such a prick sometimes, but you're a nice guy deep down. It's so fucking weird."

"_You're_ weird if you think it's a bad thing to be nice," he replied. "So are we…are we okay?"

The redhead slowly turned around. She looked down at the toes of her boots, averted her gaze to the left, glanced up at the ceiling…her eyes pretty much went everywhere before settling on Zuko's face. As she looked him in the eyes, he could see that _something _had changed. She certainly wasn't looking at him the same way as she used to.

Not because of anything she had noticed on the outside, but because of something she had finally acknowledged inside of him.

She was trying a little too hard to seem indifferent, but she was still blushing hard enough for him to figure out it was an act. Silently, she bobbed her head, a stiff nod. Spirits…was she acting cute on purpose? Zuko found himself a bit perturbed as it sunk in just how well it was working.

It was probably why he found himself putting his arms around her before he could stop himself. Julie's entire body went stiff in surprise as he hugged her.

"W-w-what do you think you're _doing_…?"

Her palms found their way to his chest and shoved him back. Zuko staggered a few steps, suddenly tense as he regarded her expression. Julie looked extremely flustered, not necessarily angry…but embarrassed and awkward from indecision; like she didn't know what she was supposed to do next.

He felt his face turn red in mortification. "Sorry! I…um…tripped."

Julie accepted it quickly…a little too quickly. "Clumsy bastard. Be more careful next time." She tried to swallow down her own embarrassment as she put on an indifferent face. "I might not be there to catch you if you fall. And I…I don't want you to get hurt. Just remember that."

Suddenly, Zuko didn't think they were talking about his physical coordination anymore. Julie was speaking about a different kind of accident.

"I will," he said. "Um…anyway…" Change the subject. Change the subject…NOW. "…you should get ready for when we reach Fu Dong. We probably won't be stopping at another harbor for quite some time. We've been wasting too much time while the Avatar is still running around and causing trouble."

Julie frowned to herself. "I'm not going," she grumbled. "I know damn well that Jee is just going to make me try on dresses all day. It'll be excruciating. So I'm staying right here."

Zuko didn't like that answer for some reason. "Don't you need anything?"

She shot him a look. "Why? You think I'm PMS-ing or something?"

Shit. Leave it to that peasant to go there. He felt like a blood vessel had just imploded in his brain at what she had just insinuated. "N-no! I wasn't talking about…about _that_. Spirits, that's your business, not mine!"

Julie planted her hands on her hips. She seemed to have finally found her old swagger again as she narrowed her eyes at him. In a way, it was comforting to see her acting like her old self again, even if it meant she had to fight with him over every stupid thing. At least now she could look him in the eyes again.

Still…she had been cute when she had been tongue-tied like that. Zuko decided that he could stand to see her vulnerable every now and then. Julie tried too hard to be strong all the time.

Crazy little peasant.

* * *

My heart was fluttering like crazy. It wasn't anything like those idiots write about in those stupid romance novels. It wasn't like a drumbeat or anything like that. There was no rhythm, no pattern to this _thump-thumping_. It was like a toddler had gotten a hold of a wooden spoon and started whacking the shit out of my ribcage.

Still, I wasn't about to let it get to me. Because I hated acting like a timid little fangirl while Zuko stood there and gloated. God, I know I had seen him smiling to himself a split second before he had "tripped," and ended up hugging me. It was patronizing as hell and I wouldn't stand for it.

That was what made me snap out of it. _Get a hold of yourself._

After I pushed him back, I felt something solidify inside of me. Hell, why should I have to act any differently just because I was having a _temporary _lapse in judgment by liking Zuko? Besides, the more I freaked out about it, the more likely he was to notice. Could I think of a greater humiliation than having him figure out that I _liked_ him? No. No, I could not.

So, I snapped at him. Just like I always did.

"What does it matter to you if I'm going shopping or not, anyway?" I demanded. "If it's none of your business?"

Zuko furrowed his brow. Stupid, broody prince.

"I was just _asking_," he grumbled. "If you don't want to come along, then don't. I just thought you would want to get off the ship." He was quiet for a minute, stormy-eyed. "And to be honest, I wouldn't have minded the company, either. You have no idea how _unbearable _Uncle can be when he's shopping...him and his _browsing_..."

The glare melted off of my face. "S...seriously?"

Dammit, I was blushing again! Fuck!

Zuko met my gaze, noticing the change in my tone. "For hours. Sometimes he spends half an hour at a single stall. It's maddening."

_Get over yourself,_ I muttered hastily. _It's not like he's asking you out or anything. He just wants to go shopping with you. So just give him an answer already before he realizes you're being a lovesick idiot!_

I sighed heavily, trying to act as grudging as possible. "I guess I could tag along. After all, I wouldn't be doing the world any favors if you finally lost it and burned the entire pier to the ground, would I?"

Zuko just shook his head at me. "You're the one who can't control her bending, peasant."

"You have a shorter fuse than I do."

He regarded me steadily. "I think I have just as much right to be irritable as you do," he said. "Anyway, even if that's true, at least I'm not a flat-chested street-girl who can't hold chopsticks the right way."

"WHAT?" I shrieked, balling my hands into fists. "_What _did you just say to me, you bastard?"

Zuko just quirked an eyebrow, not at all fazed by the crazed look in my eyes or the way I had just screamed at him. He was almost smirking to himself, as though he had expected me to react like this all along. Oh, he was SO dead. "Who has the shorter fuse now..._peasant_?"

I flushed an angry red, folding my arms and trying not to look him in the face. It was just so un-Zuko-like to call a girl flat-chested, even if all the rest of what he said _WAS _a little true; about the chopsticks thing, I mean. And I suppose Iroh could be right when he told me I was rubbing off on Zu just a little. Still, though...flat-chested? I wasn't _flat-chested_...! I mean, they're small, but...but...they were THERE, for crying out loud! What the hell was the matter with his _eyes_, anyway?

"That was a low blow," I told him. "Anyway, you're blind if you can't tell that I...that they...I'm not _flat,_ okay...?"

Zuko gave me a weird look. "Let me get this straight," he said slowly. "Out of _all_ the things I said, _that's _what insults you the most? Essentially, I just called you uncivilized and poorer than dirt..."

"You _also _said I was _flat-chested_," I growled, interrupting him without remorse. "You have a lot of goddamn nerve...!"

He gave me the most dead-pan look he had in his arsenal of flat expressions. "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news," he said dryly, "...but it's true. Spirits only _know _why something like that should upset you."

Since I wasn't allowed to go for Zuko's jugular, I just stood there and visualized me slamming a golf-club into his crotch. Repeatedly. He must have figured out what I was thinking since he sighed and ran his hand across his scalp. He looked tired.

"You're going to take it personally, aren't you?"

I glared at him and folded my arms. "Maybe."

"You're fine the way you are. Okay? Happy?"

"Don't say it just because I'm mad at you," I snapped. "You should be saying it because you _mean _it."

Zuko scowled. "Good to see things haven't changed between us," he grumbled. "Anyway, if you change your mind, meet me on deck in a few hours. We can pick up some supplies, get lunch…whatever. Just show up if you're coming."

I averted my gaze, flushing angrily. "I'll think about it," I said stiffly.

I was still fuming as he turned and walked out of the room. I wanted to throw something at him, but I had to make myself content by slamming the door shut behind him. Then I opened it and slammed it shut again. I did this about three more times before I felt anywhere near vindicated for this offense. Stupid, smug, ridiculously attractive asshole prince!

I freaking HATE men.

"_At least you guys are back to normal,_" Ayla commented. "_This is more like you. It's better to be yourself, isn't it?_"

_I'm going to fucking kill him._

"_But don't you see? Nothing changed just because you like Zuko. You guys can still play with each other and bust each other's balls in spite of all of that. You aren't even depressed anymore! And you're going on a date later! EEEEE…! It's so cute…!_"

_W-wha? Who the hell said anything about a DATE? It's NOT a date! _

Ayla giggled. "_Is too!_"

_SHUT UP!_

Good grief. What had I done? A date? It wasn't a date…was it?

* * *

**A/N: So Julie and Zuko finally settle their differences in time for their first date…**

**Julie: "It's not a date."**

**…which will be next chapter and TOTALLY romantic…!**

**Julie: "It's _not _a date."**

**But secrecy looms on the horizon as Lieutenant Jee and Iroh plot behind Julie's back. In the midst of their scheming, they unexpectedly get the "distraction" they were looking for. Will Zuko keep Julie occupied long enough for them to pull an Extreme Makeover on her new room? Does it matter, really? I bet you guys are really itching for some plot-related action...**

**…but many, many more of you probably want me to show you the date. So the date it's going to be. I'm sure the Gaang don't mind waiting another chapter. After all, this is really Julie's story, isn't it?**

**Julie: "For fuck's sake, it's NOT a date!"**

**She's in denial. Please ignore the volatile redhead in the corner and direct your attention to the review bar. If you guys are nice enough, I'll make the date EXTRA fluffy…!**

**Julie: "LIES! THERE IS NO DATE! SHE'S FUCKING WITH YOU TO GET REVIEWS! DON'T FALL FOR IT…!"**

**Perhaps. But will the Zulie fans _risk _it by not reviewing…? Will you? REVIEW!**


	71. It's NOT a Date, Dammit!

**A/N: So, I just got through my first week on my new job. I have my own desk now. It's tres, TRES awesomeness in the top denominator. I mean, it's a clerical position in a law office so I have a lot to learn about the legal system in general. But I think I'm making some fair progress. At least…I learned how to sort through the mail. I think.**

**I didn't even jam the copier more than a couple of times. And the stapler is way easier to use here. I think I rest my case.**

**Anyway, I'm getting over a cold as I write this. Why am I always SICK? Damn, I know it's that time of year and all, but could the holidays get any more DEPRESSING without me hacking up a lung and exhaling a ton of snot every time? I mean, is it so much to ask for me to be healthy for a change? **

**God, I'm such a complainer. But at least I can entertain you guys at the same time. Anyway, here's the fluff I shameless advertised…err…I mean, promised. It was a lot of fun to write, and it even distracted me from my own snot-induced misery. I should go buy some NyQuil or something. I think I chugged an entire three gallons of orange juice in the last couple of days, and it still hasn't done squat for me.**

**I hate the stuff, but I don't know what else to do besides sleep. Actually, sleep sounds good. I think I'll just…zzzzzzzzz…**

**(THUMP)**

**Julie: "Great. She fell out of her chair again. Can someone get a stretcher in here?"**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Four: It's NOT a Date, Dammit!**

Oh, God.

So now, apparently, I have a date with Zuko.

Don't even ask me how _that _happened. I mean, I had barely come to terms with all of this myself. I am, of course, referring to the fact that I may or may not have a _slight_ and _insignificant _little crush on the guy. And the fact that now I can't keep myself from fumbling like an idiot every time he's around. But that's all minor stuff if you think about it. I have no idea why Shen-Long got so uptight when I told him why I wasn't joining him and Bo-Fen for mahjong this afternoon.

Whatever. I can't even understand mahjong, let alone play it.

"But you're our fourth," he kept saying. "We can't play mahjong with only three people! Who's going to sit in the west spot?" Then, he narrowed his eyes at me. "Wait…why are you suddenly so busy that you can't even play one game with us? What's going on?"

I knew Shen-Long would get pissy if he found out that _Zuko _was involved. So I made out like I was desperately in need of knick-knacks for my bedroom wall.

"I already told you," I said. "I'm going shopping. My room is just so empty right now, and it's not like I don't have the money to waste…"

"Jee-Jee's taking you?" Bo-Fen asked. She had a knowing look in her eyes that told me that she knew damn well that it wasn't just the Lieutenant, and that she was just trying to start trouble.

"Um…" I mumbled. "A-actually…I'm…going with Zuko, too…"

Shen-Long didn't look surprised. But he _did _look aggravated.

"So, what you're telling me is that you're ditching us so you can spend an entire day with Prince Zuko?"

"And General Iroh and Lieutenant Jee," I added quickly, worried that he'd get the wrong idea. "What, did you think they'd let me go alone?"

But the damage was already done. Shen-Long was looking as though I had force-fed him a lemon while Bo-Fen stood there, laughing her ass off. She said she'd hope I'd have fun on my date and dragged her brother out of my room so I could "get ready."

What date? It WASN'T a friggin' DATE!

Sheesh, it wasn't like Zuko and I were getting married or anything. It was just a quick trip into town. I was not about to let any of this go to my head. I would not start acting _crazy _just because of this. Seriously. I am NOT a fangirl.

I'm NOT!

Anyway, it was kind of true. I _did _need to go shopping. I had come to realize that a short while after Shen-Long and Bo-Fen left, and I had the time to really examine my room. I had to say that even though it was a little run-down (from all the moving no doubt), I was actually kind of pleased with it. I mean, I'll admit, it's not much. But the left-over shelves frame the room nicely, and once I actually learn to read again I'll actually have something to _do _in my spare time. Besides tarot reading and bitching at Zuko, I mean.

Hey, if I end up staying here longer than I thought, this might not be so bad. It's kind of cool to have something of my own. The fact that I'll be fixing the place up with my own two hands is really what'll make it worth it. It'll feel more like _my _room, not someone else's. It'll feel like…well…home.

Back in my world, Dad always made sure I remembered that it was _his _house. And Ramon may have let me stay with him for a while, but it wasn't exactly _free_. I learned that the hard way.

But whatever. I'm not thinking about that anymore. I am determined to turn everything around in my favor and maybe even…I dunno…enjoy my day for once. Today, for example; I'm hell-bent on finding some bargains in town. I bet there's lots of cool stuff to buy here. And maybe Zuko, being a prince and all, will be able to spot the real gems from the crap.

And that is the only reason I am bothering to set foot off this ship. That and nothing else; especially not for any stupidly naïve and romantic reasons, I might add.

It wasn't long before I heard people making noise as we prepared to pull the ship into the harbor. With a sigh, I looked away from the mask on the wall and went to find Zuko. On the way, I found Yoshi lurking by the stairs. He seemed to be having trouble getting up the steps. Well, come on. He was still just a baby.

"What?" I said to the eelhound jokingly. "You can make it up while chasing an elephantrat, but can't do it when you have to think about it?"

Yoshi regarded me for a moment, cocking his head to the side. His reptilian tail wagged as I stroked him behind the ears.

"Huh," I murmured. "I guess we have that in common."

Everyone was busy up on deck. Jee was directing the men, but glanced at me as I emerged from below. For some reason, he didn't have that usual chagrined expression on his face; the kind he always wears whenever he sees me in sparring clothes instead of a dress, or combat boots on my feet instead of dainty glass slippers.

I like Jee as much as the next guy, but I'm not getting his hopes up. I'm no friggin' princess, you know.

"There you are," he said, smiling in a way that made me instantly suspicious. "I didn't think it would take you this long to get all your things upstairs."

I frowned at him, wondering if aliens had beamed on to the ship in the middle of the night and gave the Lieutenant the ol' probe routine….or possibly even replaced him with a pod person. Hey, a girl can never be too careful these days. I mean, why else would the man suddenly start emulating something out of a fifties sitcom; with that Leave It to Beaver smile and that Father Knows Best gleam in his eyes…?

God, it was fucking creepy. I am SO sleeping with a knife under my pillow tonight.

"Um…I was…a bit distracted. Sorry."

And speaking of distractions, I suddenly remembered why I was on deck in the first place. God, who even cared why Jee was acting so weird? I had bigger things to worry about…like the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about that stupid bastard, Zuko. It was starting to make me really angry, too. In fact, I kind of had the urge to go kick his ass for it; though obviously that wasn't a very sane or mature way to handle the situation.

Oh, who gives a fuck? I'm going to kill a bitch.

I think Jee had judged by my expression that I had other things on my mind; things that apparently enraged and frustrated the crap out of me. In any case, the uniformed officer just sighed as he noticed my vaguely pissed-off expression.

"You look pretty distracted right now, too," he said tiredly. "Is there something going on that I should know about?"

Um, you mean besides the fact that I'm an inch away from becoming a homicidal maniac?

"No," I said. "Not really."

Yoshi started barking in my arms. _I see people moving! I must chase them! _

"Quiet down," I muttered, taking him down from where he had perched on my shoulder like the freaking Toucan Sam or something. "I'll feed you later, okay? Just hush."

_I crave conquest, not food! I demand that you release me at once! There is prey! Look at all the unsuspecting mortals…they're not even screaming in terror or anything! Mama, let go!_

"Damn, he's frisky," Jee commented. "I think he's too aggressive for his own good."

"He's fine," I replied quickly. "Yoshi's just never been off the ship before. I don't even think he knows what dry land looks like; once he gets the chance to run around, he should calm right down."

"Can't you keep that mutt of yours quiet for one second, peasant?"

I gave a start as Zuko came over to us. I glared prodigiously at him, not liking the way my heart had skittered and flopped over, as though it were straining to get a better look at him. Stupid hormones. I blame biology for these uncontrollable bouts of insanity I kept experiencing. Actually, screw biology. I blamed those evil sons of bitches, Mike and Bryan_._

"Don't call him a mutt," I replied in my most annoyed, I'm-not-in-love-with-you tone of voice. "Even if you're paranoid enough to try to set a _puppy _on fire, you're going to show Yoshi some fucking respect. God help you if you say one mean thing to him while we're out today!"

He looked incredulous, only for the wrong reasons. "You," he said, emphatically punctuating each word. "…are _not_ bringing that thing with us."

Yoshi started growling, as though he could actually understand the conversation. Though he obviously couldn't. I mean, for God's sake, he was a puppy. Puppies don't tend to pick up on social cues the way people do. And I sure as hell wasn't buying Zuko's psychotic Unagi Conspiracy Theory, no matter how sexy his abs ar…wait. FUCK!

_I know not what this "land" means, but I go with Mother, wretched meat-sack._

Zuko narrowed his eyes at my eelhound. I was restraining myself from snapping his neck or bashing in his knee-caps with a magically plot-related tire iron that suddenly and _conveniently_ exists in the Avatar world…just for that sole purpose.

"Better yet, we _should _let him come along," he mused darkly. "Then he can run off and get stepped on or lost. Miserable beast."

I sucked in my breath in outrage. "I'm not going to lose him. And stop glaring at him like that! You're going to scare him!" I cradled Yoshi in my arms, trying to soothe him and to keep him from growling. "Shhh…it's okay, baby. Mean old nasty Zuko isn't going get you. No, he isn't."

"I'm standing right here, you know."

"He's just being a butthead," I continued, as Yoshi nuzzled against me. For some reason, having a defenseless, yet nauseatingly affectionate creature in my arms drained me of my frustration. Instead, I felt a bizarre maternal urge coming over me. "Just be a good little bad-ass and don't run away from me today, okay?"

The eelhound made a noise of content. _Mother praises me. Death to the butthead._

Zuko massaged his brow with his fingers. "Whatever. Maybe if I'm lucky he really _will _disappear. Good riddance."

I didn't care that he had just death-wished my eelhound. I was too relieved that I wasn't angry enough to maim him anymore. Seriously, I knew it wasn't _Zuko's _fault I was feeling like this. Technically, he hadn't done anything to warrant my wrath except make those snarky remarks about my chest size…which, while they certainly weren't forgivable, didn't really excuse _my _behavior, either.

Shit. I'm really fucked up. Wanting to hurt someone because I _liked _them too much just wasn't…healthy. It was sick…more than sick, actually. What kind of crazy person acted like this, anyway?

Zuko frowned as he noticed the downcast expression on my face. "Hey," he said, suddenly looking awkward. "I…you know I don't really mean that, right?"

I looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

He carefully averted his gaze, his shoulders tensing as though someone had just accused him of setting an orphanage on fire. "I just know that if you _did _end up losing the little monster, you'd give me hell over it. It's stupid to have you get upset over something that…something that we can prevent to a certain extent."

I felt a lump in the back of my throat and turned away from him. "Just…just shut up, all right? That's not why I'm upset. Idiot."

Needless to say, I was blushing again. Thank God Zuko didn't say anything else about it, though I noticed him watching me as we waited in silence for us to reach shore.

In another twenty minutes we dropped anchor and roped the ship at the docks. I held on to Yoshi as the ramp opened up, and Zuko and I disembarked. Jee and Iroh followed us for a few paces, then stopped us from going any further.

"Julie," said Jee. "General Iroh and I have some business to attend to here. Think you can manage to stay out of trouble for the afternoon?"

I gave him a weird look, not so much out of suspicion so much as my trying to hide my sudden spasm of panic. "Y-you aren't coming with me?"

"Prince Zuko is escorting you," the Lieutenant replied, though he didn't look happy as he supplied this bit of information. "I was going to have Shen-Long and Bo-Fen do it, but his Highness _insisted_ on keeping an eye on you himself. Though I guess I can't blame him considering what happened _last _time…"

I flushed in embarrassment. "That wasn't my fault…or theirs!"

"Regardless," said Iroh, coming up to stand beside the Lieutenant. "…my nephew is a responsible young man. He'll look after you while we complete our errands. I myself plan to seek out a reputed and well-to-do tea merchant while we are here. They say he has some rare species of tea leaves that I look forward to sampling…"

"I'm sure it'll be good tea," I replied, not knowing what else to say to that. I glanced warily at Zuko, who looked annoyed at the interruption.

"We're going now," he said. "C'mon, Julie."

I turned my face away, shrugging indifferently. "Yeah. Whatever."

We parted ways, Iroh and Jee going one way, and Zuko and I going another. The streets were crowded, like I expected, and I tightened my grip on Yoshi, worried he might try to pull a runner. But I really shouldn't have worried. With all the strange sights and sounds around him, the eelhound didn't know how to respond. He kept alternating between barking at people we passed and shrinking deeper into my arms.

_Mother, there are too many here. We're outnumbered. I don't like it._

I heard the little guy whimpering and I petted him as we walked. "Shhhh…I'll find a nice place to let you run around later. Just be good."

_I don't like this "land." Can we go back to the sea, Mama?_

"Hush," I said again. I saw a bunch of stalls procuring various wares that I had never seen before. Intrigued, I followed Zuko as we made our way past them all. Occasionally, I would see something I'd like and stop to examine it. I had some money left over from my last excursion and I figured I had enough to get something cool for my room.

Zuko stared at me as I held up a funny guitar thing and contemplated it. But it was kind of big, so I had to be careful with it. It was so big that Yoshi had to climb up on my shoulder again, since he apparently didn't want to let his feet touch the ground. "You don't play the koto," he said.

I put it down and gave him a look. "You seem so sure of yourself."

"You were holding it wrong."

"That…that's irrelevant…!"

"I'm right, aren't I?"

I fumed silently and turned away from the booth. Just once, I would love to show the bastard that he didn't really know everything. God, did he have to point that out in front of all those people? How embarrassing.

Zuko caught up with me in a few strides. "Quit running off," he scolded me. "I don't want to lose you in this crowd. Do you know how troublesome it would be to have to look for you?"

"Then don't," I snapped. "I'm not asking you to babysit me. Jerk."

The Fire Prince frowned at me. "You don't seem to realize how many people want you dead. Would it kill you to try to stay out of trouble? Spirits, you're stubborn."

I pretended not to hear him as we came up to a booth selling weapons. There were a number of bladed one-handed and two-handed novelties for me to browse through, and I actually found myself sucked in as I ogled them all. I started thumbing through them, not even caring about what Zuko thought about it as I tested the edges gingerly with my fingertips.

"Are you crazy?" he asked. "You don't know how to use those. You're just going to hurt yourself."

"Oh, shut it, will you?"

I found a one-handed sword that was light but sharp on the far left. I picked it up and tested it in my hand. I held it up to the light, liking the way it gleamed.

Suddenly, Zuko looked unnerved. "Who taught you how to hold a sword like that?"

I glanced at him. "What do you mean? I'm just holding it."

He just stared and stared at me. "The way you're looking at it, it's almost like you've actually used one of those before. And considering the fact that you couldn't fight your way out of a paper bag, I find that really, really disturbing."

I scowled at him as I laid the sword down again. "I can learn to use one if I wanted to," I complained. "And I don't appreciate the sarcasm."

"It wasn't sarcasm," Zuko responded, not taking his eyes off of me. I flushed and suddenly couldn't look him in the eyes. "Most girls get fixated over jewelry and clothes…but you? You like _weapons_…and other weird things."

I was still blushing, but I managed to get out a retort. "I thought guys _like _girls that know their way around a sword."

I wanted to add something like, _What about you? Aren't you going to be dating a girl who can play knife-games and hit a bull's-eye at two hundred yards with a stiletto?_ But I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Besides, Zuko wouldn't have understood, not being acquainted with spoilers like I was.

"That's just it," he said. "You _don't_…but it's like your hands do. It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

I folded my arms and turned away from him. "Oh, whatever," I muttered. "Jerk."

Zuko didn't look happy by my response. "Don't get mad at me. I'm just telling the truth."

I still wouldn't look at him. "I'm not mad," I snapped. "Who said I was mad? _I'm_ not mad."

"You _look _mad."

I refused to answer him. I felt myself almost choking as I tried to swallow back my mixed-up feelings, unable to think of a single thing to say to that; because, of course, he was right. I knew I had no right to be upset with him. I mean, he hadn't even really done anything.

What was the matter with me?

Zuko came up from behind me and took me by the arm. "Hey," he said in a low voice, directly in my ear so that we wouldn't be overheard. "Are you feeling all right? You look sick to your stomach…or something."

I swallowed. "I'm just…"

"Now, do my eyes deceive me? That can't be Ayla's twin, can it?"

Zuko and I both stopped short, turning around as an old man wheeled a cart our way. I blinked as I found myself recognizing the man…not to mention the items he happened to be selling. My face lit up in surprise. "You…you're the mask seller! You're that Koichi guy!"

He gave us a toothy grin, half bowing to me as he brought his cart to a halt. There was someone else with him, too. A freakishly huge brunette man wearing a white and red-trimmed cloak had his hand on his sword hilt and raised a single eyebrow at me. I felt like I should have known this person, but for some reason my mind kept drawing blanks.

Zuko stiffened beside me. "You know these people?"

"Um…" I said uncertainly. I was still gawking at the big guy.

Koichi waved dismissively at the prince. "When we first met I had mistaken her for someone else, but I see I was wrong now." He turned back to me and looked me over, making me edge closer to Zuko. "An honest mistake, it was…but then, I always was mixing the two of you up. Even way back when…"

"Huh?"

"So, have you put the mask I gave you to good use?" he wanted to know, before I could figure out what he was talking about. I blinked at him for a minute or two before I realized he was talking about the mask he gave me.

"Oh, that! I've been taking care of it," I told him. "It's hanging up on my wall now."

He tsked. "Masks are meant to be worn, not displayed, young lady. But I'm sure you'll find a good use for it. _She _did, after all."

"Who?" Zuko wanted to know, looking from me to Koichi. "What is he talking about?"

The tall man with the sword shook his head. "Well, look at that. Just as much of a know-nothing as ever, I see," he said, smirking condescendingly down at the prince. Beside me, Zuko began to smolder silently under his gaze while I tried to figure out what was going on. "It's been a while, your Highness. I'm surprised to see you're still alive."

"And just what do you mean by that?" he asked icily.

"Well, given the fact that you were stupid enough to Firebend at Energybenders…not to mention that stunt you pulled at Kyoshi." Here, he looked pointedly at Zuko's hands, making me feel a fresh wave of shame and guilt…while confused at the same time. I mean, it was like this guy _knew _what had happened that day.

Zuko seemed to feel the same way. "H-how do you know about that?" he demanded, his entire body becoming suddenly stiff. "Just what do you know about…about Kyoshi?"

"Screw that," I interrupted. "What is he talking about _Energybenders _for? When did you ever have to fight Energybenders…unless…is he talking about the Brotherhood?"

He wasn't answering me, and I had a feeling in my gut that I was right. Whoever this guy was, he had been around when the Brotherhood had attacked the ship; the night after my Agni Kai, when I was too weak to even move or open my eyes. That may have cleared up _Zuko's _connection with the guy, but that still didn't explain why _I _thought he looked familiar…

The man looked bored. "I know a lot of things you don't. Though it's good to see that someone else will pull your ass out of the fire for a change. I've got better things to do."

I glared at him. Somehow, I didn't think I was going to like this guy very much.

"Who the hell do you think you are, anyway?" I demanded.

The swordsman just shook his head. "Since you clearly don't remember me, I'll tell you my name one more time. It's Ni'itsu Kakunoshin, but for _your _sake, you can call me Hiko. And don't forget it. I'm not going to tell you again."

"Why should I remember some guy I've never met before?"

But he ignored that. Apparently this line of discussion wasn't worth pursuing in his opinion. Instead, he decided to look me over, almost as if I were a show-horse he was planning to buy or something like that. He kept shaking his head, something that really pissed me off.

"Looks like you've been training," Hiko spoke up. I could see him eying some of the marks on my arms from some bad falls. "Though you still look pretty near useless to me…except for when you're blowing things up and causing mass hysteria. I doubt you could pull that off a second time."

I scowled. "What are you _talking _about? I never blew up anything…"

But before I could even get the words out, he was pushing his sheathed sword into my hands. I blinked in confusion as my fingers wrapped around the hilt. I felt strange holding it, like I should have recognized the sword too, but couldn't for some reason. I looked up at Hiko in confusion.

"If you're going to mess around with swords, you may as well use one that can't really kill you," he said. "Oh, and you _will _give that to your first-born. Just so you know."

"Wha…?"

"Give that to your first-born," he repeated, his face suddenly taking on a darker expression. One second ago he had been almost playfully condescending with us. But now he looked serious. It was kind of scary.

"O…okay…?"

"Good," he said. He straightened up and patted me on the shoulder. "Because I'll see to it that you do." He smirked again, somewhat amused by the dumbstruck look on my face. "Bye."

And to my astonishment, the freakishly huge man just walked away, like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. Like he hadn't just done something immensely creepy and intimidating. Zuko had actually felt the need to put himself in front of me a minute ago…not that it had made any difference, obviously. But still, it was pretty friggin' weird.

I took a step away from the others and unsheathed the sword, taking a closer look at it.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Zuko muttered, looking at it too. "The blade is on the wrong side…"

I just shrugged. Without saying another word, I put it back into its sheath and shivered. This whole thing just gave me the creeps for some reason.

"What the fuck just happened…?" I muttered to myself.

Zuko looked like he wanted to get the hell out of there. And who could really blame him, either? "Come on," he said. "We're leaving." He took me by the arms and tried to push me down the street the opposite way from where that Hiko guy had just made his exit.

"Going so soon?" Koichi asked as I was hustled past him.

"Yeah," said Zuko curtly. "We are."

"What a shame. Oh, well. Perhaps we'll meet again. Masks can be useful, you know…especially when one needs an extra face…"

Good grief! Was everyone in this stinking town a total _creeper?_

"Keep that in mind, Miss Anju," he called after me, getting my name completely wrong. "And you too, young man. I hope the mask _you _received is being put to good use as well."

Zuko froze for half a second and I looked up at him. His face was a picture surprise and chagrin, and he almost turned around to say something to the elderly mask-seller. But then he seemed to think better of it. Before I could ask him about it, he was hustling me away.

"My name isn't Anju," I grumbled. "It's Julie. Sheesh…what was _that _about, anyway? That thing he said about _your_ mask…"

Zuko, unfortunately, decided to be unhelpful.

"Never mind. It's not important."

But I refused to relent. "Well, then, what about that Hiko guy? Why is he so familiar? I know I've seen his face before…somewhere…"

Something lurked just underneath my subconscious, like a monstrous fish swimming just beneath the surface of a murky pond. It wasn't just about the swordsman…it was that name Koichi had used. Anju. Hearing someone call me by that name was like hearing the buzzing of a fly right next to my ear, one that vanished when I turned to swat it away.

Uggh…now I was getting a headache. Damn it!

"Zuko," I said slowly. "Why can't I remember?"

He looked angry now.

"Look, I said, it's not important," he growled. "So just drop it already, will you?"

Yoshi started yapping at the Fire Prince. _Fucker! I'll tear out your throat for speaking so insolently to Mother! Mother is amazing and _you're _just a human!_

Zuko gave my eelhound a look. I felt myself pulling Yoshi closer to me, defensively. "What? Why are you looking at us like that?"

"You do realize that she's human too, right?" he said, staring down at the baby reptile. He ignored me completely, the psycho. Weirdly enough, Yoshi seemed to get really, really mad at Zuko after he said that. He raised his hackles and _snarled _at him.

_LIES! Mother is Mother! You cannot fool me!_

"Yoshi," I snapped. "Stop that." I looked warily up at Zuko. "What did you do? Yoshi loves people and now you've got him practically foaming at the mouth!"

_I will EAT his FACE!_

"Ack! Damn it, stop squirming!" I cried, struggling to keep a grip on the eelhound. "For fuck's sake, if you don't cut it out _right now_ you're not getting any fish for dinner…!"

Yoshi recoiled sharply, looking at me with pleading eyes. He whimpered softly. _But…I _always _get fish! I'm wonderful and worthy of fish! All the time!_

"Fish?" Zuko asked, looking confused.

I sighed. "It's all he ever actually eats. I mean, yeah, he goes after the elephantrats on the ship, but he just spits those out after he's chewed on them a little. It's kind of awesome. They're like living teething rings."

_They squirm when I try to swallow them. It amuses me._

Zuko groaned quietly. "And I suppose I'm the only one who heard that…aren't I?"

"Heard what?"

"N-never mind."

We passed a number of stalls selling hot food and other things to eat, fresh fruits and vegetables, and a man selling roasted litchi nuts. I eyed them as we walked by, and my hand felt inside my pouch to see how much money I had. I mean, I had never had litchi's before, but they smelled pretty damn good after they were cooked. Damn. I knew I should have eaten before I left!

My stomach let out a loud gurgle that made everyone look at me. Zuko raised an eyebrow as I stopped short, my face turning red. _Fuck…! I can't be THAT hungry…!_

"Yoshi," I said weakly, conscious of all the eyes on me. "It isn't nice to growl at Zuko. Cut it out."

_I'm not doing it!_

"That's your stomach," Zuko stated flatly. "Don't blame it on that animal, you crazy little peasant."

I flushed red. "W-whatever…fucking know-it-all. Hey, where are you going?"

I asked because he had suddenly left my side. I watched him go over to the booth selling the litchi nuts and start talking to the vendor, a middle-aged woman with a nose-ring. She didn't seem to think much of Zuko, in all his princely-ness, but didn't complain as he handed her a silver piece. I stared in astonishment as he came back holding two bags of the roasted street fare.

"Here," he said, handing me my bag of litchi nuts. "You were hungry, right?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Then I opened it again. "I could have bought my own."

"So?"

"So…so what did you get me food, for? I…you didn't have to do that."

Zuko gave me a look. "Quit complaining. Who cares who paid for it, anyway?"

I stared down at the litchis. Tentatively, I picked one up and stared at it. "I…I'm not _that _hungry," I lied. I so didn't want to give him the satisfaction of getting the better of me.

He just gave me a look. "Don't tell me you've never had a litchi nut before. Spirits, what kind of peasant hasn't ever eaten a litchi nut before?"

"I…I have! I told you, I'm just…I'm not hungry!"

"Liar. You don't know how to eat it. I can tell. You're making that face again."

"S-shut up!" Angrily, I took a single litchi nut and popped it in my mouth whole. I made a face and spat it out again, having nearly burned all the taste-buds off my own tongue. Besides, it had been prickly and not very appetizing. "Eck…!"

Zuko just stared at me. Pointedly, he took a nut and slowly peeled off the outer shell. Then, he handed it to me. I turned red in humiliation.

"I…I meant to do that," I snapped, "That's how we eat them where I'm from."

"Uh huh. You do realize there's a pit in that, right?"

I grimaced as I swallowed the remains of my litchi nut. So that was why the thing had been so…crunchy. I almost broke a tooth just now.

"E-extra fiber," I muttered while my eyes watered.

Zuko shook his head at me. "_Right_."

Why, why, WHY did these things always have to happen when _he _was around? Was it really so much to ask for me to be able to maintain a persona of dignity and poise around the guy I liked? Was it?

I focused all of my attention on my bag of litchi nuts as we started walking again. A couple of times I had peeked a glance at Zuko, and both times I caught him almost smiling (no doubt thinking about me choking on my food just now). I sniffed and made a point of stalking a few paces ahead, something that seemed to annoy him. He sped up and gave me a stern look that I chose to ignore.

He didn't say anything else for the next five minutes. Our gazes had drifted away from each other, and I'm pretty sure Zuko was lost in thought now. But I sure as hell wasn't going to ask him what was on his mind. No way.

We ended up in a large circular outdoor courtyard. There were vendors all around the perimeter of the ring, and there were children running around and playing on the grass. I found the nearest bench and plopped myself down on it, peeling a nut and carefully removing the pit before offering it to Yoshi. He sniffed it before tongue-lassoing it into his mouth.

"Julie."

I looked up at Zuko. "Yeah?"

He hesitated before taking a seat next to me. I felt my pulse leap at having him so close to me, and immediately I scooted to give him more room. He caught me by the arm before I could get too far away, though.

"What?" I said grumpily. "I'm not going anywhere. What do you want?"

"If I ask you something, will you tell me the truth?"

I blinked at him, not liking the sound of this at all. "It depends on what it is," I said slowly. "I mean…what is this about, anyway?"

He stared at me for a moment. "You're not from the other nations, are you?"

Huh? Was he _still _on about that? I thought we had made this point clear a long time ago. I mean, it wasn't like I could just tell him that I was from another dimension…but I'm pretty sure he knew that my "nomad" story had been a complete farce. He didn't believe that anymore than he believed that I was a fortuneteller. The whole point of him making me do tarot for him had been so he could trip me up in my lies.

It seemed to be a hobby of his, lately, actually.

"I…" I stalled, looking down at the bag of litchi nuts on my lap. It was half-empty, and Yoshi kept trying to bury his head into the sack. "I'm from _somewhere_. What kind of question is that?"

"I know you're from somewhere," said Zuko. He had a funny look on his face. "Everyone is from somewhere…but you…I know this is going to sound really crazy, but the longer I'm around you, the more I get the feeling like…well…like you're not from anywhere _in_ this world."

I dropped my litchis all over the ground. Yoshi leapt off my lap and started chasing them as they rolled around my feet. I swear to God, I could feel my heart pounding in my ears.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze to meet Zuko's. "That's…" I swallowed. "What gave you that idea…?"

I flinched as his hand reached past my ear and caught a strand of my violently-red hair. It was getting long enough so that it was well past my chin now. In fact, it was halfway down to my shoulders. I was seriously considering cutting it again, too; but I've been so tired out with my training and everything else that it just kept slipping my mind.

"You're not like anyone else I've ever met," he said quietly. He lifted his gaze away from my hair and looked me in the eyes again. "Your hair…your skin…and your eyes…no one else has features like yours. It's all completely foreign."

I blushed. "Will you quit _breathing _on me already? I'm just…um…you know…an anomaly or something. It happens, right? Some kids are born looking different and…um…"

"And you're lying again," he said flatly, not looking at all amused.

_Fuck_.

"D-does it matter?" I stammered. "I mean, really? It's not like it's hurting anybody. I just…why do you even care, anyway?"

Zuko considered that for a moment. "If it isn't hurting anyone, then why not just tell me where you're really from?" He watched me bite down on my bottom lip, not understanding the tension in my body. "What are you so afraid of, anyway? That I won't believe you?"

I averted my gaze. "That…I mean…it's part of it…maybe…"

He was quiet for another minute. "At first, I thought that the reason you were keeping all of this a secret was because…you ran away or something. And when I found out about your father…" he shook his head. "But that's not really it, is it? At least, it's not the whole reason. And you won't tell me because deep down you're worried that I'm going to send you back or something. Am I right?"

I ripped myself away from him and turned away. "Just shut up! You couldn't send me back even if you wanted to…and…and I'm _never _going back…!"

Grief, always ready with a fresh cold knife, cut its way through me, and I felt myself doubling over from it. Even though it was hell, it had been my hell. It was where I was supposed to be. And Jessie was there. Ramon was there even though I couldn't forgive him. And my Dad was there even though he was just a drunk and couldn't stand the sight of me…it was all back there. I had lost it all.

"You don't understand," I fumed. "You don't know what it's like to lose everything like this…my home and my family…my _life_…I can't ever get those things back! It's all gone!"

I had gotten to my feet. Some of the people nearby were looking at me, and I saw some of the older folks gossiping to each other on another bench not too far away. I could care less what anyone thought about the weird red-head making a scene in public.

Zuko caught my wrist. And suddenly I couldn't stand anymore. I just wilted back on to the bench and held my head in my hands. God, what a mess.

"Julie," he said quietly. "You know that's not true. You know that I understand…something like that, I understand entirely. Better than you realize, probably."

Of course I knew that. But dammit, I could care less. I wished I had stayed behind with Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. At least when I was training or trying to figure out where Kuba might have gone, then I had a sense like I could _fix _things. Everything else, though…everything else I kept crushing under my heel. What wasn't broken already, that is.

"Sorry," I muttered. "I'm not being…fair. But I…"

"I know. You don't have to say anything else. I'm sorry I brought it up."

We were quiet for a minute. People were losing interest in the spectacle I had been making of myself and moved on to make more purchases or to head home for the evening.

"Things aren't so bad," Zuko commented, while I sat there trying not to cry. "When I had to leave home, I was alone. I didn't have anyone…but you have all of us. You're lucky."

I sniffled. "You had your uncle. You had a family. I never even had that."

"You have it now."

I went very still. Did he really mean that?

"Anyway," Zuko continued. "I didn't always have Uncle with me. In the first couple of weeks, I couldn't even charter a ship or find a crew willing to sail with me. I was alone and aimlessly wandering the streets of the capital, tired and hungry and…alone."

I had never heard this story before. I had always just assumed that Zuko had had enough influence to get himself by until Aang had showed up. It never really occurred to me that Ozai would leave his son with nothing but a scar on his face and the clothes on his back.

Zuko saw me look up at him in surprise and sighed. "You probably don't even know why I was banished, do you? Or how I got this scar? Did you think it was just some kind of training accident?"

I didn't answer. Obviously, I couldn't tell him the truth; he'd never leave me alone otherwise. He'd want to know _how _I knew about his past, and…shit, it was one thing to give _Aang _spoilers, but it was another thing entirely to give them to _Zuko_.

He wasn't surprised by my silence. In fact, it was exactly what he wanted. "I know you think it's terrible that I'm hunting a child, even if that child is the Avatar," he said. "But it's the only way my father will let me come home. Three years ago, he sent me away telling me to come home with the Avatar or not to come home at all…"

* * *

**Three years ago…**

_"Prince Zuko, you have shown yourself to be unworthy of the crown and unfit to stand upon the land of our noble ancestors."_

"Nephew! Please, you aren't well…"

_"…you are therefore stripped of your birthright and banished from the Fire Nation until you can prove your worth._"

"I'll decide if I'm well or not!"

A lanky thirteen-year-old boy strode angrily down the hallway, his lips pressed tightly together and his good eye wide and glimmering with tears threatening to spill over. His left eye was completely bandaged, and it seemed as if every eye in the corridor homed in on the wound. Around him, young Prince Zuko could hear the whispers of the guards and servants as they stopped what they were doing just to gawk.

He wished he could send them all away. It was all he could do to march himself out of the infirmary on his own too legs. The nurses thought it was too soon for him to be up and about, but Zuko would be damned it he could withstand another moment of their distant sympathy…not to mention his uncle's relentless scrutiny.

"An Agni Kai? Are you sure?" one of the servants whispered. "But he's barely more than a child…"

"The Fire Lord challenged him. He couldn't very well refuse."

Zuko had tried. The memory of going down on his knees to beg his father's forgiveness was fresh in his mind. The shock and pain of the wound on his face kept him from spiraling into a flashback. It kept him focused enough to keep his head high and his shoulders back, even though he could pass out at any moment.

"Can you imagine? Disowned and shamed in front of the entire court. It seems so cruel…"

"Shh! Don't let the guards hear you talking like that."

If only Zuko had kept his mouth shut, then this wouldn't be happening. Looking back, he didn't even know why he had bothered risking his neck for the Forty-First division anyway. He didn't know these people…these peasants. It wasn't his business to question his father's generals, really. No wonder he had been banished.

He was no better than those servants muttering their doubts all around him.

"Has he ever even _been _outside the Fire Nation? Or the Capital?"

"He won't last a month in the colonies. It'd be kinder just to kill him and be done with it…that poor boy…"

Zuko's face twisted up with anger and remorse. The whispers were getting louder now. He was almost at a run in his desperation to reach his room, where he could finally have the solitude he craved.

"I know we should trust in the Fire Lord's wisdom…" he heard as he pressed his back against the door, struggling to close it and shut out the noise of the gossiping peasants. "…but how could anyone do such a thing to his own son?"

* * *

I stared at him, quietly horrified. "Zuko, you don't have to…"

"You should know these things if we're going to be friends," he said, cutting me off before I could get my sentence out. He looked up at me, and I saw how serious he was. He meant every word. "I'm tired of having secrets between us. You already proved yourself to me a long time ago. I can trust you. I _do _trust you. And I want you to be able to trust me. Okay?"

I went still. "If that's your only reason for…for telling me these things, then…you may as well keep your mouth shut. I already trust you…I just…I _can't_ tell you. I can't tell anyone."

Zuko looked away. "Fine. But…I still want you to know."

We were quiet for a minute.

"Julie," he said finally. "You don't have to do anything for me once I tell you. I just…I want you to listen. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

He looked me in the eyes and I felt all my defenses collapse. Slowly, I nodded.

"I…I guess I can do that…listen. I mean…if you really want me to."

Zuko looked satisfied. "Thank you."

"I don't want you to thank me. Either tell me, or shut up. I don't care either way."

As always, I was lying.

"Have it your way," he said, settling back into his seat beside me. His knee brushed against mine accidentally, and I went very still at the unexpected contact. My usual reaction would have been to flinch away, but for some reason I couldn't. All I could think about was how warm he was. I expected him to nudge me away or something, but he didn't.

It was like he didn't mind having me so close. How weird was that?

"My father only gave me an hour after the Agni Kai to pack my things and leave," he told me. "I probably should have been in bed, but instead…I was suddenly expected to leave home and make my own way…I was only thirteen."

"It…it must have been difficult for you," I said carefully.

Zuko closed his eyes. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and without thinking I caught them in my own, moving to unlace his rigid fingers. He jumped, his eyes opening to find my face beet red in embarrassment.

"I…you…shouldn't be doing that with your hands…" I said, quickly pulling away. "You're still healing. And I don't want you to blame me if they get worse because of this."

He didn't comment.

"I'm sorry," I muttered hastily. "I just…I mean…sorry…"

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything." His golden eyes scanned my face, unable to discern the reason for the troubled expression I was wearing. "Um…well…anyway…" he cleared this throat again. "All that time it was all I could hope for that…that it was all just some kind of horrible misunderstanding. That father really didn't want me gone and that…that he would ask me to stay. But he didn't."

"So…you left."

Zuko nodded. "Not without a send-off though…" he muttered, and his face darkened.

It made me wonder about what I was about to hear…and whether I really wanted to know.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, Zulie fans. How was this for fluff?**

**Obviously I couldn't just make this pointless filler, so I threw in some things that are important later on in the story. We see the return of two shady minor characters (if it's even possible to consider Hiko a minor character in any way, that is), and Zuko decides to confide in Julie the real reason for his banishment…and the unseen details of his first few weeks in exile. **

**Book I seems to be a lot of filler, but the truth is that it's really there to put the rest of the story together. I don't think I'm ruining much if I tell everyone that Book I of Happy Endings was only ever intended to cover through the Winter Solstice Episode Arch. Book II moves much quicker (as the readers all roll their eyes, as though I hadn't ever said THAT before).**

**Anyway, who's complaining? You guys got your fluffy tidbits, some character development, a fair bit of angst, and we'll even see some of the Gaang next chapter. Cool, huh?**

**Okay, nuff said. REVIEW!**


	72. Home and Family

**A/N: I know it's a whole day past my update deadline, but I was kind of hung-over. My friends took me out to celebrate my new job, and we ended up going through several rounds of shots (not all at once, though, thank God; I'd be dead if I did that). But, um…yeah. I'm not kidding. I didn't get home until one-thirty at night, and I just met my laptop's stare and just wasn't feeling it.**

**At least I didn't get **_**completely trashed**_**. Just a little buzzed. Nothing **_**too **_**irresponsible or anything. And I totally took a cab home, not wanting to end up as a statistic in your next school assembly about how drunk driving kills. **

**Still, I had a bit of a headache when I woke up. It really sucked.**

**Anyway, I wasn't planning on making this chapter almost entirely through Zuko's POV. It just sort of came out that way. I'm not complaining, though, since a lot of you seem to like it when he starts to narrate. Julie could use a break from her narrating duties given what happens at the end of the chapter.**

**Julie: "Wait, what the fuck is **_**that **_**supposed to mean?"**

**Nothing. Quit breaking the fourth wall, already, will you?**

**Julie: (narrowing eyes) "I'm **_**watching **_**you…!"**

**Chapter Sixty-Five: Family and Home**

(Zuko's POV)

"I could only take what I could carry with me," he said as Julie listened tensely. "So I only had a rucksack filled with some clothes and some other things when the guards finally came for me…like Azula had promised."

The redhead looked up with a start. "Azula?"

Zuko looked sideways at her. "Oh, right. You don't know…Azula is my younger sister. She's…" he looked away. "Well…let's just say that things always came easy for her. She was a Firebending prodigy and everyone adored her."

He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. Julie, oddly enough, winced upon hearing this information, but hastily tried to keep her expression neutral…unfazed.

"What?" he said sharply.

Julie jumped at his tone. "Quit snapping at me, will you? I didn't _say _anything."

Zuko frowned at her. Why did she look like she was hiding something? She looked very nervous all of a sudden, like she really, really wanted to change the subject. He continued to scowl at her until he realized how hostile he must have seemed to her. He took a deep breath and tried to drain the venom out of him.

"Sorry," he said. "I…my sister and I never really got along. I didn't mean to scare you."

Julie managed to look offended. "I told you before; you don't scare me. Believe me, I've met way scarier people than you."

_Like your father? _ He thought, watching the way her green eyes darkened and looked vaguely pained. _Or like your ex? _She couldn't have had too many warm fuzzy memories about a guy she referred to as a _monster wearing a human's skin_.

"Good to know," he muttered. "But I don't think anyone is as scary as Azula."

"I haven't met her, so I wouldn't know," Julie replied indifferently. "Anyway, it's kind of lame to be scared of your little sister, don't you think?"

"You haven't met Azula," he reminded her darkly.

She looked at him for a few seconds before shrugging. "Whatever. I'm an only child. Sue me."

He shook his head at her. Okay, so maybe their circumstances weren't _exactly _the same, but things were promising. Regardless, he tried to put into words just how fortunate she was to be utterly siblingless. The only thing that came readily to mind was the horrific encounter with his younger sister as he had been packing for his…banishment.

"_How could anyone do such a thing to his own son…?"_

_The words echoed in Zuko's ears as he shut the door behind him. Finally alone, he let the full weight of reality sink in—or rather, he collapsed underneath it. Panic and nausea mingled with the constant pain radiating out of the side of his face that had been burned. The raw and damaged skin around his eye screamed and pulsed, marring his ability to think clearly._

_Even if he hadn't been in such excruciating pain, he doubted he could have understood any of it. The Agni kai…and his father waiting for him in the ring…the cold expression on his face as he lit up a flame…the searing agony as he struck…_

Agni Kai…Agni Kai…

_The crowd chanting from the sidelines turned to gasps and jeering catcalls as he went down for the second time. The first time Zuko had gone down on his knees to beg his father's forgiveness and mercy._

"_Why…?" he breathed into his sleeve. "Why…why…why…?"_

_His mind picked up the mantra as he relived what was sure to be the worst moment of his life over and over again, while curled up in a ball on the floor with his back pressed up against his bedroom door._

Father…why…?

_A knock on the door broke into his thoughts. Zuko sat bolt upright, a spark of hope igniting in his good eye. He looked behind him at the closed door in surprise and disbelief._

Father?

_His hand trembled as he grasped the knob, and he gave himself a moment to compose himself before opening the door. But he only got halfway through his greeting when he saw who it was._

"_Fath—"_

_Azula stood there, the unconcerned expression on her face turning into a light smirk as she met his stunned gaze. "Hello, Zuzu."_

_He was frozen on the threshold, his throat sealed shut as he found himself face-to-face with the last person he could have ever wanted to see right then and there. Azula ghosted past him into the room, as though the room was hers instead of her brother's…or rather, the room that _used to be_ her brother's. She acted as though there was nothing at all remarkable about that evening._

_Zuko found it all unnerving. "W-what are you doing here, Azula?"_

"_I thought I'd help my big brother pack," she replied breezily. _

_She half-glanced at him as she moved over to his nightstand, looking at his various possessions lying pell-mell on his bed. Zuko watched her warily as she picked up his knife, the one his uncle had given him from the siege on Ba-Sing-Se. He didn't like the careless way she toyed with it in her fingers._

"_I wouldn't want you to forget anything important," she continued as she played with the dagger. "After all, who knows how long you'll be gone."_

_Zuko couldn't take it anymore. He went and snatched the sheathed blade out of her hands, feeling his anger and frustration well up like an overflowing pool of snake venom. "I'll be back as soon as I find the Avatar," he said defensively. "Then he'll…"_

_He trailed off, doubt creeping into him as he stared down at the knife in his hand. His anger curdled into anxiety while Azula stared nonchalantly at her nails. The inscription stared ironically back at him, _Never Give Up Without a Fight_._

"_Then father will welcome me home," he finished quietly._

_Azula wasn't impressed._

"_Well," she said. "I suppose the Avatar's only been missing for a hundred years. Maybe you'll track him down in fifty."_

"_I'll find him," Zuko insisted. "You'll see."_

"_Of course you will." Her smile was goading now, her voice thick with sophisticated sarcasm as she watched her brother shoving things into his back without looking at them. "I'm sure that when they march you down to the docks, you'll be able to bribe some fisherman into giving you a ride."_

_The young, soon-to-be exile gritted his teeth as he tried to tune out the sound of her voice._

"_Maybe they'll even give you a job washing down the deck. I've heard that peasants have a soft spot for orphans…"_

_Something, a very fine cord of reason in his mind, snapped. The flame of the candle resting on his nightstand flared viciously as he wheeled around to snarl at his sister, furious and ashamed for it. He bended a wild arc of fire as he screamed at her._

"_GET OUT!"_

_The flames fell short of reaching Azula, looking coolly triumphant in the wake of her brother's fury. She shrugged and turned calmly to leave._

"_The guards will be here to get you in an hour," she told him. "Better finish packing."_

"She said that to you?" Julie murmured, looking angry.

Zuko blinked at her. "She says things like that all the time. She can get away with it…she can get away with anything because she's always been the favorite."

Julie didn't say anything to that right away. She knotted her own hands on her lap and continued to seethe. "I hate people who do that," she muttered eventually. "People who think they have a right to walk over other people…like they're better or something. Like that Zhao guy and how he thinks he's better than us just because you've been dethroned and I don't know how to fight."

She looked utterly hateful.

"But people like that are just losers…they shouldn't exist." She glanced at him. "I know she's your sister and all, but that doesn't mean she can treat you like crap either. She better not pull that shit when I'm around."

He felt a momentary twinge of alarm. "She'd hand your ass to you."

"So would Zhao, but I still managed to give him something to remember me by, didn't I? Maybe I'll get lucky again."

"No one is luckier than my sister. Anyway, I don't need you to fight my battles for me."

That came out a little sharper than he had wanted it to. He hadn't meant to sound so severe, but something in Julie's tone reminded him of himself back when he had gone around trying to recruit a crew for himself, back in the beginning. It disturbed him to see so much of himself in her…disturbed him because he realized just how unstable he had been in that entire first year of exile. His mind had constantly been teetering on a precipice, looking down into blackness and despair.

Back then, he had been fighting just to keep that darkness from reaching him; trying to escape it by proving he was strong enough to shoulder everything on his own.

"You'll probably be surprised to hear this," he said. "But if it weren't for Azula, I wouldn't even have a ship to sail on. I'd still be sleeping in a gutter back in the capital city."

Julie seemed surprised. "Wha…really?" She was taken aback by the statement. "I bet it cost you an arm and a leg, though."

"Um…not exactly…"

_Zuko curled into a ball on the ground, hugging the folds of his cloak tighter around him and using his rucksack like a pillow. He felt stiff and dirty from sleeping on the ground, and he was in a cold sweat after dreaming about the Agni Kai…again. He hadn't bathed in quite a while, and he his stomach felt like it would claw at him from the inside. _

_If he hadn't been so exhausted from his late night at the tavern, trying and failing to get people to join his cause (and then getting kicked out of the building when he had been provoked into a righteous fury by his skeptical listeners), he probably wouldn't have been able to sleep at all._

"_Zuko."_

_He felt himself stirring as a shadow appeared over his face, cutting off the dim light from the overcast sky. Unconsciously, he thought of his father towering over him and preparing to burn him a second time. He jolted awake._

_Azula, garbed finely in a smart set of clothes, curled her lips at the sight of her brother lying in the dirt. "You look terrible," she said, not bothering to hide her disgust._

_Blinking blearily, Zuko struggled into a sitting position. His mind was still trying to catch up with the fact that his sister was actually there in the alley with him. "Wha…?"_

_The princess folded her arms and perched on an empty crate, looking like an extremely ruffled and haughty phoenix in all her reds and golds. "I got your message," she said. "Along with half of the palace staff. Hardly subtle, talking to an imperial guard that way. I'm risking a lot to come and see you."_

_She watched him, waiting for the recognition of his submissiveness. Waiting for the gratitude that she apparently felt she was due. Instead, Zuko kept his gaze down, refusing to give her that small satisfaction. He kept his face neutral._

"_I wouldn't have asked if I had any choice," he said evenly._

_He felt Azula watching him, as though the crate she were sitting on were a throne and he was nothing but a humble commoner sitting at her feet. He felt bitter at the realization that this was exactly right. He _was _a commoner now. He felt angry and ashamed in her presence._

_That seemed to satisfy Azula. Looking down on him, she sneered. "So, what do you want?"_

_Zuko felt disgusted with himself, but he kept his gaze on his hands folded in his lap (and his bile down in his stomach)._

"_I can't stay in the capital," he said. "I have to leave to find the Avatar, but I don't have a ship or any way to hire one. And I thought…"_

_If he had any chance of getting a favor out of Azula, he knew he would have to play to her vanity. As much as he hated to do it, he had to keep her on a pedestal, make this more about her than it was about him. He knew better than to appeal to a sense of compassion or some sisterly sentiment she didn't have._

_Or at least, he suspected she didn't. Sometimes he just wasn't sure._

"_Father's always preferred you," he said slowly. "You can ask for things that I can't."_

_Azula didn't look moved. Then again, she wasn't stupid. She probably saw through his intentions the moment he refused to meet her gaze._

"_I'll see what I can do," she relented, looking bored. "But you'll have to pay for any favors."_

_Zuko winced. "I know."_

_Then, his sister turned her gaze to him. Something flickered in her eyes as she watched him watching her. Her gaze lingered on his wound, and the blood that was seeping through the bandages covering his left eye. Her lips pursed._

"_You should change those bandages more often," she commented. "You'll lose that eye otherwise."_

_Zuko's head shot up in surprise. But by then, Azula had already gotten up off the crate and started walking away. He stared at her back, words stuck in his throat; which was probably for the best given that he had no idea what to say. What had _that _been about…?_

"Azula sent me a message the next day," he told Julie. "She told me she'd spoken to Father, and convinced him to recommission a ship for me to use. But…there was one condition."

She frowned in confusion. "What was it?"

Zuko was secretly pleased to have her attention, and even more so to find her hanging on his every word. "Ever since he abandoned the siege of Ba Sing Se, Uncle Iroh had been nothing but a nuisance at the palace and an embarrassment to the court. I was the only one in our family who still spoke to him," he explained. "And now, to earn this favor from my father…I would have to take him with me."

Julie looked miffed. "It wasn't his fault he did that! How can you call a grieving parent a _nuisance_? That's so stupid!"

He froze. He turned to look at her slowly, confusion and suspicion emerging fresh in his voice. "What do _you _know about it, peasant?"

She caught the look on his face and quickly derailed. "I…I meant…Iroh's a cool guy. And I wouldn't want to get on his bad-side, either. That's all I meant, really."

"No, it wasn't. You called him a _grieving parent_. What did you mean by that?"

Julie flushed red, looking vaguely panicked. "N-nothing. I just…I heard about why he abandoned the siege. Wasn't it b-because he lost his son…or something? And he was so devastated that he lost the will to fight. Or something?"

Zuko stared at her. That was a rational response, obviously. But why did Julie sound like she was lying? Her gaze kept darting slightly to the left, as though she were plucking the story out of thin air.

But then, it _was _plausible for her to have picked up the details from Shen-Long or Bo-Fen. Or from someone else on the ship. After all, many of them had served under his uncle and Lieutenant Jee during the siege. They certainly would have known the truth.

He decided to drop it. The matter wasn't worth pursuing, anyway.

"Anyway, I don't care if Azula did that stuff," she continued, changing the subject. "She only did it to feel superior to you. And getting you that ship got you out of the way. She's probably has no competition for the throne now that you're gone."

"Probably," he assented reluctantly. "But it's not like I had a choice, remember?"

Julie folded her arms and said nothing. "I still don't like her."

Zuko felt another prickle of worry as he contemplated the redhead and her alarming tendency to piss off people she shouldn't, simply because she _didn't like them_. It didn't matter how slim the odds were of them ever actually meeting Azula any time soon…or at all. He knew that Julie could hold a grudge forever if she had to. And Azula was definitely someone you didn't want to make an enemy out of.

"Just forget it, all right?" he said in a low voice. "If you threw yourself at every person who got in my way, or who gloated and ridiculed me for my failures, you'd end up having to fight most of the Fire Nation…or the whole world. There isn't a single person out there who doesn't hate me…except Uncle, I mean."

"I don't hate you," Julie muttered.

He felt warmth in the pit of his stomach, but ignored it.

"You're different," he said dismissively. "You're not Fire Nation. You don't understand what it means to have this." He pressed his fingers against the edges of his scar. The redhead followed the path of his index and middle finger as they traced the contours of the ravaged skin. "It isn't just how it looks…it's the stigma attached to it. It marks me…all of me…as an outcast."

He paused, letting his hand fall away. She stared at it, then at his face.

"I guess I don't get it," she replied. "I mean, you've only ever been one person to me. But even your worst…if this is your worst, I mean…it isn't so bad. You just got on my nerves in the beginning because I didn't really know you, and you were pulling this _princely _act and making me out to be a lowly commoner. It just…" she furrowed her brow. "It makes me angry when people do that."

Zuko considered that. "You were getting on _my _nerves a lot because you were acting like a brat…causing all this trouble and seeming utterly ungrateful for the hospitality Uncle showed you. Little did I know that trouble finds you no matter _what _you do."

He had been teasing her just now, but she winced; as if the words physically stung her. "Yeah, well…whatever."

"I was wrong, though," he said quickly. "About you. You're better than that. A lot better, actually."

Julie didn't look like she believed him. "Whatever," she said again. "I don't go crawling around for people's approval…especially people I don't know and could care less about." She reached down and picked up Yoshi, plopping him on her lap and stroking him absently. "People suck. I know it sounds stupid, but…maybe we're both better off as outcasts."

"…"

Zuko wasn't sure what to make of that. He felt a prickle of annoyance as the doubt began seeping into him, as Julie's words really sunk in. Because part of him always wondered if he had really been happy at the palace, either. Deep down there had always been a cold fear…that even if he did manage to bring the Avatar to his father, it wouldn't bring him the peace of mind he wanted…or his honor back.

It made him think of darker times, when he had seriously considered giving up. Not just on his mission, but on everything…

_Crescent Moon Island had been several weeks off course of Zuko's next destination, but he had relented to appease his uncle and to cut off the stream of his misguided nagging. The ex-General had recommended the temple as the last Avatar, Roku, had trained there under the Fire Sages before moving on the master the other elements. Apparently there was a library there containing records of the Avatar's past lives._

_Which was why he was there now, seated at a desk with the stale smell of old scrolls and faded ink around him. He heard his uncle conversing cheerfully with the sage, Shyu, out in the hallway and found it distracting..not that this was necessarily a bad thing. He was looking over a scroll detailing Avatar Kyoshi and the unwanted knowledge of her foot size and her various affairs with other women._

_He pushed the scroll away with a red face when he was confronted with the notion of two Earthbenders, one clay pot. Spirits, what on earth possessed the Sages to keep records _this _detailed…? There were just some things better left unknown._

_Though he had to admit, some of the knowledge there was actually useful. Avatar Yang-Chen had apparently built a hermitage near the Eastern Air Temple, and spent her later years there in seclusion. Avatar Kyoshi had lived a long, promiscuous old age of two hundred and thirty years old, much older than the current Avatar would have been. She also was rumored to have been quite…um…active, even months before her death._

_Again, too much information._

_Most valuable of all were the tests, ways to tell for sure whether or not someone was the Avatar. But many of those tests were meant to be done on infants and toddlers, and it was unlikely that Zuko could convince a potential adult candidate to rummage around through his old toys. Furthermore, the rest of the scrolls were filled with nothing but dry, meaningless dates of births and marriages and deaths._

_The philosophy in all of the scrolls was the same, though…outdated and even treasonous. But Zuko doubted that the Sages still practiced the old ways. The Avatar had been gone for over a century, and they knew which side their bread was buttered on these days._

_Zuko found his mind wandering. Then…_

_**FOOOOOSH…! FOOOSH-FMMMM!**_

_He gave a start as he propped himself back up into a more correct posture, his mind very alert at the very familiar sounds of Firebending going on in the courtyard. Abandoning his scrolls, he got up and went to the window, pushing open the shutter and looking down at the sages as they practiced their bending._

_The head Fire Sage glanced up at him, holding his gaze for a minute before resuming his own practice._

_Zuko watched the power and confidence the older man displayed as he went through his motions, countering the attacks of the other sages and returning them with such prowess that the prince was spellbound. He pushed himself away from the window and went quickly down to the courtyard to get a better view of the performance. That was how this man made Firebending feel…like a lethal and beautiful_ art.

_He wanted that kind of strength for himself._

_Zuko stood in the doorway looking out. He had arrived just in time to see the head sage dispatch the last of his opponents. As he rose out of his stance, he glanced at the scarred teen, watching the boy approach with awe and admiration on his face._

"_Impressive," said Zuko, coming out to stand face-to-face with the man. "I demand that you teach me to fight like that."_

_The words had been spoken out of habit, from a time when he actually had power over other people. But the sneer curling the Fire Sage's upper lip was a biting reminder that such times were long past. The buoyant feeling in his chest deflated at the disdain alive on the older man's face, like a rapidly uncoiling spider-snake._

"_You…demand?" he repeated, as though he were hard of hearing. "You are in no position to _demand _anything, Prince Zuko. Fire Lord Ozai banished you from the Fire Nation, and we honor his will above all else."_

_Zuko felt his temper flare at the curt rebuke, but the sage wasn't done. He had a lot more to say on the matter, it seemed._

"_Shyu convinced me to take pity on you," he said scornfully. "So I have tolerated your dishonored presence for this long. But I will not tolerate interruptions of our duties." He smirked at the furious look on the boy's face, sensing he was on the verge of striking a very sensitive nerve. "Besides, he added. "You've already been marked by a Firebending master. You don't need another reminder of your weakness."_

_Zuko snapped like a twig._

"_Graaaaaaah!" he snarled, lighting up a flame and arching it at the Fire Sage's face. _

_The man quickly sank back down into a battle stance, easily side-stepping the attack and sending one back at Zuko as he charged towards him. Eyes widening, the youth barely skirted to the side quickly enough to avoid getting burned._

_But the sage kept up his attacks. The more desperately Zuko tried to get close enough to attack, the more he was forced to dodge or duck. Finally, throwing all caution to the winds, he hurled himself forward in a suicidal all-or-nothing charge…one that was destined to end badly as the sage met him point blank with more fire._

_Zuko winced as the heat cut through his robes, striping his arms with fresh burns. The blast had been intense and he had barely managed to deflect it. Pain sliced through his exposed limbs as he lowered his arms, looking his foe in the eyes. He was horrified to see another fire blast, larger than the first, swooshing to meet him._

_All of a sudden, his uncle was standing in between them. In a single motion, he blocked the attack and put out the flames, leaving nothing but silence and smoke hanging in the air. The Dragon of the West stared very hard at the sage before turning to smile at the startled boy._

"_Nephew, I am sorry to interrupt, but I believe Fire Sage Shyu was looking for you."_

_Zuko wasn't fooled by the pretense, but found himself unable to do more than protest as his uncle wheeled him around and frog-marched him away from the battlefield. Out of the corner of his eyes, Zuko saw the sage smirking at him and knew deep in his gut that he had lost that fight. He felt angry and ashamed of himself, his mood plunging from the pain he felt from the fresh wounds on his arms._

_Not that he was about to complain. Not with his uncle hovering, anyway._

"_You didn't have to do that," he fumed. "I would have been fine!"_

_Iroh didn't bother acknowledging the claim. "Your wounds have not entirely healed," he replied simply. "Now is not the time to push yourself in this way."_

_He saw the outrage on the boy's face and his own expression softened._

"_Be patient, Prince Zuko. When you are ready, I will teach you the more advanced Firebending forms myself."_

_Zuko felt his frustration reach a frightening peak. He was tired of pity and tired of being taken care of. He was tired of living in his sister's shadow and tired of people looking down on him. He wanted to be strong. He wanted the best he could achieve…not to have to settle for hand-outs, like the run-down little rust-bucket of a ship his father had tossed to him…or his failure of an uncle as a Firebending instructor._

_He jerked roughly out of Iroh's grip, stalking away. "I don't want to learn anything from _you_…!"_

_He kept his head high and his expression defiant as he disappeared inside the room he had been given during his stay at the temple. He moved to slam the door shut behind him and felt terrible pain in his arms. He waited until it had closed before giving in and doubling over. He clutched the burns and winced._

_As he looked up, he found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror. He still had his bandages covering his burned eye, hiding his injury from the world, and himself. Whenever they had needed a new dressing or fresh gauze, he had just let the servants get it over with for him. Up until then, he hadn't had the courage to see the extent of the damage for himself._

_He felt himself reaching for the bandages slowly, his hand trembling. They came away easily, and even with his eyes closed his fingers knew what to do. He felt the soft fabrics fall away, hitting the floor softly._

_It felt weird having it exposed in the open air. He felt strangely vulnerable as he stood in front of the mirror with his eyes squeezed shut and sweat beading on his brow. Slowly, he lifted his heavy lids and met his reflection's troubled gaze._

_An unrecognizable person stared back at him. On side of his face was smooth and untouched, but the other half…oh, Spirits…_

_He swallowed the panic and anger slicing through him over and over again like white hot knives someone had left on a burning stove. He swallowed the acid clawing its way up his stomach in revulsion, choking as he staggered back. He sank to his knees, filled with an intense self-loathing that he had never felt in his entire life. _

_It was disgusting. And it was never going away. Even if he got stronger, even if he proved himself worthy by finding and capturing the Avatar, that mark would always be there, reminding him of his weakness…of his failure…_

_His fist came down hard on the mirror, shattering it. Glass cut into his knuckles, splintering around his hand and falling to the floor, tinkling softly. He bit his lip as blood seeped through the fresh cuts on his hands, trickling down through the cracks in the mirror and dripping on to the carpet. Breathing heavily, Zuko rested his forehead against the glass. It felt cold against his almost feverish skin._

_And what if he never got stronger? What if the Avatar really was gone? Then he would have to live with this weakness…with this shame and humiliation for the rest of his life. And every morning he would have to wake up with the scar on his face and look in the mirror, over and over again…_

_What if capturing the Avatar wasn't enough to give him his honor back? It would never be over then, not until the day he died…_

_He pulled back from the mirror and stared hatefully at his reflection, seemingly oblivious to his hurts as he considered that eventuality. Yes, it would be over if he were dead…but then, he would be dead. It wouldn't mean anything anymore. Nothing would._

_Zuko sensed that he was on the edge of something terrifying, and knew that he shouldn't think this way. He was horrified at how tempting it all was to just throw himself into the ocean or to take a knife and…_

_No. No, he couldn't allow himself to think this way. It was all his fault for coming to this stupid place to begin with. It was time to continue his search before his mind continued any farther down this dark and twisted path. He knew it led to the edge of a cliff with a bottomless chasm, and he didn't really want to go there._

"_I can't give up," he whispered. "No matter how hard I have to struggle and fight…it _will _make me strong. I don't care what anyone else says. I _will _find him."_

_And if it didn't turn out the way he wanted it to, well…he wasn't going to think about _that _possibility._

Zuko didn't know how Julie could be so idiotically stubborn. It was just like her to say that the rest of the world didn't matter. He had already attempted that kind of mindset, and the sad fact of the matter was that the world followed you wherever you went. There wasn't a single place you could go to where reality and society wouldn't follow.

"You should understand why I can't accept that," he said stiffly. "After all, _you _want to go home too, don't you? Even though back there you were…"

He stopped himself, sensing that Julie would not take his words kindly. Julie, always quick to anger, narrowed her eyes at him.

"I know what you're going to say, and let me tell you right now that if you finish that thought I'll cave your stupid face in." Anger flashed behind those intense slits…searing green coals. "My life _sucked_ back home, but at least there everything made fucking sense. People act the way they're supposed to, there."

That statement had been so ridiculous that Zuko abandoned his pretense of tact. To hell with tact.

"In other words, they're miserable people who want nothing better than to hurt you," he snapped. "They could care less about you."

Julie didn't look fazed by that. Apparently this was nothing new to her. But she pointedly looked away as she mustered up an argument. That was her natural response to things: to argue, bitch and complain until everyone else just left her alone.

But her words were surprisingly soft.

"Whenever someone acts nice, you know they want something from you. You can always tell who to trust and who not to trust. Like my Dad…he's the biggest shit on the face of the planet, but you can trust him when he says he's going to cut you if you stay out too late…and he always keeps his promises."

Zuko felt like someone had doused him in ice water. What the hell?

"He…he cuts you?"

She hadn't expected him to be distracted by the stray detail, it seemed. She blinked at him as she examined the shock on his face, paralyzing him to his seat. Then, weirdly enough, Julie looked disgusted.

"It was an example, dumb-ass." She tried to seem like it was no big deal, but she was staring a little too fixedly at a stall of slightly moldy cabbages in the distance. "But, yeah. He would do it if he said he would. He doesn't care."

Zuko shook his head, remembering the faint marks he occasionally noticed on her arms, and sometimes on her back (back when she had been shot with an arrow by those pirates and the previous healer had been dressing her wounds). He felt vaguely sick to his stomach.

Julie didn't like the silence. So she forced the issue.

"One time when I was ten, he found out that I had been breaking curfew to smoke cigarettes in the back lot by our house with Ramon and his friends. He only found out because I'd been stupid and greedy and started stealing his. Anyway, he dragged my ass home and force-fed me the entire contents of an ash tray he had lying around." She laughed shakily. "I haven't touched a pack of smokes since."

Zuko didn't know what cigarettes were, but he assumed it was something like a pipe or something since Julie had mentioned smoking. Against his will, he imagined the scene that might have been: a little girl with red-hair choking on the blackened soot and her father hovering menacingly, making sure she swallowed everything in that ash tray. His stomach burned in white hot anger.

"It was a good thing, anyway," she said, not looking at him anymore. "I have enough problems without being a chain-smoker too. And I threw most of it back up, anyway. So, whatever. I was fine."

"That's…" he swallowed. "How is _that _fine? What the hell…what _else _did he do to you to make something like that seem…_fine_…?"

Julie kept her gaze on Yoshi as he squirmed off her lap and scrambled down to attack a pebble he had spotted. She pretended to be interested as the eelhound clawed at the dirt and growled at it, as though the earth itself was his sworn enemy.

"Don't be such a whiner, Zuko. I know how to handle it. I keep telling you that."

"That doesn't make it okay!" he exploded. "You can't seriously want to go back to that...!"

Her face hardened. "_Your _dad tried to burn half your face off. And your sister just laughed. You can't seriously want to go back to that," she said, throwing his words back in his face.

He wanted to smack her; he really did. But then he saw the tears prickling her eyes. That was why she had her face turned away. She was trying not to let him see how hurt she was. And her spiteful comment had been just that; something to make him irrational that would trick him into storming off or revoking his company and his friendship.

_Stupid, stupid girl. I'm not falling for that again._

Fighting down his anger, he said, "You don't know what you're talking about. My family is…there's nothing wrong with my family."

She didn't say anything.

"Damn it, don't just ignore me. Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Julie slowly met his gaze. "I can hear you, stupid. You don't have to yell."

Zuko couldn't believe anyone could be so frustrating as this girl. How was it even possible that she could make him so angry and _still _make him care so deeply for her? Because in spite of her blatant stupidity, he desperately wanted her to see that there was no point in going back to…wherever it is she came from. Whether it was some nation he never heard of or another world entirely, he didn't want her going back. He wanted her to stay here, with him.

He hadn't even planned on telling her his story when he left the ship. But the whole misunderstanding with his scar had him looking at Julie in a completely different way. Realizing that she may very well be the only person who could possibly _relate _to his…situation…that made him more determined to keep her on his side.

Not just _on _his side, either. At his side. Zuko was very aware of how close they were on that bench, and he realized that he liked having her within an arm's reach. Too bad he wasn't sure whether he wanted to hold her or strangle the life out of her.

When she was this close it was easier for him to see the more subtle expressions her eyes and mouth made, down to the very last wrinkle in her nose as she scrunched it up in disdain. Her intense expressions were complimented by the dark red hair framing her face; the vivid color brought out the sharp beauty of her strangely-shaped eyes and the soft pinks in her skin. _Moon peach_.

"My father wasn't always like this," he said quietly. "My family used to be happy…normal. That's what I'm fighting for. I want my old life back. I want everything that was taken from me."

Julie's face changed.

"You'll get it," she said quietly. "One way or another. Sometimes things turn out in weird ways you don't expect. I mean, I sure as hell didn't expect to fall into this crazy place with all these nutsos coming after me for one reason or another. And I never thought I'd meet you, either." She stared off into space as she thought about it. "So maybe I'll find a way back somehow. And…maybe things will get better. I mean, maybe Dad will grow a soul while I'm gone and realize how much of a dick he's been. Maybe he'll…"

"Julie…"

"Shut up. I'm just saying…it's possible, right?"

Zuko sighed. He supposed that was the best he could hope for at the moment. "Yeah. I guess so." He was fighting with himself, torn between a desire to have her understand…and to convince her not to leave him…and a gnawing fear of souring the waters between them. In the end, he decided not to brood on it.

After all, it wasn't like she would ever get a chance to go back. That is, if she really was from another world like he was starting to believe she was. He couldn't begin to fathom how she got here, but he was pretty sure it was a one-shot deal. She was stuck with him.

He would just have to wait until she accepted that fact.

"It's getting late," he said. "Let's head back to the ship. I'm sure Uncle is waiting for us."

Julie nodded. "Come on, Yoshi. Time to go."

The eelhound looked up and spat out a mouthful of dirt. _Mama, I killed it! See?_

"Good God, what a stupid animal," he whispered as the infant reptile scurried over to Julie and started nuzzling her ankle like an attention-starved kitten. He couldn't believe he used to consider this thing a threat. The Unagi may have been vicious, but this creature was just…words didn't describe it.

"What was that?" Julie snapped, shooting him a look.

"Nothing."

Nothing but the blatantly obvious, that is.

**Later…**

Jee was practically whistling to himself as he supervised Shen-Long and Bo-Fen unpacking his many purchases and putting the last touches on to Julie's room. They hadn't done too badly as far as shopping trips go. They had found a much more suitable bed for her and removed the cot immediately. The rest of the furniture had been moved in hours ago, and the rest of the shelves had been moved downstairs to another storage room.

They were putting the last of the dresses into a solid oak armoire. The mask on the wall had been taken down and put away in the nightstand by her bed along with her tarot deck. And a lush red area rug had been thrown down to cover the uneven metal floor. It would be much softer on Julie's feet, Jee decided.

"I can't wait to see Julie's face when she comes back," he said to himself. "She's going to be so surprised."

"That's one way of putting it," Bo-Fen commented with a smirk as she closed the door to the armoire. "Heh, heh…this is going to be really entertaining, huh, Shen?"

He gave his sister a look. The moment he had learned of Jee's intentions he knew that Julie would react badly to all of this. It irked him that Bo-Fen was finding this whole thing vaguely hilarious.

But it was too late to do anything about it now. And it wasn't as though he was _averse _to the idea of Julie having nice things. Still, though…he knew the girl well enough by now to realize how the kind gesture would be interpreted. It would be completely blown out of proportion and warped into some kind of conspiracy by her paranoid mind.

Well, she wouldn't be _entirely _wrong, but…

He closed his eyes. _Spirits. Ayla would never have acted like this. When someone smiled at her, she smiled back._

Shen-Long gave a start as he heard familiar voices approaching. Julie's voice deep in a conversation with…uggh…Prince Zuko. Damn it, he couldn't believe the Lieutenant had left her alone with him after he had caught them splayed out on the rogue's bed. It made him realize how desperate Jee was to see this plan through to fruition.

"For the last time," she growled as her footsteps drew closer. "Quit picking on my eelhound! What did he ever do to _you _anyway?"

Zuko was quick to retort. "You think I'm stupid enough to _wait _until he does something to me?"

The bickering continued into louder decibels so that Jee stopped whistling and looked over his shoulder. Wincing, he motioned for Shen-Long and Bo-Fen to hurry up before rushing off to intercept them. He almost tripped as he practically ambushed the unsuspecting couple just as they were rounding the corner. He must have startled them out of their wits, too, since Shen-Long heard Julie shriek.

Back in the hallway, Zuko had taken a Firebending stance and shoved the redhead behind him. It took the prince a few seconds to realize that Jee wasn't there to attack them and relaxed out of his crouch. He was still scowling, but disregarded the incident, not wanting anyone to point out how protective he had been of Julie just now.

Julie, on the other hand, was far less forgiving. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"

Jee looked stern. "Language," he said. "And tone."

She took a deep breath, still incensed. "Okay, fine. Lieutenant Jee, _Sir…_W…T…F…?"

"Stop talking nonsense, girl. Speak clearly or don't say anything at all."

She glared at him. "Is there a reason why you decided to jump out at us and scare the holy bejeezus out of me? Or were you just being spontaneous?"

Jee frowned at her. "I apologize for startling you. I just wanted to catch you before you got to your room. There's something we need to talk about…" his gaze cut to Zuko. "Alone."

Julie caught the prince's arm before he could even think about leaving. "I'm busy. Whatever it is, can't it wait until after dinner or something? God…" she was clutching her chest with her other hand, looking very shaken. "Who the hell does that, anyway?"

"Young lady, don't make me repeat myself. I'm sure Prince Zuko has other things to attend to, anyway. The Avatar isn't going to capture himself, you know."

Zuko, realizing that Jee was right and all too aware of the huge gap of time they had wasted today, shrugged the girl off. She gave him an incredulous look, one that he met evenly.

"I'll see you at dinner," he reminded her. "Quit causing trouble and listen to whatever Jee tells you…unless it's treasonous or hazardous to your physical well-being."

It was really sad that he had to spell all that out for her. Julie breathed out a sigh.

"Fine. But let me drop my things off, first. I want to hang this sword up by my mask…"

Jee winced. "Um…no, you can't do that," he said quickly; so quickly that even Zuko stopped to look at him in confusion. "Hey, why _do _you have a sword, anyway?"

"Some creepy tall guy named Hiko gave it to me," Julie replied. "And told me to give it to my firstborn. I figured that it was better to take it than to risk pissing him off or something. I mean, he was clearly insane…but the sword is kind of cool. It'll look nice hanging up on display."

The Lieutenant just blinked at her. "What?"

"That's what I said. Anyway, this won't take long. I promise not to run away or anything."

Jee made a noise of protest as she walked past him towards her bedroom, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. "W-wait a minute! A…a lady never leaves the room without permission!"

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the uniformed officer. He had spent his entire life in Azula's shadow, and _she _never had to get anyone's permission to leave the room. What a complete load of bull. What was the man up to, anyway, telling her such an obvious lie…?

Julie scowled. "This isn't a room," she snapped. "It's a hallway. Now let go."

"Don't talk back. You can see your room after I've had a chance to talk to you. This is important and…"

"What do you mean, _see _my room? What happened to my room?"

Jee grimaced. "It's a surprise," he said stiffly, reluctantly tossing her a shred of truth to get her off his back. "I didn't expect you to be back so soon. We're almost done fixing it up, and…what?"

Julie looked almost queasy. Zuko felt his gaze drawn to her face, which was very pale now. "You're _fixing _my room?" she repeated. "You…you didn't throw anything away, did you? Why the hell would you go through my things?"

The Lieutenant flinched as the girl let out a particularly nasty curse word and ripped herself out of his arms, taking his silence to mean the worst. She charged determinedly past him and made a beeline for her room. Zuko and Jee exchanged glances before following her down the hallway, all the way to the last door on the left. They were too late to stop her from ripping the door open.

Zuko saw her face contract in shock. He caught up to her and peered over her shoulder into the room. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen were caught in the act of hanging up a paper ball lantern from the ceiling, bearing the cheery kanji for _SURPRISE! _They looked as though they had just been caught stealing by the town guard, the way they were holding that lantern.

Yoshi, seeing the bright colors and the fine calligraphy, immediately jumped down and ran to attack it.

Julie sank slowly to her knees, eyes wide and uncomprehending. She looked like a fish as she gaped at the expensive-looking sheets and the ornate mirror hanging up over the vanity table by the wall. "What happened to my room?"

Jee strode over to her, trying to sound matter-of-factly. "That _is _your room. What do you think?"

Zuko looked sharply down at Julie, sensing trouble. He knelt down next to her and grasped her by the shoulder. "Julie," he said firmly. "Say something."

He could feel her shaking.

"You…you…" She couldn't seem to find the words to express her outrage. "This isn't _my _room…it's yours. You put all of _your _things in it."

Jee looked somewhat taken aback. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "I bought them for you. _I'm_ not going to be using these things."

But she was shaking her head over and over again, as though she had water trapped in her ears and couldn't shake it out. She really looked like she was going sick, something that caused Shen-Long to put down the lantern and kneel down on her other side. Zuko gave him an irritated look that the soldier chose to ignore.

"Julie," he said quietly. "Are you okay?"

"N-no! I'm not okay, stupid! I don't own a mirror…or a fancy dresser…or anything like that. It's not mine unless I get it for myself…!"

She pushed them away and forced herself to stand. She stared up into Jee's face, which was surprised to see such a negative reaction out of the girl. He couldn't make sense out of the genuine fear and tension he saw in her eyes as she glared at him.

"How much?" she demanded roughly.

Jee shook his head. "What do you mean, how much? What's the matter with you?"

Julie took a breath. "I said, how much did you spend on all of these things? I'm going to pay you the money back."

He relaxed a little. "Is that all you're upset about? Julie, I don't expect you to pay me back. It was a gift. After all, a lady should have her own room, shouldn't she? And how anyone can sleep on one of those horrible cots is beyond me."

"I don't fucking care," she snapped. "I'm not taking it unless I pay for it. I…I won't take something that belongs to someone else." Her tone became more frantic. "I don't need any of this. I never asked for any of these things."

Zuko suddenly remembered how she had complained when he had bought her the litchi nuts and felt like there was more to this. And she may have accepted the nuts, but then those hadn't been so expensive. _This _on the other hand…hey, where had Jee gotten the money to pay for all of this, anyway?

No wonder Julie looked so freaked out. But then, he really had no idea, did he?

**A/N: This chapter was almost completely inspired by…uggh, I almost hate to say it, but it's true…the manga companion to that monstrosity of a film directed by M. Night Shyamalan. I know! I'm as surprised as you are.**

**The story for the **_**prequel**_** manga was written by Dave Roman and Alison Wilgus, and the art was done by Nina Matsumoto. And unlike the film it was based off of, you can tell that the writers actually tried to pay homage to the actual show. It actually features some select scenes from episodes all the way into season three, making me believe that they made an honest effort to portray Zuko in the earliest days of his banishment by doing as much research as possible.**

**True, they still drew Iroh with dreadlocks, but Zuko looks more like his season three counterpart, something I don't find utterly horrendous given how stupid his season one haircut looked. And obviously they had to keep some movie-verse elements in there, like that stupid thing with the Firebending from lamps and candles and stuff. But everything else could actually be considered canon.**

**So, I figured, why the hell not? I adapted some of the scenes in the graphic novel and added a few things that (I hope) make them relevant to the theme of the chapter and (I hope) more emotionally compelling. Whether I succeeded or not will be evidenced based on the kind of reviews I get, I suppose. I mean, the movie really blew chunks, and that's putting it nicely.**

**That being said, the manga for the **_**movie itself**_** (not the prequel, the movie) is completely void of character development and adds nothing to the movie-verse plot. The two-dimensional versions of the actors are just as transparent and bland as they are in the film. Don't buy it. I only did because I found it for, like, two bucks each at a convention booth.**

**Anyway, I know I promised the Gaang this chapter, but it's already nine-thousand words and I wasn't about to stretch the word-count any more than I already have. You'll see them soon, though…and we might just find out what happened to the Brotherhood grunts who left Omashu while we're at it. (Evil grin) It'll be epic.**

**So, how was it? REVIEW!**


	73. Divine Retribution

**A/N: Okay, I was really pissed when I saw how the last chapter turned out.**

**I'm sure a lot of you noticed it; the way entire paragraphs were published without any spaces in them, making them look like one long smooshed-together word. Let me tell you guys right now that it wasn't done intentionally, and I really appreciate a lot of you pointing out the mistake to me. I'm assuming the mishap occurred somehow when transferring the document from Microsoft Office into the document manager.**

**I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it was to look back and find that monstrosity of glitch fucking up my chapter. As these things are prone to do, it only affected the most _crucial _parts of the Zuko flashbacks…mostly. It made them look choppy and completely DESTROYED their emotional impact. I am so fucking upset.**

**But I really am glad you guys cared enough to notice and point it out to me. Mistakes like that aren't just jarring. They make me look like a talentless HACK. It just makes me want to set the whole fucking hard drive on fire and watch the bitch MELT, erasing any and all existence of what transpired on that unfortunate laptop. **

**It will burn. God, will it _burn_.**

**Julie: "Shit. Someone has a bruised ego, huh?"**

**Because it wasn't ME, dammit! I would never pull that crap in a serious expositional piece! Never, ever! And now it won't mean the same to the readers, even if they went back and reread it. After you read a piece the first time, it loses its ability to leave the reader utterly spellbound and vulnerable to subtle writing techniques and plot devices. The magic is just gone. GONE.**

**Julie: "Guys, don't mind Distant-Moon. She's just having a bit of an artist's temper tantrum…fucking drama-queen."**

**Oh, shut up. You're just mad because I exploited your budding romance with Zuko to get reviews. Like that's such nightmare for you!**

**Julie: "Keep talking, and I'll show you a worse nightmare…"**

**(Distant-Moon flips Julie the bird) Whatever. To those of you who are still willing to read this festering shit-heap of a fanfic, here is the next chapter (which has all the proper spacing between words, might I add) for you to enjoy. Or choke on. Whichever floats your boat.**

**Julie: "Sheesh. You're even scarier than _I _am when you're pissed off. Um…why are you dousing your laptop in kerosene, anyway?"**

**Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies. In other words, none of your fucking business.**

**Julie: "Yikes."**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Six: Divine Retribution**

I may not be the superstitious type, reader, but I do believe in karma. Since I was a little kid it had kind of been beaten into me that bad things happen for a reason…because I was too loud or came home too late; or because I was too slow to dodge, or too quick to answer back. And whenever grown adults would cry and moan about whatever shitheap they stumbled into, they would always ask the same stupid question: "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

Even in grade school I knew that the real reason was because most people aren't that good to begin with. I wasn't a model student or kind to the elderly, and I certainly wasn't a Disney Princess wannabe like Jessie was. In fact, I was a pretty bad kid…as bad as kids could go, that is. I got into fights and I called names and I broke more rules than I could even count. But those weren't even my crown offenses, according to Dad. No, his real problem was how much I looked so much like Mom.

See? Life isn't fair. It chews you up and spits you out again. And everyone generally does _something_ to deserve their daily dose of misery and misfortune, but there was a sad irony in that those sins aren't always the things we're punished for.

Dad could care less about the philosophy of the situation. As far as he was concerned, I was the reason his life sucked so badly. It had nothing to do with his drinking habits or his fixation with a dead woman. Hell, it wasn't even a dead woman he _liked_. It was my mother. I could never tell you for sure, but I always thought that if Mom weren't already dead, he'd go and kill her himself.

No small loss, though. He still had me, you know.

_I flinched as an empty beer can flew by my ear, smacking the opposite wall and clattering against the kitchen tiles. I felt my stomach clench tightly as I heard Dad crushing another can, watching me from the living room. I must have been seven years old here, young enough to feel helpless and vulnerable even to something light and harmless as an empty Coor's light can._

_Not that it mattered. I've had heavier things thrown at me._

_"Hey, Julie-bean," he sneered. "Get your old man another one, will ya'?"_

_I felt my insides eroding from the acid of my hate. "Get your own, you fat lazy pig," I breathed as I ducked into the fridge. Of course, I wasn't about to say it loud enough for him to hear me._

_My heart sank, though, when I saw we were all out. Shit._

_"What's taking you so long, you fucking brat?"_

_I jumped as another can flew at me, rebounding off the fridge door. I swallowed my rising anxiety and raised my voice to answer._

_"W-we're out…you have to go buy more, Dad."_

_Cold silence, except for an ominous creaking as he pulled himself out of his Lay-Z-Boy recliner and ambled into the kitchen. I immediately shrank back, ducking around to the other side of the kitchen table and watching him warily._

_Before he could do anything, though, the doorbell rang. Thank God._

_"Who the hell is that?" he grumbled, running his hand across his scalp. Then, he turned to me. "Stay right there or I'll fucking skin your ass."_

_I crouched down behind the chair, believing every word he said. I could hear the floor groaning from his weight as he lumbered down the hall, making slow progress until he found the front door. Dad didn't even bothering undoing the latch that kept the entrance barred from the outside. He opened the door ajar and glared out at whoever it was who came to call._

_I know because Dad was a creature of habit when he was sober enough to walk straight. He opened the door the same way every time._

_My blood froze when I heard a familiar voice echoing into the kitchen. It was Mrs. Friday. Or, as she often asked me to call her, Lisa._

_"Mr. McVay?"_

_"What?" Dad demanded curtly. To the point._

_Even from so far away, I could sense the woman's hesitation. "_Julie's _father?"_

_"Yeah. What about it?"_

_She cleared her throat. "You might not know me…um…I'm Lisa Friday…Julie's teacher. I believe I've left you a few voice messages telling you I'd be coming by."_

_Of course he didn't know her. The man hadn't been to a damn parent-teacher conference in his life, let alone PTA meetings. He could care less if this woman was Mother freaking Theresa. But, in his defense, I had erased those messages from the answering machine myself. I figured that if she got no reply, she'd just give up and I wouldn't have to own up for whatever trouble I was in now._

_I never dreamed she'd actually come to the house, though. Nosy bitch._

_"What'd she do this time?"_

_Good question. I was trying to think frantically as I hugged my knees against my chest. This was really fucking bad. I knew Dad well enough to know he wasn't about to invite her in for tea, but if he sent her away too hostilely it would send off warning bells._

_Like it wasn't bad enough I had to worry about this at school. Why did she have to come here for? Why couldn't she leave us alone?_

_"Julie didn't do anything," Mrs. Friday told him. "Actually, she's been behaving a lot better in class recently. I was wondering if we could talk inside…maybe with Julie. There's something I need to discuss with you both, and…"_

_"Whatever you have to say you can say right here," Dad snapped. "I'm a busy man, Ms. Thursday, and I don't have time for games. If it isn't important, then you know the way out."_

_He moved to close the door, but Mrs. Friday put her foot in the threshold, blocking it. I could hear the scuffle as she wedged her heel in good, making it impossible for my father to shut her out. I winced, imagining her narrowing her eyes at him the way she was prone to do whenever I chucked a spit-wad at the boil on the back of Rod Hornpecker's neck._

_"Believe me," she said. "It's important."_

* * *

I was sitting on my new bed with my head between my knees, trying to fight down the urge to projectile vomit all over my new plush crimson rug. _Not mine_, I reminded myself. _Jee's rug. Not mine_.

Zuko was still hovering, watching me. Everyone else was oblivious, focused on Jee as he kept rifling through my…_his _armoire, pulling out dresses as he talked to me. Not that I was listening much. There was a faint ringing noise in my ears that wouldn't go away, and I'm pretty sure that I was about to pass out. Shen-Long had started rubbing circles in my back, noticing how my lips were probably turning white and realizing I was _this_ close to blowing chunks all over the place.

Zuko's eyes kept darting to Shen-Long every few seconds, and I could tell that he wanted to say something. About him being so close, I mean. But then he would look at my face and think better of it.

I must have really looked like shit.

"All of these should fit you," Jee was saying in a surprisingly gentle voice. Like I was a frightened deer he was luring into his clutches with sweet words and bread crumbs. "You're actually around the same size as Cheng was, but I still think you should try some of them on, just to be sure. If they need adjusting we should do that while we're here."

My eyes flickered to him. "I don't wear dresses."

"You already have your sparring clothes. These are for nicer occasions…for example, when you're having dinner with a potential suitor."

I swallowed. "Jee, I…I can't take these. I don't want them."

"Nonsense."

One word said it all: Nonsense. That was it.

Obviously, I wasn't so sick in the head that I thought Jee had ulterior motives for his generosity. But I knew well enough that the man missed his daughter. I figured that the man meant well, but his good intentions were probably spawned out of grief and a misguided determination to make up for the past. He probably saw me as a second chance…or maybe he just missed having someone to buy dresses for.

I didn't like it, either way. I didn't like the way his eyes had gone so soft and understanding, as if he knew the reason for my acting like such a freak. But obviously he didn't _really _know. The most I had ever told him was that my father was a drunk. Hell, I had given Zuko more details than Jee.

He was trying way too hard to coax me into accepting his gift. I was so freaked that I couldn't even push the word, _no _out of my mouth anymore. I was shocked into silence.

"Here," he said, handing me an ankle-length rouge-colored over-dress on a hanger. "This one isn't too girly for your tastes, but it's nice enough to wear to dinner. I'll be joining you, just so you know. We can talk more then, after you've had a chance to calm down."

"I'm CALM," I growled. "Don't I look calm to you?"

Shen-Long shifted his weight and angled his body so that he was facing me better. "You _do_ seem a little stressed right now. But Lieutenant Jee is right. That color red flatters your skin-tone. It's some kind of pink…"

"Moon peach," Zuko interjected suddenly.

We all looked at him. "Excuse me?" Shen-Long asked, eyes narrowed.

The prince flushed red for some reason, almost as red as the dress. "Forget it. I was just thinking…about getting something to eat. Julie looks hungry too. Maybe we can do this later."

I felt a rush of gratitude for Zuko, even if he was a bit of a freak. I mean, come on. Moon peaches? I fucking hate moon peaches.

Jee cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said. "I have some things to attend to. Make sure you're on time for dinner, Julie. I'll see you then."

I made a strangled sound that he apparently mistook as a noise of consent. Nodding to himself, he walked briskly out of the room. I exhaled sharply as soon as he had left, as though I had been holding in my breath for the entire time. I cradled my forehead against my palms and closed my eyes. It felt like the room was spinning around me.

Yoshi nudged against my boot. _Mama. Play with me._

"Not now, baby," I said, pushing him away. "I'm not in the mood."

Shen-Long smiled half-heartedly. I should probably point out that his hand was still gently rubbing my back, soothing the tense muscles. "Are you talking to me, or the eelhound?" he joked.

And I had to hit him. Even though in the back of my mind I could hear Ayla giggling at his witticism, I didn't think it was so funny. Her mirth was tickling me, and not in a good way. It felt like I had a feather trapped in the back of my throat.

Shen-Long's smile deepened. "You wound me, fair lady."

"Shut up. I don't need your fucking sarcasm."

"Who said I was being sarcastic?"

Zuko made an irritated sound. "Don't you have something better to do than to flirt with the peasant?"

Shen-Long met his gaze, raising an eyebrow.

"Because if you don't," the prince continued in a low voice. "I can easily find something for you to do. In fact, I'm pretty sure that there are barnacles clinging to the lifeboats that _someone _could be scraping off…with their teeth if need be."

I wasn't in the mood to hear them bitch at each other. "_Both _of you get out. I'm getting a headache."

Yoshi whined at me. _I wanna stay. Mama, pick me up! I wanna be on the soft fluffy thing you're sitting on! Mama!_

I sighed, reaching down and picking up the eelhound. "I didn't mean _you_, Yoshi. Good grief…of course you can stay here." The eelhound made a happy sound and immediately curled up on my lap. He heaved a tremendous yawn and fell asleep.

Part of me wanted to trade brains with Yoshi. It must have been very restful in there.

The guys were ignoring me, though. It was really pissing me off. Shen-Long had stood up to his full height and looked Zuko in the eyes, and I swear it was like electricity crackled between them. My scowl faded as I looked from one to the other, not understanding.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Afraid that she'll get too attached to me if I stick around?"

Zuko curled his fingers into fists, something that made me wince as I thought of his wounds. He walked slowly and purposefully, only stopping when he was right in Shen-Long's face. Neither of them blinked or said anything right away.

"Learn some respect, soldier," Zuko warned him quietly. "Or I will teach it to you."

Shen-Long wasn't impressed. "You had better learn rudimentary Firebending before you try, or you might just embarrass yourself, your Highness."

Something ticked in Zuko's good eye. "I won't need it to floor you, you filthy colonist."

"Try it, then."

A simple challenge, but one that made a low note of alarm hum inside of me. I got to my feet and got right in between them, elbowing Shen-Long in the stomach and shoving Zuko back several feet. I think if I hadn't been so livid and pushed to the edge, I wouldn't have had the adrenaline-fueled strength to do any real damage. Both guys looked a little surprised as they found themselves forcefully separated.

I stood in between them, shaking. "Get out. I can't deal with this now…"

They blinked and had the decency to look ashamed of themselves.

Bo-Fen had been watching quietly the entire time, and I had forgotten she was even there she was so silent. But seeing the look on my face caused her to reconsider her neutral standing in all of this. She caught her brother by the arm and pulled him away from me.

"Come on, Shen. Julie's upset enough as it is. You ain't gonna win any sympathy points from _her _if you pick a fight with our boss."

"B-but…"

"Move it!"

Bo-Fen was as strong as a kimodo rhino whenever she got annoyed, so it wasn't surprising to see how easily she overwhelmed her taller male sibling and dragged him bodily from the room. Zuko and I could hear them bickering as their footsteps ebbed away. After a tense pause we realized we were alone again…unless you counted Yoshi, who wasn't happy about my getting up in the first place. I felt a little bad for waking him up, but that was quickly forgotten as the Fire Prince breathed a heavy sigh.

I looked at him sharply. "What?"

Zuko took a deep breath, turning away a fraction of a degree from me. "I've wasted enough time here," he muttered, running his hand across his forehead. He looked like he was trying to force back his anger and embarrassment.

His golden eyes found mine for a few seconds.

"I'll see you at dinner."

And then Zuko left.

* * *

_This whole situation was surreal to me. My teacher was sitting at our kitchen table, smiling at me while I sat across from her. Dad hovered nearby, not saying anything but standing with his bulky arms folded. I tried hard not to look at him as I met Mrs. Friday's gaze._

_"So…I'm not in trouble?" I asked._

_"Why?" Dad asked. "Got a guilty conscience or something?"_

_I winced, but caught myself before it turned into a full-on cringe. My teacher glanced at my father in a silently disapproving manner, but she didn't comment. Slowly she turned back to me._

_"Julie, I didn't come here because you did something wrong. Actually, it's because you're doing so much better that I'm here…especially in your music class." Her eyes met Dad's dark expression. "Your daughter is excelling in chorus and Ms. Lee and I are…well…disappointed that Julie isn't participating in NISMA this year."_

_Dad didn't say anything, so I decided to say something._

_"I'm not doing it because I don't want to," I said. "I can't really sing. I'm not good enough at it. I'd just stink up the place."_

_Mrs. Friday frowned. "Julie, honey, of course you can sing. You have a beautiful voice."_

_I scowled and looked at the wall. "I don't want to."_

_My teacher looked a little sad. She looked up at my dad, as though hoping he would say something that might convince me to change my mind. Some kind of encouragement or back-up was what she wanted from him. But Dad just rolled his shoulders and ignored her._

_Mrs. Friday looked at him for a beat. "Julie hasn't attended any of the school concerts, either. It's mandatory that chorus members attend at least one performance a year…if they want to stay enrolled, that is. Otherwise she'll have to select another elective."_

_Dad's eyes flickered to me. "Julie already said she didn't want to. Isn't that right?"_

_I swallowed and nodded quickly. A little too quickly._

_Mrs. Friday looked at me. "Julie seems to enjoy her music elective," she said. "I think participating in it has helped her in her relationships with her classmates. I noticed she's been a lot less aggressive since she started singing."_

_"So she'll pick something she likes better," Dad snapped. "I don't have time to be a freaking chauffer, carting her to all these concerts and recitals and crap. I have enough to do."_

_I could feel his eyes on the back of my neck as he finished his thought._

_"Either way, I'll straighten her out if she causes any more trouble in school. So you don't have to worry about her picking fights with the other kids."_

_He put his hand on my shoulder and I shrank into my chair without realizing what I was doing. I didn't like him touching me. I didn't like him being so close. He smelled bad and his grip was just tight enough to make me remember not to do anything stupid. I was careful not to breathe too quickly, but it was impossible to keep the anxiety out of my eyes._

_My teacher stared at him, her lips drawn in a fine line. "I don't think Julie needs _straightening out_. Perhaps we should discuss why she's been acting out in the first place."_

_She glanced around the house, her gaze resting on a stray beer can that had missed the garbage pail. Slowly, she looked back at my father wearing a look of carefully controlled disdain. I felt a spasm of anger and frustration, but Dad's hand on my shoulder kept me rigidly in my chair._

_"To be honest, Mr. McVay, we've all been concerned about Julie for a while now. We were thinking that perhaps there have been some problems at home. How has your daughter been behaving outside of school?"_

_His hand tightened. I flinched._

_"I don't see what business it is of yours what goes on in this house," he said. "As long as Julie does what she's supposed to in school, you're doing your job. I don't think you're earning your salary by barging into my house and making accusations."_

_"I never accused anyone of anything," said Mrs. Friday coolly. "I merely asked if Julie was having any behavioral issues at home."_

_"And what if she is? That's my job to sort out, not yours. Unless you came here to insinuate that I'm not doing that."_

_"Again, I never insinuated anything. Though let me point out that for someone who's as sure of himself as a parent as you claim to be, you seem a tad…concerned about keeping up appearances."_

_Dad let go of me, taking a step towards my teacher. She sat up a little straighter in her chair, not taking her eyes off of him. She was trying to be calm, but I could see her tensing at the hostility radiating from my old man. There were also splotches of color in her cheeks, revealing just how provoked she really was._

_"I take good care of Julie," he growled. "I make sure she's got food and clothes, I pay school taxes, I give her a place to sleep and a roof over her head…and if she acts out, I take care of it. She's my kid and I'll be the one to keep her in line."_

_"Dad, stop it," I blurted out. "She never said that you…"_

_He wheeled around and glared at me. "Keep your mouth shut. I don't want to hear another word out of you unless someone says something to you, got it?"_

_I snapped my mouth shut and looked away. "S-sorry…"_

_Dad turned back to Mrs. Friday. "Let me tell you something, lady…who do you think was the one who took care of her when she was a baby? Was it you? Did you have to sit through every tantrum? Did you have to watch over every freaking cold and fever…?"_

_"Julie does seem to be absent a lot," my teacher pointed out quietly._

_"My point exactly! Who do you think stayed home with her when she was sick? Do you know how hard it is to hold down a job when I have to put up with this one getting all these fevers and shit? Her mother certainly never lifted a damn finger to take care of her own child. No, it was just me. I'm the only one Julie's got to look after her…and she better damn well remember that. You had, too."_

_Even as he said this, I felt silently outraged. The reason I was absent all the time was because he kept busting me up too badly for me to get out of bed the next day, the bastard. And what job was he talking about, anyway? We lived off of food stamps and welfare checks from the government._

_"When you're the one who starts paying for all her things, then you can decide what's best for her. But until then, she's my kid and I'll say what goes. Now get out of my kitchen before I call the cops."_

_Mrs. Friday slowly rose out of her chair. She glanced down at me and I looked back at her, my face angry and defensive. Her eyes softened._

_"We'll continue this discussion another time," she told my father. "Believe me, this won't be the last you'll hear about this."_

_"I expect it won't. Now get out."_

_I watched her go with a heavy heart. I was glad she was leaving, but I also knew that the moment she was gone I'd be getting my ass handed to me. Dad looked pissed off beyond belief, and his eyes followed my teacher as she walked out of the house. He followed her and locked the door behind her._

_Then, he turned and looked at me._

_"You got something you want to tell me, Julie-bean?" he said in a low voice. "Want to tell me I'm a bad father? Huh?"_

_I was frozen in my chair. "N-no. I never said you were."_

_"Then why did that miserable cunt of a teacher show up at my front door, you little dumb-ass?"_

_I cringed. "She…she's a nosy bitch. I don't know why. She always does things like that. She probably gets off on it or something, doing good deeds and crap…"_

_Dad wasn't amused. "And why does she think _you _need her fucking charity? What the fuck have you been telling her when I'm not around?"_

_"Nothing!"_

_He was standing over me. "You're a lying, ungrateful little brat. And I'm going to make sure you appreciate every little thing I've done for your stupid ass since you were born…even if I have to beat the idea of gratitude into your fucking skull."_

_That was the last thing he said before he smacked me out of my chair. I don't really remember much after that. I probably blacked out at some point when I hit the floor, because the next thing I knew I was curled up on the ground and it was dark. My whole body ached and I think I was bleeding in my mouth a little from where he had got me in the face._

_I could only have one father, and I knew who that person could only be. I knew it as well as the back of Dad's fist._

* * *

I didn't do much else except curl up in my bed and stare at the wall like a comatose mental-ward patient. And since it's very boring to read about something like that, I'm going to switch over to the Gaang for a little while. You all are probably wondering what had happened to them after they left Omashu. I wish I could say that they went on some lighthearted misadventure involving some non-lethal skirmishes with the Fire Nation and a narrow escape, during which they learn a valuable life lesson of some sort.

Well, they _did_ learn something, but what transpired that day certainly wasn't lighthearted. In fact, the incident would forever change the dynamics of Team Avatar as a whole. It would mark them and scar them, and in Aang's case, it would be a test of his personal code of ethics as he would be confronted with the gruesome realities of war.

This was what happened.

"I'm hungry," Sokka complained as they soared over the countryside on Appa's back. "Katara, how are we doing on rations?"

She gave her brother a look. "We have enough to go on if we're careful with what we use…but we shouldn't waste what we have on snacks. I think you got a little too used to having a full stomach back in Omashu."

"Hey, can you blame me? I ate like a king back there."

"Probably because we ate _with _a king," Aang reminded them, grinning. He had been in much lighter spirits since leaving the great city. Finding out that a good friend of his from the past was still alive and well had brought the smile back to his face, and he seemed back to his old, fun-loving self. "Bumi throws the best feasts. I wish we could have stayed longer, don't you?"

"Me too," said Katara. "But we need to get to the North Pole, remember? We aren't going to find Waterbending teachers in Omashu, and it's important that you master the other elements if we're going to stand any chance against the Fire Nation."

Aang nodded. "I know. I'm kind of excited about finding someone to teach us…so I can understand why Kuba was so happy when Bumi agreed to train him. I think they'll get along just fine."

Katara smiled. "I'm sure we'll see for ourselves after we master Waterbending. We'll go back when you need to learn Earthbending. Then you and Kuba can learn together."

"It's much more fun to learn with someone else than to try to master it alone," the monk agreed. "Hey, Sokka, what's with the long face? You can't be _that _hungry, can you?"

The Water Tribe boy was looking over the side of Appa's saddle over at the ocean. He looked uncharacteristically grim and worried as he turned and met the Airbender's inquisitive stare. "I don't have a problem with you two enjoying your training, but you shouldn't forget what we're fighting for, either. And don't forget, Julie and Suki are still missing."

Aand and Katara exchanged glances. "I thought we agreed that Julie was probably with Prince Zuko," the Waterbender said slowly. "And I don't think he's going to hurt her or anything."

"One, you're the _only _person here who believes that. Number two, do you guys really want to take a chance? I mean, I don't know if you guys forgot or anything, but Julie has a lot of enemies. Would it really hurt to make sure she's all right? Especially after everything that happened on Kyoshi?"

Sokka looked away for a minute, his eyes distant.

"Besides, if we track the Fire Nation, we might be able to find out what happened to the Kyoshi Warriors," he said. "They were only captured because of us."

Aang looked a bit crestfallen. "You want us to go _looking _for the Fire Nation?"

"Sokka," Katara said sternly. "I'm worried about them too, but our top priority is making sure Aang masters Waterbending. Hunting the Fire Nation is only asking for trouble…"

"You're just saying that because _you _want to master Waterbending."

The Water Tribe girl sucked in her breath. "And what about _you_? You're only interested in your girlfriend!"

Sokka glared at her. "That is _not _why. Back there, I had acted like a real jerk, and in the end I couldn't even act like half the warrior I said I was. I let Suki down…I let _everyone _down, Katara! What would Dad say if he found out that I left those girls to fend for themselves while I was running away?"

Her face grew soft. "I think he'd say you had a tough choice to make. We all did. But in the end, Aang's safety is more important. He's our last hope of winning this war."

Aang's good mood had thoroughly evaporated by now. "It wasn't your fault, Sokka. If anything, it was mine. I'm the Avatar. I should have…I should have done more for them. I was the one who couldn't protect them."

Katara put her hand on his shoulder. "You were the one who stopped Julie when she went on that rampage. You saved Sokka's life, remember? If it weren't for you, he wouldn't even be here right now." She looked over at her brother again. "We can't sit here and blame ourselves for every bad thing that happens. Not if we want to fix things. We just need to stay focused and stay hopeful. As long as we have each other, we'll be able to withstand anything."

They were all quiet for a minute.

"I hope you're right," said Aang softly. "I'm tired of letting bad things happen because I'm not strong enough to stop it."

Sokka tightened his jaw and said nothing.

"Hey," said Katara suddenly, peering over the edge of Appa's saddle. "What's all that smoke down below?"

The two boys looked and squinted against the orangey-red horizon. "It's hard to see, but Katara's right," said the monk. "And I think it's coming from that village…oh, no. I think it's been attacked."

The Water Tribe siblings exchanged glances.

"It's Aang's call," Sokka said to the unasked question. "He's the Avatar. I'll stand by whatever decision he makes."

They both turned to Aang. He looked at them both in turn before his expression of doubt melted into determination. He looked down at the village as they got closer to it, imagining all those people who probably needed their help, who didn't even know that the Avatar was back and willing to fight for them. He took a deep breath.

"I think we should check it out," he told them. "We're not going to get stronger by running away all the time. I'm here so that I could help people, not to ignore their cries for help." He looked into Katara's concerned blue eyes and tried to seem confident. "Let's go."

The Waterbender looked down at the billowing smoke. "I think you're right, Aang…but I have a really bad feeling about all of this."

It turns out that she had every right to be foreboding. If the Gaang had known what would eventually transpire in that village, part of them would wish that they had just kept on flying with their innocence intact. But it was not to be.

War and death both have funny ways of catching up to you. They always find a way.

* * *

You could say that bad things happen for a reason; that with all forms of evil comes a greater good to surpass it. Or maybe you're like me and take a more cynical view of humanity in that they all deserve a little bit of suffering in their lives. That every bad thing in the world is some sort of divine retribution for living. Life is messy, you know. And it sure as hell isn't free.

As often as I thought about why bad things happen to seemingly good people, I never bothered to ask myself why good things happen to _bad _people. Why people like Commander Zhao kept getting promotions, for example…or why people like me got saddled with all these gifts they didn't work for, that they don't deserve and don't even _want_.

What was Jee doing lavishing me with so many unnecessary things? I wasn't his daughter. I already had a father, and as many chances as he probably had to just leave my ass in the gutter, he never did. As much as I hated and feared the man, I couldn't forget that.

_When you're the one who starts paying for all her things, then you can decide what's best for her. But until then, she's my kid…_

I was shaking under the covers. I felt sick and guilty and terrified all at the same time. Logic said that it was stupid to worry about Dad finding out about any of this, but that didn't make me any less freaked about Jee's gesture. I didn't want him paying for me, buying things for me. I didn't want to be owned, damn it. When someone starts paying for you, it's like they're paying _for _you. Not for your things, but for _you_.

_Dad's going to kill me_, I couldn't help but think. He would never find me here, but knowing that didn't make the heavy ball of dread go away. It weighed me down, kept me from getting out of bed.

I didn't even want to use the bed, but I was feeling cold and vulnerable. I had to admit, I did feel a little better being under a thick pile of soft blankets. I pulled them over my head and lay in the darkness under the red and pink quilts, glad that I couldn't see the tears staining the sheets as I cried silently.

I knew that dinner would be ready soon. I didn't want to think about what would happen if someone came in and saw me like this. It was bad enough that Yoshi had to see it. Poor baby…he stayed curled up in my arms and occasionally whimpered if I made a single noise. He could tell I was upset.

It was nice having his head against my chest as he listened to my heartbeat. Eelhounds are really good companions to have. They didn't nose into your business like people did, and they were just as sympathetic for not knowing about it. They loved you unconditionally and didn't judge you.

Eventually, I had to get up. I wiped the tear tracks from my eyes and shrugged off the blankets, and Yoshi cocked his head at me.

"I have to go eat dinner," I told him.

He blinked at me for a moment before turning and burrowing back under the sheets. He apparently was still intent on having his nap. I would have to remember to feed him later.

I looked at the dress Jee had picked out for me. The neckline was modest (tactfully so since it wasn't like I had the cleavage to show off with something lower cut), and the sleeves were long and flowing like a kimono's. It was obvious I was supposed to wear something underneath it, though, like leggings or something, since it had slits up the sides. I went nosing into one of the drawers and found a pair of russet-colored tights. I kept my black boots, though.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I brushed my hair since it had gotten all messed up after hiding under the covers for God knows how long. Too bad I couldn't do anything about the redness in my eyes or my flushed cheeks. I took a deep, trembling breath and forced myself to look calm and unaffected.

_Think Mai, _I thought to myself. _She wouldn't look like a sniveling brat, would she?_

"_You don't look like a brat,_" said Ayla. "_Anyway, this isn't so bad, Julie. You look really nice in that outfit. And Jee was just doing it to be nice. He really likes you, you know, even if you aren't his kid._"

"I don't want him to like me," I said to her. "Not if he's going to do things like this."

"_But don't you think this could be a good thing?_" she wanted to know. "_I mean…you aren't going back to your father anyway. He's so mean to you…and it's not like you have a choice, right? Even if you wanted to, you can't go back…so you're not doing anything wrong by enjoying yourself and making a new life here. Right?_"

It shouldn't have surprised me that she could immediately tell _why _I was feeling so terrible. Because I did feel guilty. Accepting these things from Jee was like saying that my Dad was a bad father. I mean, I hated the bastard, but he still _kept _me. How many other people would have done that?

No wonder he hates me so much. I mean, he only drinks half as much as he does because he's so torn up about Mom. Looking at me just reminded him that she was dead. Either he really loved her, or he really resented her for saddling him with me. Either way, it wasn't _really _his fault…right?

Shit. What was I thinking? Of course it was his fault. But still…if I was a better kid, maybe he wouldn't drink so much. I'm just saying.

"_Julie, that's not true at all,_" Ayla snapped. "_I don't like it when you think these things about yourself. What could you have done to deserve getting abused? You were a child!"_

"He didn't abuse me, okay? He just gets a little fucked up and forgets what he's doing. What kind of parent doesn't smack their kid around every now and then?"

"_He does more than that, and you know it_."

I took a deep breath. "I'm going to eat dinner now. I don't want to hear any more about this, okay? I'm not going to feel good about this no matter what you say, so just drop it!"

Ayla felt hurt when I snapped at her. I felt even worse because I could feel what she was feeling. We were that bound to each other; so deeply connected that her pain was practically my pain…which had to mean that _my _pain was like…

I shook my head. It was like dealing with Jessie all over again.

"Let's not fight over this," I told her. "Anyway, who can really argue on an empty stomach?"

My joke fell flat. She kept quiet, and I could sense her worry and hurt feelings seeping into me. I bit my lip and looked myself over in the mirror one last time before leaving my room.

Though, I couldn't help but feel that it wasn't really _my _room anymore. But I would fix that. I would fix everything if it was the last thing I did.

I walked into Zuko's dining chamber with my head high, as though I hadn't just spent the last couple of hours crying into a pillow. Everyone looked up at me as I ignored them and took my place opposite Jee and picked up my chopsticks. The food hadn't been served yet which meant I wasn't late, but it always took me a while to separate the damn chopsticks. I always ended up breaking one of them in the process.

Though I couldn't help but notice Zuko staring at me. "What?"

He was looking me over, surprised by what I was wearing it seemed. "You look…" he began, but trailed off as the words eluded him. Finally he had to settle with, "…female."

I glared at him. "Rephrase that before I cold-clock you, you jerk."

Jee gave me a look. "A lady doesn't make death threats at the table."

"Obviously you've never had to eat dinner with my sister, then," Zuko muttered. But we both ignored him as I awkwardly met the Lieutenant's stare.

Just as I had feared, he was looking me in the eyes and could tell that I had been crying. His expression reminded me of my teacher's back when she had come to my house, sympathetic and sad. But he kept a look of quiet cheer on his face, more for my sake than for the rest of the general company.

"You do look nice," he said to me. "See? It's not so hard to dress nicely, is it?"

I glanced down at the dress. "I guess it's all right, but I feel like everyone's staring at me. It's really bugging me. I don't like it."

Iroh smiled. "It should not be surprising that so many people stop to admire a flower in bloom, should it?"

I flushed red. "I'm not a flower, I'm a girl. And there isn't anything to admire. It's just a stupid dress. What's the big deal, anyway?"

Zuko was the only one who was being honest with his feelings at the table. He looked appropriately frustrated by my responses, while the other two just kept smiling at me and trying not to provoke me. Not that I would have screamed at them or anything. Actually, I was more scared that I would start crying again. I really did NOT need this right now.

So you can understand why I was annoyed when Zuko wouldn't leave me alone.

"They're just trying to be nice," he said to me. "Be gracious for a change. It's not like they're making fun of you or being sarcastic."

I flushed crimson and stared at my chopsticks. "Mind your own business, Zu. Don't tell me what to think or how to feel."

That came out half-heartedly. I was just too tired to muster up a particularly nasty insult. I think that was what set off the warning bells in his head. Zuko narrowed his good eye at me and stared.

"Are you all right?"

"Obviously. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I thought you'd feel better if I left you alone all this time, but you actually seem worse now," he said slowly. "You look like you're coming down with something."

"Nephew, please," Iroh scolded him. "Leave Julie in peace. I am sure that this is all very strange to her, so it would behoove you to be more understanding of her situation."

Zuko gave the man a deep brooding look. "I think I understand her situation better than you realize, Uncle. Besides, it's true. She looks like she's going to be sick or something."

"Oh, screw you," I muttered.

It was kind of telling that Jee didn't bother to reprimand me for my crude response or my lack of manners. He was even ignoring the fact that I was slouching in my chair and looking so distant. Normally, I knew he would be urging me to socialize and to keep my posture straight and engaged.

Instead, he let it slide. I suppose that should have been my first clue that something was amiss.

"Julie," he said. "I know you're confused about my gesture earlier, and that's perfectly understandable. I know you probably aren't used to getting gifts, either. I imagine you don't know how to respond to a situation like this."

"You've got that right," I muttered.

He gave me a look. "To be honest, Julie, I came to realize this a long time ago. A girl your age needs structure and stability in her life, and it couldn't be more obvious that you haven't had that. Even before you came here, things must have been very unpredictable and scary…even life-threatening. And given your earlier upbringing…"

I tensed. "My upbringing was…it was fine, okay?"

Jee shook his head. "Well, I don't agree with that. Having a parent drinking all the time and hitting you isn't responsible or fair. You deserve better than that, young lady."

"Yeah?" I sneered. "Says who? You?"

He nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes. I say _do _say so. And there isn't a single person in this room who doesn't agree with me." He met my eyes, which were getting angrier and wilder by the second. "I know it's hard to hear, but as it's unlikely that your father is going to come for you…you _need _a responsible adult to look after you."

"I'm sixteen years old," I snapped. "I don't need looking after. And…and just what the hell are you saying, anyway? Spit it out!"

Jee shook his head, but the gentleness and compassion never left his face, even as I glared right back at him in spite of his efforts. He looked at me and suddenly I felt like bolting from the room. Only my pride and my desperation to prove that I could be strong kept me in my chair. But maybe it would have been better if I _had _walked out. Especially given what he said next.

"Julie," he said. "I want to become your legal guardian…in other words," he cleared his throat, glancing at General Iroh once before turning back to me. His eyes were very sure. "I want to adopt you."

* * *

**A/N: So, there you go. One chapter, delivered as promised.**

**Julie obviously isn't thinking straight about her father, but it actually is a pretty typical mindset of someone who's been abused to assume responsibility for it. In other words, Julie is starting to unconsciously place the blame on herself for all the times she's been hurt by her dad. The longer she finds herself away from home, the guiltier she feels for leaving.**

**Meanwhile, the Gaang are taking a little detour to a small village in distress. But they're going to find that something else is waiting for them, something that will change their lives forever. Yes, I'm shamelessly leaving you guys in suspsence. Hurray for grim foreshadowing and whatnot! **

**Anyway, nuff said. REVIEW!**


	74. A Road Paved with Good Intentions

**A/N:Happy New Year, mon bitches!**

**Erm…I mean…a respectful hello, beloved readers. Just got back from my four day vacation, and I'm already missing the blissful hours spent sleeping, brushing up on my Tolkien, and…oh, yeah! Playing with my new IPod Touch! Pwned!**

**I didn't expect my parents to shell out so much, but it's a hell of a gift. But my moment of glory was cruelly destroyed when I browsed through my music library and found all of my Dad's music practically burned into its little hard drive. You know how much wasted memory that is in Martina McBride and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys? Not to mention countless different renditions of freaking "Oh, Holy Night" and the like. I'm going to kill him.**

**Yup. I'm a grateful offspring.**

**Anyway, I would like to say that I spent the last hours of my vacation working diligently on this fanfic, but alas, my housework was piling up. My rug needed vacuuming in the worst way, and when I went to scrub out my tub I was nearly decapitated by that lake monster from the first Lord of the Rings movie. You know, the one with all the tentacles and the giant gaping maw? Yeah, that one.**

**The bitch didn't even let me have a saving throw. I know! What the fuck?**

**Julie: "Don't believe her. The worst she found in that tub was soap scum. Wuss."**

**AHEM! So, anyway, I learned a valuable lesson about what happens when you put off your chores…the hard way. I had to empty the entire container of Lysol into the beast's mouth before it would let me go, and I got the pleasure of watching it melting from the inside out. That joy quickly soured, however, when I realized that I was now responsible for mopping up the large puddle of water and liquefied innards with several towels and a lufa sponge.**

**Julie: "Well, there **_**was **_**flooding, but not from the epic fight scene Distant-Moon is BS-ing for you guys. We're still trying to figure out why THAT happened."**

**It's cooler to say a tentacle monster did it!**

**Julie: (rolls eyes) "Whatever. I stand by what I said earlier…wuss."**

**Hmmph. Maybe I should be glad I'm going back to work. Anyway, I managed to get the next chapter done in spite of all that. I hope ye all enjoy it, one and all.**

**.. .. ..**

**NOTE: Some of the dialogue was slightly edited, but the overall content remains unchanged.**

**Chapter Sixty-Seven: A Road Paved with Good Intentions**

Okay.

So, I'm lying down with a cold, moist cloth over my eyes. Shim told me to just take deep, even breaths and to try not to think too much. He also said that if I tried to get up or sneak out of the infirmary (again), I might just find myself the subject of his next medical experiment. And since Shim clearly doesn't fear the wrath of Zuko or Jee, I find myself inclined to believe him.

Besides, even if I wanted to, I don't think I could drag myself out of bed. I'm kind of exhausted after throwing such a huge ass fit. Not to mention all that fine china I had smashed…a little by accident, if truth be told. I mean, at that point all hell had broken loose, so it's really hard to explain what the hell was wrong with my head then and there.

I'm not just talking about psychologically. Something happened at that meal that I don't know how to explain. Things that may keep me from sleeping peacefully for a good long time.

I mean, it's true. I'll admit it. I _might _have overreacted. But only a little.

To be honest, I'm not sure what else I could have done under those circumstances. I mean, I'd been trying to keep it together, I really had. I mean, it wasn't like I wasn't _somewhat _conscious of why Jee was doing this. I knew that deep down he was still really torn up about his daughter. I got that. And it wasn't like I was _trying _to hurt his feelings or anything like that. Not this time, anyway.

But the moment that announcement had left his lips, all I could hear was a ringing in my ears. It was like that sound you hear when your TV hits a blank channel, and it was drowning out every single word.

I knew Jee was speaking English…it was just that the words had lost their meaning in that particular context.

"You…?" I said slowly, hoping that it would make sense if I had repeated it back one syllable at a time. And when it still didn't make sense, I wasn't disappointed…I was perturbed. "Want to _what_…?"

"I want to adopt you," the Lieutenant explained in a very patient voice, like I was some kind of child or something.

But I just kept shaking my head. It was like there was water trapped in my ears and I couldn't get it out.

"I…I don't understand…"

Jee just sighed. "Julie, I know this is a lot to take in, but…it's just that I'm very concerned about your future," he said, making an expansive gesture with his hands. "I mean, one way or another, this isn't going to last forever. Either the Fire Nation will win the war or Prince Zuko will capture the Avatar first…and this journey is going to end. When it does…where are you going to go?"

I felt that slide into my stomach like a rock. Because it never really occurred to me to think as far ahead as after the war. Maybe I was so much in denial that I simply refused to imagine that scenario. But Jee had a point. Even in show context, Zuko's manhunt sea cruise comes to an abrupt halt around winter, when the Siege of the North happens. After that, he and his tea-crazed uncle have to run for their lives around the Earth Kingdom while Azula hunts them both like rabid dogs.

So, one way or another, I would have to figure out what to do. And the thought of being uprooted a second time had me wigging out in the worst way. It was the same kind of panic I felt all those times Dad would take me out somewhere and leave me there. Those times I had to find my own way back home because the bastard forgot I was with him. I know deep down I should be glad to be so far away from him, but instead it was like clinging to the lip of a bottomless chasm and feeling the earth under your fingernails crumbling away.

I could feel their eyes on me, and the only thing that came to mind was my most automatic response. Unfortunately, it was the most unlikely and impossible option I had, too.

"I'm going back," I told them, scowling heavily to hide the unease I was feeling. "Home."

Jee just nodded, like he had expected this answer all along.

"Home. Very well. And that would be _where_?"

I stuck out my chin. "I'm not falling for that. I'm not telling you where…you don't need to know that. None of you do. That's my business." I looked away. "But that's where I'm supposed to be. I need to go back. I have to."

"Back, huh?" Zuko inquired in a low voice.

I looked at him and he looked back at me. Then I shivered and looked somewhere else.

"You know, home," I said quickly. "I'm going _home_…eventually. When I'm ready!"

Jee was wearing a dark expression, one that casted a grim shadow on his normally good-natured face. "So in other words, you're going back to your father…to the one who hurts you."

I glared at him. "To the one who…who took me in and fed me…and gave me a place to sleep! He didn't have to do those things, you know. And there's no law that says you have to like your kid. So, why shouldn't I go back? I owe the old bastard _that _much, at least…"

It wasn't logical or even sane, but I swear it was like Dad was standing right behind me; like I could feel his shadow weighing down on me as I said all of this.

"You don't owe him _anything_," Jee said curtly.

I winced and looked at the floor. "You're wrong," I said softly. "I owe that man everything…and I hate him for it. I owe him my _life._ It's like I don't even belong to myself. Do you even know what that _feels _like? Belonging to another person? That feeling…it never goes away…"

Zuko's hand brushed against mine. I had forgotten he had been sitting closest to me, and could easily reach me if he wanted to. And now, apparently, he wanted to. I jolted back and scooted my chair away from the table.

"Don't _touch _me," I snapped. "And quit _looking_ at me like that! Dammit, do you think I want your pity? Or that I need it? I don't!"

Zuko had jumped at my violent reaction and was staring tensely at me. He got up slowly and walked over to me while I stood there trembling. Jee stood up too, holding his hands up, as though to try to calm me down. But I was way past calm. I was on the precipice of a crumbling cliff, and they were all too close, and I didn't like it. Fuck…

"Julie," Jee said. "Just take a deep breath and sit back down. Just breathe."

I took a deep breath, realizing at that moment that I looked and sounded like a crazy person. For some reason, thinking about my father and having Zuko so close at the same time just made me panic. Like I thought Dad was there watching and wouldn't like it…

…but that was crazy. I know it's crazy.

"Julie," said Zuko in an undertone. "Come on. It'll be fine, just…here, sit down. You're making a scene."

I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. I made a point of shying away from him and grabbing my own overturned chair, setting it back upright.

"I'm _fine,_" I whispered. If I spoke any louder I knew my voice would crack.

"No," said Jee. "I don't think you are. But you will be. You just need time."

My grip tightened on the back of the chair and I knew I was an inch away from snapping again. Please, please, please, just stop talking. Someone make him stop talking or change the subject.

"It's not like you can go back, anyway," Zuko pointed out gruffly. He seemed visibly stung when I kept avoiding his touch. He had given up and put his hands in his pockets. "So, you may as well get used to the idea. You're stuck here. You may as well move on with your life."

My eyes snapped open. _Stuck…?_ As in…trapped?

"Um…nephew," said Iroh, noticing the look of naked realization in my eyes and not liking what it portended. "Perhaps you should…"

"I can't believe you're letting him control you like this!" Zuko continued, ignoring his uncle entirely as he looked me dead in the eyes. "You don't belong to anyone but yourself, and thinking any other way is letting him win…and I know how much you hate to lose. Is that really what you want, you crazy girl?"

Jessie used to say that people have different ways of coping with all the stress and duress in their lives, and that everyone has a breaking point. If she had seen the way I had reacted to Zuko's question, I bet she'd totally take my side. She'd agree that it wasn't my fault that I cracked like an eggshell under Zuko's boot…and that it was perfectly understandable that I had decided I was so completely _done _with this conversation.

"Don't call me crazy," I snarled at him. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Oh, _I _don't? What about you? How do you plan on getting home if you're serious about it? Tell me!"

Zuko looked really upset and it didn't really occur to me to wonder why. All that kept registering was that one thing he kept telling me, that I would never be able to leave. That I was stuck on this ship whether I wanted to be here or not…and I had no say in any of it. It was worse than when I was living with Ramon because at least then I could actually go to my _house _if I wanted.

I mean, I knew I'd get my ass beat when I got through the door, but sometimes it was preferable depending on what kind of argument Ramon and I had just had.

"I…I don't know, but…there has to be a way…"

"There _isn't _any way," Zuko interrupted. "And you're making yourself miserable holding on to the past. Just let it go. Stay here, with us. You could have so much more here…and Jee is a good man. He isn't like your father, Julie."

The Lieutenant looked at him in surprise, not expecting the compliment.

"I…I know that…that's not why I…"

I felt almost claustrophobic as the weight of all their eyes pushed me down, made me really need that chair for support. My knees felt weak and it was getting really hard to breathe. I mean, I was breathing, but it was like my lungs weren't getting the air. I felt like I was suffocating.

That ringing noise was getting louder. I'm pretty sure that I was about to pass out.

Zuko came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders. He seemed to know that I wasn't able to hold myself up anymore since he pulled me closer and kept a firm grip on me.

"It'll be okay," he said quietly. "It _will _be."

My stomach clenched. "He can't adopt me, anyway," I deflected, pointedly avoiding his eyes. "I…my Dad's alive, you know. And he'll be pissed if he finds out about all of this. He…he's probably already really angry that I left!"

Jee came over and reached for me. Zuko let go so that I could turn and face the hard-faced Lieutenant. I knew that it had been a flimsy hope that he would be intimidated at the thought of my Dad getting back at him. I mean, sure, he was still back in my world and had no way of finding me…

…but Jee didn't have to know that.

"He can be angry all he wants," he said firmly. "He's not going to lay a finger on you. Not while I'm alive. And if I ever cross paths with him, you can believe that I'll make him sorry he ever did."

I stared at him, but the Lieutenant looked dead serious. He really meant to keep me away from my father; and more importantly, he meant to keep him away from me. He meant to _protect _me, as though I were someone…_worth _protecting. Someone he cared about enough to want to go so far out of his way for.

My thoughts instantly went back to the park bench.

"_Things aren't so bad," Zuko commented, while I sat there trying not to cry. "When I had to leave home, I was alone. I didn't have anyone…but you have all of us. You're lucky."_

_I sniffled. "You had your uncle. You had a family. I never even had that."_

"_You have it now."_

Could Zuko have been right back there? Could this be what he meant when he said I had a family? Did Jee really think of me as a second daughter?

How could he? We barely knew each other, really…and what short time we spent in each other's company, I've been acting like a total brat. Deep down that's just how I am, rotten and mean. I was the kid other parents whispered about back home, looked at like a stray dog rummaging through their garbage instead of like a human being. No one would even_ think_ about doing what Jee was doing now.

I felt my composure slipping. My throat closed up like a pair of floodgates keeping back the tossing waves of bitterness and loneliness. I had to turn my face away to keep them from seeing just how affected I was by all of this.

"And you think I'll just stand back and let you?" I asked him in a low, clogged up voice. "He's my father."

I knew they'd never meet, but it didn't matter. I couldn't let Jee do this. It was a grand gesture born out of grief, and he would regret it. I knew he would. Maybe he didn't hate me now, but he would once he realized just how much it _sucked _being _my _parent.

Zuko took me by the arm. Warmth instantly lanced through all the way down to my fingertips, making me flinch. The rest of me felt so cold.

"And is that going to be enough to stop _him _from killing you next time?" he asked.

I wouldn't look at him. I refused to start crying in front of everyone. That was the last thing I wanted.

"_Julie_," Zuko growled in frustration.

But Iroh interrupted him, yet again.

"The food is getting cold," he said pointedly. "Perhaps we should let all of our emotions settle so we don't end up saying things we don't mean."

His intelligent eyes met mine and I felt a wave of gratitude. I nodded mutely, wedging out from between Zuko and Jee and sinking down into my chair before either of them could choose otherwise. Reluctantly, they took their seats on their respective ends of the table. I was carving furiously into a piece of roast duck while they stared at me.

"Give her chopsticks and she's hopeless," Zuko muttered. "But give her a knife and she attacks her food like a little savage."

A piece of duck _accidentally _slipped off the end of my fork and smacked him in the face.

It was a tiny village tucked away in what seemed like a cleft in the landscape, but was actually just a valley in the center of three hills. The people there had survived for decades using their Earthbending to tend to the natural mines in the surrounding area, and it was those same mines that had tempted the Fire Nation to attack. Several days had passed since that battle, and smoke still hung around the charred huts like a dark veil. Unfortunately, it did little to cloak the devastation and suffering of the wounded.

Katara felt her heart clench at the sight. Even from a distance, things looked _bad_.

"Are you sure we should be landing Appa so far away?" Aang asked. "It'll take us longer to reach the village if we have to walk."

Sokka looked at the monk. "As much as I _love _walking, Katara has a point. The way the town is right now, it's unlikely they'd be able to accommodate a large animal like a sky bison. Besides, if the Fire Nation are still in the area, we have to be stealthy and find out how many we're up against."

The Waterbender folded her arms. "_You're _telling us to be stealthy? What happened to the guy who was all set to hunt down the Fire Nation an hour ago?"

"I didn't say I changed my mind," Sokka replied, giving her a look. Apparently he wasn't in the best of moods, either. "But it's a stupid idea to jump into a fight without a plan. Suki was the one who taught me that."

Aang looked uneasy. "I don't know. I still don't like the idea of leaving Appa alone out here. I'm getting a really bad feeling, you know?"

"Me too," said Katara quietly. She had her water skin full and ready at her side, and her hand kept drifting to it, almost reflexively. "I just hope we aren't too late to help these people."

The sky bison let out a low, dismal bellow as the Airbender wordlessly steered him down to a patch of forest where they would be relatively well-hidden. Sokka took the time to strap on his boomerang and machete. He looked so grim that it made the other two tense and quiet. He didn't even bother complaining about his next meal or make a single bad pun on the way down…something like how decreasing altitude was the pits or something.

Katara frowned. _He hasn't been himself since Kyoshi Island, _she thought. _None of us really have, actually._ Her stomach turned over as she let herself ponder that. _I wonder how different we'll be by the time this war ends…_if _it ever ends._

The trees looked solemn and grave as they climbed off Appa's back. The Waterbender hastily checked to make sure that she had her medicines with her before she followed her brother up the hill towards where the trees were thinnest. She glanced back and saw Aang scratching the sky bison before the ear, promising he'd be back soon and to stay safe while he was gone.

"He'll be all right, Aang," she said. "We need to hurry."

"I know," he said quickly. The monk gusted himself to the top of the hill seconds before Sokka could reach the top. The warrior was so surprised that he ended up stumbling and rolling all the way back down to the bottom of the hill. He ended up stopping right at the base of a fat oak, his butt in the air and his legs hanging over his face.

He spat out a mouthful of leaves and gave Katara an annoyed look as she giggled. But his scowl lessened as she offered him her hand.

"Gee, thanks, Sis. Good to know that you'll always be around to witness my finer moments."

"It's what I'm here for," she replied, nudging him as he got back to his feet.

Aang had a ghost of a smile on his face as he watched them from the top of the hill. "I thought you guys wanted to hurry," he teased.

The siblings looked at each other before climbing up after the cheeky Airbender. But the moment of mirth had been short-lived, and it would be the last they would share for quite some time.

They reached the crest of the hill and looked down.

"The smoke is still really thick in the air," Sokka noted. "The fires couldn't have been put out too long ago. We need to be really careful, guys."

Going down was easier than going up, so it didn't take them more than ten minutes to reach the edge of the quiet town. The closer they got, the heavier their sense of foreboding. Aang furrowed his brow as he tried to see through the tainted cloud that hung around them.

"I can blow all the smoke away with Airbending," he said to the others. "Hold on."

"Hold it," said Sokka, grabbing the monk by the shoulder. "Wait until we see if there are any Fire Nation in the area. If you bend now, it'll give you away, and they'll be all over you like a tigerseal pup among a pack of arctic wolves."

"I think we'll find them a lot quicker if I used my bending, though."

The warrior sighed. "Just trust me. Is that really so much to ask?"

"I guess not…"

They made the rest of the way down cautiously, as the going was treacherous with their vision obscured the way it was. A few minutes later, they found themselves on even terrain again, and looked towards the first row of huts they came across. The trio exchanged grim looks before going forward, silently resolving not to turn away from this crisis that had found them.

They were immediately confronted with the sight of two older men digging a large trench. They looked up at the sight of the newcomers, their expressions tense.

"Stay back," one of them warned. "We have shovels, and we're not afraid to use 'em!"

The other man frowned. "Wait a minute, Shu…these kids don't look Fire Nation. Who are you three?"

"We're travelers," said Sokka quickly, before Aang or Katara could get a word in. "We saw the smoke and wanted to see if we could help."

"What happened here?" Katara asked.

Their expressions softened at her question and the visible concern on her face. "A week ago the Fire Nation came here," the first man said, leaning heavily on his shovel. He looked away as he recalled the incident. "They demanded access to our iron mines, and we couldn't refuse them. They had already beaten back what few Earthbenders we had…those young men were burned alive, the poor bastards."

Katara and Aang were stunned. Sokka, though not as surprised as the younger two, gritted his teeth and looked angry.

"Sounds like the Fire Nation, all right," he muttered. "How many are there? We can help you drive them off."

The men seemed surprised. "Drive them off? Son, the Fire Nation ran off three days ago. A group of heroes came to our aid …they outnumbered the squadron easily and beat them back, even though they weren't benders or nothing."

Sokka felt a spark of hope. "They were warriors?"

He couldn't help but think of Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors. Maybe they had escaped the Fire Nation…maybe they were here right now.

But the men were shaking their heads. "Actually, no. They called themselves _religious scholars_…pacifists. Well, obviously that's a load of hoot, given what they did to the prisoners they took…but those bastards had it coming to them after what they did to our town. Gave 'em some of their own medicine."

He spat on the ground.

Aang suddenly had a bad feeling. "These scholars…were they wearing purple cloaks?"

Katara looked at him. "You don't think…"

Their worst suspicions were confirmed when the two men looked even more surprised. "Hey, how did you know that? Are you kids members of the Brotherhood, too?"

They seemed to be looking at them with more respect than before. The gaang looked at each other, not sure what to do. It was clear that the Brotherhood were held in high esteem in this village…they were regarded as _heroes_. Saviors, even.

Aang bit his lip. "Not exactly. But…we _have _heard about them."

"Really? We haven't…until they came and saved our sorry hides," one of the men remarked. "Damn good of them, too. Apparently the reason why the Earth Kingdom is falling to the Fire Nation is because we've become too reliant on our bending. Did you know that?"

"That's ridiculous," said Katara. "Bending is a part of who you are. Asking someone not to Earthbend is like asking _me _not to Waterbend. I can't even imagine having to live that way."

The men looked at each other, alarmed. "You…you're a _Waterbender_?"

The girl put her hands on her hips. "Got a problem with that?"

Sokka took a defensive stance in front of his sister, sensing that the two strangers with shovels weren't digesting this news very well. While they certainly weren't _hostile_, they seemed a lot more distant than they were before Katara made her startling declaration. Sometimes, Sokka wished his little sister were a bit less headstrong. It would certainly make his life easier.

"Katara, stay behind me," he said to her quietly.

"We're not going to hurt you," said one of the men. "But you might want to leave town now. I'm telling you, if you're a bender than there's nothing you can do for us…no matter how well-intentioned you are."

"It's for your own good, too," his friend added. "Benders aren't welcome here, anymore."

"How can you say that after _Earthbenders _gave their lives to defend this village?" Katara demanded.

"Those boys died _because _they were Earthbenders," said a new voice. It belonged to an elderly woman carrying a basket of dried up turnips. She had overheard the conversation. She looked very tired. "Though they were good people, they fell because they were bound to a sinful art. And it is the Red Lady's divine will that the sinful are purged of their sin through fire…just as she was."

"What do you mean, like _she _was?" Sokka asked.

"According to legend, Lady Ayla used to be a powerful Energybender who did great things …things that even the Avatar couldn't do. But one day, without any explanation, she became tainted by the world around her and turned against the Brotherhood. And so, for her own good, they set her body ablaze so that her spirit could be cleansed…and a miracle occurred."

She looked at the three in turn. "As her body crumbled into ash, her spirit glowed like the morning sun and _split _into six pieces. Five of those pieces were swallowed by five spirits, and those spirits became powerful and wise. As such, the Brotherhood divided into five sects to worship each of these spirits, seeking enlightenment and true balance within themselves…

…but the sixth piece was lost. For years, the Brotherhood acolytes believed that that piece of Ayla's spirit had been reincarnated, and have searched endlessly for the body that held the cherished spirit." The woman's eyes turned bright. "And from what these gentlemen are telling us, that body has been found. Recently, a girl was discovered…an Energybender with a striking resemblance to the Red Lady. They call her Julie."

She put her basket on the ground and wiped her muddy hands on her apron.

"We are simple people," she told them. "We don't look to the outside world. We grew up on our values and cherished Earthbending, but in the end that was our undoing. The very hills that nurtured us all these years became an inescapable death trap when the Fire Nation came. But the Brotherhood gave us a new hope. This girl, Julie, may be the key to everyone's salvation. Yours, mine…everyone's."

Aang, Katara, and Sokka looked at each other. They didn't seem to know what to think at this point. Up until then, they had thought that the Avatar was supposed to be the protector of the world. But now they were hearing that bending was an evil art and that the only rational thing to do is to set everyone who could so much as lift a pebble on fire and watch them burn to death.

"But…the Fire Nation use _their _bending," said Aang, confused. "Why aren't _they _being punished if bending is so wrong?"

"What are you saying, child? Of course they're being punished. The Brotherhood captured many of the Firebenders who burned down our homes, tied them up, and burned them alive. Blood for blood."

She dusted off her hands, as if those deaths were so necessary that it wasn't worth discussion.

The monk shook his head, horrified. "But…that doesn't solve anything. If anything, your people are only being poisoned by your grief and anger. This _isn't _the right way!"

"Spoken like a true heretic," one of the trench-diggers remarked. "I'd get out of town if you're going to keep talking like that. We're doing you a favor by giving you a warning, you know."

"Some favor," said Katara angrily. "What you people are doing is horrible! How can you say things like this so calmly? You're talking about tying people up and setting them on fire! It's not even an execution anymore…it's _torture_."

"This is a war, little girl," said the old woman. "And we will fight back in our own way."

"Well, I'm not going to let you do this!"

"Neither am I," said Aang.

But Sokka grabbed them both and steered them away, back towards the hills. "Don't listen to them. They're just a couple of kids. You know how kids can be. We'll just be leaving now."

The three villagers watched with narrowed eyes as the warrior frog-marched his sister and the monk up the steep incline towards the trees. Katara struggled to get free, but Sokka was adamant, and wouldn't let go of her until the village was out of sight. She was in a fury by the time they were at the top of the hill.

"Sokka, how could you?" she screamed. "How could you?"

"Are you crazy?" the Water Tribe boy shot back. "I just saved your lives! Didn't you hear them? They set _benders on fire_, and last time I checked, both of you are benders!_Novice_ benders, to be specific. Sorry if you think it's so wrong for me to think of my family first."

Katara bit her lip, tears in her eyes. She folded her arms and sank down on a boulder, so angry that she wouldn't even look at him. Aang looked at her, troubled. Then, he turned back to Sokka.

"So, we're just going to leave?"

"We already got the information we needed," he said. "We just learned a lot about Julie's situation than we knew before…and if the Brotherhood find her before we do, she could end up a lot worse than the Firebenders who attacked the village. I hate it as much as you do, Aang, but we have no other options."

"We could go back!" Katara snapped. "We could kick the Brotherhood out and make these people understand that what they're doing is _wrong!_"

Sokka slammed his bag to the ground.

"Okay," he said through gritted teeth. "I didn't say this before because I didn't want to upset you, but did you notice how fresh the smoke was? The men digging just told us that the Fire Nation were driven out _days _ago. So why would smoke still be in the air unless something was still_burning_?"

Aang gasped. "You mean…"

"That's right. They're still killing people; and if they're still angry enough to burn people alive, what makes you think they'll just _let _you two go in there and shoot your mouths off?"

"But…but that means that there are still people still there…benders waiting to be tortured to death," the monk whispered. "We can't just leave them."

Sokka didn't answer. He looked visibly torn as he contemplated this, as he wrestled with the life-or-death decision hanging over his shoulders. He knew deep down that the right thing to do would be to try to help someone if their life was in danger. But on the other hand, this was his sister and the Avatar he was with. If anything happened to either of them in this village…

He couldn't even protect Suki. What made him think he was capable of protecting anyone else?

"Sokka, please," said Katara. "What good was it to leave the South Pole if we were just going to run away from everything?"

The Water Tribe boy scowled. "I'm not running away! I just know better than to let my pride endanger someone I care about again."

Her blue eyes softened. "Would Suki leave if she had the choice?"

He closed his eyes. He knew the answer to that, too.

"No," he whispered. "She wouldn't."

He stood up slowly, turning to face the others. He was holding his club tightly in his hands, and Katara was instantly reminded of the boy who had watched his father sail off to war without him. The way his face his looked them was almost exactly the same when he had promised to look after her and their tribe until he returned home to them.

"Dad wouldn't leave either," he said. "But I know he would never forgive me if I let anything happen to either of you. So, if we're going to do this, we have to be smart."

Aang and Katara looked relieved.

"So, what do we do then?" the Airbender asked.

Sokka looked down towards the village. "We have to sneak back when it gets dark. If we go in broad daylight, they might not let us go a second time…especially now that they know that we're against the Brotherhood."

"And then, when everyone is asleep, we'll find the rest of the benders and let them out. Even the Firebenders…" said Katara, more to herself than to the others. "They can't all be bad, can they? I mean, Prince Zuko might not be."

"Not _that _again," her brother groaned. "Look, Katara, save you're crazy optimistic there-is-good-in-all-mankind speeches for later, will you? He's the Fire Lord's son, for crying out loud!"

"I don't know," said Aang. "I don't think it's so crazy. I think it'd be cool if one day we end up being friends with Zuko. I mean, since we're already friends with Julie…maybe he'll come around, too."

Sokka shook his head, glancing down at the village as if he was looking at all the trapped benders right now, waiting to be cooked to the bone. "If anything, we'll be helping the Fire Nation so that they'll tell us what they did with the Kyoshi Warriors…besides it being the honorable thing to do. All right?"

Katara sighed. "Fine."

"Fine," Aang agreed.

I barely tasted my food as I wrestled with the weight of so many pairs of eyes. Even while Iroh's voice broke the silence, having changed the subject to a less controversial _you'll never guess what amazing bargains there are to be had on jasmine leaves here_; even then I couldn't distract myself. It was unlikely as hell that Jee would just drop the subject of adopting me, which meant that I had to come up with some convincing arguments to get him off my back without provoking his compassion-driven nerve.

I would treat this like a business transaction. If I stayed impartial and kept the conversation to practicality, stuck to facts instead of appealing to emotion, I knew I stood a chance. But only if I kept myself…well…calm.

Easier said than done. I don't have a tranquil bone in my body.

I put down my fork. "I'm finished," I said in an even tone of voice. Good. I was in control. "It's been a long day, and I'm tired out from all the shopping. I think I'll go to bed early."

I rose to leave the room.

"Sit back down, Julie," said Jee, giving me a warning glance. "We're going to discuss this first. Besides, you've had plenty of time to rest before dinner."

I repressed the angry twitch I had in me and sank back in my chair. "There's nothing to discuss. You can't adopt me. That's the end of it."

"I beg to differ, young lady. And kindly do not take that tone with me."

I kept my hands knotted on my lap and I focused my gaze on that instead of Jee's voice. _Keep calm_, I reminded myself. _He can't do this if you don't give him any ammunition. Don't feed into it._

So, I took a deep breath and relaxed my muscles. I looked up and met his stare with a blank expression. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Zuko frowning as he contemplated my out-of-character behavior. I was careful to ignore him.

"My Dad's alive, and that means that there is no legal way you can adopt me," I told Jee. "I wasn't trying to be disrespectful…Sir."

I glanced smugly at the Lieutenant. I was actually kind of proud of myself for thinking of that one under so much pressure, and it was hard to keep the satisfaction off my face.

Unfortunately, General Iroh chose that moment to be _helpful_.

"Actually," he said. "According to Fire Nation law, a person under the age of sixteen, regardless of nationality, can be legally adopted if his or her parents are still alive provided that both birth parents are not Fire Nation citizens and are unable to care for their child."

Wait, what? Was this more of that psychotic Fire Nation philosophy about "spreading their greatness with the world?" I couldn't imagine Ozai having such warm fuzzies about foreign children given what he did to his own kids.

Iroh noticed my confusion. "The law came about during the late Fire Lord Azulon's reign, Julie. The war has taken its toll on a number of families, even Fire Nation families…and many high-ranking officers were concerned for the young captives of the villages they conquered, the ones who were suddenly without families."

I was astonished. "You're saying that they just adopted them?"

"Many were unfortunately kept as servants and slaves, but many others _were _saved by the compassionate few willing to take them into their homes. Even some families back in the homeland, the ones who had lost sons and daughters in the fighting, did this."

Damn.

"I can't imagine those guys knew what they were getting themselves into," I muttered. "Those kids can't have been too happy about this…I mean, first the Fire Nation go and kill their parents, and then they get taken away and brought into a strange house to live with a bunch of people they don't even know!"

I looked down at my empty plate, fuming quietly at the idea. Though I had to admit, Iroh's story was distracting me. I couldn't deny that the new bit of Avatar-world history was fascinating as hell. It also put a lot of insight into Jee's crazy intentions. Apparently Fire Nation soldiers did crap like this all the time…the well-intentioned ones, anyway.

So, it wasn't just grief over his lost daughter. It was also a cultural issue.

I glanced up at Jee. "You _do _realize I'm sixteen already, don't you?"

The Lieutenant looked a little too innocent as he met my gaze. He lifted his cup and quaffed some of the tea that Iroh had poured for him. "Oh, dear," he sighed as he set it down again. "I might have gotten your age wrong when I made out the form. And the ink is permanent, too."

Fuck. Is he kidding me?

"_Ink_ won't matter when I tear the whole fucking thing into pieces," I growled. "What the hell made you think you could get away with something like this?"

"Yeah, Lieutenant," said Zuko sarcastically. "How dare you try to save the girl from a lifetime of abuse and neglect. That's heinous."

I wheeled around. "Shut up! This doesn't have anything to do with you!"

So much for calm.

The Fire Prince just glared at me. "I'm just making my opinion clear, peasant."

"Well, excuse me if I could care less about your _opinions_, Zuko. This is only my _life _we're talking about, not anything _important!_" I snapped, slamming my palms down on the table. "But out, already!"

His expression didn't waver. If anything, it became more resolute.

"As far as you're concerned, that's not going to happen," he said in a low voice. "This isn't something I'm going to keep quiet about…and you _will _listen to me, you stubborn little peasant."

I felt a very sick part of me melting at that statement. Shit, my knees were seriously getting weak, and I was sitting, for crying out loud! I must have been crazy to let Zuko's abundant sex appeal distract me at a time like this, but I swear to God I got the chills when he said that to me. In my defense, though, I like to think that it was the combination of stress and temporary insanity that made me react like that.

Jee cleared his throat abruptly, bringing me back to reality. I wasn't sure whether I should have been disappointed or relieved. Either way, I was mortified with myself.

"Julie, could you please focus for a minute? You're getting distracted."

No kidding. I hope to hell Zuko didn't notice the way I was staring at him just now. He'd never let me live it down if he figured out how much I really liked him.

"I want to ask you something, and I really want you to think about it before you answer," he said with serious eyes. "And I want you to be honest with yourself, all right. Can you do that?"

I was a little startled. "What is it?"

Jee folded his hands on the table in front of him. "Do you love your father?"

A moment ago I was thinking how it was way too warm in that stuffy room, but Jee's words sucked every ion of heat from the atmosphere. I felt my insides shatter into a thousand icy shards as the question slammed into me. Love? Since when had this ever been about love? I could care less about love.

"Are you trying to go back out of love? Or out of obligation…and fear?"

Cold. That was how I felt. Very, very cold…and isolated. I felt like a huge part of me was being squeezed tight and shut away inside a block of ice. Again, I felt the creeping weight of my father's shadow, and I could almost feel his hand on my shoulder. It was all in my head, I knew that. He wasn't there. He could never find me…he couldn't get me here…

I kept my eyes down. "What does it matter how I really feel?"

"Your feelings are the most important thing, Julie. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Shit. Not this again.

He was obviously going to keep at this until I gave in. The man was just convinced that I was some kind of damsel in distress, a scared little girl that needed to be rescued. God, how I wanted to burst his sorry-assed bubble. I mean, I had tried everything else I could think of: I had gotten murderously angry, I had tried to appeal to his sense of logic, and done everything I could think of to persuade him that I was self-sufficient and didn't need another parent in my life.

I guess the only thing left to do was to be honest. Brutally and viciously honest. He wanted to know how I felt? He wanted to believe that I was a good kid turned bad by my surroundings? Fine. I would take those idiotic ideals of his and crush them.

I was done screwing around. It was a necessary cruelty.

"You think I love that miserable dickhead?" I muttered. "I never loved that man a day in my life. Can you imagine how royally _fucked_ I'd have been if I gave a crap about him? I'd probably be dead." I felt my hands curling into fists as I scoffed. "Love? What good is love when you're trying not to _die_? Love is useless…!"

I exhaled sharply as the unnamable emotion crawled through me. Pure loathing…it was a slow, languid river of churning hot tar. I was drowning in it.

"Want to know how I _really_ feel?" I asked Jee. It was sick, but I relished the looks on their faces, the pain and anger carved into them. "I _hate _him. I used to have to sleep with a _knife_ under my pillow, because I could never be sure that he wouldn't try to kill me in my sleep. And no matter how many times I'd get my ass kicked, I was always too weak to use it. _Always_…"

I felt myself choking on my own hate. There was a block of granite where my heart should be, and I could feel it eroding away from the acid flowing through my body. I suddenly felt exhausted, weary.

"I was a terrible daughter to think like that," I continued quietly. "I hated myself for it…no matter what I did, I hated myself. Too weak, too evil and twisted…no wonder he hated me! And I hated _him _for making me feel like a monster…like a _freak_."

No one said anything. Obviously, because what I had just admitted was too fucked up for words. Besides, what do you say to a girl who tells you that she wants to be strong enough to kill her own father, but hates herself for it?

"The man tormented you since you were born," said Zuko unexpectedly. "And you think _you're _twisted? That _you're _the evil one for wanting to defend yourself? Do you really think that?"

I was surprised. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do _I _mean? That monster has you so brainwashed that you think it's some kind of crime to want a better life for yourself! He made you think you _deserve_ to live like this!"

I flinched. "I'm _not _brainwashed, I…I…" I couldn't get my thoughts straight. "Stop making excuses for me! If you could just _live _inside my head for a day, you wouldn't be saying that!" I turned to Jee, giving him that same desperate look I was giving Zuko. "And _you _wouldn't be trying to adopt me. Believe me…you have no idea what you're doing…"

I gave a start when I saw someone standing next to me. Iroh had gotten up to pour me some more tea, and was now filling the cup to the top with the steaming beverage. The aroma disarmed me for a moment.

"Chamomile has a soothing effect," he said casually. "On the body and the spirit. I am quite fond of it when I find myself restless…or anxious."

Zuko rolled his eyes at his uncle's knee-jerk response to all of life's ills. "More tea. Spirits…"

I lifted the cup to my lips, blew on it, and took a slow sip. My hands were shaking a little, but I managed not to spill any of the tea. I mean, come on, Iroh was looking right at me.

"Better?"

"A little," I said dismissively. I looked back at the Lieutenant desperately. "But I mean it. Jee, I'm not budging on this. You can't seriously want a psychopath for a daughter."

He smiled sadly.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing I'm not asking to adopt a psychopath, isn't it?"

Stubborn, idiot bastard!

"Whatever!" I snapped, putting my tea down and pushing my chair back. "I'm not signing anything, so you can just…"

The words locked tight in my throat. One minute I had been in full rant mode, the next my entire body had gone maverick on me. It was like an invisible cord connected to my spine had gone _taut_, forcing me upright. I didn't know what was happening, and needless to say it was freaking me out.

"Julie?" Jee said, making to get up. "Are you all right?"

Iroh was suddenly very alert, watching me intently as he slowly set the kettle down. Zuko's reaction, on the other hand, was a lot more drastic. To be specific, he almost fell out of his chair, not looking at me but _around _me…apparently at something I couldn't see.

"What's going on?" he said to his uncle. "What's happening to her?"

Before Iroh could answer, a spasm rocked me and I collapsed on to my knees. A premonition rippled through my body like an earthquake. Something terrible was happening. Something bad and frightening and…oh, God, I felt so sick. I was going to heave.

Jee had pushed his chair back and rushed over to me. "Spirits, girl…answer me! What's the matter with you?"

I couldn't speak. I was gagging as images flashed through my brain, one after another…too many…too horrible and gruesome…

"She seems to be having a vision," said Iroh, but his voice sounded so far away now. "And apparently it isn't a pleasant one."

**A/N: And so, as the Gaang resolve to help those in dire need, Julie is fighting her own battle. As Jee declares he is one-hundred percent sure he wants to adopt her, Zuko surprisingly takes his side; seeing it as a window of opportunity to keep the Energybender around. Deep down, the Fire Prince is dreading what will befall her if she should get her wish and find a way back to her own world. Too bad Julie doesn't see it that way.**

**Jee is totally clueless about Julie's otherworldly status, but is just as determined not to let her go back to her father. But just before this face can sink in, Julie is suddenly seized by a vision of horrible things to come. Could it, perhaps, have anything to do with what the Brotherhood has planned for the village? And will Aang and co. be able to put a stop to it in time?**

**Heh. Maybe I should have made my New Year's Resolution be to stop ending my chapters on cliffhangers…but then, that wouldn't be any fun, would it? Though I'm sure you guys don't mind that my REAL resolution is to update my Omake fic on a more regular basis. In fact, we'll see the next chapter of THAT this weekend, and it features everyone's favorite eelhound: Yoshi!**

**I know! Woo! I'm excited too!**

**Is your New Year's Resolution to be to read and review every chapter? Even if it isn't, DO IT ANYWAY! Yoshi commands you!**

**Yoshi: (looking up suddenly) "Wha? I does? But I was sleeping…!"**

**Erm…(shifty eyes) REVIEW!**


	75. Disturbing Visions

**A/N: I know this chapter is late…again. I'm having problems logging into , and it only let me back into my account now. I'm not sure if it was a problem with the server or anything like that, or if I just have the shittiest luck on the planet. But whatev's. I managed to get through eventually, and that's what matters.**

**More importantly, I can finally respond to some of the questions you guys asked in some of the reviews. Normally I write back in a PM, but I can't do that if I'm trying to contact an anonymous reviewer or someone without a account. Anyway, this is something I really need to get to the bottom of.**

**To CCX: **I am in the process of reviewing the old chapters as we speak. I was already vaguely aware that I would have to revise them at some point or another since I started writing this thing, like, two years ago. My writing style has changed significantly since then, and I like to think that I've improved over time. Also, the reason why Julie may seem OOC in the first chapter is because her character has also grown and evolved as the plot thickens. Things happen to her that change her, for better or for worse.

Did I mention that I started writing this two years ago? Lol.

However, I will go back and see what I can do to make it less…jarring. Perhaps if you get the chance, could you PM me and let me know what I should be looking out for? I don't notice everything, mostly because I wear a pair of rose-colored contacts in regards to my writing. And it's really cool to see people who are willing to read this whole thing over again. It says a lot for the potential of this story…I hope.

Anyway, thanks for the review.

**I am exhausted. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to try to update both Deleted Scenes and the main fic in one week, but I can feel it now. I've been pulling late-nighters trying to meet an extra update, so I'm considering making a less frequent update schedule for Deleted Scenes; like maybe every two weeks or so. I'm going to have to catch up on my sleep if I want to be able to function coherently at work.**

**A starving artist doesn't update, and no one wants that. So I'm going to bed now, making sure I'm extra-rested for tomorrow (so I don't get my ass FIRED). In the mean time, enjoy the chapter.**

**Chapter Sixty Eight: Disturbing Visions**

As though I were kneeling before a king or a god, I felt the weight of the vision pushing me to the floor. The vision itself felt too big for my skull, like it would push its way out if I wasn't careful. It was too much stimuli all at once. Gruesome sight of terror-stricken faces, the smell of burning flesh, and the sound of their screams…I gagged and felt bile clawing up my throat.

Jee snatched the closest thing he could snatch off the table and shoved it into my hands. It was an empty soup bowl. The smell of the remains of the meal jarred nauseatingly with the smoke and charred bone I _believed _I could smell. I leaned over and threw up into the bowl.

It wasn't much because I hadn't eaten much. But my stomach heaved repeatedly even after I had vomited up everything I had swallowed that night.

Zuko came up from behind me. I couldn't see him, but I was hyper-aware of every living being in the room. I could feel the press of their spirits vibrating in the air, from the Firebenders all the way down to the lone cricket hiding in the corner. I was painfully shackled to life itself.

"_Life is pain," _said a voice in my head. _"Death is mercy."_

Zuko's hands were the only things keeping me warm. "Julie," he said urgently.

"_Kill me…!" _someone screamed inside of me.

I let out a choked whimper. Pain seared through my body and tears began pressing against my eyes. Suddenly, Zuko hissed and started backwards; as though I'd been conducting electricity and he had come within a hair's breadth of getting electrocuted.

"_In the name of Lady Ayla," said the cloaked man. "Your pain and your sins will be erased…along with your existence. You will be purged with fire."_

"No…no…" I heaved again, but nothing came up. I was doubled over and choking.

Zuko stared at me for a long time, his eyes wide and bewildered. He looked a little green, but obviously he had no idea why he suddenly felt so sick to his stomach. Eventually, he pulled himself together. He had no choice. Everyone else had been sufficiently stunned into incompetence. Iroh put his hands on Zuko's shoulders in concern, but the Fire Prince shook him off impatiently.

"Go get the healer," he snarled at Jee. "Can't you see she's not well?"

But the Lieutenant didn't move from my side. He appeared to be panic-stricken and, obviously, conflicted about following that set of orders. "I…I can't just leave her like this."

"I don't think we can move her," Iroh told him, noticing the way I had curled into a ball and refused to budge. "We'll need Shim to sedate her, otherwise we'll have to wait until this passes."

"But what's _wrong_ with her?"

Zuko rounded on him again. "We won't know until you get the healer! Do as I tell you, or so help me, Lieutenant!"

Jee's face was pale. "R…right…"

He tore out of the room, leaving me alone with Zuko and Iroh. I was sobbing quietly and occasionally retching. The sight of the burning man was fading, but I could still smell his corpse in the back of my throat. I could still faintly hear him screaming, begging for death. I was barely aware of anything else except for the tragedy of this stranger clinging to life against his will.

Zuko hesitated, kneeling beside me. He reached for me, but then thought better of it.

"Uncle, you know what's wrong with Julie…don't you?"

He looked up at the older man, who seemed tired and solemn.

"I have seen this happen," Iroh replied softly. "But only once in my life. And it makes sense that Julie would be afflicted with visions given…everything."

"Visions?"

"Zuko, we both know how vulnerable she is to spirits…and you have repeatedly confided your suspicions, that Julie is spiritually connected with the Avatar. It is likely that what she is seeing something that is to come, something that will involve him…or perhaps not. Perhaps what she is seeing has already passed, and is connected with Ayla. We won't know until Julie is herself again."

I could faintly hear him, but his voice sounded washed out. Distant.

"I don't want to believe that anymore," said Zuko roughly. "I don't want Julie to be connected to the Avatar…especially now that his friends want her on their side. She doesn't need to get involved with them…_any _of them."

His arms were warm as they tentatively found their way around me and pulled me close to him. I flinched, but I kept myself under control as he started rubbing my back. It wasn't much, but it helped a little with the nausea.

"Besides," he added. "If this is just because of _her _Energybending…then why did I feel it, too?"

Iroh gave a start. "What?"

"When I touched her…before, just now…I felt…_something_. Something _bad_."

I shuddered violently. "Don't…"

Zuko's hands were shaking a little as they soothed the back of my hair. I think if I were myself, I would have found this uncomfortable. I hated it when people touched my hair, no matter who it was. But as things were, I was just glad for his body heat. I clung to him to keep myself from freezing.

"Whatever she's seeing…I only caught a glimpse of it, but I know for sure that something was burning…and…I think it was a person."

The reminder made me gag again. Iroh looked at us for a moment, his eyes deeply troubled.

"If that is true," he said. "Then I hope I am wrong…and that the Avatar is not involved in this."

They were both quiet for a minute. The silence was pressing on me. I needed their voices to distract me from what I was seeing.

"Z…Zuko…?"

He reacted immediately, cupping my chin and pushing my face up to meet his gaze. I am embarrassed to say that I probably was still green around the gills, and had snot running down my nose. I was also too sick to be concerned about my dignity.

"Is it over?" he asked tensely. "Can you hear me…?"

It was hard for me to focus. His words sounded warped…strange. I knew what he was saying, but my mind kept skipping over the answer to his question, like stones on the surface of a black pond.

"I…I don't know, I…please…kill me…"

I was confused. I found myself whispering the very same thing the stranger in my vision was screaming. I didn't actually mean it, and I think Zuko could tell that was the case. Needless to say, it bothered him anyway. His grip tightened on me.

"You're not well," he said uneasily. "You…you don't mean that. Don't talk. It'll be okay, now."

"But he…he wants them to k…kill him…he wants to die…"

Zuko hushed me. He looked up at Iroh, perturbed. "Isn't there anything we can do for her?"

"Beyond what you are doing for her now, I'm afraid not, nephew. Julie will have to work through this on her own. She is strong. She will be fine, I'm sure."

I groaned and buried my face into Zuko's chest. "He won't stop burning…and he won't die…"

"I know," he whispered in my ear. "It'll be over soon."

I closed my eyes and tried to believe. But all I could see was death and fire…and endless suffering. Not just for that one man, but for humankind. Everyone was suffering with their own torments no matter which way I looked. For the first time I truly saw the philosophy of the Brotherhood and understood what they meant when they said, to live is to suffer.

Wait…how did I even know that?

"_I know it,_" Ayla breathed. "_So you know it, too. We're connected, now…bound to each other._"

She sounded as though she were in a lot of pain, which was weird considering that I was the one with the body, not her. My pain was superficial, but real enough to bring me to my knees. But Ayla sounded as if her pain was…real.

Whose pain was I feeling?

"_It's all my fault,_" Ayla told me in a strained voice. "_They're doing all of this because of me…they're tormenting innocent people in my name._"

The Brotherhood. I could see them clearer now. Their devout faces and blood-stained cloaks…illuminated in the crackling of the flames. They seemed neither happy nor sad; just tired and determined to see this through until the end. The man they were burning, his shadow stretched all the way to their feet, contorted as he died in the fire.

"They're sacrificing people," I whispered out loud. "…to_ Ayla_."

Zuko looked down at me. "The Brotherhood," he said, making the connection instantly.

I shuddered again. "Fuck…I'm going to be sick…" I swallowed back the bile in the back of my throat. "W-why do _I _have to see this…?"

"_Because I'm seeing it,_" Ayla replied faintly. "_Your pain is my pain, and my pain is…your pain. I…I can't help that…sorry…_"

No kidding.

"This…this is r-really hurting…you," I said, trying to get my mind to work in the fog of agony.

"What?" Zuko asked tensely. "What are you talking about?"

I had forgotten that he and his uncle were still there, watching me. The pain kept me sufficiently distracted enough, and my senses were in overload from the two conflicting sets of stimuli. It was close to impossible to focus on anything for very long. But as I heard Zuko's voice in my ear again, I dragged my mind out of the dark hole it was on the brink of and tried to explain.

"Not you…Ayla…" I said through gritted teeth. "For some reason…whenever she feels something…I feel it too. And this vision is…it's _her _pain I'm feeling now. For some reason…it's really hurting her…_physically _hurting her…that they're doing this."

I stopped talking. Instead, I let my head rest against Zuko's chest as I tried to get a hold of myself. I didn't even care what he thought about it. I just didn't have the strength to care anymore.

"I would assume that the reason for it is that the spirits of the Brotherhood's victims are resonating with Ayla's spirit," said Iroh. "They were sacrificed _to _her, after all…but it's all very strange…"

Zuko held me to his side, not saying a word. The visions were getting faint now, and I was becoming increasingly aware of him. I could feel his heart pumping blood into his body, into his hands, which were gentle on my back. He was so much warmer than I was, and every heartbeat sent a fresh wave of fire into his veins, the chi to his bending.

He felt so alive. Life…it wasn't so bad when it meant that this heart would keep beating.

Just when I starting to think that it would all be bearable, the entire world felt like it was _lurching _again. The scene changed again. This time it was Aang I saw surrounded by cloaked acolytes with weapons. His eyes were glowing blue and his tattoos began to pulse with light.

The village was crumbling into ruins in the face of his wrath.

"Aang…" I gasped. "Oh, no…"

Zuko had felt my body stiffen. "What?" he said sharply. "What is it? What did you see?"

I shoved my fist in my mouth. _Stupid! _Why had I let myself talk? Whatever trouble Aang was in right now, it wouldn't help him to have the Fire Nation on his trail, would it? Shit. I can't believe I just did that. Of all the stupid moves…!

"Tell me," he growled. "I know you saw something. It had something to do with the Avatar."

I shook my head frantically.

Zuko looked frustrated beyond words. "Why won't you tell me?"

I bit my lip and tried to ignore him. I was still somewhere in between this obscure half-reality, this vision, and half trapped in Zuko's arms as he tried to get me to look at him again. Aang's pain-stricken features clouded my mind. I had no way of knowing if this was the past, present, or future. I didn't even know if any of it was real. For all I knew, I had completely lost my mind.

"Nephew, I don't think Julie is in a state to talk," said Iroh, seeing the tortured look on my face.

Even as I tried to extract details, landmarks, anything that would tell me where Aang was and what kind of trouble he was in, the vision started to slip away from me. It was ironic. Now, when I needed to see what was happening, that was when I couldn't keep the images in my head. They trickled out of my mind like water in a sieve.

"No…" I whispered, panicked. "It's fading, I…no…no!"

Zuko didn't say anything. He watched me closely, visibly torn as he watched me floundering to get the vision back.

I was shaking. "He's in trouble…they're going to kill him…or he's going to kill them…!" My breathing was uneven as fear caused my heart to race. "Aang…" I breathed. "We have to save Aang…"

And where were Katara and Sokka? Why hadn't I seen them in the vision? Had something happened to them that I hadn't seen? Was there even any time left for me to help them? I had no way of finding them, even if I knew the name of the village…and I didn't. I couldn't have known it from any other village in the Earth Kingdom, except for the three hills I had noticed…

I closed my eyes and tried to think, but my head throbbed.

"Julie," said Zuko in a low, insistent tone of voice. "Did something happen to the Avatar?"

Tears stung my eyes. "I…I don't _know_…! I just saw him in the Avatar State, and I…he was so upset and angry…and the Brotherhood, they…they all had weapons and they…he…" I couldn't say anything else. It was suddenly very hard for me to breathe.

Before Zuko could really say or do anything about my hyperventilating, the door was flung open. Jee was practically dragging Shim into the room, followed by Shen-Long of all people. It was strange to see him without Bo-Fen at his side; they were like a pair of salt and pepper shakers, hardly ever apart. But I barely registered this as the healer immediately ordered Zuko away from me.

"She needs room to breathe," he said curtly. "You're stifling her, your Highness."

Reluctantly, Zuko's fingers released their hold on me, and I felt terror slide into my stomach. "N-no…don't…please…!"

Shim knelt down close to me, but not so close that I could reach him. I think this had more to do with the fact that I wanted very much to kick him in the face than it did with any concern for my ability to breathe. "Easy. No one's going anywhere." He handed me a paper bag. "Breathe into that until I tell you to stop."

I didn't know what else to do, so I took the bag and inhaled into it. Shen-Long cautiously crept to my side and touched my shoulder. I flinched violently as I felt the soft pressure of his fingertips.

He looked angrily at Zuko. "What did you _do _to her?"

The Fire Prince sputtered in outrage. "Excuse me? What did _I _do to her?"

"You heard me!"

I gasped, almost dropping the paper bag as they started raising their voices. My ears were still ringing, and everything sounded ten times louder than it was supposed to. Plus, my nerves were shot to hell. Hearing them snapping at each other scared the crap out of me.

"Keep breathing," said Shim to me sharply. "Shen-Long, please refrain from startling her if you can."

The soldier gave him a dirty look, but it was nothing compared to the look Zuko was giving _him_. He took a step towards them, but Iroh put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The youth gave his uncle a seething look that the older man met calmly.

"It would behoove you to be patient, Prince Zuko," he said quietly. "If you try to question Julie now, you may traumatize her further. Wait until Shim can stabilize her condition."

Zuko looked back to where Shim was checking my pulse. I happened to glance up and our eyes locked. His face was tense and frustrated; his eyes angry and conflicted. I felt myself edging back, suddenly afraid. I felt like I was a little kid again, cringing in my father's shadow…waiting for that anger to surface and lash out…

Suddenly, the anger faded into resignation…pained resignation.

As though he were utterly disgusted for some reason, Zuko turned his back on me and stormed out of the room. Guilt and relief, conflicting emotions, tore me in half as I watched him go.

Jee knelt down and started rubbing my back. "Let's get you to the infirmary…you need sleep."

"What happened, here?" Shen-Long demanded. "Why is she like this?"

I couldn't answer either of them. It was like someone had stolen my voice, leaving me with no other options than to let the tears push their way to the surface. It was goddamn pathetic, and the worst part of it was that I couldn't figure out why I felt so anguished in the first place. It wasn't even the impact of the vision. It was seeing Zuko looking at me like that…that betrayed look in his eyes as he glared at me.

Jee scooped me up, like a child that had fallen over and skinned her knee. "Shhh…it's all right now. Whatever happened…it's over now. It's all over."

But it wasn't. I knew deep in my gut that it wasn't.

Night fell on smoke-cloaked valley village, leaving only an ominous glow of fires still burning in the streets below. Sokka had a scrying glass held up to his eye, and he looked pained as he watched. For hours he watched and waited for the fires to die. He realized that they would only fade every hour or so before they started right back up again.

_Spirits…how many people did they capture?_

He gritted his teeth and realized that he couldn't sit there and wait anymore. Not with lives at stake.

"This is going to sound really sick, but…I don't think they plan on stopping any time soon. They must have plenty of benders trapped down there…"

Katara looked adamant. "Then let's go. What are we sitting here for?"

Sokka nodded. "We need to move while they're distracted…and since they don't look like they're going to take potty breaks or go to sleep…" he stopped abruptly, looking sick.

"What?"

He shook his head. "We'll go now. Where's Aang?"

"Right here," said the monk, coming out suddenly from the trees. "I have Appa saddled and ready for the others…are we going?"

"Yes," said Sokka shortly. "We're going to circle around and approach from the opposite side…from the North. They won't expect us from there. We'll sneak in while they're distracted and free whoever is still alive."

Aang and Katara looked at each other. "I thought we were going to wait until they went to sleep."

But the Water Tribe boy didn't answer right away. He didn't want to tell them the truth; the situation was gruesome enough without the added horror of what they would have to do. These crazy monsters refused to sleep…they would have no choice but to sneak in while the villagers were in the middle of a burning if they wanted to save _anyone_ at all.

Which, in short, meant now.

"I can't wait anymore," he said in a low voice. "I can't take it."

The younger two nodded in agreement. "I'm ready," Katara told him.

_No, _he thought. _You're not. None of us are._

But instead he led them around to the other side of the valley. This took about twenty minutes with Aang scouting ahead for them. But there were no guards, no one to hinder them as they made their descent from the opposite lip of the valley. They were silent and determined (and in Sokka's case, grim), and made good time as they slipped past the first rows of huts.

"The prisoners shouldn't be too far from where they're doing the…the burnings. We'll head towards the town square and branch out from there."

"Should we split up?"

"Are you crazy? I don't like the idea of either of you two being here any more than I like the villagers killing the benders. We're sticking together."

So they stayed in one group, keeping their heads low as they crept through the abandoned alleys. This was partially to avoid being seen, but mostly to keep out the sickening stench of charred human flesh. It didn't work as well as they wanted, but Aang wasn't about to use his bending; not if they weren't being attacked.

The light of a fire danced tauntingly not ten feet away, towards the mouth of the alley. Faintly, they could hear someone's screams over the wicked crackling of the fire. They all tensed.

Katara started forwards, but Sokka caught her arm.

"We need to find the other prisoners first."

She looked upset, and glanced uncertainly towards the light. She bit her lip.

"We can't save him," he told her. "It's too late."

"You don't know that."

"Do you really want to find out for yourself?"

She grimaced. Aang saw the Waterbending wavering, and the guilt flooding her eyes as she acknowledged her own revulsion. But it wasn't her fault. None of it was. He desperately wanted her to know that, but couldn't think of a single thing to say to her.

He felt his hands clenching into fists around his staff and knew deep in his gut that all of this was his fault. If the Avatar hadn't disappeared for so long, would the Brotherhood be so strong now? Would they have been able to manipulate so many people into doing these sick, twisted things if they already had something…or someone to believe in?

He needed to take responsibility for this.

"Guys," he said slowly. "I'm not going to let this happen. You two need to go find the prisoners…while I try to help the person on the stake."

Sokka looked alarmed. "Aang, you can't help him. He's already dead."

"He's still screaming. I'm going to help him. And I need you to let me do this."

Katara's eyes misted. She pulled the monk into a tremulous embrace, something that made his breathing hitch and his heart skip a beat. He felt genuine affection for her warming the parts of him that had turned cold from the horror and death around him…but only slightly.

Sokka looked reluctant and unconvinced. But eventually he gave in.

"We'll rendezvous back the way we came, by the well," he sighed. "Remember, the one with the broken handle?"

Aang nodded in determination.

"Don't let them catch you, Aang," Katara murmured as she pulled away. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you."

He smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"If I can't do this," he said. "Then I have no right to call myself the Avatar."

Zuko lay on his bed, his eyes closed and his arms folded back behind his head. He was trying to sleep, trying to get his mind off of everything that had just happened. He tried to focus on more mundane subjects such as koala sheep and turtle ducks, but he was always drawn jarringly back to Julie. Was she sleeping now? Or still tossing and dry-heaving from those nightmarish images in her head?

Even worse was the cold feeling in his chest. It wasn't just worry over Julie, or even the fear of something happening to the Avatar. This was the curse of the Unagi subtly reminding him that there were other things to think about too. Enemies like Zhao…

_I'll worry about Zhao later_, he thought.

Immediately, the icy hand contracted a little tighter around his heart, and he found himself unable to rest. With sleep unavailable to him, he continued to brood over what he had seen. It was unpleasant, but it kept him distracted from this new awareness of his mortality; anything was better than having to think about his life dangling on a thread…all the time.

Julie's face floated into his brain. He imagined her most obstinate expressions, her lovely scowling green eyes and her pretty lips drawn together in an aggravated line. He thought of her and the defiant way she carried herself, the challenging air around her that made him want to pick a fight, even on the best of days. And he remembered how small and how soft she actually was in comparison to all of her external roughness, how nice it had felt to have her in his arms.

Before he could take any real comfort from this, he remembered that she was sick and frightened right now, and that he had made it worse by pressing her for information. He couldn't blame her, either. It was all he could do to keep the image out of his head, of the burning man screaming for death…and he had only gotten a glimpse. No wonder Julie hadn't been able to speak coherently.

He didn't like how pale she had gotten. She was prone to blushing at the slightest provocation, and it looked wrong to see her so…empty of color. And he had made her _cry_…spirits.

Julie didn't cry. Zuko knew that she would sooner rip her own arm off and beat you with it if she had the option. She got mad and yelled; she kicked and screamed at you…but once you got tears out of her you knew you had crossed an invisible line in the sand. And dammit, he had only been trying to find out about the Avatar. Was that really so wrong?

He had been searching for three years. If anything happened to him…who knew how long it would take to find him again.

Suddenly, he was aware that he wasn't alone. He sat up slowly, looking around him. There were lamps lit, giving the room a warm, rosy glow…but now the fires felt cold to him. The air itself held a chill that reeked of hostility.

He took a deep breath, turning towards the door but freezing as he caught sight of a familiar face out of the corner of his eyes. He jumped back, lighting a flame, horror making his heart lurch painfully into overdrive, something it wasn't readily able to do with the Unagi's curse in effect. But he couldn't help but _react_ as he found himself face to face with an old woman's face.

The healer from Kyoshi. She was back.

"Having trouble sleeping, murderer?"

Zuko edged away, unable to take his eyes off of her. "I…I'm not a murderer. I already told you…I wasn't the one who killed you."

She just regarded him coldly. "The Fire Nation is full of excellent liars. Do you know what they have done to my little village in the short time I've been dead? They've turned our Kyoshi Warriors into Fire Nation soldiers…they've warped our traditions to suit their wicked ends and made our Avatar Kyoshi into an emblem for their propaganda. It's disgusting."

He didn't know what to do. He wasn't sure how to fight someone who had already died, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to.

"But you disgust me more…miserable boy. I haven't forgotten you, you know. And your time is coming. I assure you, you'll wish you had never even _heard _the name Kyoshi, wish that you had never taken that poor Julie girl as your trophy slave."

He felt anger bubbling under his skin. "Julie isn't my slave. She's my friend..." he trailed off as something sank in, deep inside of him. "…my only friend."

The dead woman wasn't moved.

"One or one thousand," she told him. "It makes no difference how many friends you have to protect you. Your fate is sealed."

Zuko opened his mouth, about to demand an explanation…when suddenly he was seized by a racking cough. The healer smiled complacently as his shoulders shook, and his lungs struggled for air. He could feel the back of his throat burning…burning…

"Don't forget," she told him. "Your time is near."

And she vanished.

It took thirty seconds for the coughing to subside. Zuko found himself exhausted, his hand weakly clutching his throat while the other one covered his mouth. He was kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily and slowly. He was almost afraid to keep breathing, though, as every movement of his lungs made his chest ache. His eyes were still watering from that uncontrollable coughing fit.

Slowly, he got to his feet. His knees were shaking, and he knew that he needed rest now. He lurched single-mindedly towards the bed and collapsed into it, too fatigued to even pull the sheets over him.

He did not see the specks of blood on his hand as he buried his face in his pillow.

Eventually, he slumped into a restless state of half-consciousness, alive with burning corpses and the sound of Julie's cries of terror. He dreamed he was looking for her everywhere, hearing her voice but finding nothing but bodies…fire and ashes and dead people everywhere he looked…but no Julie.

_Julie…_

It seemed as if there would be no peace on that ship. Bo-Fen could hear Lieutenant Jee and Shen-Long's worries reaching a crescendo through the walls as she slipped down to the lower parts of the ship, towards the dungeons. The moment she heard what was going on with Julie she had quickly volunteered to take down the old irons that hung on the cell walls and clean the rust off of them; for she knew she wouldn't be able to find a better distraction in a thousand years.

_That girl may be a lot of things, _she thought to herself. _But you got to love her timing._

She didn't want to be noticed right now. She had something important to do, something she had been putting off for a long time. And she knew that if she didn't take care of it soon, someone else would be taking care of her very shortly.

Bo-Fen wasn't afraid. She just had her priorities straight.

She whistled a few bars of a ballad that was well known in both the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, and of course claimed by both as its place of origin. It was doleful, yet strangely optimistic, a tune that had appealed to many during these hard times. Unfortunately, things were only going to get harder. Bo-Fen was sure of it.

After all, Ayla was back. The Brotherhood were somehow on the rise again, feeding off of the war and the suffering of many to gain followers and power; acting as a beacon of order in a tempest-tossed sea of chaos. If given the chance, they'll take Julie and they'll use her to do Spirits only knew what, not caring who they have to kill to do it.

Then there was the war itself, the arguably noble cause perpetuated by Sozin that resulted in generations of broken homes and unspoken loss; not just for his enemies, but for everyone. Bo-Fen wasn't a fool. She had been born and raised in the Fire Colonies, but she hadn't been inclined to believe the Fire Lord's propaganda; not after seeing all the families forced to give up sons and daughters to fight in a war they couldn't readily justify, even to themselves. It was just a twisted game being played by the power-pushers and the rich, the ones who still had something to gain out of this farce.

But now Julie had come under their eye. Commander Zhao had made a point of conquering Kyoshi Island just for sheltering her, and though there weren't any warrants out for her arrest yet, Bo-Fen knew it was only a matter of time. Either Zhao would kill her to soothe his broken pride and ego…or someone else would realize how much _potential _Julie had if she could be enlisted into the Fire Nation army…

The world was a web of intrigue, and Julie was the fly trapped in it. But these things were only the tip of the iceberg. Right now, they were all teetering on the brink of something bigger and more lethal than they could ever imagine. They didn't realize that this war comprised of more than men…it was also being fought in the Void…and in the Spirit World. And Julie may very well be the center of things there as well.

It just so happened that she had a meeting with the Void at that very minute.

It had been hard for her to make a decision in regards to Julie. Bo-Fen genuinely liked the girl. She was resilient and entertaining…and she had spunk. And her similarities to Ayla were never more glaringly obvious than when she caught the girl being affectionate with her eelhound pup, or the rare times when she actually laughed at something. Compassion and cheer were two of Ayla's best qualities; and when they flickered in Julie, she was a spitting image of her predecessor.

But Bo-Fen knew better than to let sentimentalism get in the way of her mission. Hell, sentimentalism was the reason why she was here in the first place. Who else would avenge Ayla if she and Shen-Long didn't do it? If they didn't find a way to take down Mesmer Prospero, they would only lose her again…and not only that, the entire world would be in danger.

Too bad it had meant siding with the lesser of two evils. And speaking of the devil…

An abrupt chill in the air told Bo-Fen that she was no longer alone. She stopped whistling and glanced at her shadow from underneath the torch, which had ceased to waver. The flame was standing dead still, looking like a painted statue of fire rather than the burning element itself. Time had stopped.

"Guess my hunch was right," she said. "I knew you'd show up sooner or later if I waited."

In spite of the torch, every shadow in the dungeon condensed into a very solid shroud around her. She couldn't see who she was addressing, but her instincts were very rarely wrong.

"You know why we are contacting you," said the voice. "It is time to fulfill your end of the deal, Rena."

She frowned. "I don't go by that name anymore. They call me Bo-Fen here."

The shade didn't respond right away. The female soldier had her poker face back on as she continued pulling chains off their hooks on the wall, like she seriously meant to go about the chore. In fact, she did. It was a piece of work she actually didn't mind doing on the ship since she could take her time and let her thoughts wander while getting the chance to work her muscles. Those chains were heavy, you know.

"You were told to inform us if there were any changes," said the shade.

"And how was I supposed to get a hold of you? By messenger hawk?" she asked sarcastically. "I ain't a spirit, you know…and I sure as hell ain't in the Inner Circle. If I was, my brother and I would both be useless to you."

"That is none of your concern. We gave you and Len the means to be reincarnated, and in return you were to aid us in our fight against Prospero. You were to watch and wait to see if he made any moves to take the Avatar's world."

"And he hasn't. I don't see any rifts opening up in the sky, no dark armies from the Void searching for the Avatar…nothing."

"Except for the girl."

Bo-Fen was quiet.

"The girl that came from another world," the shade persisted. "The last time we contacted you, you were given orders to watch her…to find out how an ordinary human girl could have done what even we Mesmers could not do…"

"You don't know for sure that she crossed Origin to get here."

"That is for me to decide. Besides, you know as well as I do that a reborn spirit cannot go into _other _worlds. It is brought back into the world it lived in during its last lifetime. And most spirits don't get reincarnated. There are certain prerequisites that must be filled…which you _also _know."

"What I don't know," said Bo-Fen impatiently. "…is where you're going with this, Mesmer Dorian."

The shade basked in a smug silence for a few seconds. "You can recognize me even in this form?"

"It's the only form you're strong enough to take here. You don't have a body anymore. You're neither alive nor dead. Just empty."

"I see emptiness as endless potential…the things I can become once I am free of this place, there are too many possibilities. And that frightens you, doesn't it?"

Her brow furrowed, the first real sign of irritation. "Get to the point."

"As you wish…my dear, Rena."

Her jaw ticked.

"Did you think I wouldn't realize that Julie was a reincarnated spirit? And not just any reincarnated spirit…she is Ayla reborn. Am I correct?"

She looked away, down at the chains in her hands. For a second, she tricked herself into thinking that the chains were twined around her own wrists, binding her.

"I dunno," she responded dully. "Shen-Long and I haven't really gotten our heads wrapped around it, yet. Julie ain't normal, that's for sure…but whether or not she's really Ayla or just looks like her, it's too soon to say."

"Yes, your brother was rather fond of Ayla, wasn't he? I remember how devastated Len was when she died…the look on his face when he found out what had befallen her…it was beautiful."

Bo-Fen kept her face blank. "His name ain't Len anymore. I already told you, Shen-Long and I are different people now. We've started over. That's the point of reincarnation."

"For other people, maybe, but not for you two. You accepted my offer for no better reason than to get a chance at avenging your precious Ayla. It was generous of me given how few reasons I have to do _anything _for that girl's sake. But then, I always had a soft spot for you, Rena…"

She kept her head down, but her knuckles were a bloodless white as she tightened her grip on the chains. She had gone back to working the rust and grease off them with an oily rag and a bucket of cleaning fluid she had brought for the task.

"I think you know what you have to do, then," said Dorian as the shadows began to get thinner. "Ascertain if Julie is Ayla's reborn spirit. If she is, then I can only assume that she somehow pierced Origin trying to come back…"

"And then?"

The shade smirked. "I have already made arrangements should that be the case."

Bo-Fen was rattled by that, but didn't let it show. "And…what if she's just Julie. What if she _isn't _Ayla's spirit or anything like that."

"Then I can only assume that Prospero sent her here…and it will become necessary to dispose of her."

She kept scrubbing the iron links, as though she were only idly following along in the conversation. Bo-Fen knew better than to let Dorian get a clear read of her emotions. Even when he was alive, he had been sick in the head, a power-hungry maniac who loved to crush his enemies and took to courting women like it was a hobby. As a matter of fact, his only real passion was domination.

The Void hadn't done much to rid him of it, either.

"Until next time, dear Rena."

His voice ebbed, the shadows lifted entirely, and suddenly it was ten degrees warmer in the room. Bo-Fen gave a tiny start as the torch began to burn again with a real flame, a true indication that time had resumed its momentum. It was damn unnatural when the Void touched the living world…even more unnatural than when an ordinary spirit passed through.

Bo-Fen had been unpleasantly surprised to even _see _Dorian, even in that hazy form. She could only assume that as the days ticked down to the Winter Solstice, the bonds between the worlds grew weaker, and the bastard had more leeway with what he could accomplish.

And deep in her gut, she knew she had until the Solstice to figure out what to do about Julie.

She stopped scrubbing the irons. The chains felt heavy, which was saying something; for the men on the ship liked to whisper that she had once knocked out a kimodo rhino with a single punch for the sheer hell of it. Damned if it wasn't at least partially true.

But there was something weighing on her heart, too. It was making her tired and irritable.

And for the few minutes that she was truly alone, with no one to see her in her moment of weakness, she let the chains fall from her hands. She sat there under the light of the torch, the rag at her knees and her shoulders trembling, her head bowed.

After a few unsteady breaths, she picked up the cloth again and got back to work. She had a job to do, after all. And sooner or later, Len…er…Shen-Long would need her to do damage control for whatever freak incident that had befallen Julie this time. She was the only one strong enough to handle it.

"I fucking hate deadlines," she muttered, her voice hoarse.

**A/N: S****o, what did you guys think? Ominous foreshadowing, angsty Zulie fluff, epic encounters with the not-so-dearly departed, and what may very well be the first in-depth scene centered solely around Bo-Fen. What is her connection with the shade, Mesmer Dorian? What does he have planned for Julie? Will I ever stop asking rhetorical questions?**

**Meh. Too tired to wax eloquent on the plot bunnies. REVIEW!**


	76. Cruelty and Kindness

**A/N: I know. I am horrible for making all of you wait so long for this chapter. Almost three weeks. Yikes. I'm going to bad-author hell.**

**I'm surprised how difficult this was for me to write. I mean, I had this whole thing planned out from the very beginning, how the scene would play out…in all its gruesome detail. But for some reason I just had so much trouble putting it down on paper. Obviously, I've never experienced anything remotely similar to this, and the emotion didn't feel quite right no matter how many times I drafted this.**

**It didn't help that my birthday is around the corner and that my best friends went and kidnapped me for an entire weekend. Not that I was complaining too much. I think I was on the verge of getting carpal tunnel syndrome from typing so much. Plus, you know, I missed them. They go to school out east, so I don't see them that often.**

**I'll be extremely surprised if there's anyone still reading this given how long it's been. I wonder how many of you thought I was taking a permanent siesta six feet underground…or on hiatus.**

"…**!"**

**I AM NOT ON HIATUS. I mean it. Don't get any funny ideas and stop reading! Immerse yourself in the pervasive bittersweet aroma of the next chapter and be glad that you didn't give up on this fic. This one is a doozy.**

**Believe it! (Gives thumbs up towards camera)**

* * *

**Chapter Sixty-Nine: Cruelty and Kindness**

The man on the stake screamed as the fire that was rapidly consuming his torso reached his chest. In a matter of minutes he would be entirely aflame and completely beyond saving. The crowd attending this gruesome spectacle had faces made of carefully carved stone, unmoved by the sound of the agony of the victim in their midst. Towards the back, a man in his early twenties had to bite back his own bile.

It was right. This bastard would have done the same to all of them if the Brotherhood hadn't come and stopped him and the other Firebenders. Samu thought of the little girl waiting back in the hut, his younger sister Lin. He thought of what would have happened if those monsters had gotten their hands on her and felt even worse.

It should have made perfect sense, blood for blood. But it seemed like just another maniacal act in a senseless, topsy-turvy play. It barely felt real except for the Firebender's bloodcurdling shrieks and the inescapable stench of burning corpses.

_Think of Lin. Would the Fire Nation have thought twice about killing her? Or taking her for a slave?_

He tightened his hands into fists. Whatever revulsion he was feeling, it didn't outweigh his sense of duty towards the child. He would stomach it for now. And then, once this all blew over and the Brotherhood left their village, things would go back to normal. He could forget any of this nightmare ever happened.

Assuming it was possible to forget, that is.

"Kill me…!" the man screamed. "Plea…aaaaaaaaugggggggh!"

The fire had reached his throat.

Samu's mind switched off for a few seconds, trying desperately to revert back to a happier time to protect his sanity. He thought of his mother, who had died in his teens during a brief but deadly spell of plague that had stricken their village. He tried to think of his father, who had died in the war against the Fire Nation; but it was impossible. He had never met the man in his life. He and Lin were the only ones left in his family. Life had always been hard for them, but they survived well enough on their own.

The solace his memories brought him was repeatedly marred by the sight of the man burning, so he stopped thinking all together. Instead, he stared at the ground and hummed under his breath. He counted pebbles and recounted them, putting more attention on insignificant details that were less likely to haunt him in his sleep.

"As the body crumbles to ash," the leader of the congregation called out to the assembled villagers. "…may Lady Ayla cleanse his spirit and grant him the mercy of a sinless death."

And then a gust of wind blustered through the area, surprising all of them into a unanimous hush. The fire resisted it for only ten seconds before dissolving sullenly into glowing cinders. Samu looked up the moment the wind died and caught his breath seeing the Firebender. The skin on his legs and torso was cracked and black, starting to fall away from exposed muscle. The rest of him was a nauseating shade of red from third degree burns.

The Firebender seemed to be staring him right in the eyes. He couldn't utter a sound.

In front of him, a boy no older than twelve took a defensive stance with what looked like a hang-glider of some sort. He was dressed in some strange clothes and was balder than a freshly-laid otter-goose egg. The strange arrow tattoos captured Samu's eye as he scrutinized him from a distance. Even as far away as he was, Samu could see the boy's grey eyes glaring fiercely at them all, ready should anyone attack him.

"Who are you?" demanded the Brotherhood agent. "Why are you interfering in our work?"

The monk (for that was what he seemed to be to Samu) narrowed his eyes at him.

"My name is Aang," the boy told them. "And I'm the Avatar."

It was so still in the town square that you could hear a proverbial pin drop.

"Impossible," said a man in the purple cloak, one of the members of the Brotherhood. "The Avatar abandoned this world a hundred years ago. He no longer has a place in this world."

Samu frowned at the boy. It was true. The Avatar had disappeared a long time ago. People who still spoke about him did so out of nostalgia, but no one seriously expected him to return. Not anymore; and especially not now that things were so bad. Things were only going to get worse; that much was certain. The Earth Kingdom was destined to fall to the Fire Nation, its inhabitants consumed in fire just as Lady Ayla was…for it was the only way to cleanse the people of elemental bending, which had doomed them all.

It was what the Brotherhood had explained to them all. The Avatar was nothing more than a false giant they had become too dependent on, a titan who had exploited the world using elemental bending to hoodwink the four nations for thousands of years.

Samu didn't know what to believe. All he knew was that he had waited all through his childhood for the Avatar to appear, to save his people from the Fire Nation and restore balance to the world…and that he had never come.

"I _am _the Avatar," Aang told them.

"Is that so?" quipped the cloaked agent of the Brotherhood. "Boy, if you are the Avatar, then you have a lot to answer for. Are you turning yourself over for judgment? Or do you plan on resisting our efforts at saving humanity…just as you did in your past lives?"

The boy didn't dare to glance behind him at the person he was trying to protect. Probably he couldn't stand to look at his wounds. Samu couldn't blame him for that. It was a blood-chilling sight, and he was still a child in spite of everything.

Actually, he looked to be around Lin's age…

"You people aren't fit to pass down judgment…and no one has the right to take another person's life," said Aang. "I'm giving you all the chance to stop this right now. If you won't, then I'll do whatever it takes to save this man's life."

Samu sensed the crowd stirring in confusion and anger.

"Is this some kind of joke?" someone near him muttered. "He's a Firebender!"

"Who does this kid think he is?"

For what it was worth, the kid was brave. Samu had to give him that, even if he wasn't sure that he agreed with what he was doing. He himself hadn't been able to lift a finger to stop his friends and neighbors from executing the prisoners they had taken; and he had to admit, he was repulsed by all of this. No matter how many times he had told himself that he was doing this to protect his sister, it still felt wrong to him.

Did that make him a traitor?

"People of the Earth Kingdom," the boy said. "I know life has been hard…and I know how much of an understatement that is given everything your people have suffered over the past hundred years. But torturing this man won't bring back any of the things you've lost. And savagery won't win you this war…it's senseless! It isn't the right way!"

"Then what would you have these people do?" the Brotherhood cleric asked. "Lay down and perish to the Fire Nation? Or perhaps are you going to tell us that _you _can stop this war. A mere child."

Doubt rippled across the audience even before he had finished his sentence.

"I'm not going to make promises I can't keep," said Aang. "But I can say one thing with certainty: all life is precious. There isn't a single person on this planet that deserves to have his or her life taken from them before their time. And I'm not going to let you hurt anyone else…even if this man is a Firebender."

"Life," said his cloaked adversary. "…is pain. Death is mercy. Those who live must be willing to carry its burdens, must be willing to fight and suffer to seek enlightenment. Those who are too weak to do this perish. It is the natural way of things."

The kid looked angry. "There's nothing _natural _about what you're doing."

"You may disagree with us if you wish. Either way, it will not save you or this man, Airbender." He gestured to the rest of the men garbed in purple. "Seize him!"

* * *

There's something to be said for having catastrophic visions that threaten to erode the walls of one's sanity from a single glance; they have a nifty side-effect of getting you out of awkward situations.

Jee had carried me all the way to my room, like I was a child. Shim hadn't liked that; he said that he could keep a closer eye on me in the infirmary; but Jee explained that my room would be more comfortable for me, which was all he cared about. He didn't say another word about the adoption papers or anything like that. Instead, he kept by my bedside and made sure that I wasn't disturbed.

He let me keep Yoshi, though. My little bad-ass woke up with a start when I had been dropped into bed. Giving the Lieutenant the once-over and deciding that he wasn't interesting enough to pick a fight with (I'm guessing), the eelhound had immediately crawled on to my stomach and curled up there, resting his head over my heart. Within minutes, he had drifted off to sleep again.

God, I wish I felt that peaceful.

That was the whole problem. I was freaked…beyond words. I had just watched a man getting burned alive, I had to _feel_ an echo of his pain…and then I had to see Aang let loose in a supernatural rage. On top of it all, I couldn't shake off the guilt and shame I felt remembering the way Zuko had looked at me when I lost sight of the vision.

Dammit, I hadn't _wanted _to see it in the first place. And I couldn't betray Aang, could I? What the hell did the guy expect?

I couldn't shake off the urge to go after him, though. But every time I asked to see Zuko, Jee would ignore me. He said that the last thing I need right now was to be riled up, and that was the one thing Zuko was good at in his opinion. Clearly they didn't like each other very much.

So I had no choice but to sit there and be coddled, like a delicate little flower. Jee kept doing things like fluffing my pillow and sending Shen-Long to find another blanket, another glass of water, another this and another that. I tried to ignore them both. I was anxious enough without having to deal with those two and their obsessive-compulsive Florence Nightingale issues. And in spite of their efforts, I couldn't stop shivering and I couldn't sleep. It was like my brain refused to shut down.

"Will you both just leave me alone?" I complained. My nerves felt like they had been repeatedly stroked by a cheese grater, and I couldn't stand having them there anymore. "I'm fine. I told you already!"

It didn't help my case that I was tearing up again. It didn't take much at this point to make me cry, and I think I was on the brink of having another breakdown.

"Now, now," said Jee soothingly. "You shouldn't get yourself so worked up. Shen-Long and I will take care of everything, so you can just rest."

"I don't _want _to rest! I want to see Zuko, dammit! This is important!"

"It can wait until morning. I'm not going to wake Prince Zuko, so you're just going to have to be reasonable. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

But I wouldn't let the matter drop, and finally Shim had to give me something to calm me down.

No one gave me any warning, either. One minute I was drinking a cup of tea someone had handed me (I was at the point where I would just take whatever anyone gave me, no questions asked), the next my entire body felt ten pounds heavier and I slumped over. I tried to feel the panic that was due me, but I couldn't feel anything.

Jee took the cup out of my hands and set it down on the nightstand. "Good. Now you'll get some rest."

I felt numb. Too numb. "What did you give me?"

"A calming draught," Shim explained as he entered the room. He was wearing a calm smile that should have had me crawling under the covers and hiding…except that I was too empty to be unnerved. "It should counteract the anxiety you're feeling and help you fall asleep. I also added a minor chi suppressant to keep your bending under control until your mind can process what you saw tonight."

I thought about this for a minute. "Is it potentially lethal?"

"Only if you get hooked on it," he replied with a smile. "And I don't want you to build up a tolerance to any known substance until I've had more time to study your composition." He reached down and moved my bangs out of my eyes, while I kept perfectly still…docile and indifferent. "You're a fascinating subject, you know…and probably the most engrossing case study I've found in years. Isn't that nice?"

"No," said Jee stiffly, smacking his hand away. "It isn't."

The two men exchanged glances. The Lieutenant stood up and looked Shim in the eyes, putting himself protectively in front of me. I blinked at that. The hostility seemed mildly unusual to me now that my senses were dulled to such a low. I could barely process my own feelings, which were trapped behind a giant brick wall inside of me and unable to break through.

The healer shrugged. "Well, you should know this, anyway, in case you have doubts about my intentions. I have more of an incentive to keep Julie alive. I won't give her anything potentially fatal or do anything to compromise my studies."

I slumped over, mulling this over. "I guess it's all right. I'm too tired to really care. Can you guys leave me alone now?"

"As you wish," said Shim agreeably. "Pleasant dreams, Julie."

"Out," Jee snapped.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the pillow. I still saw Zuko's face in my mind, his visage frustrated and betrayed. But I suppose it was better than seeing the burning again. With my emotions at an all-mellowing low, I was able to look at the situation analytically; and a deep part of me wondered about the vision itself. Was it something that had already occurred, or was there some way to save the man on the stake?

And Aang. Maybe I could save Aang too. But what could I do? Short of handing myself over to the Brotherhood, I mean. _I _sure as hell couldn't save anybody…not alone, anyway.

Zuko's face flashed in my mind again. I thought of how safe I had felt in his arms and wanted to feel that way again. I know I'm being mushy and cliché, but deal with it. I'm under the influence of some heavy depressants. I'm not in my right mind.

_Ayla, do you think Zuko could save Aang?_

She stirred weakly. The drugs were affecting her too. It took her a few tries to articulate a response.

"_You know him better than I do,_" she said. "_Can he save Aang, Julie?_"

I thought for a minute. _He's saved me…more times than I can count. He's good at that kind of thing. When I'm around him, I just get this feeling like everything will be…okay. That he won't let anything bad happen._

"_Really? Because usually I get the feeling like he has you more worked up than a meadow-vole in a nest of chameleon-serpents most of the time._"

_Shut up._

I was too tired to argue anymore, so I let the conversation end there. Ayla faded to the back of my mind with an exhausted sigh. I wondered if this was just a phase she was going through, these moments of weakness. Her presence had been shrinking significantly ever since I had left Kyoshi Island. At the moment, though, I was too placid from the drugs to care very much.

Besides, I had other things to worry about.

"Jee," I whispered. "That vision I had…it was so real…"

The Lieutenant hadn't left the room, thank goodness. I needed him to confirm something that had been gnawing at me for a while. But he didn't seem like he wanted to talk about what I had seen. Stubborn bastard. He was almost as bad as Zuko.

"We can talk about this later, Julie. Rest now."

"I will," I said. "But…I just need to ask you something. You've been all around the Earth Kingdom, right? I mean, you've been a soldier for a long time."

I opened my eyes and saw him frowning at me. He was trying to figure out if he should pursue this vein of conversation. After a minute, he must have decided that there was no harm in answering that question since he replied reluctantly…

"What about it?"

My thoughts were fuzzy, and it took all of my concentration to focus. "If I were to tell you some landmarks, do you think you could figure out the name of the place I was talking about?"

He looked annoyed. "Julie…"

"I just need to know if it's real," I said quickly. "The place I saw. I promise I'll go right to sleep if you tell me the truth. Just, please…I need to know. I can't sleep without knowing the truth."

He scrutinized me. "Do you really promise you'll do that?"

I gave him my most serious look. "I swear on my mother's grave, Sir."

My fingers were crossed under the sheets, but he didn't notice.

"Fine," he huffed. "If you feel so strongly about it…what landmarks did you see?"

I managed a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. I couldn't really feel happy or anything else, but it was a little bit of a relief to see the Lieutenant cooperating for a change.

"The village felt like it was in a giant bowl-shaped region…like a valley," I told him. "And when the Avatar went into the Avatar State, I could see him rising into the sky, and in the background I could see three giant hills surrounding the town."

Jee blinked at me. "_Three _hills?" he muttered. "But that sounds like Jade Valley."

"Jade Valley?"

He glanced back at me. "It's a well-known mining village North-East of here. I know all about it, of course. I remember an old friend of mine from another squadron telling me how close to impossible it was to take it over because of those hills. Rumor has it that a spirit protects that village from anyone trying to exploit it for its natural resources."

I pondered that. "Then why hasn't it stopped the Brotherhood…?"

"My point exactly, girl. You see? That vision was nothing more than an anxiety attack like Shim said. You're putting yourself under a lot of pressure, right now, and I imagine Prince Zuko hasn't been helping much, what with his _obsession_ over his Avatar and all." Jee gave me a very serious look. "You are under no obligation to please him, you know. You are not his slave, and I won't have him telling you otherwise."

I stared at him, not understanding. "Zuko hasn't been pressuring me. I just…what makes you think that?"

"Well, the way you've been pushing yourself," he explained. "…during your training sessions with Bo-Fen. It has me very concerned, young lady. I'm sure it would be enough if you just meditated in the morning. You don't have to work yourself half to death…or get all those bruises on your body. No girl your age should have to go through that just for some arrogant prince's vanity project."

If I wasn't drugged, I probably would have been furious. I knew that because hearing that, even in the state I was in, actually caused prickles of annoyance to run through me. My entire body tensed at those accusations.

"It's not Zuko," I told him. "He's not the reason why I'm training so hard. Jee, I'm tired of being a sitting duck. I'm tired of people risking so much to protect me." My hands clenched into fists on my lap. "I have things I want to protect too…things I can't replace."

He sighed. "And this doesn't have _anything _to do with what happened on Kyoshi Island? Are you sure you just don't feel guilty because Prince Zuko got himself injured?"

I looked away quickly. "That has _nothing _to do with it. Don't forget, we lost Kuba because of me. I have to find him and bring him back…remember?"

"_You're lying,_" Ayla spoke up suddenly in a sing-song voice.

_Not about Kuba, I'm not_.

Jee looked troubled. "You would treat that kid like he was your younger brother, you know that? You two were inseparable before you got taken to Kyoshi." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "But I don't think he'd want you doing this for him. Kuba looked up to you. He was so protective of you that it could break a man's heart. I think he'd be just as worried about you as I am."

"I just hope he's still alive."

He looked me in the eyes. "It wasn't your fault. None of this was. Now make good with your promise and get some shut-eye. If I don't find you asleep in ten minutes, I'm going to make you drill posture and tea-etiquette for the next ten _days_. Do I make myself clear?"

I nodded. "Crystal."

He smiled. "You'll be just fine. You're a good kid and deserve the best." He patted my shoulder one last time. "See you in the morning."

I stuck my tongue out at him, curled up into a ball and closed my eyes. But part of me felt warmer hearing the Lieutenant speak so highly of me. Did he really mean all of that? Did he really feel so strongly about it that he'd be willing to take such a huge risk and adopt me?

It was stupid, of course. Jee only saw what he wanted to see. He wanted to believe I was a good little girl so he could justify his own displaced feelings of fatherly affection; so, naturally, I must have looked like a saint to him. He must have really, really loved Cheng…and he must have been really broken up when she died. It almost made me feel guilty for rejecting him back at dinner.

Almost. I mean, I'm sixteen years old, for crying out loud. I don't need a father. I don't need anything except a clear conscience. I knew I wouldn't be able to shake off these ties and go back home to my own world unless I somehow made up for the trouble I had caused these people.

I had my mind made up. I couldn't put down roots here. I was always meant to be a drifter, and to remain that way I had to be able to walk away from this life without any regrets. I had to see this part of my journey through as far as it would take me. I had to be brave.

I think that was why I finally made the decision that would forever change my relationship with Zuko. I didn't know it then, but what I was about to do would bring the two of us closer, closer than I ever could have foreseen. Maybe if I knew what the consequences would be, I would have acted differently. But at the time, it seemed like the perfect solution: the easiest way to protect Aang and keep Zuko happy at the same time…which, I guess proved just how far gone for the guy I really was. If I could place his happiness on par with the well-being of this world, it was a bad sign for everyone.

In other words…I was going to tell him where Team Avatar was.

* * *

Katara tried to be brave as she followed her brother through the dark alleys, her hand on her waterskin in case they ran into trouble. But everyone must have been in the town square since they met no one except the occasional elephantrat. Sokka kept his eyes open and his mouth shut, signaling to his sister with silent gestures if they needed to communicate at all.

_Aang,_ she thought. _Be careful._

She couldn't afford to lose him. Ever since she had freed him from the iceberg all those weeks ago, he had given her something she hadn't even realized was missing in all these years of war and hardship. He had given her hope. He had given her, her youth back in a single afternoon penguin-sledding; he had reminded her how precious a free spirit could be. He made her feel like she could accomplish anything if she just kept her spirits up.

But the longer they traveled, the more discouraged Aang became. She knew it had been hard enough waking up and finding out that he was the last of his kind. But their loss back at Kyoshi Island had been a heavy blow to the boy, and his grey eyes seemed a lot darker to Katara than they used to be. And obviously it didn't help that the entire world seemed to think he had turned his back on them all.

Katara felt a fierce surge of protectiveness run through her. Aang always tried his best no matter how bad things got. His optimism and sense of duty were the only things carrying him through these hardships now. It wasn't fair that he had to take the blame for a century he had been imprisoned in an iceberg. It wasn't even his fault that happened!

And now the Brotherhood was taking advantage of people's despair by using the benders as a scapegoat for this war. It made Katara so angry that she could barely keep her hands from shaking as she trooped silently behind Sokka.

_Aang helps people even if they don't believe in him,_ she thought to herself. _He keeps trying in spite of all of that. He's trying so hard to take responsibility…and he's carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders all by himself. It's not fair._

Life wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she should have to lose her mother in that raid on her village; it wasn't fair that her father should have had to leave his tribe to fight in this war; and it wasn't fair that her best friend had to answer for both of those things, and every other bad thing that happened over the last hundred years. Katara would make the Brotherhood wish they had never messed with Aang. She would do it if it was the last thing she did.

_No matter how bad things get, I won't give up on Aang. I'll believe in him until the very end_.

"Look," she said, pointing up ahead. "I think I see lanterns lit."

"Someone's over there," Sokka replied.

"I thought everyone was in the town square."

"Me too. We should check it out."

They crept forwards and ducked behind a few trash bins. Peeking around, they saw a couple of men standing guard in front of a stone building with bars on the windows. They were dressed in the same cloaks the Brotherhood acolytes were wearing and carried spears. They looked menacing, even with the robes covering their muscles.

Katara fingered her waterskin thoughtfully. "Do you think the benders are being held in there."

"I can't see what else they'd be guarding. We need to find a way past them…"

He thought for a few seconds.

"If we had some kind of distraction, I think we could overpower them with the element of surprise."

The Waterbender looked determined. "I can handle that. You wait here and I'll lure them to you. Be ready."

"Katara!"

But she was already running towards the cloaked men. Sokka was a hair's breath away from going after her, but forced himself to hold back. He had to trust her, just like he had to trust Aang. But darn it, he wished he didn't have to endanger them like this.

"Hey, boys," Katara said, pulling water out of the skin using her chi. "I heard you're hunting benders and I decided I'd turn myself in. For the greater good," she added with a smirk.

The guards looked at each other quickly before readying their weapons at her.

"On second thought," she amended. "I changed my mind. Later!"

She turned tail and ran back towards the alley. The men were after her like a cork shot out of a bottle. Sokka crouched down with his club drawn and waited for them to get close. Katara was quick and agile enough to keep out of range of the spears, and had no trouble reaching the mouth of the alley before her pursuers. The Water Tribe boy could see her smirking in triumph.

"Hold it!" one of the guards yelled.

"Come and get me," she called tauntingly over her shoulder. "Slow-pokes!"

"Why, you…!"

She nodded at Sokka as she ran past his hiding place and deeper into the alley. The two guards ran after her, so fixated on their quarry that they failed to notice him kneeling among the stale fodder and sacks of rubbish. He waited until they were far enough in the alley before coming up from behind them.

"Lights out," he said, bringing his weapon down on the skull of one of the spearman. As the guard's legs buckled, Sokka drew back and delivered a couple more quick additional blows to the back of both of his knees. The man stumbled and smacked his head against the wall, blacking out instantly.

He smiled, glad that he had swallowed his pride back on Kyoshi. If he hadn't trained with Suki, he probably wouldn't have learned how to turn an opponent's weight against them. He had to admit, it was easier than using brute strength…smarter too.

The other man turned when he heard his partner cry out. Katara took that opportunity to send a tendril of water at his face. It froze instantly on contact, and the assailant stumbled backwards, clutching at his ice-encased head. Sokka swooped in and planted his foot firmly in the small of the man's back, kicking him into the opposite wall. The ice kept him from sustaining a serious head wound, but it shattered as his face collided into the very solid object. The force was sufficient enough to knock him out as well.

The siblings stood over the defeated Brotherhood acolytes for a few seconds, basking in the glow of their accomplishment.

"That one was from the Water Tribe," said Sokka, unable to keep himself from grinning arrogantly. "Ah…I've been saving that one. That felt good."

She managed a smile, seeing her brother's old swagger returning to him. It was a relief after days of uncharacteristic seriousness from him. Now if only she could find a way to cheer Aang up, they'd be back in business.

"They sure didn't see that one coming," she agreed.

"Heh…yeah. Anyway, ready to save some lives, sis'?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

With their confidence boosted and nothing else to say, they removed a set of keys from one guard's belt and ran back to the stone building. Sokka also had the foresight to steal their cloaks, and handed one to Katara. "In case we run into anyone else inside," he explained.

Hoods drawn up and adequately disguised, they pushed open the heavy oak door and peered into the gloom of the prison. To their relief, they didn't see any more guards, and the Water Tribe siblings felt secure enough to lower their hoods.

"There they are," Katara cried, running right up to the cell door. But when she saw what lay inside, she drew back in shock.

"What?" Sokka asked, coming to stand behind his sister. Then he was frozen too. "Holy spirits…"

There were a total of three prisoners chained to the walls of the cell. But they were all hanging up like fresh cow-pig carcasses being drained in a butcher's back room. They looked to be in bad shape, all sporting deep gashes and freshly oozing cuts made by a whip of some sort. Not that they could have figured this out on their own. But they saw the russet-stained cat-of-nine-tails in the corner and put the pieces together.

"They were tortured," the Waterbender whispered in horror. "They look like they were whipped within an inch of their lives…and they're going to finish the job by burning them alive."

Sokka shook his head. "This is disgusting. The Firebenders don't even deserve this."

Katara was already freezing the lock. "Help me break this. We need to help them before someone finds us here."

He drew his club and shattered the metal. He caught the broken lock before it could hit the floor and make more unnecessary noise. They slowly and carefully opened the cell door, wincing every time it creaked. Katara slipped inside and began freezing the chains that held them in the air.

A young man wearing a Fire Nation uniform opened a blood-crusted eye. He stared at her for a full ten seconds before whimpering.

"Shhhh…" she whispered. "We're not going to hurt you. We're here to help."

"Who…who are you?"

She tried to look as harmless as possible. "My name is Katara, and this is my brother, Sokka. Who are you?"

"Ugggh…my name…it's Yuu. We were…captured…" he broke off in a spasm of coughs that made her heart wrench in sympathy. "Ming-Tsai and I are…the only ones left in our…in our…squadron…" His shoulders trembled as she reached for him, trying to comfort him.

"Don't strain yourself," she cautioned him. "We'll get you down from there."

He coughed another frightened sound. "They're monsters…they…they'll do anything…they have no limits…no compassion…" He spasmed in pain as Sokka began reeling him down from the wall, careful not to do it too quickly.

"Everything will be all right now," he told him. "We'll stop them."

"No…no, we have to get away…far away from here…"

Katara looked concerned. "These are some serious wounds. We need to find him a doctor."

"I'll get the other two loose. See what you can do for him in the meantime."

She bit her lip as her brother pulled away from the man and went to make good on his words. Quickly, she reached into the pouch at her side and began pulling out bandages and a salve they had gotten back in Chin Village. It was supposed to be good for cuts and open sores. It wasn't much, but it might help stop the bleeding, which was crucial.

Looking down at the Firebender, she realized that he wasn't so much older than they were. Actually, he might have been two years older than Sokka. He gritted his teeth in pain as she bandaged him up the best she could.

"W…why are you helping me?" he breathed. "I'm Fire Nation."

"I know," she said in a clipped voice. "It doesn't matter."

"But…you…you're a…"

"I know what I am. Now don't talk. You need your strength if you want to get out of this village alive."

He closed his eyes. "T-thank you."

Katara realized she was blinking back tears and hastily wiped them away. She turned to the other two, an older man and a woman in her early twenties. The woman also wore a Fire Nation uniform, but the man was wearing Earth Kingdom clothes. She was horrified.

"They didn't even spare one of their own," Sokka said, echoing her thoughts. "He says his name is Gorin. Apparently he used to work in the mines before the Brotherhood came. He was too old to fend off the Fire Nation, but it was enough that he was an Earthbender for him to be locked up."

She shook her head. "They're hurt too bad to walk, aren't they? How are we supposed to get them out of here?"

"I can help," said a small voice from behind them.

They both wheeled around in alarm, taking defensive stances. A girl only a little younger than Katara blinked solemnly back at them. She wore her ebony hair in a bun on the back of her head and sported a green and white cap. She wore simple green robes with a white apron tied in a knot around the small of her back. They were taken by her quiet demeanor and large brown eyes.

"My name is Lin," she said softly. "I can get you out of here before anyone finds out. But we have to hurry."

Sokka frowned. "Why aren't you at the town square with everyone else? And why are you helping us?"

She regarded him seriously. "Because it's the right thing to do. My big brother doesn't know I'm here…he told me to stay home because he didn't want me to see them putting the prisoners on trial."

"Trial?"

She looked away. "That was what he told me…but I know what they're really doing. I heard my neighbors talking about it. And I…I couldn't believe it. I always used to wish I could Earthbend since I was a little girl. I would look up to the Earthbenders in my village, but now…I don't know what to think."

Katara went to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. The younger girl looked up at her with a deeply troubled expression, but relaxed at the genuine warmth in the Waterbender's face.

"You're right to admire the Earthbenders," she told Lin. "They're a brave, resilient people…and they don't deserve to be punished for something they were born with. So we're here to help them."

She nodded slowly. "I know. I believe you. I was there when you came to the village the first time. You didn't see me, but I saw you…and I heard everything you said. I want to help."

Sokka shook his head. "That's nice, but I don't think you're strong enough to carry even one of these people."

"I'm not going to. I have a cart and ostrich-pony waiting outside. We can carry them away in that, and with everyone distracted in the town square, they won't even notice what's happening until you're long gone."

The two looked at each other. Then they nodded at the girl.

"Let's get to work, then."

* * *

Aang was panting heavily as he gusted from rooftop to rooftop with the burn victim on his back. The man was rasping quietly from the pain he was in, begging to be put down. The monk could only grit his teeth and keep moving, trying to ignore the whimpers the best he could.

He had been outnumbered ten to one back there. He had kept them at bay for maybe five minutes before he realized how futile it was. He had, had no choice but to flee if he wanted to save the man on the stake.

But the man seemed beyond saving. He was so mangled and bloody that every breath he took tormented him. Aang, gentle as he was, could barely stand to touch him.

"Please…" he rasped. "…please…"

"I'll save you," the monk muttered. "I promise. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"K…kill me…please…"

He almost tripped in shock. Behind him, he could hear the angry villagers searching for him, and the angry glow of their torches cast menacing shadows all over the place. Even so, he couldn't move a muscle, barely able to breathe.

"W…what?"

"Kill…me…I can't…it…hurts…!"

Aang felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed it like a fresh orange. "I can't do that. You…you just need to hold on. We'll find help."

The man could barely move. Talking had cost him a lot of what little strength he had left. The Airbender wished he would pass out so he could be spared from his pain, even for a few minutes. But by some cruel twist of fate, the Firebender remained awake and in agony. His whimpers began to turn into broken sobs as he continued to plead for death.

Softly, Aang floated off the building he was standing on and drifted into an alley. He wanted to slip away in the cover of darkness, but stealth was hard to come by at the moment.

"It…it hurts…" the Firebender breathed.

Aang tried to focus, but the man was distracting him. "You need to be quiet. I have to find a way out. If someone catches us, they'll kill you."

"He's going to die anyway," said a voice sadly, but firmly.

He turned in shock and found himself face to face with one of the villagers. Aang gasped and tensed to run, but the stranger held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Hold it," he said to the monk. "I'm not here to stop you. Believe me, if I wanted to capture you, I'd have done it already."

The Airbender relaxed, but only slightly. "Then…what do you want?"

The man met his gaze evenly. "The truth."

That word hung in the air like a sword hanging over Aang's head. The monks had always taught him that the truth could be cruel sometimes, but that it was a necessary and pure cruelty. Truth could be a powerful weapon if one didn't handle it with care; it had the potential to do as much harm as it did good. So, when he heard this stranger demanding the truth, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

He also sensed that whatever answer he gave the man could potentially turn him against him. He had to be careful.

"I'll answer your questions if you tell me who you are," Aang said.

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "The name's Samu. And I want to know…are you really the Avatar?"

The monk nodded. "Yeah. I am."

The man's eyes glinted in the darkness. "That's exactly what I thought you'd say," he muttered, coming towards him with large strides. Aang's eyes went wide as he found himself in Samu's shadow, his arms full with the man he still carried on his back.

To his surprise, he reached across the boy's shoulders and pulled the grievously wounded man off his back. He laid him down on the ground and shook his head sadly.

"You came here to help him," he said. "But it's too late for him. He's going to die sooner or later regardless of what treatment we give him…and it would be cruel to leave him in so much pain."

Aang stared up at him. "How can you say that? We can't give up on him…we could do something…anything…"

"I'm the healer of this village, Avatar. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

The Airbender fell silent, his grey eyes resigned and filled with sorrow. "Then…I failed again. I couldn't save him." He slammed his staff into the ground and turned his back on it, resting his forehead against the wall. "I can't save _anyone_."

Samu watched the boy carefully. "Aren't you taking this a bit hard? You don't know this man."

"It's my job as the Avatar to protect people. So far, the only thing I've done since I woke up from that iceberg is let people down…over and over again…"

"Iceberg?"

"Yeah. I was traveling through the South Pole and ended up frozen in a block of ice for a _hundred years_. And when I woke up, I found out that the world was suddenly at war, and that my friends and family have been dead for…for a long time." Aang clenched his hands into fists. "I thought maybe if I kept trying, I'd get stronger somehow. I thought I would just have to master the other elements, and then everything would be _fine_, but…"

He squeezed his eyes shut, and the tattoos on his body flickered once or twice with an ominous light as he struggled with his emotions. But it died just as quickly. Samu looked at the boy with a new understanding in his eyes before he turned back to the wounded Firebender. He pulled out a knife.

"P…please…" the man breathed. "Kill me…"

"You've suffered long enough," said Samu.

And in one swift motion, he ended the Firebender's suffering, and his life. Aang cringed as he heard the sound of the death blow, and tears pushed their way past his shut eyelids. His shoulders trembled from the sobs he pushed back, the weight of the world finally pushing the boy to his knees.

"Hey," he said to the monk. "It's all right now. He's in a better place than he was."

"It doesn't matter," Aang muttered. "I should have been here to stop this."

Samu sensed that he wasn't just talking about today. He realized that he was talking about the past hundred years he had been missing as well. And suddenly he felt terrible for having doubted the boy. All this time he had pictured the Avatar as a powerful, indifferent demi-god who regarded humans as inferior, not worth his time or effort to save. But this boy Avatar was a completely different picture, small and humble and wracked with guilt. He carried that Firebender's pain like it had been his own.

So he got up from the dead man's side, sheathed his bloodied knife, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's get you out of here. You've done everything you could here. A man three times your age wouldn't have shown as much bravery and compassion as you have just now. I'm proud to have met you."

Aang opened his eyes. "You don't mean that."

"I do. I watched my own friends and neighbors turn into torturers before my very eyes. They're not bad people, but a lot of them were like me…they didn't have the courage to speak up when the Brotherhood began to turn the benders into a scapegoat. I realize now that I was a fool to listen to them, even for a second." He looked away. "Spirits forgive me."

"It wasn't your fault," the monk said. "I was the one who should have…I should have been stronger."

Samu looked at him. "My mother told me a long time ago that a man takes charge of his own life, makes his own decisions. A weak man will blame others for the consequences, but a strong one will take responsibility for himself. So you see, the world can only blame itself for falling into such devastation. You're doing everything you can, and that is the greatest sign of strength a man can have."

Aang nodded, trying to believe. "Okay."

"Good kid. Now, let's find a way out of here."

Swallowing his misgivings, the Airbender let Samu steer him away from the dead man. They didn't say another word to each other, both silently brooding on the effect the other had on him. And with this new alliance formed, they went to search for a way out of the alley.

All the while the torches from the angry mob flickered ominously behind them.

* * *

**A/N: Um…one second. I'm having some **_**minor **_**difficulties.**

**(Turns off camera)**

**WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M GETTING SUED BY NARUTO?**

**Julie: "You went and stole his catchphrase…you know, at the end of your earlier author's note?"**

**WHAT? But that's stupid! I only said it ONCE!**

**Julie: "You're lucky you only got fined. Around these parts, whenever anybody quotes a fandom that isn't Avatar the Last Airbender, they kind of end up getting their kneecaps broken. With a wrench."**

**Well, I wouldn't want that. But aren't they overreacting just a litt…**

**Julie: "Specifically, **_**this **_**wrench."**

**Um…nuff said. REVIEW!**


	77. Making Escape Plans

**A/N: It's official. My birthdays are fucking magic. I use the plural tense in this instance because I remember all too well what happened on my **_**last **_**birthday, when I turned twenty-one. You guys probably remember the author's note about that knife-fight at Applebee's…but in case you don't…well…there was this bitchin' knife-fight, and they took it out in the parking lot and everything, but it was still fucking AMAZING.**

**This was my face: :D**

**Also, I seem to have mastered Metalbending. I blame the fried cheesecake I bought myself from the local Japanese restaurant down the street from my office (though I'm sure as hell not complaining about the calories). Apparently it was magic cheesecake that turned my birthday into pure win. Plus, it was deep fried. Anything deep fried is automatically magic in my opinion.**

**As far as birthdays go, it was pretty sweet. Someone randomly brought in these gourmet brownie squares from David's Bakery drizzled in white chocolate when I got to my desk that morning; and this was BEFORE everyone figured out it was my birthday.**

**I was keeping mum about it, too. I mean, I didn't want to be THAT person who is all, "Okay, bitches. Worship me, for I was born. Just like all of you. Aren't I special?" But it came out eventually. It was when I discovered I could Metalbend, actually.**

**It went like this: I sort of lost my staple-remover (the slender, shovel-shaped metal kind you can dig under a staple and pry it loose with), so I went to my supervisor and was all, "Take pity on me. I am in humble need of office supplies."**

**So, she gave me the one from off her desk. And ten minutes later, I had my headphones in my ears, pulling staples and listening to the soundtrack from Cowboy Bebob…but somehow I still managed to hear the sickening snap as the tip of the staple-remover broke off.**

**And I was all, "Shit."**

**So I went to my other boss, the one in charge of the whole office, and I held up my broken staple-remover. And I went down on my knees and begged for my life.**

**In response, he grabbed another staple-remover from the mail room and handed it to me. "Have fun," he replied, and walked away. And I went back to pulling staples out of these giant-ass documents that were mailed to us that afternoon. I swear, heavy-duty staples should be banned. I have incurred several scraped knuckles from trying to get those suckers out.**

**Anyway, five minutes later, I found myself staring down at my newest staple-remover and wondering why it was suddenly shaped like a letter S.**

**And I was all, "Double-Shit."**

**Of course, my boss chose that moment to walk by my desk again. And all I could do was hold up my most recent act of destruction. He blinked at it for a moment before uttering a very tired sigh. I think he was mentally placing me on the top of his "employees-to-fire-immediately" list.**

**But instead of firing me, he just goes, "Okay. So, then for your birthday I'll just get you an indestructible one of those. When **_**is **_**your birthday, anyway?"**

**And I replied, "Today."**

**He blinked at me. "Oh. Shit."**

**Shit, indeed, my friend. Shit.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy: Making Escape Plans**

I felt completely numb.

My body seemed too big and heavy for me to carry, but I made an effort anyway. While I had been sleeping, _someone _had changed my clothes (and if that someone wasn't Bo-Fen, I was going to raise some serious hell about it later…when I felt less like a black hole and more like a person again).

The nightgown was soft and a milky color, maybe closer to ivory or bone; almost as pale as I was except my skin looked pink in contrast with the tones of the dress. But it was made for someone taller and the edges of it dragged behind me as I walked barefoot down the hallway. The metal felt rough under my toes, and there were probably patches that could cut my feet open if I wasn't careful.

Screw caution. I was lucky if I could manage to stay alert long enough to find Zuko. I couldn't let a stupid thing like metal get in my way.

The hallway felt like it was stretching on and on the longer I walked, and sometimes it even felt like I was going backwards. I realized it was because whatever drug Shim gave me was making it hard for me to see straight. The colors around me appeared dull and unappealing; the air felt colder against my skin and temptation was gnawing at me to just stop trying all together, to find a warm place to rest. It was telling me to curl up on the floor right there and let the world solve its own problems.

Hell, I didn't really even want to be out of bed. I didn't want to be doing much of anything.

But I guess I couldn't _really _do that. I mean, I had already known deep down that my problems were too complicated to ignore. I'm not even really talking about this whole mess with the Brotherhood and Aang anymore. I mean all the emotional garbage I was swimming in; like Jee and his inexplicable need to be a parent to me, and Zuko…well, everything about Zuko was trouble to me. More specifically, I couldn't wrap my brain around my own feelings. I couldn't tell if I was falling in love or choking back the urge to bash his stupid head in.

I knew well enough by now that whatever seems good really isn't. And I knew even better that what few good things there are in the world don't last very long.

Men are nothing but trouble as far as I'm concerned. I'm way better off on my own. Seriously, the only companionship I really need is the unconditional affection and devotion of an eelhound. And if I could find Kuba out there somewhere, I suppose I could handle having him around too. I mean, someone had to look after the kid, right?

When you consider everything from that perspective, making a decision becomes simple. I couldn't save Aang, but I could possibly tip the scales in his favor. And it was true; I was taking a huge risk since Zuko wanted to capture him, too. I just had to trust that the kid could come out of it all right…especially since I wasn't planning on sticking around to see for myself.

I was getting the hell out of here. The longer I stayed here, the more complacent I became with this life. I'm not saying that I hate it, or that it's a bad life, but…it isn't _my _life. I didn't belong here. I wasn't meant to sit at Zuko's side since I was never really on his side to begin with. And I wasn't meant to find a family, especially not here in the most impossible of places.

And I had realized it back there, when I had been sobbing my eyes out after having that vision. All because of the way he had _looked _at me. I cared way too much what he thought of me. The last time I got so worked up over something like that, I ended up with Ramon.

Not that I had any remote chance in hell at ending up with Zuko. I mean, he already has a canon pairing, right? It's not like Mai is going to freaking evaporate into thin air like she tends to do in Zutara fanfics. There was no way I would be able to compete with a chick as beautifully sultry and politically astute as Mai…not to mention the small detail that she has umpty-dozen stilettos strapped to her thigh alone…probably. She could skewer me like a suckling pig any day of the week with her eyes closed. And more importantly, she could probably do it without messing up her clothes. She was just _that _good.

Zuko would _never _lookat me the way Ramon had. He would never see me as anything but an annoying, flat-chested little peasant. But it didn't matter. I knew an impending train wreck when I saw one. Hell, even Ramon had never actually loved me. He had been using me from day one. I was just another warm body to him.

This felt so much like a surrender to my feelings that I had to keep reminding myself why I was really doing this. But it didn't make me feel any less…

"Pathetic," I whispered. "I am so fucking pathetic. I really am. Am I seriously doing this? Hell, if I were slightly less coordinated, I'd probably be crawling right up to that bastard's door…!"

I was dragging myself to his room because I couldn't leave with him hating me. That regret would have been as big as the prospect of being responsible for Aang's hypothetical death. But more than that, I'm sure that I realized deep down that he wouldn't really let me leave unless he was sure I wasn't taking away any important secrets about the Avatar.

I kind of was, on retrospect, but that's not the point!

But if Zuko were chasing Aang, he'd have the crew running ragged again, and no one would notice if I were to pull a vanishing act. Not even Jee, who was being so strict and misguidedly fatherly on my behalf, would realize what I had planned until I was long gone. So, it wasn't just that I was a hopeless, lovesick idiot, right? It was a necessary ruse!

I was not in any way curious to see if he still hated me. I could care less.

Right?

"This had better not bite me in the ass," I grumbled as I lifted a lazy fist and rapped on the door.

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

When Zuko finally woke up some hours later, he felt like a corpse; that is to say, very stiff and cold. For a moment he just lay there. He couldn't even bring himself to move a muscle. The candles in the room seemed alive with the flames dancing on their wicks, but they brought him no warmth or comfort.

If he was entertaining any hope of falling back into a restless sleep any time soon, it was cruelly thwarted when a hollow rapping sound reached his ears. He stirred and let out a groan. His limbs ached as they strained to pull him into a sitting position.

His mind was sluggish, trying to make sense of the condition he found himself in. Zuko was a light sleeper and never had heavy spells of unconsciousness like this. He wasn't used to feeling so groggy and slow. Fortunately, he managed to snap into sudden wakefulness when he heard the sound again.

_Thunk-thunk-thunk…_

Dammit.

"One second," he grumbled, dragging himself out of bed. He paused to inhale, trying to warm himself with his breath of fire. For some reason, it was harder for him to concentrate on his own chi. It felt like it had shrunk significantly while he had been sleeping. And he had slept like the dead.

But that was ridiculous. He was probably just too tired to focus. And the only thing he accomplished by breathing in so deep was that he triggered another short wave of coughs.

_Ugggh…am I getting sick?_

Blindly grabbing a robe that had been left draped over a chair, Zuko lumbered over to the door. He shrugged into it, pulling the fabric over his bare arms and buttoning it over his sleeveless shirt. It didn't feel like enough for some reason; he still felt cold inside. But he wasn't about to keep his visitor waiting any longer.

He was surprised when he pulled the door open and found himself staring at someone he definitely hadn't been expecting.

He had thought his visitor would have been his uncle coming to check up on him, or perhaps to coax him into trying some of that tea he had bought earlier today. Or maybe Jee to update him on the status of their mission…or on Julie's condition, he realized belatedly. But he had been completely caught off guard when he found himself looking down at a very tired, very pale redhead wearing a rumpled ivory-colored night dress. He stared at her chalky complexion and serious green eyes and did a double-take.

"Julie…?"

"I need to talk to you," she said. Her voice sounded strained, like it hurt to speak much louder than a whisper.

He stared at her, not comprehending. "What are you doing out of bed?"

She sighed. Losing patience, she brushed past him, and Zuko had to step back to make room for her as she stepped over the threshold. She didn't seem to care if she had to force him aside or not, but he wasn't in the condition to take offense to her brusque manner. The pit of Zuko's stomach jolted with a sudden burst of electricity at that small amount of contact, and the rest of him became very alert to her presence.

His mind was trying to mull all of that over. "I thought you were…"

"Having a mental breakdown?" she clipped sarcastically. She found the lone chair he had at his desk, turned it around and sank into it. "Can't. Whatever Shim slipped me, it's keeping me from really _feeling _anything. I'm basically a cold, moving slab of calm and logic until this stuff wears off…at which point I will probably slide into another dark chasm of paranoia and anxiety. Oh, and the sun will be rising in a few hours."

Zuko blinked. "Are you all right?"

"No," Julie answered simply. Her expression was flat. "I'm in hell. But that's really not important right now. I'm here because I've decided to tell you where Aang is."

He wasn't sure he heard her correctly. "Y…you have?"

His mind wasn't catching up to all of this. Even on a good day, he doubted he could have been able to make much sense out of Julie's behavior right now. The last he had seen of her, she had been crippled by the impact of the horrific images in her head. And now, here she was unexpectedly at his doorstep, looking like she had risen out of a fresh grave and fully prepared to tip the scales in his favor.

All he could think was this: _What the hell?_

He wasn't stupid, and neither was Julie. She knew the one thing that held the most sway over Zuko's actions was his mission; the Avatar. It had been his sole drive and motivation for the past three years, just to help him find the strength to get out of bed every morning. And yet, from the very first day she set foot on his ship, Zuko had a gut feeling that Julie wasn't entirely sold on the necessity of hunting and capturing a twelve-year-old child.

She didn't even have to say it. The issue of capturing the Avatar was a solid, invisible, and unmovable block that had always sat between them. Even in the beginning, when Julie had few reasons to be considerate of his feelings (beyond self-preservation, that is), she only dragged the subject up whenever she wanted to provoke him. Now, she tended to avoid talking about the Avatar all together.

Even after he had confided in her that afternoon, explaining his reasons…the way she had turned skittish and clammed up at dinner reminded him of the way she had looked at him back at Kyoshi; that night she had accused him of caring more about his mission than about doing the right thing.

Since then, he had been trying to prove to her that it wasn't true. He wasn't some monster who liked chasing and tormenting children, and he wasn't some sick freak like Zhao who used his title and power to exploit the weak and to boost his ego. He wasn't _any _of those things. The fact that the Avatar appeared to be a child had rattled him deeply, but he couldn't give up on his mission without giving up on himself.

So, why had _Julie _given in? What had changed? It wasn't like _her _opinion of his mission had changed. He could see the reluctance in her eyes, the faint edges of anxiety that had been dulled by the drugs Shim had given her. As much as he wanted to believe that she thought better of him now, he just couldn't. He knew better.

So, what was it, then?

"The vision wasn't precise," said Julie, breaking the dumbfounded silence. "…but I managed to catch a few landmarks. And I managed to piece everything together. I know where he is."

Silence.

"I can find him for you." She looked at him and saw that he was scrutinizing her intently. "But if I give you the information you need, I want something in return. And you have to promise me that you'll follow through…if you don't, I won't tell you a damn thing."

He narrowed his eyes, even more confused than before. "What do you want?"

Julie closed her eyes and began kneading the bridge of her nose. She looked like she was fighting off a really bad headache…and she probably was, given that whopper of a vision she had before.

"You can't hurt them," she said quietly. "You can't hurt Aang or the others…if you capture them, that's one thing, but…I don't want anything _bad _to happen to them."

Zuko stared at her for a long moment.

Julie turned her gaze to the floor, not meeting his eyes anymore. "I know you don't like them, Zu, but…I know that you can keep a promise. You're a man of your word. I can trust you if you say you're going to do something…or _not _do something. You don't tell lies."

"And what makes you think I can even keep that promise?" he asked. "Once I capture the Avatar, he's out of my hands. The only thing I can say for sure is that he won't be killed. If he dies, he'll just be reincarnated…and we'll have to start looking for him all over again, which you already know."

She winced. "Yeah."

"So, then why are you helping me at all?" he persisted. "Since you're so stubborn about being friends with my enemies…wouldn't you want them as far away from me as possible? Or are you _not _secretly on his side after all…?"

Julie's expression turned surprised, and Zuko knew that it was only the effect of the drugs that kept her from falling over all together. She had to look away for a full minute, off towards her left as her mind worked frantically.

"This is your mission, not mine," she muttered evasively. "Since when did you start caring about _my _feelings?"

She was stalling; that was obvious. But Zuko didn't miss a beat in finding the answer. Spirits, it wasn't even something he had to think about anymore. Every cell in his body was very much alive having her in the same room as him. He was especially aware of her in that nightgown that Jee must have bought her, especially now that some of the color was coming back into her soft pink skin. His gaze kept darting to her right collar-bone, which she didn't seem to notice was exposed…

He took a quick breath and looked down at the floor.

_I could _never _stay away from this girl, _he thought in alarm. _From the moment she dropped into my life…there was never a moment I wasn't thinking about her…or wanting to get closer to her._

Crap. This wasn't just fascination. It was practically an obsession.

"I..." he felt himself flushing, and his hand cradled the back of his neck as he turned slightly away from the girl. He breathed out a sigh. "Just answer _my_ question first, peasant."

Julie peeked up at him, only mildly curious at his unexpected reaction. "What's with you? Why are you so awkward all of a sudden?"

"I'm not awkward," he muttered gruffly. "I'm impatient. I'm still waiting for your answer, you know."

She folded her arms and glanced to her left. "I forgot the question," she said evasively.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Shit…my head," Julie complained suddenly.

Zuko almost thought she was faking until he saw that she was a little paler than before and was burying her forehead into her hand. She kneaded her brow for a few seconds before straightening up in her seat. She seemed to be having trouble focusing her eyes.

"Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm not all awake yet."

She looked up at him for the briefest of moments, and Zuko thought that one of her eyes was a different color than the other. But then she blinked a few times and turned away from the light. They were green again…the same color they've always been. It must have been a trick of the light.

He let out a sigh. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

She gave him a tired look. "You said that already. And I don't want to go back to sleep. I just know that Shim is going to keep pumping medicine into me while I'm sleeping to keep me docile enough to be his human test subject."

Zuko scowled. "He can't do that. That would be going against my direct orders."

"Not if he doesn't get caught, it isn't," Julie murmured, glancing slightly over her shoulder. "Nothing's really against the rules if you don't get caught. It's the way the world works."

He felt a jab of annoyance. "And in spite of how lousy you feel, you still have just enough energy to be so pointlessly philosophical…not to mention to have such a drastic change in alliances. I suppose I've been underestimating you."

There was a ghost of a smile on her face. "No. You had me all figured out from the get-go. I'm a miscreant, no-good troublemaker. This is just more of my handy work…stirring up some chaos for the hell of it."

Zuko didn't have to comment. He just raised a single eyebrow, the only one he had left. Julie's half-smile vanished, leaving a vacant expression on her face, as though she were thinking about something else. And there was trouble beginning to churn in her eyes, the ones that were still as green as moss…

"Look…" she murmured. "…the thing is, if _you _capture Aang, he can't be killed by the Brotherhood. And if _you _capture him, you won't do whatever sick things Zhao would do…like torture him for shits and giggles, or kill Katara and Sokka just to show how powerful you are. At least if you capture him, they'll be treated fairly…honorably."

Zuko wouldn't look at her, stung by the irony of that statement. "Do you really believe that?"

She didn't answer. He had no choice but to turn his eyes back to the silent girl.

Their gazes locked. Julie was frowning to herself. He found himself engrossed as half-emotions danced fleetingly in her eyes before the haze of Shim's treatment dulled them into an unnatural calm. Unhindered by her feelings, she seemed to be able to put legitimate thought into that question; but he felt sick at what it had cost to get her to this point.

"I trust you a lot more than I trust Zhao," she said after a long pause.

"That's not saying much."

Julie considered that. "All right…then I trust you more than a lot of people here. Is that better?"

He frowned. "Not really."

There was a hint of agitation in her face before it shrank back into weary resignation, like a sinking ship succumbing to the rising tide. And then her irritation seemed to do her no worse than the pressure of a dull knife. Or so it looked to Zuko, who was watching her closely. It was like it exhausted her to feel anything at all, that was how doped up she was.

He was going to have to have a word with Shim about this…or an Agni Kai. Zuko hadn't decided which yet, but he was heavily leaning towards the latter.

"I trust you enough not to do to them what the Brotherhood or Zhao would do to them," said Julie flatly. She seemed only slightly uncomfortable. "I hope you don't expect me to say I trust you more than anyone else I've ever met. Don't you think that's pushing it?"

He broke his gaze away, surprised at how much this bothered him. Although, of course, she was right. They hadn't really known each other that long; maybe a month and a half at the most. It would be extremely presumptuous for him to expect something like that from her. But still, she didn't have to be so…disdainful towards the idea.

He turned his gaze away.

"I don't expect anything from you," he said in a low voice. "That's why I'm surprised to see you here right now. That's all."

Julie bit her lip. "It's not you. It's just that I haven't forgotten your whole political agenda. I have to be careful…even if we _are _friends."

Careful. Even now she was too careful.

"So, you're going to tell me then?" he asked.

"It depends. Do you promise?"

He folded his arms. "_That_ depends."

She blinked at him. "On what?"

Zuko was quiet, his mind stalling the longer he had his eyes on her. She looked small sitting in his seat, and that nightgown she was wearing was almost alluringly askew on her shoulders. It wasn't like it was an indecent length or cut. It was just that she was so petite that it seemed big on her. And her hair was still uncombed and hung loose around her neck, making her look just on the edge of sleep.

And he realized in that instant that he was becoming deeply attracted to her.

He quickly forced his mind back on the subject at hand. Spirits, he couldn't believe what he had been thinking. This was _Julie_ for crying out loud. He couldn't go around having _those _kinds of thoughts about _her_. It was inappropriate! She was his friend, the one person besides his uncle who didn't judge him by the scar on his face, and the one person certain to kick that same face in should he try anything funny with her. Not that he was inclined…much.

"Zuko?"

_Focus! Answer her damn question!_

"Don't you trust me enough without making me promise?" he asked.

She looked at him. "I can't let sentimentality get in the way of common sense, dumbass. I've gotten screwed over more times than you can count by trusting people."

He sighed. "I know."

Julie hesitated. Zuko waited. She clenched and unclenched her hands in her lap. Finally, she seemed to reach a decision.

"He's in a place called Jade Valley…I think…"

"You aren't sure?"

She made a face. "I remember it was a tiny village nestled in between three hills…and when I asked Jee if he knew a place like that and that was his best guess. Beyond that, I guess it could be any old place. You know the Earth Kingdom better than I do."

Zuko suspected that this was a gross understatement. Julie had never confirmed it, but he was sure that she was from…somewhere else. Another world, one with different rules and no bending…that was where she was from.

It was another thing that sat in between them, this thing she refused to admit to him. This and her true feelings concerning the Avatar, these were the only things that kept him from her…but they were pretty big things, when it came right down to it. It could take a long time to break this wall down.

Zuko decided to try anyway. He didn't like the alternatives.

"I'm glad that you told me this," he said slowly. Julie wouldn't look at him, but he didn't let that discourage him. He would get her to look at him somehow…and see him for who he really was. "It means a lot to me, and I…"

"I didn't do it for you."

He stopped short, derailed. Her voice had sounded so rough just now, as though he had struck a very sore nerve.

"Hell, I'm not even doing it for myself…I don't think," she muttered, more to herself. "I just…I don't want to feel any regrets. And even though I promised myself that I would be as selfish as I had to be to get by in the world…I can't turn my back on this. It makes me seem like a freaking hypocrite now, doesn't it?"

Zuko hesitated. "I think you're just confused…and tired."

She gave a rough little shrug, but the calmness in her face was quickly eroding away. "I must have lost my mind, but…if anything happens to Aang, and I could have done something to save him…it'll be my fault if that vision comes true, won't it?"

Her voice cracked at the end of her question. Zuko stared at her, and now he could really see signs of her inner turmoil emerging fresh on her face, anxiety brimming over in her eyes. Unconsciously, she hugged her arms to her sides, shivering as the drugs started to lose their effect on her.

"I won't let him die," he told her. "I promise."

She looked up sharply. She took a deep breath and looked away again.

"And what if something happens to you?" she said. "Because I told you where to find him…what if they get you too? What if they attack the ship and kill everyone? I…I don't want anyone to die, but I…I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Julie…"

"I can't save anyone. I can't…I don't know how. I only cause problems for other people." She closed her eyes. "I shouldn't even _be _here…I…"

He caught her shoulders firmly. "_Julie_. Stop it."

She went very still, but he could still feel her trembling.

"I think Shim's drugs are wearing off," he said. "You went from calm to terrified in ten seconds flat just now. You should sleep…or at least lie down. You look terrible."

She shot him a look. "Gee, thanks…asshole."

But her quip was very unconvincing. Mercifully, he chose to ignore it. "Come on. Let's get you back to your room. Does Lieutenant Jee even know that you're here?"

The question was immediately answered (as they are prone to do at the most inconvenient moments) as the sound of approaching voices echoed through the metal walls. They both tensed up to listen as a very frantic-sounding Jee paced down the hallway, snapping orders at a subordinate.

"She has to be somewhere. Are you sure you looked everywhere?"

"Yes, Sir. We looked in every feasible hiding place. She wasn't anywhere to be found."

Jee uttered a swear that nearly made the Fire Prince blush.

"I think I taught him that one," Julie said in a subdued voice. "He's usually more restrained than this. I wonder why he's so upset."

Zuko looked at her. "He's worried sick about you. Obviously."

She didn't say anything more. She pushed herself out of her chair and teetered. He had to take a hold of her again so that she wouldn't fall flat on her ass. And for the first time in that entire conversation, Julie's face seemed to explode with color.

"I can get to the door myself," she snapped, embarrassed.

He didn't credit that with a response. He was sorely tempted to just throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to her room; but he reconsidered when his eyes raked over the nightgown again. No, touching her would be a very bad idea considering the already dangerous direction his thoughts were taking. He quickly turned his eyes away, fixing his gaze on the door.

"Sit back down. I'll tell Jee that you're all right. You can rest in here for now."

Julie's blush deepened, and she seemed frustrated when she suddenly couldn't look him in the eyes. "My room isn't too far away…I can make it there."

"Later. You've pushed yourself too much already just sneaking out to see me…which was completely unnecessary, by the way. I would have come to see you eventually."

"Well, how the hell was _I _supposed to know that?" she demanded weakly. "From what I remember, you were mad at me. And I couldn't wait for you to get over yourself and pay me a visit."

Zuko stopped short. Was that was she had thought?

"I wasn't mad at _you_. I was just…upset."

She shrugged. "Like I care."

"I think you're lying."

Julie's mouth worked in silent outrage, unable to articulate a single word.

"What made you think I was mad?"

She bit her lip and looked away. "You're an asshole, you know that, Zu…?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "If that's the way you want it, fine. Spirits know you're not really happy unless I'm about to pull every hair out of my head."

"You may as well. That haircut looks stupid, anyway."

Breathing sharply out of his nose, he turned his back on her and started towards the door. Steam came out of his nostrils, mingling with the thin trails of smoke from the burning candle wicks in the room. He took another angry breath and felt his fire returning to him.

He almost tore the door off its hinges as he ripped it open.

"Lieutenant," he barked into the hallway. "Can't you keep an eye on the peasant for one minute?"

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Jade Valley, things weren't really going well for Aang. But I guess you guys already had that one figured out from my vision. Even with Samu guiding him, the torches of the other villagers seemed to find them wherever they went.

"Why not just use your Airbending to get yourself out of town?" the man asked at one point. "There's no point in us hiding and sneaking around."

"My friends are still somewhere in this village," he replied. "They might need my help…and I want to make sure they're all right."

Samu looked down and saw the fear in the boy's eyes. "There are others?"

"They went to find the rest of the imprisoned benders. We said we would meet up by the well…" he trailed off, staring out of the alley they were hiding in. There were men in cloaks swarming all over the place.

Samu followed the direction of Aang's gaze. "_That _well?"

"…yup."

"The one surrounded by people?"

"Uh, huh."

There was a moment of silence.

"Those are some nasty weapons they've got there," Samu commented. "And it's obvious that your friends aren't there. They're still searching the buildings…so if anything, it would be better if we check out the prison hold. We'd have a better chance at finding them there."

Aang nodded. "Okay."

They took off in the opposite direction, keeping to the shadows with their heads down and their eyes open. Every now and then Samu would motion for Aang to hide while he went to scout up ahead. If any of the other villagers saw him, they thought nothing of it; for they assumed he was searching for the monk like they were. And then they would take a different path.

Unfortunately, there weren't too many places for Aang to hide with so many people after him. Eventually, they found themselves cut off.

"It's no good," Samu whispered. "We can't turn back now, but if you come out of the alley they'll spot you. I'm going to have to lure them away somehow…"

He stopped talking abruptly as the voices outside turned excited.

"They must have noticed that the prisoners are missing," said Samu. "They're running off now…towards the cells. I hope your friends aren't still dawdling in there, or they'll find themselves cornered and ambushed."

Aang looked resigned. "We can't get there before the Brotherhood. I know what I have to do."

"What?"

"I can't let them capture Katara and Sokka. I'll buy them some time, just to make sure they get out okay. You should blend back in with the crowd so you don't get in trouble for helping me."

He frowned. "I was a coward once…but I won't turn my back on you again, Avatar. I'll stand by you if need be."

"What about your sister?"

Samu looked away, visibly troubled. Aang managed a smile, trying to cheer him up.

"You have your own family to protect," he told him. "And I have mine. Don't worry. I understand what's at stake for you…and I appreciate your doing as much as you did. I'll take care of things from here."

Samu nodded sadly. "You have a courageous spirit. We all have a lot to learn from you…especially me." He patted Aang on the shoulder. "Good luck."

The monk stepped back and slammed the end of his staff on the ground, turning it into a glider. He stared for a long moment into his eyes, grey meeting brown as the young man sank into a bow. Aang returned the gesture quickly before turning towards the mouth of the alley. He looked determined.

With a gust of air, he pushed himself up on to the nearest rooftop and yelled down at the cloaked men.

"Hey, guys! Looking for me?"

And he took off running in the other direction. The villagers were thrown into momentary confusion as their quarry suddenly appeared before them. Some took off running after him immediately, but most of them needed a minute to organize themselves before they could give chase. For the most part, it was easy for Samu to rejoin the crowd.

But as he watched Aang vanish in the distance, he felt a deep worry for the boy. He silently prayed he would make it out of this alive. This whole ordeal had opened his eyes to just how badly the world needed him, even if no one wanted to acknowledge it anymore.

It was a heavy burden for a child to bear. But Samu believed that in time, Aang would learn to carry it like a man…assuming he lived long enough, that is.

* * *

Katara and Sokka had to work quickly and quietly to load the wounded into the hay-filled cart. The straw wasn't the best thing for so many open cuts, but they needed to remain hidden in case someone spotted the wagon as it was being pulled out of the city. Fortunately, the prisoners had lost consciousness from the pain of their injuries, and didn't complain as they were placed gingerly onto the hay.

Lin sat up at the front, holding the reigns of her ostrich-pony, affectionately named Oatmeal.

"I can get us out of the village," said Lin, "But I'm not sure I can drive the cart up such a steep hill. We may have to carry them from that point on."

"This is going to be difficult," Sokka replied. "But not impossible. I'll try to think of something while you drive. Either way, we can't sit around here knocking our heads together. Let's go."

Katara glanced warily over her shoulder towards the dark streets behind them. She was worried about Aang. "How are we going to rendezvous with Aang?"

"We'll worry about that later. Unless you want to leave these guys for the Brotherhood to find, Katara."

She bit her lip and acknowledged her brother's point.

"Wait a minute…there's a pass between two of the hills that leads into a clearing," Lin spoke up suddenly, her eyes brightening. "I can't believe I almost forgot about it. I take Oatmeal there to graze all the time! And it's hidden by the trees, so no one will see us once we're through."

Sokka rubbed his chin. "I _am _a fan of hidden mountain passes…" he said slowly. "Let's give it a shot."

So they hitched up Oatmeal and took off riding towards the edge of the village. Sokka and Katara sat in the back and ducked low in the hay whenever they saw someone. Fortunately, Lin was astute enough to pick out the least populated route, and for the first five minutes they encountered no problems. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before they ran into a search party.

They were looking for Aang.

"Lin," a middle-aged man barked. "What are you doing out so late? I thought your brother wanted you home…"

The girl thought quickly.

"Oh! Mr. Peng! I'm taking Oatmeal to graze," she responded. "He's getting restless, and I thought he might calm down if he had the chance to run loose for a while."

The man scrutinized her for a second. "What's the hay for?"

"Huh?"

"The hay. You got an awful lot of it in your cart…"

"Oh, that," she said hastily. "Um…well…it's old hay. I'm bringing it to the town compost heap on the way back. I mean…it would be a shame if it all went to waste."

"That it would," the man assented. "You're a good girl, Lin. Your brother's lucky to have you to look after his hide."

"Thank you, Mr. Peng."

"And take care you don't run into the Avatar," he said. "That menace is running loose somewhere…but don't worry. We'll catch him right quick." He frowned for a second, reconsidering something. "On second thought, you shouldn't be out tonight. It could be dangerous. Why don't I escort you?"

Katara and Sokka froze in panic at the bottom of the cart.

"Um…that's all right, sir. I can manage on my own. I have Oatmeal."

"An ostrich-pony isn't a proper escort," Peng complained. "I don't mind looking after you this once. I still haven't forgotten how you brought me those healing poultices when I sprained my ankle two summers ago. Damn kind of you."

Damn unlucky was more like it.

"Um…but, I…I…"

"No buts, little missie. I'm a gentleman at heart. I won't take no for an answer."

Sokka and Katara privately thought in unison that it was a weird thing to see. Here was someone who had been eagerly taking part in a public torture and execution, and now he was making noise about being a gentleman and walking a young lady home. The offer had probably been sincere, but the subconscious hypocrisy of it all stung them.

After all, if Lin had been an Earthbender, he'd probably be ready to roast her alive.

"Wait!" Lin cried, pointing in another direction. "I think I see him!"

"What?"

"The Avatar! He just went that way! I saw him running towards the cells…!"

Peng turned around and muttered an oath. "What a fast little bugger…he's already out of sight." He squared his shoulders and took off running in the opposite direction. "Hey, everyone! He went this way! Towards the cells!"

Within seconds he was gone. The Water Tribe siblings breathed a sigh of relief at the bottom of the cart, emotionally exhausted by that suspenseful encounter. Lin took the reins and immediately urged Oatmeal into a canter.

"That was some quick thinking," said Katara. "I thought for sure you wouldn't be able to get rid of him."

"I thought so, too," the girl breathed. She looked shaken. "It's a good thing Mr. Peng is so absent-minded these days. He's just the kind of person to walk into a room and forget why he's there."

"I _hate _that feeling," Sokka cried. "It's so annoying!"

The girls both stopped to stare at the warrior.

"What?"

"Nothing, Sokka. Spirits, at least you're not trying anything with fishhooks this time."

Even the ostrich-pony cocked its head in interest at that one. Lin glanced back at Katara with a curious expression on her face. "Fishhooks?"

The Waterbender sighed. "It's a long story…but that can wait. I'm worried about Aang."

Sokka frowned. "Me, too. But we have to get these guys to safety."

"Well…actually, I was thinking about going back to look for him. Aang might need help."

He gave her a startled look. "WHAT? No! You are _not _leaving this cart, Katara! What if they catch you? You're a Waterbender! They'll kill you on sight!"

She scowled at her brother, folding her arms. "And just which is more important? Me, or the Avatar?"

The Water Tribe boy looked very unhappy at that query. He wasn't looking his sister in the eyes, but fiddled uncomfortably with his boomerang. "I promised Dad that I would protect you. You're my responsibility, Katara…and my only sister."

Her eyes softened. "I know. But, Sokka, we _need _Aang. The whole world does! If anything happens to him…well…I don't want to think about that."

Sokka held that thought in his mind for a moment. He didn't like either alternative, it was obvious.

"You have fifteen minutes before I come looking for you," he told her. "If you and Aang aren't back by then, I'm going to crack as many skulls as I have to, to bring you back safe."

"Um…please don't bash any skulls, Mr. Sokka," Lin protested meekly. "You don't need to hurt anyone. There's been enough of that already."

He sighed. "Fine. But I'm not making any promises if Katara pushes my hand."

They both looked at the Waterbender as she slid out of the cart. She pulled up the hood of her Brotherhood cloak and turned to look at them.

"It won't come to that," she said. "And I won't come back without him."

* * *

**A/N: And that's a wrap, folks.**

**Okay, for those of you who are going, "WTF?" over Julie's actions, I hope this chapter cleared things up a bit. Julie gave Zuko the information he needs as a distraction since she is planning on running away. But a huge part of it is that she didn't want to leave with him hating her. She wants to tie up all these loose ends so that this will be a clean break. But will she get her way? Or will Zuko catch on to her scheming?**

**Aang is quickly maturing as he is forced to confront the gruesome realities of war and what it will do to people who have lost so much. But how much will he have to take before he snaps? Will Katara be able to find Aang before that happens? **

**I don't have much else to say except REVIEW!**


	78. The Burdens We Must Bear

**A/N: Okay, I just want to say right now that I friggin' love you guys! I have never felt so proud or as in love with my story as I do right now, and it's all thanks to your supportive reviews. Seriously, I feel creatively supercharged every time someone drops a line, even if it's just to say they like my work. And, of course, a happy author tends to update more often…**

**But what really put me in a good mood was this PM I got from Novi Zemog a few days ago. I only just noticed it as I went to update, and I was so excited by it that I decided to brag about it to everyone. (sheepish grin) What can I say? I'm a sucker for praise.**

**Yoshi: "Praiseses? Where? I wants it!"**

**The gist of it was: **"Is there any fan-art of Julie, Kuba, Shen-Long, Bo-Fen, or Zulie? I'm sure there has been at least one artistically talented fan of your story that has decided to draw Julie McVay. If there isn't, then I hope you'll tell your other fans of this message. Just to give the ones with artistic talent and a DA account a hint about throwing together fan-art of our favorite red headed Energybender and her friends, enemies, frienemies, and so on."

**And my reply is as follows…ahem…HINT FRIGGIN' HINT. I would be positively _thrilled _if someone were to create some fan-art for this. Hell, I don't think there can be any higher honor than to have other people creating artwork for a mere fanfic. It says a lot, and it means a lot to me that at least one person who wants to see it.**

**For that matter, I already have character sketches done for my OC's. The only problem is my own computer-stupidity. I don't have a template or Adobe Illustrator, or any idea of how to work either of those things. So, if any of you guys have the time, the inclination, and the skills, PM me, and I'll email you the scanned images of Julie and co. **

**Oh, and one last request: Please, no porn. I don't want to have to invest in eye-bleach because some overzealous fans decided to get a little _too _creative.**

**That being said, here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. And thanks again to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I love you guys!**

**(Fistpumps) Hoody-friggin' hoo!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-One: The Burdens We Must Bear**

"So, we're going after him…sir?"

Jee's inquiry sounded stiff, but if Zuko noticed he didn't seem to care very much. His patience seemed about spent as he booted me out of his desk chair and made me go lie down on his bed. I wouldn't have done it if Jee hadn't been so absolutely livid with me. Feigning weakness was my only hope at getting out of trouble at this point, but the Lieutenant was determined to lecture my ear off anyway. He wouldn't let up even after I did my _poor me_ act and curled up into Zuko's pillow.

The only thing that really got him off his tirade had been Zuko's announcement that we were changing course for Jade Valley. Naturally, Jee had been surprised to hear it…and the entire time he kept shooting me looks that indicated that I was to blame for all of this.

"Is this because of Julie's…vision?" he asked, putting invisible quotation marks around the word, vision. "You really believe that we'll find the Avatar there, sir?"

Zuko's eyes cut to him.

"If the Avatar is there," he replied in a low voice. "We'll find him. Even if the chances are slim, I'm not messing around and letting him slip away. Even if it was just a vision, I have to see it through; so have the men steer us due North."

Jee's eyes flickered to me again. Immediately, I averted my eyes to Zuko, trying to be as small and unassuming as possible.

"You swore on your mother's grave that you wouldn't leave your bed," he stated in a voice that said I was in very deep shit. "And I gave you specific instructions to _not _bother Prince Zuko. Didn't I?"

Zuko frowned. "Lieutenant, I gave you an order."

But he was ignored. I had no choice but to reluctantly meet Jee's gaze.

"It was important…"

"I don't care how important you think it was. You made a promise that I couldn't help but believe, and then you went behind my back. I had no idea where you _were_. I thought someone had taken you, just like back on Kyoshi Island!"

Zuko looked at me, then looked at Jee. "She shouldn't _have_ to resort to sneaking around when she's this sick. Next time I want to be told immediately…if possible," he amended, glancing once at me.

The Lieutenant gave him an icy look. _This _time he acknowledged him. "With all due respect, _sir_, I was under the impression that you were asleep. Besides, I was concerned about Julie's mental well-being. I wanted to give her time to recover after everything she's seen. You didn't see how she was a few hours ago…sick with fear and anxiety."

I took umbrage at that. "I was upset…not sick with fear. And I_ did _sleep…for a little while."

They both ignored me.

"I saw how she was _after _you had Shim treat her," Zuko growled. "I don't see that as an improvement. She was a walking vegetable…she could barely tell me anything."

"Oh, so _that's_ your concern," said Jee angrily. "That she couldn't _tell _you anything…that she wouldn't be of any _use _to you."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position. "It wasn't like that…Jee, listen to me!"

But no one even acknowledged I was in the room. Zuko turned slowly and gave him a piercing glare that should have had anyone in their right mind cringing for the door. But then, Jee was a trained soldier and Firebender, so maybe that was why he was able to glare back. If it had been me Zuko had been looking at with those eyes, I probably would have dived under the bed to hide.

"Finding the Avatar is more important than any individual's safety," he said quietly.

Jee looked like he wanted to punch him. They were giving each other the death stare, the kind you see in martial arts movies seconds before the two combatants lunge for each other. I'm talking imminent Agni Kai, here.

So, I snatched up my pillow and threw it into Zuko's face. It successfully diffused the mood, and made a _fwump_ sound as it flopped from his nose and toppled to the floor. He turned and gave me an angry look that I pointedly chose to ignore. Even Jee stopped to regard me in surprise.

"You hit me with a pillow!"

I folded my arms. "I could reach for something more solid next time…like a lamp. Seriously, you sound like a total dick. God knows you can be a nice guy when you put your mind to it, so quit giving Jee more reasons to want to kick your ass."

Zuko glowered at me. "I was giving him _orders_. This is my ship, and my crew, and they _will _listen to me. I don't need _your _help keeping order, peasant."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Both of you need to chill. What matters is that we find Aang before the Brotherhood does." I looked at Jee. "The Avatar _is _more important in the long run. So quit your bitching and just do what Zuko says, okay?"

Besides, if anything, I was the one using Zuko, not the other way around. But obviously I couldn't say as much out loud.

"Young lady, not another word out of you," Jee snapped. "You will not address your elders like that. I don't _ever_ want to hear you speak to me like that again!"

Whoa. He looked really, really mad. I hadn't really intended to come across so surly; I mean, it was just how I talked. But hearing it in my own ears…huh. Maybe I was being a little too harsh. I mean, I wasn't trying to piss anyone off. Not this time, anyway.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm just tired."

Jee gave me the once-over. "That's no excuse. Anyway, you're in no position to be lecturing Prince Zuko about respect. You're almost as bad as he is on that regard…" he said, ignoring the furious look on Zuko's face as he brought his point home. "…especially considering the way you spoke to me just now."

The thought was unsettling. Was I really that mean?

_What does it even matter? _I thought to myself. _It's not like I'm here to stay. Who cares what Jee thinks about me? Who cares if he's mad? I've got better things to worry about._

But I couldn't help it. It bothered me.

"I said I was sorry," I complained. "It's not like Zuko ever apologizes for the crap he says."

"_Julie_…"

I sighed and glared at the floor. My face heated up. "All right. Fine. I'll be nicer next time…" I looked up sharply. "Hey, wait a minute…does that mean it's okay to talk to _Zuko _like that?"

They answered unanimously. "No."

They looked at each other in chagrin. Their faces were like two girls at the prom as they locked gazes and realized that they're both wearing the same dress. I shit you not.

"Duly noted," I said. I was still kind of worked up about Jee's reprimand, and honestly I just wanted to get the hell out of there. "Anyway, it's been a long night…I think I'm just going to go back to my room now. Yoshi's probably lonely without me there to keep him company."

They say timing is everything. No sooner were the words out of my mouth when a dragging sound reached our ears. We all paused as the eelhound entered the room tail-first, pulling a very dead, fat elephantrat behind him. He dropped it at my feet and looked up at me hopefully, yellow eyes bright.

"Um…good job?"

Yoshi looked pleased. _You can have the organs. They're squishy. They're the best part! _

Zuko looked ill. "He wants you to eat it."

The eelhound nudged the rodent corpse against my bare foot, and I jolted back with a squeak. I mean, I love the little guy, but…ew!

"I…um…I already ate…?"

Yoshi cocked his head to the side. _Then, can I have it?_

"I said…_I'm_…_not_…_hungry_," I said, putting careful emphasis on each word. I looked up at Zuko. "Does he understand what I'm saying?"

The puppy glanced at Zuko, who gave him a curt nod. Giving a bark of delight, the eelhound snatched up the rat in his mouth and ran off with it. I watched him go feeling a number of things…nausea being the most prominent. But I was also kind of ticked that Yoshi was taking orders from a butthead like Zuko. Seriously, I thought they hated each other.

I guess I was wrong…about a lot of things.

"Frick," I grumbled. "That is _so _unfair!"

Jee took me by the shoulder. "If you think _that's _unfair, wait until I think of your punishment, young lady. I will _not _tolerate your behavior, not for a second. You _will _learn respect, even if I have to have you drilling table-manners day and night! You'll have nothing but frilly gowns and ribbons to wear, and if you're especially unlucky, I might just decide to invest in a few lessons on _face paint_…!"

I paled. "You…you can't do that…!"

He looked dead serious. "You just watch me."

The sad part was that Aang would probably never know the kind of sacrifice I was making on his behalf.

* * *

It was barely November and nowhere near as cold as it got in the South Pole, but Katara felt a chill running up her spine as she raced through the dark alleys of Jade Valley village. She could still see the eerie glow of the torches everywhere she went. The elongated shadows kicked her imagination into an unpleasant overdrive, taking nightmarish shapes out of the corner of her eye. She felt like it was a premonition. Something terrible was about to happen.

_Aang…where are you? We have to get out of here._

She had to find the well. With any luck, the monk might be waiting for her there. It was, after all, their original rendezvous point. But if all these people were looking for him, out for his blood…she didn't want to think about what they would do to him.

_I shouldn't have let him go off on his own._

But she had been afraid. Sokka's words came back to her as she paused to catch her breath. _Do you really want to see for yourself? _And he was right…she didn't. She didn't want to have to look at the Firebender they were burning alive. She didn't want to have to see the extent of the man's injuries, to have it seared into her memories like a brand. And now she felt like a coward.

_Aang wasn't afraid…or if he was, he didn't let it stop him._

She had to find him. She had to protect him. She couldn't imagine losing him, especially not like this. If it were Aang they had tied to that stake, if it were him they were burning, she wouldn't let herself hesitate to try to help him. No matter how horrific the burns would be, she would force herself to look if it meant keeping the Airbender alive.

Her mother's burns had been the most traumatic thing she ever had to look at. That fateful day the Fire Nation had come to her village, that day she followed her father into the hut after that man had been there…

She closed her eyes, her hand shaking as she unconsciously reached for her mother's necklace. It was a poor substitute for the woman who had raised her. She would never be able to forget it. The way that man had left her there, barely recognizable as a person, let alone her beautiful, kind-faced mother…she didn't even have a face when he was done with her.

He had burned it away.

_Don't think about that. Aang needs you._

Katara steeled her resolve and took off running again. She barely knew where she was going, and had to let her determination guide her through the darkness.

She wasn't the same, helpless little girl she had been all those years ago.

* * *

Aang was having his own problems.

His original plan had been to lure the mob away from the prison in case Katara and Sokka were still there. Then, eventually, he would find a way out of the village and back to Appa was waiting for them. In his head, that would be where his friends would be waiting for him with the prisoners they had freed. He would get chewed out a little by Sokka for his lateness, and then they would fly away, far away from this place.

That wasn't the way things turned out, unfortunately.

For one thing, he was getting tired. He had been running around with a grown man on his back for a good twenty minutes, and that had been a heavy load. Even after he had left the dead Firebender, he didn't feel any better. If anything, he felt worse. He hadn't really had a chance to catch his breath since he parted ways with Samu. He found himself sweating as he struggled to push himself to go faster, to keep himself just out of reach of the villagers who wanted to kill him.

Then, the men in the cloaks had joined the hunt. And for some reason, Aang was having trouble using his bending.

It happened the first time when he had reached the village well again. He had been keeping an eye out for Katara and Sokka, and hadn't noticed the assailants waiting for him. He had touched down and leaned against the smoothly-cut stone, breathing heavily.

_Come on, guys…where are you?_

Then he had seen an ethereal glow out of the corner of his eyes.

Aang turned to find himself being surrounded by hooded men. These weren't clumsy farmers and miners with rusty tools…they were trained combatants with real weapons. One of them was completely unarmed, but his hands were shrouded in an eerie blood-colored light.

The Brotherhood.

Gasping in alarm, Aang drew his staff and tried to summon a gust of air to push the men back, and at first there was nothing wrong. But within seconds he felt the strength draining out of him and his wind getting weaker.

_No…no…!_

What was happening? Why was it so hard to get the air to move? Why did it feel so heavy…?

He had gotten out of that scrape out of sheer dumb luck. He had been able to knock over the man with the glowing palms, and as the other two lunged at him he made a beeline for the nearest alley. Even without bending, Aang was a very speedy kid. Given that his life was on the line, he had no trouble finding the adrenaline-fueled strength to outrun the acolytes, despite his exhaustion. The farther away he got from the well, the lighter the air felt, and before long he was able to use his bending to help him escape.

Now he was hiding inside an overturned trash bin. It was empty, thank the Spirits, and Aang crouched silently inside as he tried to get his breath back.

_So that was Energybending, _Aang thought to himself. _It was like someone had put up a wall between me and the air._

It had taken him most of his strength to bend in that instance, and now he was too tired to do much besides hide. If that man had gotten any closer, if he had managed to touch him…would he have been able to permanently seal away his bending?

It was a terrifying thought. He couldn't imagine having such a power. No wonder Julie was so afraid all the time. No wonder she had tried to keep her bending a secret.

Aang's thoughts imploded inside his brain as the sound of footsteps reached his ears. His entire body tensed, and the walls of the bin suddenly became brighter as the glow from the torches passed over it. He could hear voices, chanting, cursing in confusion as they searched for him. He hadn't felt so scared in his entire life, and even after the light of the torches had faded in the distance, he couldn't stop shaking.

He couldn't even find the strength to check to see if the coast was clear.

All he could think about was what would happen if someone should happen to knock into the bin. Or turn it over. He tried very hard not to breathe, but it was impossible. He was in abject terror that someone would hear him.

As it turned out, someone had.

"Is someone in there?" a familiar voice breathed. "Aang?"

He felt his heart leap. "K-Katara…?"

She pulled the barrel away, revealing a very paralyzed Airbender, looking at her as though she were the sun and he was seeing it rise for the first time in his life. He couldn't even breathe as the Waterbender let out a relieved sound and threw her arms around him. The monk felt his composure slipping as he hugged her back. He knew she could feel him trembling and was almost ashamed for it.

But then he felt how shaken she was and knew that he wasn't the only one who had been afraid. Aang felt a little stronger for it.

"I'm so glad you're all right," she whispered. "I was scared that they'd find you before I did."

"I'm okay," he told her. Then, he looked around. "Where's Sokka?"

"With the benders. He's getting Appa ready for us so we can leave…but I wanted to make sure you were still…that you weren't in trouble."

He knew what she had been about to say. _That you were still alive_. The weight of those unspoken words unsettled them both.

"I almost was," he admitted. "Katara, you have to watch out for the people wearing cloaks. Some of them are Energybenders, like Julie." Aang looked around warily, as though expecting them to pop up at that very minute. "They made it really hard for me to bend. I barely made it out of there in one piece."

Katara looked worried. "The people we found in jail told us something like that. They had been captured because they couldn't defend themselves once their bending had been taken away. They were in really bad shape when we found them…" she trailed off, pushing back that unpleasant memory.

Aang nodded, understanding. "It's scary."

She took him by the hand and helped him to his feet. "You look like you're going to pass out…they didn't hurt you, did they?"

He looked at his shoes. "I'm…just tired. I was running for a long time. I couldn't find you guys anywhere." He glanced back up at her. "I was worried about you, too, Katara."

The heated look they exchanged was broken as the sound of a harsh voice shattered the silence.

"How touching."

They both jumped. Aang took a defensive stance and Katara popped open her waterskin to attack whoever had spoken from the shadows. But the water, which had been about freeze in midair, suddenly fell to the ground with a splat. Katara gasped and looked down at her hands. She made motions with her hands, trying to pull the water back into the air.

Something was pushing back her chi. She could feel it.

Aang flinched. "Behind you!"

Before Katara could react, she felt a man's palm slam into her back. She felt the tremor of his blow run like a current through her entire body. A startled cry flew from her lips, but she was unable to stop herself from collapsing on to the ground like a broken doll.

Aang brought his staff around and tried to blow their unseen foes away, but he was too drained from his first encounter with the Brotherhood. Two men darted forwards and caught him by both arms just as he sank to his knees.

They forced his head upright and Aang found himself staring into a face he wasn't expecting to see so soon after leaving Omashu. "Delun."

The dark-eyed man smiled. "Avatar Aang…who would expect to see you here of all places?"

Katara moaned and tried to sit up. Delun's gaze cut to her and his smile deepened. It was a cruel expression, one full to the brim in malevolent anticipation.

"And you brought your pretty little Waterbender friend with you," he added. "The more the merrier, I suppose. I can be quite hospitable, you know…even for uninvited guests such as yourselves."

Aang felt a sky-splitting thunderbolt of panic as Delun knelt down next to her and cupped her chin in his hand. "Wait! Don't hurt her!"

He didn't like the way the man's finger traced over Katara's cheekbones. The girl was too weak to do more than glare at him, though the monk could see her struggling just to move. It was dark enough for Aang to see Delun's hand glowing a faint shade of crimson, suppressing her chi to keep her unwillingly docile and helpless.

Delun smiled. "Does this frighten you, Avatar? It would be so easy for me to snap her neck right here…or to cut her throat." He glanced back down, gazing deep into Katara's eyes. She let out a frightened sound as he forced her face up to look at him. "How about you, girl? Are you afraid to die?"

"Stop it!"

Delun's smirk deepened. He was enjoying this, the power he had over them. "I wasn't expecting to find you here, you know. My sources were confident that you would continue farther north to find yourself a Waterbending teacher. And yet here you are…risking everything to save a couple of strangers…dying pointlessly and throwing away any hopes of saving the world from the Fire Nation." He sighed. "What a waste."

Katara made an angry sound. "You…if the Fire Nation wins…you'll lose too."

"Not necessarily. This war is nothing more than a backdrop in our rise to greatness. Everyone will destroy each other with their bending, leaving the world broken and afraid. People will be forced to look at themselves and realize that their nations were nothing more than an illusion. They will have no choice but to come together as one people, united under one banner…"

Aang's eyes widened as he listened to this speech. It felt strangely familiar in his ears, like he had heard it somewhere before…or something like it, only a long time ago.

"People will flock to whatever secure platform they can stand on. By the end of this war, the Brotherhood of the Crimson Lotus will be the _only _power left in this world. There will be no inequities, no poverty, no reason for despair. There will only be unending harmony…only when all becomes one can this world become one with Origin."

He stroked Katara's cheek in a way that made the monk sick with anger. "Doesn't that sound nice, girl? In a world like that, no one would ever have to feel the kind of pain you've felt. You miss your mother, don't you?"

Her eyes widened. "H…how…?"

Delun pointed to his eyes, which were no longer dark. Instead, they were yellow and almost hawk-like.

"Kraje blesses its Chosen with a fraction of its power. I can see into your spirit…into everyone's spirit. I know everything you've suffered just by looking into your eyes." He looked up at Aang for a beat. "Just as I can see _your _grief, Avatar…and your fear. You're terrified to lose the only family you have left." His finger lingered over Katara's jugular. "You're scared that I'll kill her."

"Don't…" Aang whispered.

His finger jabbed down at that one pressure-point. Katara's crystal-blue eyes went wide for a split second as pain lanced through every chakra in her body. Her own chi swelled to the point where it felt like she would pop like a cherry…while at the same time, that same force kept it trapped inside her body. She cried out in agony.

"Stop! Please, stop it! I'm begging you!"

Delun paused, and Katara sank against him, gasping and sobbing. He smoothed her hair loopies away from her face, almost gentle as he smirked up at the monk. "Untold suffering awaits this world, Avatar. We are only trying to put an end to it. She doesn't have to suffer…"

His hand began to glow again, and the Waterbender jerked in pain. "Aang…!"

"…no one does once we unite the world," he said, talking over the sound of Katara's voice. "You are possibly the only thing that stands in our way."

Aang's tattoos began to pulse with blue light. His face tightened into a mask of anger.

"Let her go!" he bellowed.

* * *

I had been alone in my room, sulking under the lush, poofy quilt that covered my bed. Between that, the silk sheets, and the otter-goose down stuffed pillows, I was practically drowning in softness. It was like choking on a cloud. It was practically impossible to get comfortable since I was used to sleeping on a hammock these past several weeks.

How could anyone fall asleep on something so…fluffy? I found myself punching the pillows in an effort to bunch them up and ease some of my frustration.

"Stupid…puffy…pink crap…!" I growled, thrusting my fists into the surprisingly resilient cushions. Suddenly, I felt a prickle of foreboding and ended up freezing in mid-punch. "Huh…? Aang…?"

I looked around. The room was covered wall to wall in furniture and knick-knacks that Jee had bought, and I couldn't help but lament over all the wasted gold spent on such useless decorations. It wasn't even really my taste. There were a lot of pinks and magentas, but not a lot of blacks and blues, which was what I preferred. It looked like the Easter Bunny had thrown up all over the room.

It was just my imagination. I mean, I had already had the vision. Surely I wasn't about to have to deal with a double-whammy, right? My luck wasn't _that _bad.

I hugged my knees into my chest, not knowing what I was supposed to do anymore. I thought that telling Zuko would make me feel better about the whole thing, but now that my plan was in motion I felt almost queasy. I tried to think of the open road, of my impending days free of Zuko and the rest of the crew. I could burn my bridges and find my own way home…somehow. I couldn't stay here. I didn't belong here.

And yet…

_What if I just screwed Aang over? _I couldn't help but think to myself. _Maybe I shouldn't leave just yet, I mean…he might need me to set him loose if Zuko nabs him._

Wait, was I trying to talk myself out of leaving?

"_Julie,_" Ayla murmured. "_You need to stay. You _do _have a place here…you know that deep down! You have friends and a family here. You could start over here if you decided to stay. Just stay! Be happy!_"

"Easy for you to say," I said out loud. "Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows…this might come as a shock, but not everyone can be as easy-breezy as you are all the time. I can't just run away from my problems."

"_Then why are you trying to now?_"

I sucked in my breath. "I am _not _running away! From _anything_!"

I exhaled sharply, reeling in my temper and continuing my tirade mentally so that no one would hear me talking to myself.

_I'm facing reality…! This isn't my home and it never will be. And I'm making things worse by sticking around. I need to get my ass in gear and fix everything, and then I have to get the hell out before I fuck up the story any more than I already have!_

"_Before you get attached_," Ayla corrected me softly.

Why, that little…!

"Oh, screw you," I snapped, turning over in my bed and smooshing the pillow over my face. "What does _she _know, anyway?"

That was a rhetorical question, reader. Don't bother answering it.

* * *

The wind began to howl as Aang's body became shrouded in blue light. The two men holding him were thrown back as his body was lifted into the air. They fell back and landed hard on either side of Delun, their hoods pushed back and revealing their awe-stricken faces. But Delun himself managed to keep his footing, and his expression was positively gleeful as he looked up at the enraged Avatar.

"Yes," he crowed. "Yes! That's it…!"

Katara felt her stomach drop as Aang glared down at them. He didn't say a word as he directed his wrath towards the man with the hawk eyes laughing maniacally at him.

Something was very wrong with this picture.

"Aang…!" she yelled up at him. "Aang, wait…! Don't…!"

But the monk was beyond reason. He plunged towards Delun, and the wind reached maelstrom levels as they clawed at the man. Katara was terrified that he would blow them all away in his rabid efforts to reach his foe. She barely had the strength left to shield her face from the screaming gales whipping around her.

"Aang…!"

Delun raised his glowing hands to meet Aang as the boy lunged. Blue light met red in a thunderous clash. Katara was instantly reminded of Kyoshi Island, back in the clearing when Aang had clashed with Julie while in the Avatar State. She remembered seeing that light from a distance and feeling afraid. But witnessing it up close was a thousand times more frightening.

This wasn't the sweet, kind-hearted boy she had rescued from the ice. Grief and rage had warped him into this unrecognizable being with piercing blue eyes.

_Aang…_

"No," she breathed. "Aang, please…stop it! Aang! _Aang…!_" Her whispers quickly turned to screams in her desperation to be heard over the wind, but if the Airbender heard her, he gave no indication of it. His expression reminded her of carved stone, grotesquely angry and unchanging in the face of the elements. Delun had pushed him too far, and now he was gone.

Gone.

She could barely see over the harsh glare of the grappling lights. And as the seconds passed, red quickly began to overwhelm the sea of blue and the wind began to die. Katara didn't know exactly what was happening anymore; all she knew was that whatever kind of battle Aang was fighting, he was losing. And she had a sense that the stakes were higher this time, even higher than they had been when this had been a matter of life and death.

An hour ago this concept would have made no sense to her. But now…

Katara threw her head back and screamed to the boy in one last effort to reach his old self. "AANG…!"

_Clunk…!_

She heard the sound, but didn't see what had caused it. Tears still hung on her eyelashes as she blinked around in confusion. Finally, she spotted the silhouette in the sky. Faintly, she could almost make out the form of a very familiar person as he caught the boomerang that had apparently rebounded off of Delun's skull. The man slumped forwards and blacked out.

And all at once, the blue light pulsed forth as though a dam had collapsed, leaving the crimson hues to drown in its wake. Katara shielded her eyes so she wouldn't go blind.

After two minutes of chaos, the light faded.

Aang stood in the center of the alley, towering over the unconscious body of Delun. He stared hard at the man, as though envisioning several violent scenarios he wanted to reenact from his rage-fueled imagination. The other acolytes had scattered the moment they had realized that their leader had somehow lost to the Avatar.

The monk glared up at the fleeing men with pulsing blue slits for eyes. He raised a hand after them, as though to strike them down as they ran from him.

But something held his arm back.

His head swiveled down and saw the Waterbender clinging to his arm. Her face was much paler than usual, but her blue eyes were firm even with the fear reflected in them. Even having to stare down Aang's hate-filled look, she refused to let go of him. As much as he frightened her right then and there, she was even more afraid of losing him.

"It's over," she said in a trembling voice. "Aang, it's over. Let them go. _Please_."

Somewhere deep inside him, Aang felt a fraction of his former consciousness stirring at the sound of her voice, which sounded like it was on the brink of tears. The anger within twisted into confusion and concern for his friend. The way she was looking at him…it was almost like she was afraid of him. Why was she afraid of him?

Aang blinked and felt his arm drop. "Katara…?"

She pulled him to her, and he caught her before she could stumble and fall. She was still very weak from the number Delun had done on her. The monk held her, bewildered and disoriented.

"Katara…what…?"

Sokka had landed Appa at the mouth of the alley. He slid off the bison's back and went to them, sheathing his boomerang as he ran. He was practically tripping over his own feet in his anxiety for the two younger members of his team.

"I'm all right," she murmured, looking up at her brother just as he reached them. "Sokka? How…?"

"Did you really think I'd let you go off on your own?" he demanded. "Especially with these psychopaths running around like they own the place? Fat chance."

Aang looked around, confused. He put a hand against his forehead, feeling a major headache coming on. "What was I doing…?" he whispered. Katara and Sokka both looked at him. "The last I remembered, Delun was…he was hurting you…"

The Water Tribe boy looked sharply at his younger sister. "What?"

"It's fine," she said quickly, though she still looked worse for wear. "It doesn't matter what happened. What matters is that you're yourself again, and Delun is…" she glanced bitterly down at him. "Well, he isn't about to hurt anyone else, that's for sure."

Sokka glared down at the man. "Suddenly, I find myself wishing I had hit him _a little bit _harder. Just enough to crack his head open like a raw egg."

The Waterbender shuddered. There had been enough bloodshed for one day. She just wanted to put all of this behind her and not look back.

"What did he do to you?" Sokka persisted. "You look almost as bad as the Firebenders we found. You can't even stand, can you?"

She sighed. "I don't know what he did. It felt horrible…like I was a sea prune he was trying to juice from the inside out…only with my bending. It was like he was…I don't know…like he was squeezing my spirit hard enough to make my entire body want to just…_break_."

Aang tightened his grip on her. "I can't believe I let them go…after what they did to you…after what they were _going _to do to you."

He trailed off as he glanced pointedly at Delun. Sokka followed his gaze and seemed to be having similar thoughts. He drew his machete and nudged the unconscious body with the toe of his boot, not bothering to be gentle. When the man failed to muster up signs of life, his expression turned dark.

"He won't ever hurt anyone ever again," he said, and knelt down with the bladed weapon in his hand.

Aang felt prickles of doubt running through him. He had been watching Katara's face the entire time, and only just realized what Sokka was planning to do. He probably would have stood idly by if he hadn't noticed the shock marring the carefully controlled expression of calm on the girl's face. It made him reconsider.

Part of him still thought that maybe it would have been better to let Sokka get on with it. But he couldn't get Katara's face out of his mind, and he could even hear Monk Gyatso echoing sternly in the back of his head.

_Remember, Aang…revenge always poisons you in the end. It solves nothing._

"Wait," he said quickly. "Don't kill him."

Sokka looked at him. "Why? He would have done the same to you and Katara if we hadn't surprised him like this. If we let him live, he'll just go on to hurt more people…we need to end this _now_."

But doubt clouded the monk's stormy grey eyes. "This isn't the right way. I just know it isn't."

Katara surprisingly came to Aang's defense. "He's right, Sokka. There's been enough killing for one night. Let's just leave."

Sokka wore a face that made them think he was sucking on a lemon. He threw one last angry look at Delun before his expression melted away into resignation. "I feel like I could do to him what he was doing to all these people…I feel like…one of them." Only the hitch in his voice indicated how much this really bothered him.

And needless to say, it bothered him _a lot_.

The Airbender looked away. "I know. I felt the same way. But…if you give in, if you sink to his level, then you're no better than he is."

The Water Tribe boy said nothing. He sheathed his machete and left Delun lying on the ground. He moved in silence as he knelt down by his sister and helped her to her feet. He took one side while Aang took the other.

"Where's Lin?" Katara asked softly. "And the other benders?"

Sokka's reply was curt. "Where I left them…in the clearing. She's looking after them."

Together, they left the alley and stepped into the town square. There they found all the villagers staring tensely at them. It was clear by the looks on their faces that most of them had witness the cataclysmic fight that had broken out in the alley. Even from far away, they could hear the screams and see the terrifying light.

And now Aang was emerging victorious, and their protectors, the Brotherhood, were nowhere to be seen. Was it any surprise that they all looked like they were about to piss themselves where they stood?

"Get her on Appa," the monk said quietly to Sokka. "I'll handle this."

He nodded and supported Katara's weight as he clumsily assisted her on to the saddle. Aang left them and went deeper into the town square. He saw the people drawing back in alarm, as if they expected him to turn back into the monstrous powerhouse he had been not even ten minutes ago.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he called to them. "You don't have to be afraid."

No one appeared to believe him. Aang could hear them muttering anxiously amongst themselves as they warily eyed him. He took another step closer, and they all fell into a sharp, unnatural silence. The Airbender hesitated, glancing back at Katara and Sokka before steeling himself to be brave.

He tried to address the crowd again.

"Are you afraid because you think I'm going to kill you?"

There was a moment's pause.

"Well, what are you going to do to us, then?" an old man demanded. "Make us your slaves? Or maybe you want to keep us alive just so you can watch us suffer…so you can chop us into bits with your Avatar powers!"

Aang felt immensely sad, a kind of sadness that did not have words to adequately express it.

"What good would that do?" he replied. "Would it bring back any of the people you killed? Would it take back any of the horrible things that happened here?"

No one said a word. No one seemed to know what to say.

"You were poisoned by your grief," Aang continued, looking at each of them in turn. "You let that hatred control you when you should have been brave. When the Earthbenders couldn't protect you, you became afraid and let the Brotherhood deceive you. And now that they're gone, you don't know what to believe in anymore…don't you?"

A few people stirred restlessly, but everyone else watched and waited breathlessly for the boy to finish. For someone so young, he seemed to have no trouble holding their attention and commanding the respect of everyone present. When the villagers looked out at the monk, they saw someone much older and sadder standing in his place…a man wearing a child's body.

From the crowd, Samu watched the Airbender and felt a sense of loss. Aang had won the fight and managed to survive; he had save his friends and drove out the Brotherhood from the village. But apparently he lost a part of himself in the process…a piece of his innocence. And Samu doubted that he would ever get it back.

Aang shook his head. "The Earth Kingdom is said to be made up of strong, resilient people…but I guess things change in a hundred years of war. People change. And I know I have the least right out of anyone to judge you since I was the one who disappeared for all this time…but…" he stopped short, unable to finish his sentence. "Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done."

He regarded the crowd one last time, his gaze lingering on Samu. The man smiled ruefully, and Aang's face regained a glimmer of hope, a cinder of the fire that had almost died. After all, one person had been strong. Maybe it wasn't too late for these people after all.

"You're free to make your own choices," he told them. "Just as you always were. I'm going to leave you and hope that next time more of you will find the strength to understand what mercy really means. It doesn't mean brutalizing your enemies…but finding it in yourself to forgive them; to spare them even when you have the opportunity to strike them down."

He locked eyes with Samu, understanding better than ever as he finished his speech.

"Death isn't mercy," he said. "Compassion is."

And with that, the last Airbender left his speechless audience and stared to climb up Appa's back. Sokka caught his arm and hauled him up the rest of the way, noticing that he was too tired to make it on his own. They nodded once at each other before Aang took his place up front, on top of the bison's head.

He took the reins and motioned Appa to rise. "Yip yip."

Not one person moved to stop them as the massive animal lurched on all six legs and lumbered up into the sky. Appa let out a sad bellow as they left the village behind them.

"You sure let them off easy," Sokka muttered, still looking sullen and confused. He folded his arms awkwardly and kept himself from looking back. "It just doesn't seem fair."

Aang clenched the reins tighter in his hands. "I didn't let them off easy. Those people are going to have to live…knowing what they're capable of." He glanced back at the Water Tribe boy. "Every single day and every single night for the rest of their lives, they'll have to live with that guilt…with no way to take back what they did."

He looked away.

"Once you take a life away, you can't take it back."

Katara listened to this and felt a low note of grief run through her. She fingered her mother's necklace without realizing what she was doing. She knew all too well that what Aang was saying was true.

_No…you can't erase what's passed. You can only look towards the future._ Her finger traced over the grooves in the blue stone, the carvings she knew by heart. _Mom used to say that all the time._

And now her mother was nothing but a memory…a very distant memory. And now she knew more than ever that the past was a burden she would have to bear…she and everyone else in the world. And no one could escape the past. Not even the Avatar.

Katara had to ponder that in silence. There were no words left to be spoken.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter had to be such a downer. I threw in a tiny bit of fluff here and there to try to even out the tone, but I knew I had to finish this mini-arc and keep the plot moving. It felt like a lot of angst to cram into one chapter, and it was hard for me to write since I'm used to…well…comedy. Lately this story's been getting darker and more serious.**

**But then, what do you expect during a war?**

**This isn't quite the last we'll be seeing of Jade Valley, though. Remember, Zuko will still be paying the village a visit, looking for Aang. And Julie will be having some problems of her own as she tries to follow through with her plans to run away. So whatever loose ends you might have noticed here, I assure you, are going to be tied up with those two.**

**And for those of you who are waiting for the next Deleted Scene, I am almost done with it. I just had a lot of stuff going on this week and couldn't finish both the chapter and the Yoshi chapter. It was a toss up, but I decided to give you the sad chapter first so that way the hilarity of the eelhound's antics could cheer you up.**

**I'm kind of curious as to everyone's thoughts on this chapter. There were a lot of heavy themes, here, not to mention an issue of morality regarding the team's decision to leave Delun alive. Will that come back to bite them all in the butt? Probably.**

**Anyway, I'm going to let you digest this. REVIEW!**


	79. The Problem with SelfExpression

**A/N: Hey, guys. I know there wasn't an update last week, and I apologize for that. I'm actually in the middle of planning something fanservicey for the Happy Endings saga, and to do that I had to spend last weekend up at Jessie's dorm. Yes, that Jessie. She is both surprised and horrified that I still keep mentioning her by name in my author's notes (I have the bruises to show for it, too…lol!).**

**Anyway, I want to dedicate this next chapter to Emerald Masquerade and to Angelbeets for offering to do the fanart for the series. You guys rock! I made this chapter extra fluffy so that it's worthy of your efforts. Thanks again!**

**(Huge Grin) I am **_**psyched**_**! This was so much fun to write…it was cute and made me smirk deviously the whole time. Obviously, I'm trying to compensate for the heavy-angst last chapter, so I hope everyone enjoys it.**

**Hasta la Yoshi, bitches!**

**.. .. ..**

**NOTE: Edited some of the dialogue and narration at the end of the chapter, but the gist of it is the same. No changes were made to the plot.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Two: The Problem With Self-Expression**

If you thought I was depressed before, then you clearly aren't aware of the hell Jee put me through since the last chapter.

Seriously, things have gotten so bad that I'm now contemplating _killing _myself instead of running away. It wouldn't have been too hard, either. I mean, I practically came within a butterfly's eyelash of snapping my own neck when I woke up that morning and found all of my old clothes had been removed from my closet and dresser. The only thing I had left to wear were…were…_dresses_.

"…"

_Your face is going to freeze like that, you know_, Ayla warned me as I stared in disbelief at the inside of my closet.

I glanced away from the dresses for a moment and looked into the mirror. Ayla was smiling ruefully at me from my reflection.

_It's not so bad, you know, _she said. _Those will look pretty on you_.

I had snatched a dress off the hanger at random. "I don't want to be pretty. I want to be…" I trailed off, realizing something. I didn't have my own reflection in the mirror. Instead, all I saw was Ayla. "…myself?"

_What's the matter?_

"It's just…" I shook my head, confused. Since when had she become my reflection? "Nothing. Never mind. Anyway, there are more important things to worry about right now…"

_Like the fact that you're planning on running away?_

I gritted my teeth and ignored her. "This is _my _life. And I'm going to do things _my _way."

And it was with this thought in mind that I charged out of my room and went to find the offender who ransacked my closet. When I got my hands on Jee, he would be a dead man.

* * *

I kicked open the door to his private study, just like an actor on a seventies cop show. Sure enough, he and Iroh were enjoying a cup of ginseng tea to start their day, but they almost spilled their glasses when I lurched unexpectedly into the room, breathing heavily through my nose…a lot like an incensed beast, actually. I wanted to tear some limbs, I was so mad.

"Are you freaking_ kidding_ me?" I growled, skipping any and all preamble. "I can't wear _this_…!"

And I waved around the monstrosity of a garment trapped in my fist. Jee lowered his glass slowly, got up from his chair, and took the dress away from me. He was careful to smooth out all of the wrinkles I had made before he draped it over another chair. He was wearing the most unsympathetic expression I had ever seen.

"You can and you will. It just happens to be the latest fashion in the Fire Colonies…so quit complaining. You brought this on yourself."

I grimaced. "But…it's _pink!_"

It wasn't even a manly light-red, so I was deprived of the opportunity to make a witty RVB reference. The dress was very similar to a kimono in that it tied in the front and came with an obi belt. But it was sleeveless (it being quite warm in the southern hemisphere at this time of year in spite of it being the end of November) and the skirt was completely slit up both sides. It was one of those things you wore with pants, so it wasn't _completely _horrible…but it was PINK. For crying out loud, I could feel my non-existent testicles shrinking at the sight of it.

I could probably fight in it, though that was a small consolation since I wasn't about to be caught wearing that in public. But apparently Jee had other plans.

"I have received replies from a few of your suitors," he said as I cautiously fingered the soft fabric of the offending garment. Though I froze when I heard what he had just told me. "They live very close by to our next destination, and I thought that now would be a convenient time for you to meet them."

My gaze swiveled to him in horror. "I have _suitors_…?"

He blinked at me in surprise. "Did you forget? I sent out that betrothal advertisement weeks ago."

Shit. That could complicate things a bit.

"Why do you think I've been teaching you all of this?" Jee demanded, noticing the panicked look on my face. "Spirits…this is your future, girl. How could you let something as crucial as _that _slip your mind?"

_Okay, _I thought to myself. _Don't panic. It's not like I'm actually going to have to meet any of these people. I'll be long gone before I run into _any _of them._

This didn't stop me from feeling like a total idiot. My face was burning, just like it always did at the slightest hint of agitation or embarrassment…and the fact that I was riled up all the time didn't really help me any.

"Um…no," I lied. "I didn't forget. I just…wasn't expecting to have to meet anyone so soon."

Jee just shook his head at me. "Well, you had better get used to the idea now. For such a modest dowry, we got a surprising number of replies from young men…and a few women, too."

That got my attention. "Seriously?"

"Your hair _is _rather short," he pointed out. "And even though you have a pretty face, the shape of it…not to mention your boyish figure…ahem…well…let's just say that you end up with a _wider variety_ of people who are romantically interested in you. That's another reason why I want you to dress more appropriately…to avoid misunderstandings such as these."

Iroh noticed the look on my face. "W…well…she would be a very pretty boy, if such a mistake were to be made," he said, trying to be helpful.

Yeah. Not so much.

Ayla was giggling at my expense. "_S-sorry…I know it's not funny, but…but…BWA-HA-HA-HA…!_"

I gave them both a sour look. "I'm not a lesbian. For fuck's sake, it's bad enough I have to meet a bunch of strange guys…do I really have to deal with the ladies, too?"

Jee didn't answer me. Instead, he placed an empty jar on the table in front of me. I stared at it for a beat, then rolled my gaze up to him.

"For your sake, that had better not be a _tipping _jar." _Smart-ass_.

He sighed. "It's a swearing jar. From now on, every time you curse, you're going to have to put a copper piece in the jar. And don't think you can just wait until I'm out of ear-shot, either. I've got Bo-Fen on my payroll to help enforce this."

My eyes bugged out. "WHAT?"

"I mean it. I'm tired of hearing so much filth coming out of your mouth…like a common sailor. It's a nasty habit for a lady to have, and I _will _see to it that it stops."

I was outraged. Who the hell was Jee to tell me what I could and couldn't say? Last time I checked I hadn't gone and signed his stupid adoption forms. I was so shocked by his audacity that I could only gape at him for a minute or two. Eventually, when I got my composure back, I managed to fold my arms and give him an obstinate look. He wasn't going to boss _me _around.

"And what if I don't _have _any money?" I demanded. "Huh? What are you going to do?"

Jee gave me a flat look. "Then you're going to have quite a debt to pay, won't you?"

I felt an electric current in the pit of my stomach. Because it was no secret by now how much I hated to be in someone else's debt. They would have to be blind not to notice after the way I had flipped out over Jee shelled out so much cash for my room.

"Besides," he added. "I know you have money." He gave me a shrewd look. "Bo-Fen tells me that you have a stash of coins hidden under your mattress in an old potato sack."

Traitorous whore! That was the cash I had saved up from that gambling adventure I had back when I won Yoshi's egg. I had been planning on giving that to Jee, anyway, to pay him back for that crap he bought…well, half of it, at least. The other half I kind of needed for when I left the ship for good.

Though how Bo-Fen knew about my secret stash was beyond me. She was clearly a force to be reckoned with.

"There's no way in hell I'm putting money in that freaking jar," I said stoutly.

Suddenly, I felt someone whap me on the back of the head. I doubled over, clutching my skull in pain, sinking to my knees.

"OW!" I screamed. "What the FUCK, Bo-Fen?!"

Because all of a sudden, she was standing right behind me, holding the bamboo rod she used to bludgeon me during my training sessions. I hadn't even noticed her coming into the room, either. That girl made no sound when she moved. It was scary.

"One, two…" she counted off on her fingers. "Three. So that makes about three copper pieces, dunnit, Lieutenant Jee, sir?"

"If I recall," he said. "I believe she also used the f-word when I took out the jar…but we'll let that one slide since I hadn't explained to her what the jar was actually for yet."

I looked from Bo-Fen, to Jee, to Iroh (who was pouring himself more tea and looking carefully blind and deaf to my plight), to the bamboo rod in Bo-Fen's hands, and then finally to the jar. I saw her knuckles flex around the pliant weapon and immediately reached into my pocket. Fumingly, I dropped three copper pieces into Jee's outstretched hand.

"Sonofa…" I stopped short, glaring warily at the jar. Jee was watching me expectantly. "…mother," I quickly amended.

He nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Julie, why don't you get changed into something nice and join me for breakfast on deck. Apparently it's going to be nice and sunny all day."

_I'd rather eat live maggots out of your stupid fucking swear jar, you self-righteous turd-face._

"Actually, sir," Bo-Fen chimed in. "Julie's got her meditation session with Prince Zuko first. But then she'll be happy to join you."

I gave her a look. "Speak for yourself."

Her hand clenched suggestively tighter around the bamboo rod. "And of course," she added, as if I hadn't said anything at all. "There's no way you'd forget your sparrin' session on deck after breakfast. From what I remember, Prince Zuko doesn't have his Firebending practice after you finish yours. Am I right, General Iroh?"

"You are," the older man assented with a smile. "And I have a feeling my nephew will want to spend the entire day brushing up on his advanced techniques before we reach Jade Valley."

I wasn't really listening, though. For a moment, my mind conjured up an unwanted mental image of Zuko Firebending without a shirt on. And then I had to stop myself from drooling all over the floor. Fucking angsting bishonen bastard. Why does he have to be so freaking _ripped_?

"Two more copper pieces," said Jee tiredly, holding out the jar again. I hadn't realized I had said any of that out loud.

"FUCK!"

"Make that three," he corrected himself. "And I suggest you quit while you're ahead, Julie."

Someone, anyone…just kill me now, while I still have some money in my wallet.

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

The Fire Prince was feeling extremely jittery when he woke up that morning. He had just endured a restless night dreaming that he was looking for Julie down a cold, dark labyrinth. He had kept running into a sneering Commander Zhao, who kept demanding to duel him; and every time Zuko had tried to get away, desperate to continue his search, he felt that cold strain on his heart, dragging him back to Zhao…forcing him to fight.

A few times he had caught glimpses of Julie, but then the Avatar would suddenly appear and startle him. Before he could figure out which quarry to pursue, they both were gone, leaving him alone in the darkness.

He awoke in another cold sweat, coughing up a lung. By now, the flames of the candles had gone out, and the room was just as pitch as that labyrinth. He felt cold and shaky, almost like he was just recovering from the flu, and he just couldn't stop hacking into his fist. Spirits, it was even worse than it was yesterday.

Zuko was sorely tempted to just curl back under the covers and sleep some more, and that was really weird since he knew that it was probably long past sun-up. Firebenders instinctively rose with the sun and only slept in when they were sick.

_Wonderful._

He couldn't afford to take a sick day, not now that he was so close to capturing the Avatar. And he was anxious to see Julie as well. He wondered if she was feeling any better from her vision…or whether Shim had given her another chi-suppressant to smother her anxiety.

Groaning, he forced himself out of bed and got dressed. He felt stiff and weak.

_I'll feel better after I meditate,_ he told himself. And it was strictly the truth. He always felt better after he had practiced his breathing and cleared his mind of all the dark thoughts miring it. Once he had managed to let go of his worries and doubts (such as whether he would ever be able to get his father to accept him as the rightful heir to the throne), he found it much easier to stay focused on the mission itself.

He probably should be meditating more given how preoccupied he was. But then, he did have to keep up his training as well. If he didn't find a way to work himself up to Zhao's level of Firebending, he wouldn't stand a chance when the time came to face him.

For a moment, he remembered how it felt to have Julie forced to confront the Commander in that mockery of an Agni Kai…and his blood began to boil.

_Forget it, _he told himself. _I'll make it up to her soon enough. If I do this, she won't have to be afraid ever again...not of Zhao, anyway._

That was enough for the moment. Eventually, he would be strong enough to fight for her. He couldn't stay sick forever…though for now, he had to put up with his own weakness as he trudged to the meditation chamber.

Zuko already had the candles lit when he heard Julie slouch into the room and push the door shut behind her. Against his will, he felt the insides of his stomach clenching at the barest hint of her presence in the room. As tired as he was, having the girl so close by electrified him on the inside. On the outside, though, he managed to appear unaffected.

"You're late," was all he said.

Julie didn't reply. Instead, she sank into the nearest chair and glared at the wall. Zuko turned around and froze as he got a good look at her. He blinked a few times, just to make sure that he wasn't just seeing things. But when all senses continued to send his brain the same message during an awkward minute of silence, he realized that he wasn't dreaming.

"Why don't you take a picture?" Julie snapped. "It'll last longer."

Zuko opened his mouth before closing it. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. Again, his mind found itself fumbling over yet another of the many strange expressions he heard her use. And, of course, it didn't help that she was sitting right in front of him wearing a _dress _of all things.

She looked _good _in it, too. The various shades of pinks and rouges were really becoming for her, and it fit her like a glove. His eyes drifted from head to toe, then back up to her face; before he realized what he was doing, obviously. He only caught himself when he noticed the distinctly uncomfortable expression on Julie's face.

It took him a long moment to remember any of what she had said.

"A…picture?"

Julie blinked, then flushed a little. "I…I mean…a portrait. You know…a painting?" She fidgeted in a manner that Zuko found disarming as she struggled to hide her embarrassment.

"You don't _take _a portrait…you make one."

She wouldn't look at him anymore. "Slip of the tongue. And would you stop _staring_, already? I feel stupid enough without you looking at me like an escaped mental patient."

Zuko quickly averted his gaze. "I wasn't looking at you like _anything_…stupid peasant."

Julie let out a quick sigh and folded her arms. "Whatever," she muttered. "Let's just get this over with."

He frowned at that. She wasn't usually so quick to dismiss an argument. Not that he had been itching for one, but…well…it was just kind of what they _did_. And little spats like these never went anywhere, anyway. In fact, one could almost call them healthy. It was a good way for both of them to blow off some steam.

Zuko's mind began to conjure up other ways to blow off steam…and it took every concentrated ounce of his will to drag it back out of the gutter. Spirits…had their chairs always been _this _close together?

He focused on the candles, or tried to. He took a deep breath, in through his mouth, and exhaled through his nose. Automatically, his muscles began to relax. He started to reach out with his chi as he continued to breathe, stoking the flames in even cycles.

But instead of clearing his mind, which was his goal, he only found himself more alert to Julie's presence. Because now he could sense her chi as it mingled with his personal energy-field…and on a deep, unconscious level he felt an almost phantom emotion creeping through…anxiety and confusion.

His brow furrowed and his heart skipped a beat, but he didn't open his eyes. _We're in sync_, he thought for a beat. _…and she's upset about something. _

Zuko hesitated, wondering if Julie even noticed this spiritual connection they had suddenly achieved. But as he cracked open an eye she didn't react to him at all. She looked completely lost in thought as she continued to stare at the dancing wicks of the candles.

She looked almost sad.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

Just like that, the spell was broken. Julie looked at him in astonishment. "What?"

He was a little put off by her defensive tone of voice. "It's just…you seem a bit…I dunno…quiet."

"I'm meditating, dumb-ass. That's the point."

He scowled. "More so than usual, I mean. It's like you're not even focusing…but just sitting there worrying about something. It's not like you to keep your feelings bottled up like this."

Julie tensed. "Maybe it'd be easier to _focus_ if you'd quit bugging me."

They were both silent for a minute, smoldering to themselves as they regarded one another. Zuko was struggling with the inexplicable combination of frustration and attraction. She could get him riled up in half a minute without even trying, and even while smoke was pouring out of his ears all he wanted was to get a hold of her and…and get his mind out of the gutter. Yes, he very much wanted to derail this lewd train of thought before it reached the station.

Her lips were tightly pursed in a heartbreakingly-endearing pout. He found his gaze drawn to her mouth more than once in the next couple of minutes.

Eventually, Julie breathed out a sigh and looked away. Zuko felt like he had just been sucker-punched back into consciousness.

"Something _is _bothering you, though," he said. "Isn't it?"

Julie hesitated. She was being very careful not to look at him, a dead giveaway that he had been spot-on in his suspicions. He angled his seat so that he was facing her and waited. This seemed to aggravate her, but she said nothing. She didn't have to. Zuko could see her face turning red.

And seeing the conflict in her eyes made him reach a different epiphany; a more troubling one.

"You're not mad at what I said last night, are you?"

Julie looked up involuntarily. "What? Mad? Why would I be mad at you?" She frowned as she tried to remember something that should have upset her, and Zuko felt that her reaction was genuine. Still, he felt the need to explain.

"When I said that the Avatar was our top priority…" he hedged.

She blinked. "Oh…_that_." She gave a little shrug to dismiss that. "That's true, though. Aang is more important in the long run. He's the Avatar, and we're barely even friends. I understand, okay? Your entire future hinges on whether or not you capture him…I get it."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at her. "You don't sound convinced."

She flushed red. "Well, what the hell am I supposed to say? You'd rather I throw a pissy-fit just because you already have something worth fighting for besides me? I mean, that would be like someone else getting mad at me for wanting to find _my _way back home."

The look she gave him was very pointed. Zuko tensed.

"So, that's it," he said, breathing out through his nose. "You're mad that I took Jee's side and won't let you go live under a roof where you'll get routinely abused by someone who should love you."

Julie gave him a look. "I didn't say that, did I?"

"You don't have to. You're as subtle in your implications as a blunt axe."

Zuko watched her turn away from him in her chair. She was trying very hard to keep her emotions under a tight lid, something that was uncommon for her. Her hands clung to the edges of her seat in fists and her back was rigid. She was staring a little too intently at the flame of the candle, like she was trying to tune out the sound of his voice.

"I'm not mad at you," she said quietly. "So, just drop it…okay?"

Zuko shook his head. "What's bothering you?"

Julie snapped.

"For the last _fucking _time, there is nothing wrong with me!" she snarled. "I just had a shit morning, and it's only going to get worse, so I don't need you breathing down my neck over every stupid, fucking _trivial_ thing I say and do…! Okay?! Happy?!"

He was a little taken aback by her explosive, yet unhelpfully vague rant. He was even more surprised, though, when there was a brisk knock on the door. Bo-Fen poked her head in the room and gave Julie the once-over.

"Four copper, hon'," she said. "I'm keepin' tabs, remember?"

Julie looked like she just burst an artery in her head. "For the love of…cripes…" she turned an alarming shade of red as she stopped herself from letting loose a string of profanities (or what Zuko suspected would be a string of profanities should she have gotten the words out). She reached into her pocket and tossed a small handful of coins at the door. "Just take it…and leave."

Bo-Fen nodded. "Pleasant doin' business with ya', Julie. See you at breakfast."

And just like that she left, snapping the door shut behind her.

Zuko lifted a single eyebrow. "Something I should know about?"

Julie was clutching the edges of her skull, fighting a headache by the looks of it. "Jee's got a…" she twitched as she stopped herself from cursing again. "…a swear jar. I have to pay him a copper piece every time I curse. And he's got Bo-Fen to enforce it. I'm screwed."

She looked quickly over her shoulder, as though expecting the female soldier to come back and extort another copper piece from her. Zuko waited too, but no knock was forthcoming. Her shoulders sagged in relief.

"Don't you think you're being a little dramatic?" he asked. "I mean, how hard can it be not to curse?"

She gave him a hard stare from underneath her lashes. "You have no idea."

"Did you ever really try?"

Julie sighed. "I _am _trying. And it's killing me. Not being able to say…things I feel like saying…well…it's extremely restricting. And this is going to sound really pathetic, but I don't know how to express myself any other way…"

Zuko just looked at her. "Then maybe that's why you _need _to do this. Maybe you'll feel better once you find a more positive outlet for your…feelings." He trailed off awkwardly, turning his gaze somewhere off to his left. "I mean…you know…when you're angry or something…those kinds of feelings." He frowned as something became apparent to him. "That's why you were being so quiet before, wasn't it?"

"Shut up."

No doubt about it. Whatever was bothering her could only be festering inside of her, and without any means of expressing herself, she was only going to feel worse. And clearly Julie didn't want to have to pay money just so she could get something off her chest. It was a complicated situation.

"If you want," he offered. "We can spar after you're done with your training. I hear you've really improved over the last couple of weeks…I'd like to see what you've learned."

Julie looked miserable. "Yeah. I can dodge with my eyes closed…big deal. Bo-Fen won't let me try anything offensive with my bending yet…and honestly…I don't think I want to, either."

"Your control has to have gotten better by now."

"I don't want to chance it, okay?" Julie's gaze flickered to his hands. "You already got hurt once…"

Zuko felt something inside of him harden. Not saying a word, he reached over and snatched up one of her hands, holding it securely in his palm. Julie flinched at the sudden contact and tried to pull away, but his fingers closed tight around hers…not enough to hurt her, but just enough to keep her from getting free.

"My hands are fine," he said gruffly. "Feel for yourself."

Julie hesitated. She looked down at the faint marks on his fingers and knuckles and bit her lip. Zuko sighed and loosened his grip on her. His eyes locked with hers.

"What's the matter?" he asked dryly. "They can't look any worse than my face, and you claim not to have a problem with _that_."

She looked up at him. "I wasn't the one who _did that _to you. This is completely _different_, Zuko!"

Her voice quavered and she ripped her hands away. She hugged her arms to her sides as she got up out of her chair. Zuko started to get up too, frustrated that he couldn't find the words to get her to understand.

"It wasn't even your fault," he said quickly. "And I'm just saying…it'll be good to blow off some steam. For both of us."

There was a pause as Julie seemed to wrestle with some unspoken internal conflict. Zuko could see the frustration and guilt lingering in her eyes as they stared off somewhere to the left. She was clearly avoiding having to look at his hands…or any other part of him.

"I'm not interested," she insisted in a less-than-convincing tone of voice. "You've got other things to do, anyway…Avatars to hunt down. Anyway, I'm going to go get something to eat. It's hopeless trying to meditate with you pestering me like this."

She flung that one at him to make him feel bad, but he wasn't about to fall for it.

"I'm only _pestering _you because I care," he grumbled. "Spirits, you're acting like a child."

Julie looked mad. "Fine, whatever. I'm done here."

She started to leave, but Zuko was too incensed to let the matter drop. As she put her hand on the knob, he reached over her and held the door shut. Julie stiffened, but refused to turn around and look at him. He wanted to _make _her look at him, but that would have been too rough and, besides, would only further sour her mood and make her more reluctant to cooperate.

But, spirits, how stubborn she was.

"The whole point of you training," he told her icily, "…was for you to _master _Energybending. How do you expect to do that if you refuse to bend?"

"It doesn't matter," Julie snapped. "I'm not staying on this stupid rust-bucket. I'm going to go back home eventually, and no one can bend where I'm from so it won't be a freaking problem!"

He felt his jaw tick, and his frustration at her kicked up another notch. "Oh, yeah? Well, if you're so miserable and want to leave so badly, why don't you?"

She flinched. Zuko suddenly felt like he had crossed an invisible line in the sand, but she quickly recovered her composure. But there was a distinct chill in the air now, the barest hint of something rapidly turning sour between them. Part of him wanted to take back what he said, but at the same time…spirits, did she have to provoke him so much? He sure as hell wasn't going to back down and apologize for something he wasn't even sure he had done wrong.

He was sick and tired of hearing her whining about wanting to leave him and his crew, as though all of this was nothing more than a bad memory she wanted to put behind her.

"You don't know how good you have it here," he said. "You could have so much more if you just _let _yourself be happy, but no! You'd rather be miserable your entire life…I just don't understand you at all! You're crazy!"

Julie was very still. "Open the door. Now."

He exhaled sharply. Without a word, he wrenched open the door and turned his back on her. Like a shot, she darted past him and snapped the door shut behind her. The finality of the sound made him wince, and he was grateful that she couldn't see it.

_She's just being difficult, _he thought in irritation. _She's _always _difficult. I know this will blow over in a few days. Stupid peasant_.

But the ill omen wouldn't leave him, and for the next hour he was burdened with an unshakeable feeling like he had just done something very, very stupid.

* * *

_That stupid…interfering…prick!_

Bo-Fen had picked today of all days to give me a wooden practice sword so I can begin my weapon training. I was supposed to be just parrying, but I guess I was still kind of ticked off from my not-so-soothing meditation session with Zuko. I took more than a few false-swipes at Shen-Long, who was my sparring partner for the moment, and I think I kind of startled him when I turned inexplicably…_aggressive_.

I wasn't focusing on his chi at all, or anything else except how pissed off I was. _He wants me to leave? Hell, I was going to do that anyway. What is his freaking _problem_, anyway? _

Bo-Fen's bamboo rod caught me in the back as I was slashing at where I thought Shen-Long was supposed to be. I was still blindfolded, just so you know. Anyway, I ended up taking a rough fall and landed hard on my left arm. I laid on the floor, stunned for a second or two.

"You're sloppy," she said. "Whatever's got you so distracted, forget about it. There's only one place your mind should be when you're fighting…and that's your opponent."

"Sorry," I grumbled.

"Get your butt off the floor and give me thirty push-ups. See if that gets the stupid out of ya'."

I gritted my teeth, but followed through. I sensed Bo-Fen standing over me, watching my back and shoulders to make sure I didn't slouch through the push-ups. Though, to be fair, she had me do push-ups every day. My arms didn't ache so much anymore after doing them; rather, it just annoyed the hell out of me.

The rod caught me in between the shoulder-blades, and I gasped. My arms gave out and I collapsed again.

"You had another fight with the prince again, didn't you?" she stated.

Fuck! She had her foot on my back, squashing the air out of my lungs. For God's sake, she was going to crush my boobs at this rate! I struggled to pry her off, but my flailing was useless.

"Did you?"

"Get…off…!"

"Answer the question first, hon'."

I gasped for breath as I tried to push myself back up. "I have…enough reasons to be ticked off…so why…do you always a…assume it has to d-do with…Zuko?"

Bo-Fen shook her head tiredly. She lifted her foot and I ended up falling over. I sucked in each breath like it was my last, appreciating every lungful of oxygen that I could get. At the same time, I was smoldering on the ground, my back sore from where she had me pinned. I was in a bad mood and now I was sore all over. I was _pissed_.

"What did you two fight about?" Shen-Long asked. He knelt down beside me and reached over to rub the tender spot on my back, but I slapped his hand away. I didn't want to be touched.

"I never said we were fighting," I grumbled. "I'm just in a bad mood, and Zuko just happens to know how to push my buttons. Now can we get back to sparring, already?"

The siblings exchanged glances.

"All right," he said, sounding uncertain. "You just seem a bit…off today. We thought it might have had something to do with…well…what happened last night. We heard you had some kind of vision, and that Prince Zuko made you tell him where the Avatar is."

I looked away. "He didn't force me to do anything. I wanted him to know."

Bo-Fen regarded me with raised eyebrows. "_Really?_"

I knew exactly what that look meant. And honestly, I couldn't blame them for being so skeptical. After all, Shen-Long and Bo-Fen were the only ones who knew that I was the one who had freed Aang from Zuko's holding cells back in the South Pole. They had to know that something was up if I was suddenly changing sides.

I didn't want to talk about it, either. They were shrewd bastards, and would probably see right through any excuses I told them. The last thing I wanted was for them to figure out I was bailing the crew.

The safest option was for me to change the subject, so I snatched up my wooden sword and took the stance I had been taught. "Are you going to flap your gums or fight?"

Shen-Long frowned at me. The look on his face was contemplative and suspicious.

But Bo-Fen had such a malevolent smile on her face. "Oh, we're going to fight all right. Get your blindfold back on. We're going to drill in survival mode until you _remember _how to not get your ass stomped on."

I groaned. "I _hate _survival mode."

"Tough nuts. You should have thought of that before you decided to fall apart and impress me with your sheer lack of talent. Come on, now. We haven't got all day."

Okay, for those of you who aren't familiar with Bo-Fen's teaching methods, all I'm going to say is that she relies heavily on what _she _likes to refer to as "motivational techniques." Often, this means making me run around blindfolded while she attacks me with her bamboo rod until I can reliably sense her chi and dodge. Now, for those of you wanting to know what she meant by _survival mode…_take her usual teaching methods, only this time imagine her swapping out assailants every twenty minutes or so.

This kind of training usually lasted for any number of hours and left me catatonic. In my opinion, the name is very appropriate, as most of the time I end up doing whatever I can just to stay alive. And if Bo-Fen meant me to drill in survival mode on my first day at sword training, it could only mean that I somehow managed to get on her bad side.

_She's probably getting paid by the hour, _I thought bitterly.

And then I didn't think anything else for a long time. I felt the _swish _of her bamboo rod cutting through the air, mere centimeters away from my face. You had to give the woman credit, though; she certainly knew the secret to keeping _me _motivated and focused. Not getting your ass kicked is a pretty heavy incentive, it turns out.

At least she had let me keep my training sword. Not that it helped much; I was so woefully green at swordplay that I kept getting disarmed over and over again. And when you're blindfolded, let's just say it's kind of hard to find your fallen weapon, especially while trying not to get smacked around by a bamboo rod.

Oh, I know exactly what you're thinking. _But, Julie…why didn't you just use your bending to find the sword? Like you did in the game of three-card back when you won Yoshi's egg?_

It turns out that the sword was pretty new, and since none of us had any particular attachments to it, it didn't give off the faintest hint of an aura. Hell, even if I could have sensed it, I was focusing all of my attention on Bo-Fen's chi fluctuations. She could be pretty unpredictable, and that rod _hurt_, so I wasn't eager on losing sight of her, even for a second.

God, I don't even know how long we were going at it. Bo-Fen kept switching out with Shen-Long, sometimes without even telling me, just to keep me on my toes. And once she got her breath back, she would jump back in and I would get my ass handed to me again.

Ayla was humming a few bars to a song she _definitely _shouldn't have known. It was as distracting as it was catchy, but I couldn't find the air in my lungs to yell at her to shut up. I was exhausted.

"_If you want to get out aliiiiiive…whoa-oa run for your liiiiiife!_"

_Ayla, for fuck's sake, will you quit belting out Three Days Grace lyrics so I can focu…_my thought died prematurely as Bo-Fen knocked me over, and I hit the floor for the umpteenth time. "…FUCK!"

"That's another copper piece," she said evenly.

The rod struck me in the side.

"GAAAAAH…! Dammit…!"

"And another."

WHAM!

"Sonofa…a…" I caught myself in time, gritting my teeth. Suddenly, it became all too clear why Bo-Fen wanted to do the survival mode training today. She was going to milk me for every scream I made. "…tsssss…!"

My fingers were groping futilely for my weapon. Bo-Fen's bamboo cut against my wrist, and I yelped, rolling over and away from her. I ended up on my knees.

"We can keep this going all day if we have to," she said, matter-of-factly.

And she did. I ended up losing a handful of silver pieces by the end of practice, and when I eventually dragged my ass back inside to get washed off and fed, I looked like a raw steak that had been tenderized way too long. I was sore and angry at everyone (which, naturally, meant that I ended up dropping more foul language at the slightest provocation).

That first afternoon, I presented myself to Jee for our etiquette lesson. The very first thing I did was drop a small sack-full of coins on the table in front of him.

He blinked at me in astonishment.

"I'm having an off day," I explained. "But this should cover anything I should happen to let slip in the next couple of hours."

Jee just shook his head at me, slowly and sadly. "It's _your _money."

* * *

The days passed very much like this over the next week as we continued our way up the coast. I put all of my secret frustrations into my combat training, endured Jee's lessons in sexism for the aspiring trophy-wife, and suffered through my dinners with Zuko and Iroh. At first, I thought dinner would be the least of my daily annoyances since Prince Emopants still had his undies in a knot for one reason over another. I figured that now he knew where to find Aang, he would drop me like a hot potato.

Well, it was true that he was giving me the cold shoulder now. But every now and then he would direct comments to Iroh that were clearly pointed at me. For example…

"You know," he said over a steaming plate of porcupine-fish and butter. "When the Avatar is in my possession, we'll probably be home before the Winter Solstice. The Fire Nation is beautiful at that time of year, isn't it, Uncle?"

Iroh was careful in his reply. "It is," he acknowledged.

Zuko nodded. "Too bad some people won't be seeing it. It certainly wins out over any other place in the world…not to mention _other worlds_."

I snapped my head up and glared at him. "If _you're _living there, it probably sucks balls."

Through the open window, a paper airplane suddenly glided into the room and came to rest on the table in front of me. Curiously, I opened it and found (to no surprise) that I couldn't read it. Fortunately, Iroh peeked over my shoulder and echoed the written words out loud.

"Two copper pieces," he said ruefully. "My, Bo-Fen certainly is getting elaborate, isn't she?"

I didn't answer. I was tearing the paper airplane into tiny little shreds, muttering angrily under my breath. Zuko just rolled his eyes.

"Spirits, I'm a teenage boy, and even _I _don't curse like you do."

"Mind your own business you condescending ducktard!"

Zuko just stared at me. "Did you just call me a _ducktard?_"

"You're ham straight I did."

Iroh coughed a poorly suppressed laugh into his sleeve. "It is often said that creativity is its own reward…though this might be stretching the proverb a tad too far."

I really didn't need this; any of this. It was bad enough that I was inwardly _freaking out _about what I was planning. I mean, I'll admit it. The thought of leaving the ship and having to fend for myself against the entire world scared the crap out of me. And I certainly wouldn't be lying if I said I might have been almost looking for an excuse _not to_ leave. Plus, Ayla kept trying to talk me out of it every chance she got.

But now I couldn't even vent about it to anyone. There was no one I could really turn to, no one who could listen to me or tell me what I should do…they'd all just tell me to stay. And the thought of just throwing my old life away frightened me on a whole other level; it was a raw chord that hummed ominously every time I contemplated it.

No one understood…especially not Zuko. Did he really think it would just be as easy as signing Jee's adoption form (disregarding the fact that I couldn't even read or write in their language, something I don't feel like sharing with any of the others right now…or ever)? Did he even realize the kind of sacrifice I would be making? I mean, yeah, my life sucked…but it was _my _life. I would be abandoning every shred of my past and starting from scratch.

It was a shame. I really thought that Zuko of all people would get it. Given how desperate he was to get back to the Fire Nation, I figured he would realize why this was so important to me. Ironically, he was the loudest antagonist on the ship.

Or just the one with the most influence. Either way, he wasn't going to let me leave. Not if he could help it. And I resented the hell out of him for it, too.

I guess what I really wanted was for someone to convince me that I'd be just fine on my own. Looking back, it wasn't what I really _needed_. But wanting something and needing something are two entirely different things.

Zuko continued to eye me over his plate of fish. "When I said you needed another outlet for your feelings, I didn't mean to just come up with random words to replace your curse words."

I gave him a look. "They're not random. They rhyme."

He lifted an eyebrow. "You need to get your hearing checked, peasant. Ham and damn don't sound anything alike." He shook his head at me and began cutting himself a piece of porcupine-fish and popping it into his mouth.

I just stared at him. "What are you talking about? They're both almost exactly the same!" I happened to glance at Iroh and saw that he was also looking at me weird. "What? Tell him. He's your nephew."

The ex-General just blinked. "Um…actually, Julie, Prince Zuko is right. Are you feeling all right? Perhaps you should lie down."

I shook my head. "What? I'm fine."

I couldn't understand. It wasn't like either of them to bullshit me like this. And yet here they both were, sitting there and looking at me like I had grown an extra head and started arguing with myself in pig-Latin. Zuko had stopped chewing, finding the sight of my confusion more urgent than his plate of food.

He swallowed. "Are you kidding?"

I gave him a look. "No. Why would I joke about something that's so _obvious _a five-year-old could correct you?"

"They don't rhyme."

"Yes, they do!"

Zuko put his fork down then, his expression suddenly intent. "You're serious."

"Um…yeah, I'm serious!" _Moron. _"Just what kind of head-game are you trying to play here, anyway?"

He looked quickly at his uncle. Then, he turned his gaze back to me. "There's no language I can think of where those two words sound alike…especially not in common tongue."

Um…wait a second. Didn't Zuko mean English? I mean, he was clearly speaking it. It was the only language I ever heard him use…so that had to mean that he spoke it…right? Maybe they called it something different here.

But still, even if that were the case, it wouldn't explain why he thought those two words sounded different from each other.

Come to think of it, how come we could even understand each other? I was from another dimension…so…wha…?

"C-common tongue?" I repeated, my face turning a shade paler.

Iroh looked at me curiously. "The language we are currently speaking in. That is common tongue. It is spoken in all of the nations, and is frequently used in trading and other business transactions." He watched my expression turn increasingly incredulous. "Beyond that, there are specific dialects spoken solely in each of the four nations…"

Zuko looked like a light bulb just went off in his head. "Wait a minute…you're not even from the other nations…so how do you even understand anything that gets said to you?"

"I…it's not _me_. You're the one speaking _my _language! I'm not doing anything weird, if that's what you're implying."

He got up from his chair so abruptly that it made me flinch.

"I'll be right back," he said before sweeping out of the room.

About five minutes later he came back holding something I instantly recognized; something I had no idea Zuko even had in his possession and something I never expected to see again.

"My backpack!"

Zuko met my gaze. "Good. You remember this."

"Of course I remember it. That's _my _bag! Where did you…how did you…WHY? Just, WHY?"

I knew that my backpack had survived falling with me into the Avatar world, but after my Agni Kai with Zhao I had completely lost track of it. I had just assumed that it had been thrown out or tossed in the ship's furnace. I never suspected that Zuko of all people would keep it.

"Why do you _have _that?" I demanded. "That's _my _stuff! You could have freaking _told _me that you had it, you jerk!"

He ignored me. He was undoing the zipper and rifling through the contents of my backpack, reaching around at random. This got me good and annoyed.

"Hey! Quit digging around in there, would you? That's an invasion of my privacy! RAPE!"

Zuko almost dropped my bag, barely catching it before it could fall. His face flooded with color. "Are you crazy? I'm trying to show you something important! Can't you just behave yourself for one minute, peasant?"

I glared at him. "Not for you, I can't. Bag-rapist!"

Iroh glanced at me calmly. "Julie, I'm going to have to ask you _nicely_ not to accuse my nephew of sexual misconduct. Especially towards inanimate objects. We don't want people _saying _things."

I huffed out a sigh. "_Fine_," I said in my most grudging voice.

But I stuck out my tongue at Zuko anyway. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Spirits," he muttered. "Just look at this for one second…"

I reached out and took the notebook he handed me. It was my old creative writing binder (oh, God, I hope my Zukaang lemon-crack fic wasn't in here…!), and the letters were just legible enough to read. I found myself flipping through it quickly, fearful of what Zuko might have seen in there. Fortunately, it was completely spoiler free. I was safe…for the moment.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Can you read this?"

I looked at him. "Yeah. I wrote this. It's my notebook from scho…oh."

Because I had just remembered that everyone in Zuko's world wrote in kanji, not letters like these. I grimaced when I realized my mistake, too late, of course. Timidly, I lifted my gaze to meet his and saw him looking triumphant.

"And what language _is _that?"

I looked down at my notebook, then tentatively back at Zuko. "Um…English. The language _you're _speaking in right now," I added, looking away.

There was a long silence.

Iroh cleared his throat. "Julie, I remember a long time ago, you confided in me that you were not…um…in your words, _from here_. And Prince Zuko tells me that he believes you are from another world entirely. Is that true?"

I felt my shoulders sag. Was there even any point in denying it anymore?

"Yes," I mumbled. "It's true. And I…I have no idea how I'm supposed to go back."

Zuko put the bag down on the nearest chair and went over to me. I turned skittish and tried to back up, but like always, he managed to keep me within arm's reach. His hand was on my shoulder before I could flinch away from him. Dammit, I hated it when he did that. Freaking ninja reflexes of his…someone could cut off his hands and he'd still find a way to catch me.

"We're speaking in common tongue. And the language in that book _isn't _common tongue."

I lost my patience. "Well, I don't know! It sounds a hell of a lot like English to me! It's not my fault you guys use a completely different alphabet!"

Zuko frowned. He glanced once at his uncle, who I caught nodding back out of the corner of my eyes. I tensed, expecting some kind of conspiracy between them.

"_Can you underthand me_?" he asked, speaking with a heavy lisp all of a sudden. I blinked at him for a few seconds. Was he kidding me?

"_Yeth_, you idiot. And just so you know, you sound ridiculous. What are you trying to do, anyway? Get me to make fun of you? Because I'm already tempted enough without the stupid lisp."

He inadvertently loosened his hold on me. He looked shocked.

"That…that was _high Fire Nation_. How do you understand a language studied only by the elite Fire Sages and the royal family?"

I burst out laughing. "Are you serious?"

For some reason, it really tickled the hell out of me that Zuko's fancy royal language amounted to a speech impediment. But as the seconds passed and no one said anything, I felt my laughter die prematurely, decomposing into an awkward silence. I coughed into my sleeve.

"You…um…were still speaking English, Zu. You just had a bit of a lisp, that's all."

Iroh nodded. He was the only one who didn't look completely mind-fucked by all of this. "I think I understand. Julie, you can understand what we say…but can you read our language?"

I flushed red. "W-what does that have to do with anything?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes at me. I think he was remembering having caught me trying to read one of his scrolls upside-down.

"You _can't_, can you?"

I fidgeted. Neither of them relented, so I finally muttered, "No. Why?"

Iroh smiled. "Perhaps it is because you are from another world, but…somehow you seem to be mentally translating everything we say to you. Perhaps you could try saying something to us in another language from your world…I am very intrigued to see if the same applies to us."

I frowned. "Well…I'm pretty good in Spanish and I know a little French…" You tended to pick up on a few key phrases when you're with Ramon and listening to his…um…_transactions_. "Hold on a sec…um…" I tried to think of something to say to them. "_Mierda! Sus huevos son grande, hombre!_"

Iroh's eyebrows disappeared into his scalp. Zuko, on the other hand, turned a shade of red I didn't even know existed until now.

"What _the hell_ did you just say to me?" he choked.

"You didn't understand me?"

"You were either talking about my junk…or my eggs. One or the other."

Now I turned red…in mortification. "I didn't think you'd actually understand me!" _Shit, shit…backtrack!_ "Um…I guess that means you're translating everything _I _say, too. That's…um…cool, I guess…" AWKWARD.

Zuko shook his head in a jerking motion, like he was trying to shake water out of his ears. He didn't seem to know how to respond to any of this. That was the least of my problems, though. I was trying to keep my own brain from caving in on my skull. Seriously, I had no idea what I was supposed to think about _any _of this. Nothing made freaking _sense _anymore.

"Julie," said Iroh firmly. "Come sit down. You look faint."

I shook my head. "I need to go lie down."

Retreat. It was the only think I could think of to do. Leave the room and never bring up the subject ever again. Never even think about it, because I knew that it was hard enough to digest the fact that I was even _here_ in the Avatar world, even weeks after I had arrived. Thinking about the language barrier could possibly make me lose what little sanity I had left.

I'm not kidding. I was freaking out.

Zuko looked like he had recovered a little bit. "Don't go running off now," he complained. "This is serious. We need to get to the bottom of this. Doesn't it strike you as the least bit _unusual_ that you can understand what we say but not what we write?"

I turned away. "I don't know and I don't care. I just…I just want to go home, dammit! I'm tired of dealing with freaking riddles and multiversal-paradoxes…and religious cults…and these stupid visions and the bending…and you! Out of all these weird-ass things I can't understand about this place, you're the worst!"

"What do you mean, _I'm _the worst? I'm trying to help you, you crazy girl!"

As if I didn't know that. Cripes, Zuko was always, _always _trying to help me. He'd put his life on the line just to help me…because he was honorable like that. It didn't matter if I asked for help or not; he was always chasing after me and saving me when I didn't WANT to be saved…

…when I didn't _deserve _to be saved.

My thoughts went back to earlier in the meditation chamber when Zuko had offered to spar with me just to make me feel better. It was like he was begging me to put him in the infirmary…or worse. I mean, how could he ever want to help me after what I did to his hands?

The fact that Zuko didn't see a problem with any of this reminded me of another HUGE reason why I _had _to leave. It scared me that he was constantly willing to put so much on the line for me. And it was even more frightening that I was getting so attached to him. Because one of these days, he was going to get himself killed, and it would be all my fault, and I wouldn't even begin to know how to handle it.

The only right thing to do was to completely shut down this conversation…and whatever notions of friendship the idiot still had trapped in that thick skull of his…before it was too late for me to fix things.

I felt anxiety pushing tears into my eyes. "Well, stop helping! My life was just _fine _before I met you! Admit it! You're trying to fuck it all up for me! You're trying to keep me here and never let me see my friends or my dad or _anyone _ever again!"

Zuko went quiet. He stared at me for a long time, his expression unreadable as he watched me holding my head in my hands. I was fighting off another monster headache, and this wasn't a metaphor. My head was actually hurting me.

"Julie, I'm not trying to ruin your life."

I shook my head, once. Just once.

"I'm going to bed," I muttered in a thick voice. Quickly, I pushed my way past Zuko and ducked out the doorway as fast as I could go. I didn't stop until I had found my room, locked the door behind me, climbed into bed and pulled the covers over my head.

Yoshi squirmed his way over to where I lay, trembling. He nosed my face, making a puppy sound that almost broke my heart. I reached over and pulled the little guy close to me. I held him like that until we both fell asleep.

But as my eyes closed, I resolved that I would get off this ship if it was the last thing I did. For all of our sakes.

* * *

**A/N: So, as you can probably tell, Julie is a little confused about what she should do. She wants to go home, but at the same time she feels conflicted about leaving the crew she's come to regard almost like a family. But rather than finding any answers to her dilemma, Julie has her only means of self-expression snatched from her by a well-intentioned Jee. And it doesn't take long for her to crack, either.**

**Yes, her foul language is a vent for her feelings. And Zuko is probably right; she does need a better outlet for her frustration. But even the most simple of solutions (replacing damn with ham, for example) turns into a convoluted mess as she's forced to contemplate the language barrier between her world and Zuko's. This only reinforces the jarring concept that she is a long, long way from home. The sense of isolation and paranoia is too much for her, and she storms out.**

**Will Zuko be able to figure out what's going on with Julie? Is he the only one suspicious of her behavior? And just what the hell is Bo-Fen planning on buying with all the money she's making from Jee's swear jar?**

**Well? If you want to find out, REVIEW!**


	80. The Things We Can't Have

**A/N: I'm too tired to write much of an author's note. I know it's been a while, and I know the apathy isn't helping much. I'm just drained. Too much is going on in my life right now, some good things and many more frustrating things.**

**I feel a bit fried, creatively speaking.**

**HOWEVER! I do have a bit of news for those of you itching to do your own fan-art for Happy Endings. Yes, I already have volunteers for the project, but I decided to post the original character sketches on my deviant-page. I only just now figured out how to do it (I'm so hopeless with a computer, I swear), but they're there.**

**There's also a Pokemon fan-art. Hurray for irrelevant information!**

**So, I hope you guys can forgive me for the wait. It wasn't for nothing, you know. With luck, now you guys can have fanart to go with the story. I hope you find it worth it.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Zulie fans are going to go ballistic.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Three: The Things We Can't Have**

I rummaged through my rucksack one final time, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Let's see…a change of clothes, the Red Spirit mask I had gotten from that creepy mask-seller guy, my wallet (which isn't quite the same thing in our world as it is in the Avatar-world; essentially, a wallet in this world is more like an old-fashioned coin pouch) full of what was left of my savings…the rest of it was in Bo-Fen's pocket by now.

Seriously, I would have thought she'd have enough cash by now, but I guess not. The one time I asked her what she needed so much money for, she went dead quiet and left to scrape the barnacles off of the lifeboats. So, I figured that it must have been a sore subject for her.

Barnacles are a bitch to get off of anything. I should know. Once, Yoshi had a fat one stuck to his butt for about two days. Don't even ask me how _that _happened.

Speaking of my little bad-ass, he was currently perched on my bed and watching me with an alert, doggy-expression on his face. His eyes were bright with his excitement and his tail twitched every now and then. I think he wanted me to play with him.

"You and I are going to go somewhere fun," I told him. "Somewhere far, far away from here. Just as soon as we hit land, Zuko's going to take his expedition into the Jade Mountains. In the few days he'll be gone, Jee will be waiting for those stupid suitors of mine…and that's when we'll slip away. Just you and me, Yoshi. Doesn't that sound good, boy?"

His tail stopped wagging. _But…but…what about the butthead? Do I still get to eat his face?_

I only looked up because I heard a faint whine coming from the eelhound's throat. "What? _I _think it'll be great. The best thing that's ever happened to us, actually. It'll be just the two of us, no one else. We don't have to please anybody…or worry about what anyone thinks of us…and no one will stop us from going home. And more importantly, I won't have to see Zuko's stupid face ever again."

My hands went slack, and the garment I had been about to stuff in my bag slid out of my fingers and on to the bed. Yoshi immediately snatched it because it was red and moving. I waited patiently for him to lose interest in it (because honestly, that was the only way to get back something he had of yours; to wait until he was done with it), and was rewarded after a minute and a half of his growling and shaking the blouse back and forth like a ragdoll.

He opened his jaws and let it fall. _Awww….it DIED! It didn't fight back at all. I am now displeased with the red moving thing that ISN'T moving anymore. Take it away._

The look on his face was so chagrined that I felt the corners of my mouth twitch. Quickly, I picked it up and stuffed it in my bag, not really caring if I got eelhound drool on everything. Yoshi made another discontent sound and I reached over and scratched him behind his earholes. His back leg started jerking and within seconds he had rolled on to his back so I could give him a tummy rub.

I couldn't help but smile as he crooned. _Maybe I won't kill _all _the humans…just the ones that suck at tummy rubs…or the ones that happen to taste like fish. But I will give them a head start so I can CHASE them and GET them…and then I will tear open their bellies and feast upon their innards! Innards, momma!_

"God, I wish I knew what it was you were thinking," I said. "Sometimes it seems like you don't have any troubles at all. Just puppy stuff…like napping, and taking walks…and pooping..."

_And enslaving all living things..._

I sighed, dropping into the seat next to Yoshi and letting him crawl on to my lap. "I bet you never had to worry about people manipulating you in the struggle for global dominance…or making you contribute to society!"

_No. But sometimes I worry about which end of the rat to chew on first…the butt or the face. I mean, how can you even CHOOSE?_

"Hell, if someone tried to stick _you _in a dress, everyone would laugh."

Yoshi gave me the evil eye, as though to say that he could look damn good in a dress if he wanted to. So, I picked him up and cuddled him, and I think that made both of us feel better.

It was part of the magic of having an eelhound. You could be having the shittiest day ever, and then you have a little scaly ball of wonderful climb on your lap and tongue-whap you in the face…and suddenly things don't seem quite as bad.

Slimy, yes. But not bad.

"Wait," I said, glancing over at the desk. "My tarot deck…shit. Where did I leave it?"

I did some frantic drawer opening and rummaging until I finally found it. I breathed a sigh of relief, pulling the deck close to my body. It was really the only thing I had of my mother's, and I would shit bricks for the rest of my life if anything happened to it. It was easily my most valuable possession…sentimentally speaking, of course. I definitely didn't want to leave _this _behind.

Yoshi seemed cross at how little attention I was paying him now. He trudged over and fixed his yellow eyes on my tarot, letting out a low growl.

"What?" I said. "You can't have this. I'll find something else for you to chew on, but…HEY!"

The eelhound had darted forwards, snatched up one of the cards at random, and peeled off the bed and out of the room. I stood there blinking in sheer astonishment before my fumbling brain sent out the message to my feet to run after him. Dammit!

"Yoshi!" I cried. "Give that back!"

Why did the little bastard always end up on deck? Freaking stairs…I fucking _hate _stairs! I especially hate stairs when I'm chasing after something utterly _precious_ and irreplaceable, only to trip down three steps and have to pick my ass up off the floor and keep going. I hate, hate, hate, HATE stairs!

I finally made it up outside. I stood there breathing out of my nose, trying to catch my breath. Yoshi was sitting right out in the open, tail wagging and looking utterly pleased with himself. Apparently he thought all of this was just a game.

I decided to approach him slowly. The last thing I needed was for him to take off running again.

"Yoshi…just give that here, okay? Just sit still, and I'll…um…I'll…give you a bubble-bath."

The eelhound immediately recoiled. _NOOOOOOOOO…! Bubbles are the EVIL! They don't DIE! And you can't GET them! They VANISH!_

Crap! Too late, I remembered that Yoshi actually hates bathtime. With a fiery, undying passion, as a matter of fact. He took several steps away from me, looking like I had just threatened to skin him alive and turn his hide into a pair of gloves. The way his attention was utterly focused on me, I knew I had to keep my distance now. If I got any closer, he'd run away.

"Okay, fine," I said in a calm, soothing voice. "No baths if you bring that here. I promise!"

Yoshi let out a growl. Then, suddenly, I sensed someone approaching me from behind.

"What are you doing?"

My heart did a weird skittery thing in my chest when I recognized the voice. Not that I was happy about it, though. Far from it.

"Are you stalking me or something?" I demanded, wheeling around and glaring up at my questioner. My eyes kept darting back to Yoshi, though, in case he ran off while I was distracted.

Zuko gave me a look. "It's _my _ship. I can go where I want." He glanced over at Yoshi and sighed. "What did he do now?"

"Nothing. Go away."

But instead of leaving me alone like any decent human being would do, Zuko just shook his head at me. He went over to my eelhound and plucked him up off the ground. I tensed up, expecting him to toss him overboard or set him on fire. I was relieved when all he did was bring him over to me and hand me a drool-covered tarot card that he extracted from Yoshi's jaws.

"Nothing, huh?"

I snatched the card away, flushing. "Yeah, well…I'd have gotten it back myself, you know."

It was disconcerting to see Yoshi snuggling against Zuko like a cat. No, seriously, I thought those two hated each other! What the hell?

"I'm only out here because we're getting my vessel ready for tomorrow," he told me. He put Yoshi back on the ground and went over to the railing so he could look up at the half-moon in the sky. "I'll be leaving in the morning, you know."

My stomach clenched tight for some reason. I looked away. "I know," I said tersely.

Neither of us said anything, and part of me just wanted to slink back to my room and forget all about Zuko. But then it occurred to me that this could be the last time I'd ever see him. I mean, once I left and everything. And did I really want to leave on bad terms? Hell, wasn't that half the reason why I told him where Aang was? So he would stop hating me?

Uggh! I was SO going to hell when I died. Seriously, what kind of selfish bitch rats out the Avatar just to look good for her crush?

_What difference does it make? I'm leaving, anyway. It doesn't matter anymore._

"_Then talk to him,_" Ayla replied. I gave a little start when I heard her quiet voice in my head. I hadn't realized she was paying any attention to me. "_After all, what do you have to lose, now?_"

I digested this for a beat before slowly coming over to stand next to Zuko. I kept my expression neutral as I followed the direction of his gaze, right up at the sky. "What are you looking at?"

His shoulders tensed a little. "Why do you care? Or don't you have stars back in _your _world?" he muttered, looking sullen and turning a little away from me. I flinched inwardly at the roughness I heard in his voice, but didn't know what I was supposed to do about it.

_Oh, what the hell. It's not like I'm going to be seeing him ever again. I may as well give him an answer._

But that thought made me feel cold and lonely. Looking at him now made it feel like there was a wall in between us, and that I was watching him from far away…all by myself.

"You could never really see stars where I lived. There were too many lights in the city, and it makes it really hard to see anything else," I said quietly.

Zuko didn't look up right away. I don't think he actually expected me to give him a straight answer.

"A city?" he said after a while.

This time I didn't answer him. I was looking up at the sky again and frowning at the little pinpricks in the distance. But they looked almost too big to be stars, but too small to be moons. It was weird to see. I had never actually noticed it before.

Zuko eventually looked over at my face and saw something that made him thaw out. I'm assuming, anyway, given how the hardness seemed to melt out of his face. I only noticed this when I eventually realized he was staring and I glanced sharply at him. He abruptly averted his eyes, trying to hide the interest he had betrayed in that one gaze.

"How can you not know what stars look like?" he asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I know what stars are supposed to look like."

He shook his head. "The look on your face just now…it was like you were looking at them for the first time. Like you had never actually seen them until now. I just…I don't understand how that's possible."

I blushed. "Well, it's a big city. There are a lot of lights there…I mean, _a lot _of lights. And anyway," I added, a little defensively. "I've seen stars before. I'm just not used to seeing them so clearly…or so many. And…" I looked warily up at the sky again. "They're closer than they are in my world. And brighter."

Zuko frowned. "There's no bending in your world…and the stars are so distant...I wonder if those things are related in some way. I mean, Firebenders draw their power from the sun, and I heard that Waterbenders rely on the moon."

Now, we were talking. This was actually something I could get interested in…!

"You really think that's it?" I asked, looking at him. "Wow…that actually makes sense. Maybe people _are _benders in my world, but can't tap into that power because something about the cosmos got fucked up somewhere along the way."

"It would explain why you only started to Energybend when you came here."

I felt relief flooding through me. So, that was the answer, then. If I went back to my world, I would lose my bending. I wouldn't have to worry about this crap anymore. Silently, I was grateful towards Zuko for providing me with yet another incentive for me to leave. I was desperate for incentives at this point. The longer I stayed on deck, the more comfortable I became with this conversation, with this ceasefire between me and Zuko, the more tempted I would be to stay.

But I didn't want to fight with him right now. If this would be the last time I'd ever see Zuko, I wanted it to be a happy memory.

I felt a lump in my throat. "It makes perfect sense," I muttered. "_Of course_ it does."

Zuko looked at me. "Are you all right?"

I flicked an annoyed glance his way. Was he seriously going to start in _again_ about my mental health? God, I was fine! Or I would be once I put all of this behind me. And honestly, there wasn't a damn thing Zuko could do to make this easier for me. Every time he reached out to me, it only made me feel more conflicted about leaving.

But since I had already decided to be nice, I refrained from biting his head off. Plus, I couldn't be entirely sure that Bo-Fen wasn't lurking somewhere with that damn swear jar.

He scowled at me when I didn't say anything. "You may as well just tell me, peasant. I'm going to get it out of you one way or another. Do you think I want to leave in the morning with all of this sitting on my head? I can't afford to be worrying about you when I'm facing the Avatar."

I took a breath and sighed. "I keep telling you not to bother. You're the one who decides to worry all on your own."

"Because you're my friend," he said angrily.

His eyes smoldered at me for a beat, but he hesitated. Something was dancing on the tip of his tongue, something he wanted to say but couldn't. That was what that gaze was telling me.

"You're the only real friend I have," he whispered. "In the past three years I have been at sea, you are the only person I've ever gotten this close to. You're stubborn and childish, and the most frustrating girl I've ever met, and in spite of all of those things…in spite of everything, I feel like I can relate to you. I like being around you…and I _need _you to be all right."

I could taste my own heartbeat in the back of my throat. It was suddenly too warm, everything was heating up like a furnace, and…no, wait. Dammit. _I _was the one getting warmer. My face felt like it was glowing like a hot coal.

All I could do was blink at him, bewildered and mortified at myself. "I…I like you too, I…" couldn't remember what the hell I was saying. "I can't pretend like I understand you as well as you understand me. This mission…well…I know it's important to you. Don't you think it'd be better if…if we…I mean if I wasn't here? I mean, it _was _kind of my fault you didn't get the Avatar back at Kyoshi."

I didn't bother telling him that I also had been the one to free Aang from his ship in the first place. Because what the hell would have been the point?

"You were kidnapped," Zuko said crisply. "And you were almost raped by those bastards who took you there…all because of my mission. I was so absorbed in capturing the Avatar that I never bothered to keep a watch over my men. I had no idea what kind of _people _they were…and they've been on my ship for _three years_, Julie!"

I shrank away from him. "They didn't, though…nothing happened…" I couldn't look at him anymore. I was so ashamed of that incident that I could barely bring myself to speak. "It wasn't…I should be able to take care of myself! How is it _your _fault that I'm weak?"

His face was like stone. "You're blaming _yourself_ for what someone else tried to do to you?"

Screw it. This wasn't worth it. Whatever peace of mind I had been hoping to find in this conversation quickly dissolved into an open can of worms I _desperately_ didn't want to touch. Only, I couldn't think of any other way out of it besides flat out walking away from him.

And as tempting as _that _option was, I couldn't move. His hand had caught my wrist, his fingers firmly in place and unwilling to let go.

I looked away, out at the ocean, then let my eyes sink to the ground. He was too close to me, and if I looked up at him I knew I'd be paralyzed by whatever expression he had on his face. I was terrified at the prospect of him judging me over this. It was stupid and irrelevant to the actual issue, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't escape my own feelings.

"Nothing happened…" I said weakly. "What does it matter?"

Zuko glared at me. "But something could have. And it almost did. Strong and weak…those things don't matter. _I'm _responsible for my crew, and I'm responsible for you. Your safety, your happiness…you can say it's not my problem, but it is. It matters to me…_you _matter."

I tugged my arm uselessly. "Fine," I said hastily. "I'm sorry I brought it up…I'm sorry! Just forget I said anything, all right?"

"No."

Fuck. This was _not _how I wanted this to go. We were never supposed to get so personal with each other. In my head, I would approach Zuko, we'd talk about stars and skyscrapers and stuff, I'd apologize for being such a jerk to him earlier, he'd forgive me, and I'd get that nasty weight off my shoulders so that I had no regrets about leaving. That was how it _would _have gone if there had been any justice in the world.

Too bad things never turn out the way they do in my head. And it was my fault for bringing up Kyoshi Island in the first place. God, what a stupid thing to do!

"Julie…please look at me."

I had never heard him say _please _to me before. It surprised me. I mean, Zuko was a prince. He didn't have to be polite to me, and most of the time he didn't bother. It was one thing to be kind, but it was another thing to treat me like an equal.

My eyes darted briefly to his face. And then I couldn't look away.

"I'm losing sight of everything," he said. "I can't let my mission become so important that I forget _why_I'm doing it in the first place. How can I get my honor back if I resort to letting my own crew turn into savages and thugs? How can I possibly justify taking my throne back if I can't even inspire one small ship full of men to do the right thing?"

I didn't know what to say. What did I know about being a leader or being exiled?

"You opened my eyes," he continued. "If I had never met you, who could say what kind of person I'd end up becoming…once I captured the Avatar, what kind of man would I be?"

"An honorable one."

Zuko's face was bitter. "You're giving me more credit than I deserve…because you're not from this world, I can't expect you to understand…but maybe it's better that you don't. At least this way you can keep believing good things about me. You don't even know why my father banished me, do you?"

Uh, oh. I quickly looked away.

"Do you?"

I swallowed. "I…um…heard rumors, but…um…I know there was an Agni Kai…and you had challenged one of your father's generals, right?"

Zuko sighed. "There was a war meeting," he said. "And that general wanted to use a division of new recruits as sword-fodder so he could launch a sneak attack from behind the enemy. Those men and women would be used like pawns to draw the Earthbender's line of fire…and I spoke out against him. I called him a traitor to all the people who love and believe in the Fire Nation."

I found it incredibly infuriating that he was omitting the part where his own father went and burned off half of his face. But I knew that bringing that up wasn't going to help. Instead, Zuko would want to know how I knew so much.

Yeah, I definitely wanted to have _that _conversation. NOT.

He looked at me. "Do you get it now?" he asked. "I was acting like a self-righteous child. My faith in my father and my country shouldn't have wavered even for that instant when I spoke out of turn. I was the traitor…and my father was right to banish me."

"Wha…? No! That's…that's just wrong! How could you say that?"

Zuko's eyes cut into me. "He banished me so that I could learn what honor really means. Sending me away was the best thing he could have done. Honor is something you have to earn, and until I find mine, I'm not fit to be my father's heir."

I just shook my head. This was wrong. He wasn't supposed to be thinking this way. This wasn't a revelation he was supposed to be making until Season Three, and even then…this was a disaster. He was using this to _justify_ his own banishment. He was twisting it so that Ozai came out looking like a wise and strong ruler, willing to send his own son away for the good of the Fire Nation…when really, he was just a selfish, power-hungry _dickhead_.

I was trembling, I was so mad; but Zuko smoothed my bangs out of my eyes like my anger was nothing.

"You are the one person besides Uncle who doesn't judge me," he said. "You've only seen me as one person for all the time that you've known me. Of course you don't understand. But you will eventually…so I have to redeem myself before that happens."

"_You're _the one not seeing things clearly," I snapped. "I'm not a naïve little girl who can't think for herself! And I could care less about all these stupid politics and this war. This isn't my problem! I don't want you to prove anything to me! I just want…"

"…to go home," he finished. "I know. I heard you the first ten-thousand times."

I breathed out through my nose, pissed beyond belief. "I don't know why I'm even friends with you if you're just going to be _stupid _about it. It doesn't matter what you do. I'm not sticking around. You can do whatever the hell you want!"

Zuko's face hardened. "I _want_ you to stay! Can't you see that?"

"Yeah? Well wanting something and needing something are two different things! And I'm the last thing you need!"

He stared at me for a beat. "I _do _need you."

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do! How would _you _know?"

"I just do! It's called common sense, dumb-ass!"

"Since when are my feelings for you common sense? How does that make ANY sense at all?"

We were in each other's faces by now, yelling at each other. Zuko's face was red and his eyes were angry, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't looking too calm myself. All I wanted was to lunge at him and…well, I'm not really sure what I'd do after that. Though it probably would involve touching him a lot.

Mind, out of gutter! Dammit, why me?

"Isn't it obvious?" I growled. "We hate each other! We can't go for one day without blowing up and yelling at each other! Sometimes I just want to hurt you! A LOT!"

"You think that way about _everyone_, Julie. I'm hardly a special case."

"Yeah? Well, you sure as hell poke my buttons more than anyone else on this godforsaken ship!"

He shook his head. I think he was trying very hard not to give in to the urge to strangle me. "You do _not _hate me. And I certainly don't hate you. I'm telling you the truth. I _need _you here, at my side."

"No way! No fucking way!"

Zuko's eyes were burning as the last of his patience crumbled away into ashes. "_Julie_…yes, I do!"

I shook my head, incredulous. "For the last friggin' time, Zuko, no you d…"

But whatever I had been about to say fled my brain entirely as Zuko leaned down and caught my protesting lips with his own. I was frozen, my mind numb and my heart lurching in uneven spasms. Fire felt like it was pushing its way into every crevice of my body the longer he kept me there. I couldn't breathe.

It was way too soon when we broke apart. He pulled back slightly, his eyes intense as they bored into me. "I need you."

"I…I…" I could feel myself going into panic mode. This couldn't be right. This couldn't be real. I mean, I had no idea what I was supposed to do now. "I…can't…"

"Julie?"

I pulled away from him sharply, and I could feel the harsh sting as his hands left mine. My fingers were shaking so hard that I didn't even notice when the tarot card slipped and fell to the floor. My mind was whirring incomprehensibly out of time. I turned and ran for the stairs, slamming the deck door shut behind me. I held it shut for a few seconds and waited…listened.

Nothing. I let go of the door and ran all the way to my room. I didn't stop until I had safely latched my door shut, climbed into bed, and smooshed a pillow over my head.

_Zuko…?_

Holy shit…I think I just broke the Canonverse. I was going to wake up with Mai's stiletto in my throat, Zutara-shippers everywhere would kill me off in their fanfics, and worst of all, Ayla wasn't going to shut up about it! I could feel vibrating in the back of my skull, like a happy little beehive brimming with romantic ideas about me and Zuko. And it was wrong! It was so very, very wrong!

I was going to hell. I was _SO _going to hell for this.

"_Julie and Zuko sitting in a treeeeeee!_"

"Shut up…shut up…shut up…!"

"_Why? I think it's great! He LOVES you! Didn't you see the way he was looking at you back there? And that KISS! Spirits, _I _could almost feel that…you were really overwhelmed by it, that's for sure_."

"Overwhelmed is the least of what I'm feeling right now."

"_What's the problem? You like him, don't you?_"

I huffed impatiently into my pillow. My heart was still pounding. "That's irrelevant," I muttered. "I can't be with Zuko no matter how much I want to be. Not if I'm serious about getting my ass back home. I need to keep my priorities straight…and I'm _leaving_ first thing tomorrow!"

Ayla went quiet at that, all the glee dimming like a dying lamp. "_Leaving?_"

"Like we planned," I reminded her sharply. I could feel tears prickling at my eyes, but I pushed them back. Letting myself cry would only confirm the deep humiliation I felt at that moment. "It's for the best. I don't belong with him. He just doesn't realize it."

She was upset with me. I knew because her feelings were tightly intertwined with my own. Our spirits were practically joined at the hip.

"_What makes it wrong if you two love each other?"_ she demanded._ "Who even cares what _would _have happened if you never came here? You're here _now_. It happened for a reason!_"

"It's not love," I snapped. "Zuko's just got his head up his ass. He'll use anything as an excuse to capture Aang. God, did you hear what he said about redeeming himself for me? What a crock of shit! This mission isn't about me at all, and it's damn well going to stay that way…!"

"_So, you're saying that he was lying to you?_"

I clenched my hands into fists around my sheets. "I don't think he knows what the truth is. That's not exactly lying, is it? But it doesn't make it right, Ayla."

Her disbelief echoed inside of me like a gong of disappointment. I curled up into a ball under the blanket and tried to ignore her. It was getting easier now that I was starting to calm down. It would be okay. In a matter of hours, I would be far, far away from here. None of this would matter in the morning.

The only thing that was really bugging me now was the realization that in spite of all this emotional garbage I was sinking in…part of me had been deeply thrilled by that kiss.

And at the same time…I never felt so scared in my entire life.

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

"…"

Well, _that _hadn't gone well.

Zuko breathed out a frustrated sigh, thumping his forehead against the railing. What in the name of the Spirits had he been thinking? He had to have known that she'd react badly. It was_ Julie_, for crying out loud. She took _everything_ the wrong way…and she was taking every conceivable step to keep herself at a distance from him. What had made him think that she'd accept him like this?

He groaned. _Stupid_…!

That's what he got for losing control of himself; because that was what that entire incident had surmounted to. Julie had pushed his buttons, and he had completely abandoned every ounce of his reason for that one moment…for that one moment he could almost imagine she had been about to kiss him back.

But that wasn't worth losing her. He should have kept himself in check. Dammit!

"Nephew?"

Perfect timing as always. Though he had to wonder how long he had been standing here, curled up in defeat, if the ex-General was already coming to check up on him. "What is it, Uncle?"

"Your personal ship has been stocked and readied for departure. Um…why are you slumped over the railing like that?"

Zuko didn't move. "Because I'm an idiot. Maybe if I can get the blood back into my brain, I'd be able to make an intelligent decision for a change. Or maybe I'll just lose my balance and fall overboard."

He sighed again and pulled himself upright. Iroh was looking at him with concern.

"Forget about it," he said. "I just want to leave as soon as possible."

"Are you sure you don't want to discuss it? Perhaps over some tea…"

He considered it. Part of him felt as though he should really be trying to talk to Julie instead, but he knew he had done enough damage already. Besides, how was he even going to begin to explain himself to her? She obviously didn't feel the same way…

…no, she couldn't have felt that way. He should have accepted that from the beginning. No girl would fall for a marred, has-been of a prince…not even a weird girl from another universe.

"Some tea then," he said reluctantly. He was still fuming, more angry with himself than with anyone else. The weight of Julie's rejection hung heavy on his shoulders. "If you insist."

Iroh smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I do insist. Come along, Prince Zuko."

He was about to let his uncle lead him to his room like a tame ostrich-horse when suddenly something caught his eye. Ignoring Iroh's curious gaze, he knelt down and picked up the tarot card Julie had dropped. It was still damp with eelhound drool, but because of the hard, flexible material the card was made from, it wasn't damaged at all.

Zuko turned it over. He was greeted by the image of a pair of lovers standing hand-in-hand in a lush, vivid garden of flowers. He found the sight ironic given everything that had just happened.

_No wonder she dropped it_, he thought.

Without another word, he turned and followed his uncle below deck, unconsciously pocketing the card. The entire way his insides felt like a writhing pit of rock-vipers. The silence only made his venom worse; his temper grew increasingly sour by the second while Iroh puttered around with his kettle. Zuko knew it wasn't his uncle's fault, but his benign expression made him want to smash the crockery to pieces.

But then, as angry as he was, he certainly wasn't suicidal. He wasn't about to disrupt Iroh's tea-time if he valued his life.

"There, now," he said, pouring out two cups of evening chamomile. "I made it just the way you like it. I hope it helps."

Zuko glared at his cup. "Unless that tea can turn back time, I doubt it will." Regardless, he picked it up and blew on the surface of the steaming beverage.

Iroh watched him. "It does not do to dwell on regrets, Zuko. We simply must learn from our mistakes and move on."

The unasked question hung between them, like an elephant on a bungee-cord. The scarred teen looked up at his uncle and saw him waiting; and he knew what the older man wanted. He breathed out a sigh. Nothing ever got past Iroh's sharp eyes.

"I screwed up," he said quietly. "She hates me now."

"Oh?"

"Julie does," Zuko added, feeling the need to clarify. "I completely ruined things between us…!" He took a dramatic sip of his tea before remembering (too late) that it was still scalding. He almost dropped his cup as he recoiled from the beverage. Hastily, he set the cup down again and cleared his throat.

Iroh didn't say a single word. He waited for his nephew to collect himself.

"I just wanted her to _understand_," he muttered after a brief, sullen pause. "She doesn't seem to care how it makes me feel to hear her talking about leaving all the time. I just wanted her to stay…"

"And?"

His fingers curled tighter around his cup of tea. "Julie makes me irrational. I…I might have crossed the line…when I kissed her." He felt his ears getting warm, and he steadfastly refused to look at his uncle.

Iroh only blinked at him in surprise. "_You_ did?" Zuko gave him a scathing look. "Oh…I mean…of course you did. I see…" he silently analyzed the dejected slump of the young man's shoulders and put two and two together. "I take it that she…erm…was surprised by your actions…?"

"She bolted like a startled wood-gazelle during a brush fire."

"…oh."

Zuko abandoned all pretense of bravado at that point. He pinched the bridge of his nose and fought back a headache. "You didn't even see the way she looked at me, Uncle. Spirits, it was awful…she acted as if I had pulled a knife on her!"

Iroh frowned. "I am sure Julie isn't afraid of you, nephew. I think she was just…bewildered. How did you go about it? You didn't just kiss her out of the blue, did you?"

He blinked at the older man. "Does it matter?"

The ex-General suppressed a groan. Did it _matter_? "Women are wary, Zuko. You simply cannot rush at them and expect them to reciprocate your feelings. You need to take things slowly…and a girl like Julie requires a lot of patience to win over, I suspect."

Zuko shook his head, dismissing that. "It's too late, then. I blew it."

"Not necessarily," said Iroh quickly. "It may be that Julie hasn't come to terms with her feelings for you just yet. She just needs time…how did you leave things with her, if you don't mind my asking?"

"I already told you. I kissed her and she ran away."

"And that's it? You didn't go after her?"

"Uncle, what would have been the point?" Zuko snapped, exasperated. "I think she made her opinions very clear. She doesn't want to be near me. Okay? So, let's drop it. I shouldn't have brought it up in the first place…by the Spirits…!"

Iroh sighed. "If you believe that is best. Perhaps it _is _better if you gave her some space. At least until this blows over." He looked up at his nephew sharply. "It _will_ blow over, eventually. Just don't lose hope, Prince Zuko."

Don't lose hope? If this weren't such a devastating blow to his pride, Zuko might have laughed in his uncle's face. As it was, he was having difficulty keeping his head up. What he would have given to just curl up under a blanket and forget this whole mess ever happened…or better yet, to somehow found a way make Julie forget the giant ass he just made of himself.

But then again, he still had the Avatar to find. He couldn't forget that he had made a promise to her, as jarringly different as their intentions were. Zuko wanted to bring the Avatar home in chains, but Julie…all she wanted was to keep him safe. This was her way of protecting him, even if it meant putting him in danger of Zuko's burning ambitions.

It must have taken a lot for her to swallow her pride and trust him with this. And that was why Zuko had every intention of fulfilling his vow. He wouldn't just keep the Avatar alive; he would treat him honorably.

And maybe, just maybe, once he got back from Jade Valley…if he managed to do all of that and come back safe and sound…he might just convince Julie to trust him again. And again.

That thought gave Zuko the energy to break through his jadedness and nod at his uncle. "I know," he said quietly. "But you know how much I hate waiting for things to get better."

"Impatience is what causes us to make mistakes to begin with. Just take things slow for now."

"Right," he sighed. "Right…"

He _would _fix this. Eventually. Somehow.

* * *

**A/N: So, the chapter is finally done. (Evil smirk) Did you guys really think I could let Julie leave the Zu-crew without giving you Zulie fans the well-deserved fan service you deserve? I mean, it's been how many chapters and still no kiss? Well, there you go. And I think I pulled this one off quite well, if I do say so myself.**

**I know it seems cruel to have Julie push Zuko away even after all of this, and especially to have her so determined to run away in spite of her feelings. But you know what they say, "absence makes the heart grow fonder," and since when do Julie's plans ever work out the way she anticipates?**

**I feel like I should be putting more tarot influences into this fic, and I already have a HUGE Zulie chapter-arc planned up ahead that heavily involves Julie's tarot deck. It's just hard to have her do readings when there's so much happening around her. Eventually, Julie's deck is going to have more sentimental than practical use, with a few notable exceptions. But for those of you tarot-fans reading this, I hope you'll be satisfied with what I'm able to put into the story.**

**I'm interested to see how you guys take this fluffy bit. Like it? REVIEW!**

**(P.S. Deleted Scenes will be updated tomorrow night; promise!)**


	81. It Was All Thanks to the Rower

**A/N: So, I finally finished recuperating from the local sci-fi and anime convention last weekend! Obviously, I'm not saying where the thing was held, but it was conveniently nearby where Jessie dorms for school, so I decided I was going to be crashing with her. And, as I am very prone to do, I spent a crap-ton of money on plushies and dvd's. Go, me!**

**Of course, it makes it hard to sit still long enough to crank out another chapter. But work I must, especially after the powerful response I got from you guys. You must have wanted Zuko and Julie to kiss really, _really _bad.**

**Julie: (blushing furiously) "Cripes, are you _still _on about that? I mean, technically, _he _was the one who kissed _me._ And I totally freaked and ran the fuck away from him! Why is everyone making such a huge commotion over this?"**

**Because it's cute. Daaaaaawwwwwwwww! **

**Julie: "S-shut up! I don't have to listen to this…!" (Storms towards the lifeboats)**

**Let this be known as the true reason why Julie McVay fled Zuko's ship. To hide from the squealing Zulie fans and their cooing reviews, praising their undying passion for one another…!**

**Julie: (From off camera) "I HATE ALL OF YOU!"**

**Someone's a bit camera-shy. Lol!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Four: It Was All Thanks to the Rower**

It's been a while since we've heard from the Gaang, and I bet you all are wondering what they've been up to since their mind-scarring stint into Jade Valley. One could only imagine the cataclysmic battles they've endured after that action-packed incident…the notorious foes they've brought down, sometimes even with their _bare hands. _

Nah, I'm just screwing with you. They're just setting up camp. Cue the anti-climax music!

"Raaaaaaarrrrrrrgggh…!" Sokka yelled, tugging hard on the line. His efforts to reel in the fish were met with considerable resistance, which caused him a good deal of excitement. It felt like a hell of a meal just waiting to happen. "Aaaaah! Hey, guys! I've got one!"

Katara was tending to the wounded benders they had collected from the village. After they had left, they had stopped by the clearing where Lin had been waiting for them and taken the escapees with them. The last thing any of them wanted was for the young girl to be blamed for their moment of triumph…if one could call it that.

She glanced up upon hearing her brother cry out. But her eyes didn't linger on the shenanigans for very long, as Gorin, the Earthbender, let out a moan of pain, grabbing her attention again. "Sorry," she apologized. "This should numb some of the pain…"

Aang was hovering nearby, watching Katara apply more healing salves on the wounds and occasionally passing her fresh bandages. But their medical supplies were running low. Soon, they'd have to stop into another village to buy more…not to mention restocking on their rations. Spirits, that detour had certainly cost them.

Which was why Sokka, being the natural-born hunter and carnivore that he was, was currently making the valiant effort to fish up some dinner; it was the cheapest meal a man could find assuming he wasn't a vegetarian.

That being said, Aang was not a happy camper.

"Thank you, missie," Gorin mumbled. He tentatively flexed the muscles in his back, grimacing a little from the pain. "Those Brotherhood bastards did a number on us…but it's much better now. I thought I was going to die."

Katara couldn't quite meet the older man's gaze. "Those wounds will probably scar. They're very deep cuts."

"Nothin' I can't handle…workin' in the mines for twenty years didn't make me into a crybaby, that's for sure. I can handle a few marks, don't you worry."

The Firebenders were also recovering, little by little. It had only been a few days since they were freed from the prison, but they were exceedingly lucky in that their injuries hadn't been infected. While still very weak and deeply shaken from their ordeal, they were able to sit up at the very least. However, they were still quite wary of Aang and the others, especially after hearing that he was the Avatar.

Yuu, the male Firebender, couldn't keep himself from staring at Katara in wide-eyed fascination and bemusement. He later explained to an understandably perturbed Sokka (who didn't much like strange Firebenders eying his baby sister) that he had never actually met Water Tribesmen before, let alone ones willing to risk their lives for the enemy.

"Not that it's a bad thing," he said hurriedly, in case Sokka had gotten the wrong idea. "If it weren't for you and your sister, we'd be ashes by now."

Ming-Tsai, the other Firebender present, shuddered quietly and said nothing. Being a woman, her torture had not simply ended with flaying, but she refused to elaborate on just what had been done to her. However, the wary looks she shot the men were telling enough, not to mention the number of times she went out of her way to avoid physical contact. It had taken a lot of coaxing from Katara to get anywhere near the young woman so she could treat her wounds.

She mumbled a soft thank you to the Waterbender as she passed her the canteen. Katara was privately surprised that someone so introverted could be a soldier, but Yuu was quick to explain that as well.

"She wasn't always like this," he said. "She used to be much more aggressive. Hell, this is the first time I've seen her so quiet since the day I enlisted."

Ming-Tsai scowled at him. "Tigerdillos are quiet, too," she said in a low voice. "You had better watch your ass, you cheeky little prick."

Her voice wavered a bit, and everyone could tell that the threat was in no way sincere. She was wearing an expression of half-hearted indignation that poorly masked the shame and anxiety she was feeling. It made Yuu's face soften for a second before breaking into a calculatingly charming grin.

"Good to see you haven't lost your fire, _Ming-Ming_…"

Irritation flashed across her face before subsiding into sullen defeat. "I…I hate it when you call me that…" she whispered.

Yuu's smile melted away when he saw the tears she was blinking back. He looked towards Katara and Sokka for help, but they didn't seem to know what to do, either. Eventually, he wrestled back his indecision and scooted a little closer to her, murmuring urgently to her in an undertone that no one from Team Avatar was meant to hear. After receiving pointed looks from Katara, Sokka and Aang silently and unanimously decided to give them some time to themselves.

There was only so much they could do for these people. That hit them the hardest, that even their best efforts could fall short of what was needed.

"We're alive," Yuu confided to them later, after everyone had calmed down. "That's all we can really ask for. Even if we can't understand why you're helping your enemies…we're grateful." He smiled sadly. "If it weren't for this war, maybe…"

To the Firebender's surprise, it was Gorin who answered him.

"The war is the whole problem," he grumbled. "Sure, we don't like you fire-breathin' invaders, and you sure as hell don't like us…but what happened to my village is makin' me wonder if there's even any point in us fightin' anymore. Especially with the fuckin' Brotherhood out there…slaughterin' benders…"

Ming-Tsai spoke up unexpectedly. "You think we _like _the war any better than you do?" she asked him. "Maybe people from the homeland can justify all the fighting, but those of us from the colonies…what reason do _we _have to go into battle? Most of us don't even consider ourselves Fire Nation anymore…except for our ancestry, that is…and our bending…"

Yuu nodded in bitter agreement. "It's a pointless war. It's ruined whole generations of kids…broken families apart. _Fire Nation _families. And for what? To spread our greatness with the world? _What _greatness?"

"Everyone hates us…" she added quietly. "They even hate us colonists, who did nothing but to be born a Firebender in the Earth Kingdom…but the Fire Lord doesn't care. _No one_ cares."

Sokka and Katara looked at each other for a brief moment. Up until then, they had only seen the war from their own viewpoint. The Fire Nation had been the menace, the ones trying to take everything away from them; and they were the valiant heroes putting an end to their reign of terror. But now…

"The Fire Nation is being hurt by this war, too," said Aang quietly. "This needs to stop."

Gorin eyed his "enemies" thoughtfully while he digested the story they had told him. He seemed grim in his newly-found acceptance of them. "And while we're tearing each other's throats out, the Brotherhood is turnin' the entire bender population into a scapegoat for all of our sufferin'." He looked away for a second. "Maybe the Fire Nation ain't the problem anymore…maybe it's the Brotherhood we need to watch out for nowadays."

"Yeah, like that'll make the war magically disappear," said Yuu with a heavy sigh. "We've been fighting each other for a hundred years. I doubt it's going to stop any time soon."

Aang furrowed his brow. "Then we need to _make _it stop. We need to warn people about what the Brotherhood is doing, and we need to come together to bring them down!" He looked sharply at Katara and Sokka. "That has to be what Bumi meant when he said we need to look at things differently…to consider all of the possibilities."

Katara looked inspired. "So…we shouldn't be fighting the Fire Nation…"

Sokka, unfortunately, wasn't convinced. "That sounds nice and all, but we need to face a few facts…namely, that there are some seriously bad guys running the Fire Nation that need to be stopped. Like that Commander Zhao…and the Fire Lord. I doubt either of them want to be _our _friends any time soon."

Yuu made a face of disgust. "Not _Zhao. _Uggh…someone actually made him a Commander?"

"Ol' mutton-chops? You've heard of him?"

"He's the worst! He's hot-tempered and short-sighted and _cowardly_. My father used to serve under him, and I remember just how condescending he was…but he never fought a battle he wasn't sure he could win. He never did _anything_ unless it was guaranteed to make him look important and powerful in the end. He's an egotistical son of a…"

"Yuu," Ming-Tsai snapped. "They're children. Watch your fucking mouth."

There was a dead-pan silence that was broken by Gorin's rumbling laugh.

"You know, for a couple of lowlife fire-lizards, you two ain't half bad," he said, good-naturedly in spite of the unconscious insult he had slipped in. "Once I'm back on my feet, I'll buy the two of you a pint. That sound good?"

"An Earthbender drinking with a couple of Firebenders," Yuu replied with an infectious grin. "What a scandal. I'm in."

"It won't cost you much," Ming-Tsai cut in. "Yuu can't hold his liquor. I bet the little bald kid could drink him under the table."

Aang blushed. "Um…the monks only let us drink during the festivals…and I haven't really built up a tolerance yet. But I think I can manage to put away a shot or two if I eat something first."

Katara looked at him in shock. "You…you…you're _twelve_, Aang…"

"Yeah," he said. "What's your point?"

She just stared and stared at her, flabbergasted. Sokka just clasped a hand on her shoulder and shook his head at her. He had learned a long time ago that it was pointless to try to understand Air Nomad culture.

"Let it go, Katara."

"He's a twelve-year-old _monk_, Sokka. A _monk!_"

Aang blinked at her. "Yeah. Is something wrong?"

Katara was having trouble putting her shock into words. "It…it's just that I…I thought monks were more focused on…well…_spiritual_ matters…and didn't do stuff like drink or…um…_self-explore_…" she muttered in a much quieter voice, reluctantly recalling an earlier conversation they had. "Right?"

The Airbender considered this. "Well…we don't. Except when we feel like it. I mean, we're not _dead_, you know."

"But…"

"Let it go, Katara," Sokka said again. "It's pointless…believe me. I already tried."

So, she gave up. Because what else could she do?

Gorin laughed again at the dumbfounded expression on the Waterbender's face. "Sounds like monks know how to party. I am _so _buying the kid a drink once we reach the next town."

Unfortunately for all of us, he ended up keeping his word. But that would be a story for another chapter.

* * *

So, it was finally morning. I had gotten up especially early so I could slip away before the breakfast bell was rung. The sky was shrouded in dense clouds that hid the sun from me. I figured that Zuko was probably long gone by now, and now I was fully prepared to leave myself, my rucksack slung over my shoulder and my feet feeling strangely heavy. The late-autumn wind chilled me, turning my attention out towards the ocean.

I blinked in astonishment. I could still see Zuko's personal boat in the distance. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it, but my throat felt like it was closing up.

I shouldn't have felt so choked up. This was so stupid!

Yoshi was at my heels, watching me intently as I was watching the scenery. Surprisingly, he wasn't running around or barking. It was like he could sense that something was wrong, that something was different.

"You're a little late to say good-bye," said a quiet voice behind me. I felt myself freeze as Jee came to stand beside me at the rail. He followed my gaze towards the distance vessel inching away from us before trailing his eyes down to my face. "They'll come back soon. You don't have to worry about them."

I couldn't look at him. A hot flush raced across my cheeks and I lowered my eyes to my boots. I nodded stiffly.

Yoshi let out a petulant puppy-whine, and the Lieutenant picked him up and started to pet him. But his eyes were on me. Something in my face must have alerted him that something was off with my mood. His brow furrowed in concern.

"Let's go have breakfast," he said slowly. "You'll catch cold standing out here by yourself. It's getting chilly now."

"That's because winter's coming," I muttered. I could feel my heart sinking. "I'm not hungry, though. You go ahead."

He quirked an eyebrow. "It just so happens that I asked Po to fry up some fresh bacon," he wheedled me. "Since you're always complaining about the food we serve here, I thought you should have something you like as a treat. After all, you have quite a week ahead of you."

_Not if I have anything to say about it, old man_.

However, the offer of bacon was very tempting. I hadn't eaten that morning (how could I with that ball of dread sitting heavy in my stomach?), and it was rare that Jee (or anyone else) went out of their way to make something I actually _liked_. He must have realized I'd be upset about this whole mess and was trying to cheer me up in his own way; that is to say, shameless bribery.

I might have complained _a few _times about the lack of appropriate breakfast options on Zuko's ship. The only thing I could really stand to eat that early was bacon…and that was too expensive for commoners to eat very often. Plus, Zuko didn't really go for bacon. He was more of an omelet kind of guy (which, don't even ask me how you can even _eat _without ketchup…but whatever).

Anyway, even though I hadn't eaten yet, I wasn't very hungry. Sucking face with the universe's canon hottie, while thrilling in its own way, is actually a huge downer once you get around to remembering how unavailable said hottie really is. It squashed my appetite flatter than a pancake. I find the food imagery especially ironic in this particular instance.

"No, thanks," I grumbled.

"Julie," Jee sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "Look, I know you're still mad about having to meet your suitors, but…" he hesitated. "You realize I'm not going to force you into a match you don't want, right?"

I glanced at him in surprise. Yoshi was squirming to be free, so Jee handed him over to me. The eelhound calmed down as soon as he was in my arms, and proceeded to snuggled against my body affectionately. I looked at the puppy for a moment before tentatively lifting my gaze to meet Jee's. In that span of time, I still hadn't been able to piece together what he had just told me.

"You only have to meet them," he said, encouraged by my renewed interest. "That's all. You're not obligated to do anything else. Just give them a chance. You never know where and when love might find you."

_You never know…_

To my horror, I felt my vision getting blurry as tears pushed their way to the surface. I blinked them back frantically, turning beet red. I had to turn my back on him before he saw…but I had a sinking feeling that it was too late for that.

My insides were aching as I digested the solid lump Jee's words brought me. _You never know_. The memory of Zuko's lips meeting mine flashed across my mind in a horrifying instant, and a number of feelings I was trying to push back wrestled against my shaking grip. But I got a hold of myself. I had to.

This world was beautiful, but it wasn't where I belonged. I might be falling in love with Zuko, but he didn't belong to me. None of this was mine. I couldn't have any of it, and I wasn't going to trick myself into believing for a second that it was possible.

God, it hurt so much.

"I don't want to find love," I snapped, my voice sounding angry and hoarse. "I don't want…to find anything I can't keep…especially not _here_."

Jee watched my tensed back for a moment. "I suppose I can't get you to change your mind," he said sadly. "Either way…it's not something we plan on. If it's meant to happen, it'll happen, whether you want it to or not."

I gritted my teeth and refused to answer him.

"I'll save you a plate if you get hungry," he told me before turning to leave. "Don't stay outside too long, Julie. I don't want you getting sick."

I waited for his footsteps to disappear. When the door finally shut behind him, I let my composure slide away. Tears trickled down my cheeks, and I hugged my arms against my body and sandwiched the very-bewildered Yoshi against my chest, hitching quietly as my grief cut into me over and over again. It was so stupid, so pointless, but so overwhelming. I wanted this feeling to disappear. I wanted to be free of it.

I thought of what Zuko would say to me if he saw me like this. He'd call me a crazy little peasant…and he'd do something invasive, like pick me up and throw me over his shoulder…or maybe he'd completely surprise me by doing something kind. He might just take me aside and ask if I was all right. He might take me into his arms and let me claw at him until he let me go.

Or maybe he wouldn't let me go. Maybe…

"_You want to stay,_" Ayla chimed in gently. "_And so does he._"

I wasn't going to argue with her anymore. I angrily wiped my tears away, went over to the nearest lifeboat and examined it for a long moment. It took me a minute to work out the pulley system that lowered the craft into the water and how to work it. I wasn't sure that I'd have the upper-body strength to do it myself, but fortunately there was a motorized crank to make the work easier. I couldn't begin to tell you what kind of power it operated on, but it was probably something like a small combustion engine of some sort. Maybe. Hell, I was no engineer. Don't ask me.

I glanced out at the ocean, but Zuko's boat was too far away to see. He'd be heading farther North up the coast before heading inland by foot. That meant I had to go…elsewhere. I didn't want to head South (that would just take me to Kyoshi Island, which was _sort of_ under Zhao's control). I tried to think of where I could go, but the whole Earth Kingdom was strange to me. How should I know where to go?

"I guess my best bet is to head for shore and to improvise from there," I said to myself. So I peeked around to make sure I was alone before climbing into the lifeboat. I switched on the pulley and let myself get lowered into the ocean.

I was worried that someone would spot me, but somehow no one came out to investigate the whirring of the motor of the crank. In about five minutes, my boat was in the water, and I detached the hooks that connected her to the main ship. Then, I took up oar and began to row.

Okay…rowing sucks. I found that out pretty quick.

"Shit…I'm _really _going to be feeling this tomorrow…" I grunted. I did everything I could to move my vessel in a straight line. Yoshi sat on my lap and grinned at me with a smile full of jagged teeth and an enthusiastically dripping tongue. He found this whole thing exciting.

I channeled all of my feelings into the physical labor, and somehow I found the strength to push on. That didn't mean I had to like it. I really didn't. In a way, I guess it was a good thing Bo-Fen had schooled me so hard during our training sessions. My endurance had improved a lot, and my arms weren't as scrawny as they used to be. As uncomfortable as it was, I found that rowing wasn't that big of a deal once I fell into the right rhythm.

Ha! Take that, world! I was the fucking oar-master!

Hey, yeah. I could do this. I could _totally_ do this. I didn't need Zuko or Jee, or Shen-Long and Bo-Fen…or anyone, really. I was stronger now! I could take care of myself! I could _do _this…!

"_Julie…no offense, but you sound like you're on drugs._"

"Suck it, Ayla. Just suck it."

Our sisterly bond clearly runs deep. But I wouldn't let that stop me from finding my way back to where I was supposed to be. One way or another, I'd get there…even if it killed me. I had to try. I refused to give up on the world I was born in…to surrender all ties to my past, no matter how painful the memories were. I couldn't forget that there were people waiting for me back home.

Jessie was probably worried sick about me. She probably thought I was dead by now. And my Dad might, too…maybe. Either way, someone had to keep an eye on the bastard.

"I'm going…home…" I whispered. And I turned that into my mantra as I continued to row. "Home…"

* * *

Zuko was running on only four hours of sleep. Needless to say, he wasn't even remotely in the best of spirits at that moment, and had taken to staring gloomily into the water as they sailed on, farther away from the main ship.

He hadn't even been able to close his eyes. Instead, he had simply lain in his bed, tormenting himself with memories from the previous night. It was almost lewd to contemplate, but he could still taste her lips against his. The smell of her hair and the feeling of her body pressed up against his lingered in his memory as the hours passed with no respite. He wasn't sure if he actually slept at all. All he knew was that it hadn't even been half a day since he left, and already he found himself missing her.

It would be a cold day in hell before he admitted it to anyone, but that didn't make it any less true. He certainly hadn't been lying to Julie when he said he needed her…even if it was just the frustrated entertainment her company provided him. The very thought that she might not speak to him after what he did was driving him insane.

Meals just weren't the same without her. He wanted to be able to look up across the table and see her making faces at whatever the chef had served her or fumbling ineffectually with her utensils. Her absence left a noticeable void in the confined quarters of the smaller boat, and his Uncle's attempts at starting up a conversation fell painfully flat as Zuko picked sullenly at his morning rice.

He tried to focus on his mission, but even that was slipping out of his mind's grasp as the sun rose into the sky. Of course, now that it was daylight, it would be close to impossible for him to sleep. It was a well-known fact that sunlight had the same effect that a fresh-made espresso had on normal people. Only it was worse for Zuko because even though he could sense the cosmic influence of the sun on his spirit, he couldn't actually take warmth from it like he used to.

It was so hard for him to use his breath of fire now. What was wrong with him?

"Nephew," Iroh said after another long pause in the conversation. "Are you feeling well?"

He gave him a look. "Once I pick up the pieces of my broken pride, I think I'll be just fine. Anyway, that's the least of my troubles right now. I need to be prepared to capture the Avatar, Uncle."

"That is not what I meant."

Zuko looked at the older man. The tea-loving Firebender strode over to the young exile and placed the back of his hand against his forehead. His brow knotted, and a frown puckered his mouth. "You feel colder to the touch. And you look pale."

"I'm just having trouble sleeping. I've probably got a bug or something. It's not important."

But in the back of his mind, Zuko couldn't help but doubt his own words. He remembered that racking cough he had on a few occasions, the one that exhausted him so much. And it was true that whatever was going on with him was definitely affecting his Firebending.

Iroh looked concerned. "Perhaps you should rest for now. I can wake you up when we reach shore."

"There's no need," he grumbled. "I can't sleep. I keep telling you."

"It might do you some good to try. After all, I'm sure Julie would be quite upset if something were to happen to you on this mission…all because you neglected your health." The ex-General looked at him shrewdly. "You remember how upset she was when you were injured on Kyoshi Island."

Zuko looked away. He remembered the way she had looked at the healing cuts that practically striped his hands. Those probably wouldn't even scar, but even so she had been more horrified at the sight of those than the_ massive burn_ covering half of his face.

Julie could get really fucking weird sometimes. He wouldn't lie about that.

"I'll be fine. I don't want to rest. I want to find him, Uncle...the Avatar. I can't even begin to think about _her _until I've taken care of this."

"If you say so."

The Fire Prince squared his shoulders and looked out towards the shore as they inched closer. The Avatar could run all he wanted, but he couldn't hide. He would drag the monk back to his ship in one piece and have his honor restored. And perhaps if he could do this without hurting anyone, Julie would forgive him for…well…for kissing her.

As much as it electrified him to think about it, he could easily see why she had such a problem with what he did. Julie had said on at least one occasion that she wasn't a touchy-feely person. She tended to resent people who invaded her personal space, and overall didn't like to be touched or hugged. And knowing this, he still had the stupidity to make the attempt. He should probably consider himself lucky he hadn't been kneed in the crotch.

Julie hadn't seemed angry, though. Actually, she had looked scared…and torn. But not angry. Not even a little.

As previously stated, weird.

_I need to forget about her for now_, Zuko told himself firmly. _I need to concentrate on the Avatar. I should be strategizing…not daydreaming! Spirits…_

Now if only he could get her out of his head.

* * *

Finally. After days and days of continued rowing, I was rewarded when the bottom of the life-boat kissed a sand-bar. Okay, fine…it wasn't several days. Jee would have caught my ass trying to escape if it had taken me that long. It was probably an hour or something like that. But my arms really hurt! Rowing can be hard work, you know.

I felt ridiculously proud of myself. I was actually giddy as I climbed out of the lifeboat and staggered on to land. Yoshi hopped out after me and kept up with me, not much liking the feel of sand and dirt under his claws. He was strictly a ship and metal kind of eelhound.

_I don't like the ground, mama…I wanna kill it with fire!_

The poor little guy was whining as we crossed the sandbar and made our way to the beach. The tide was out at the time, so I didn't have to get my shoes wet…well, not much. Yoshi kept trying to go back to the boat, so eventually I had to pick him up and carry him in my arms. My rucksack was slung over my shoulders, so I had full use of at least one of my arms.

"I think I might be spoiling you a little," I said to him as I struggled up a grassy hill. "You're getting a little big to be carried, you know."

He certainly was. In the short span of time since he had been hatched, he was almost the size of a cocker-spaniel. That was almost double the size he had been when he came out of the egg. I tell you, they aren't shitting you when they call them _giant_ eelhounds.

_I am not spoiled. Now give me lots of treats, or I will have to feed on the blood of virgins to compensate for my loss._

I scratched him behind the ears. "Yeah, I guess it's only fair. I mean, once you're big enough, you'll probably be carrying me around. I may as well repay the favor while I can."

_I want my fish, woman! Give it to me or I'll cry! And I'll eat things! LIVING things!_

I blinked at him. He was looking abruptly petulant (again, I might be imagining the different facial expressions on the visage of a baby reptilian creature…but it was really fucking uncanny). Huh…maybe he was hungry. Too bad I couldn't reach my rucksack without putting him down (something he _definitely_ wouldn't have wanted given his hatred of dirt), and I had to haul ass in case someone noticed I was missing.

The last thing I wanted was for someone to find me out here. That could be potentially awkward. Jee would probably have kittens when he found out what I had done, and I really didn't want to have to face _that _lecture. And Zuko…well…I didn't even want to think about Zuko. Period.

I was getting depressed again. It didn't help when we entered a forest a few minutes later, and it got all dim and gloomy. It reminded me of Kyoshi Island, when I had been looking for Kuba only to run into that serial-rapist, Chaang.

Okay, happy thoughts: Kittens in a basket. Rainbows. Shen-Long in a dress. Wait…what the hell?

"I need a new brain," I grumbled as the minutes passed. "And some eye-bleach."

The going was tough enough just trying to keep myself from tripping over a rock or a stray tree root. It was even more difficult with Yoshi squirming to get loose and barking every now and then. God, I love him to pieces, but right now I just wanted to murder the little hellion. To be fair, there were a fair number of things for him to chase in those woods, like weird-looking rodent creatures (some kind of squirrel hybrid maybe?) and the occasional bird. Yoshi wasn't used to flying prey, and was fascinated by the sparrows we kept seeing.

_Lemme go! Lemme go!_

I groaned. "If I put you down, will you _stay_?"

Yoshi cocked his head to the side.

"Stay," I repeated firmly, as though it would make my meaning clearer if I put extra emphasis on it.

He paused for a beat, as though he were thinking very hard (though he probably wasn't…I mean, he was a baby eelhound. What could he possibly have been thinking about?). Then, after an appropriate amount of time considering, he belted my face with the wet side of his tongue.

"Ack…!" I gasped. "All right…fine, then. Sheesh…I guess I'll take that as a yes."

Huge lapse of judgment on my part. But in my defense, I was distracted by the copious amounts of animal slobber dripping from my chin. Sue me.

Of course, the moment his feet touched the ground, Yoshi was off like a shot. Seriously, when would I ever learn? It almost serves me right. But it didn't help my mood any when the eelhound dashed off into some strange neck of the woods I wasn't familiar with. Now I would have to find him. Shit…I probably needed to get a leash for him in the next town. Could I even afford that?

I closed my eyes and took a breath. I couldn't reign in a runaway eelhound, but maybe I could reign in the remnants of my patience. _Maybe if I wait here, he'll come right back…_

When I opened my eyes, I noticed a _giant-ass_ spider not ten feet away from me. It was eating what was left of what looked like a large, fat sparrow. One it had apparently caught and brought down on its own.

_On second thought, maybe I should go get him._

"Yoshi," I called ahead of me. "Come back!"

I could faintly hear him barking through the trees, which was a reassuring sign. At least he wasn't being eaten by something. I jogged ahead, keeping my eyes peeled for any other unfriendly woodland creatures while I looked for my puppy. I was worried about snakes in the trees, but I shouldn't have been. It was almost winter, and many of them had already burrowed underground for the season.

"Yoshi? Yoshi, where are…waaaaauugggh…!"

Pile of wet leaves, meet foot. Face, meet ground. The sooner everyone got acquainted, the sooner we could move past the awkwardness of me scraping the mud off my elbows and trying to pick up my dignity. Oh, fuck it. I lost my dignity at least ten chapters ago…maybe earlier.

I was tired and cold and dirty. I was all alone and missing everyone, and I sure as hell couldn't admit it to anyone, even if I wanted to. I was probably lost in these dark and scary woods, my eelhound ran away, the potential man of my dreams was off hunting a twelve-year-old boy and probably didn't even know I was _missing_…fuck! Could my life get any worse?

Frustrated tears welled up in my eyes. I was a goddamn waterworks factory today.

"Fuck, fuck, fuckity-fuck, motherfucker of all unholy FUCKSOCKS!"

"Six copper pieces," said a very familiar voice.

I gasped. I squirmed around (my butt was soaked by now from all the mud and crap I was sitting in) and saw, to my complete and utter surprise, that I wasn't alone.

"S-Shen-Long…!" I squeaked, scooted away from him and backing into a tree. "W-what the fuck are you…how did you find me?"

The soldier looked down at me, his blue eyes flashing with irritation. He folded his arms and raised a single eyebrow while I continued to have a freaking heart attack; because obviously if Shen-Long was here, that had to mean my cover was blown. Jee was going to have a coronary when they dragged me back to the ship. He was going to be so _mad_, and then…well, shit.

I was going to die, wasn't I?

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice something was up?" he wanted to know. "When you suddenly decided to help Prince Zuko capture the Avatar, that was a dead giveaway you were up to something, you know."

Well, fan-tucking-fastic. I had obviously been caught red-handed, and to make things worse, I had _also_ (literally) been caught on my ass. Not a good combination, that. I tensed up defensively, ready to kick, scream, and claw eyes out if the need arose. Because I was _not _going back, no matter what _anybody_ said or did to try to convince me.

"I saw you rowing," he continued. "You weren't making a very good pace, so it gave Bo-Fen and I some time to come up with a plan. Lucky for you, she stayed behind to keep Jee distracted while I went after you."

"Yeah?" I snapped. "Well, you shouldn't have bothered, asshole! I made up my mind and I'm leaving! So you can just march right back to the ship and pretend you never met me!"

He just gave me a dead-pan look. "Um…sorry to disappoint you, but no."

"What do you mean, _no_?" I yelped. "Get away from me! Don't come any closer!"

Shen-Long sighed. He seemed a bit put-out with me. As he persistently inched closer, I scooped up a fistful of mud and hurled it at his stupid face. I only had time to hear the satisfying _SMACK _of it making contact before I scrambled to my feet and hauled ass as fast as I could go.

I heard him curse and stagger backwards, but then I was already gone through the trees, and couldn't hear anything except for the sound of my own breathing.

_Omigod, omigod, omigod…_

"_Julie…!" _Ayla was horrified. "_You threw mud at SHEN-LONG! He's going to hate us now! WAAAAAAH!_"

_Not the time for you to take your little-girl crush out on me, okay? He's trying to bring me back to Jee! I'm sorry, but FUCK that!_

"_Well, maybe he's right! Maybe you're being completely ridiculous and CRAZY! I mean, they obviously care about you…and Zuko loves you! And I…I don't want to leave Len again…I don't want him to go away…so stop pushing him away!"_

I stumbled and leaned against a tree trunk, breathing raggedly for a second. I had frozen up hearing something so pained and sincere from Ayla. I wasn't used to hearing her anything less than positively radiant and cheerful. It never even entered my head that what I was doing would affect _her _in any way.

"_All right, I'll admit it. I like him. I've always liked him. He's tall and warm and kind…and the way he looks at us makes me feel safe. He hasn't changed at all in a thousand years, and after all this time…after all this time he hasn't forgotten me. After what I did, he still…he still loves me, doesn't he?_"

"Ayla…" I breathed.

"_Len would never let anything bad happen to us,_" she ranted on. "_He's always there for us…always…! And you want to send him away! I…I just can't lose him again, Julie…_"

"I had no idea you felt like this."

"_What do you mean? Aren't we connected? Couldn't you see why I didn't want us to leave?_"

"All you kept saying was that you were worried about _me_, but…" I shook my head. "I guess I should have…I mean…I guess I've only been thinking about…well…myself. But…Ayla, I don't want this. I don't want a family or friends or…or a boyfriend. Not here. It's not…none of this is _real_for me."

She was quiet for a long time. "_Well…it's real for the rest of us. And you're important to them. They love you. And so do I. You're the only friend I have right now._"

I felt bad. "I'm not a very good one."

"_Neither am I,_" she replied. "_So we suit each other…right?_"

I sighed. She had a point there. We were kind of a screwed up pair, Ayla and I. But we were stuck with each other, for better or for worse. We may as well try to get along for the time being. It made me wonder what would happen to her if I were sucked back into my own world again. Would she end up following me? Or would she pass on into the Spirit World? Or would she…disappear?

I shivered. "M-maybe we should go talk to Shen-Long. I mean…I shouldn't have thrown the mud at him…and I might want to apologize…maybe…" I scowled. "But that doesn't mean I've decided to go back, Ayla!"

She didn't reply. But in the end she didn't have to say anything. I was picking up her frustration and anxiety loud and clear. It just had never made sense to me before now.

I turned around and looked behind me. I couldn't see or hear anyone, and it occurred to me that Yoshi was still gone as well. I groaned in aggravation, knowing that this was all just a huge mess that I would have to clean up. And it would be hell.

"Okay, priorities," I muttered. "Shen-Long or Yoshi?"

"_Len_," Ayla said pointedly.

"Len?" I repeated quietly. "Is that a nickname or something?"

"_It was his name from a long time ago…from his past life._"

"Oh. Hey, wait…if you can tell me that, then…remember when that old mask-seller guy kept calling me Anju? Who the hell was Anju?"

Dead silence.

"Hello? Ayla?"

Nope. She was ignoring me now. Fine, then. I would just find him on my own. I didn't need her pissy attitude right now. I had to say, though, it was kind of a low blow that she was fine with picking apart every detail of _my _social life, but only wanted to get upfront and personal about herself when it suited her. And though I wasn't usually one to pry, her past-life had a nasty habit of putting me in _mortal danger_. So, yeah. I was ticked.

Unfortunately, things were about to get worse.

"Shen-Long?" I called through the trees. "Are you there? Hey, I'm sorry I chucked that mud at your face, okay? So quit hiding and come on oUUUAAAAAAGGGGGGH!"

Foot, meet snare. Snare, meet giant fucking net. Stew over the flames of my impending rage for about ten seconds, and you'll end up with one livid redhead caught and dangling about twenty feet above the ground. I was upside down and very disoriented.

"Wha…what the fuck was…omigod, that hurt…!"

"Huh? You aren't hogmonkey…"

Oh, cripes…what now?

* * *

**A/N: Julie is in trouble! Oh NOES!**

**It should be said that nothing good comes from Julie attempting to do something on her own. A normal day for her is usually filled with shenanigans and plot-related mayhem…so what do you think is going to happen when she pushes the envelope even further and makes a major life-changing decision on her own?**

**Not to say that she's USELESS, but Julie _does _attract a fair amount of trouble. She can't really help it. She's the main character, after all.**

**However, she isn't able to leave _entirely _scotch-free. She ends up running into Jee moments before she makes her escape, and is surprised by the genuine concern he displays for her. I know a lot of you guys don't really like Jee (he can be damn unlikeable sometimes…after all, he's a parent. Parents suck sometimes). But as sexist and overbearing as he can be at times, he truly does care about Julie. He doesn't just want her married off; he wants her to be happy too.**

**The little speech he gives Julie is demonstrative of this. He tells her that he isn't going to force her with someone she doesn't love. The only thing he really expects from her is for her to give this a chance. Finding her a potential husband would not only provide for her future, but it would also give her incentive not to go back to her abusive father. Deep down he can sense the hold he has on her, and wants to protect her from that if he can.**

**Plus, getting married means she'll settle down someplace safe. Traveling all the times pushes her in the direction of a lot of bad people who want to hurt her: Zhao…Mantis…the Brotherhood…you get the picture.**

**To CCX: **I actually really like the metaphor you came up with in your last review. I can totally see Julie as a stubborn rose-bush and Jee as a gardener, just not a self-absorbed one. I think he's the kind of gardener who pushes his affection on his plants, but it's all out of genuine good-intentions. Doesn't mean he won't get pricked by the thorns as often as he deserves, though.

**That being said, I hope you all enjoy the Zuko POV, as well as the tidbit from the Gaang. Not much to say about those. All that's left for you guys to do is to REVIEW!**


	82. For Her Sake

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I am totally psyched, in spite of the crappy weather and the rain…I mean, I managed to get this chapter done, and believe me, it's an epic one. You have all the good things in a fic: romance, humor, and even a fight-scene! Not to mention a fair bit of angst. I have to say, writing this really rekindled my spirit.**

**In other news, I realized that kind of took out the deviant-art link in my last chapter. Sorry about that, guys! I don't get a chance to check my emails or reviews that often, so if I don't get back to you right away, it's nothing personal. That was why I didn't notice right away, and I have to say that it was a bit negligent of me not to figure it out myself. But, this is kind of important, so I'll repost the link below, with spaces, so that way it doesn't get erased.**

**Let's try this once more: **

**This chapter is really freaking long (almost ten thousand words), so I'm going to just shut up and let you guys read. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Five: For Her Sake**

Shen-Long lay on the ground with his eyes closed and mud plastered all over his face. He wasn't all together just yet, having had the bad luck of slipping and falling practically head-first _backwards_ into the trunk of a very, very solid oak. His head was still ringing from the impact, and it was taking him quite a while for him to regain his senses.

The wind stirred the branches, and it was like_ she_ was whispering to him. _Len…Len…_

_The sound of her voice floated into the air as her song reached him. Back against the trunk of the tree, sun filtering through the branches, like notes of the golden melody manifesting themselves in a display of warmth, light, and color. Len bathed in the music, letting Ayla's words soak into him, nourishing him in a way he couldn't put into speech._

_She had come to his village about a fortnight ago, lost and separated from the people she had been traveling with. He remembered first meeting her on the outskirts of town, looking bedraggled and on the verge of tears. He didn't think she could look more vulnerable if she tried; and of course, the fact that she was such a small person and had such an innocent face helped a bit…_

"_Len…?"_

_Her song had been so soothing that he barely noticed when she had stopped singing. He opened his eyes, which were a startling blue, and met the girl's inquisitive gaze. _

"_Sorry. I was dozing for a moment. Did you say something?"_

_Ayla frowned at that. "You looked like you had fallen asleep again," she accused him._

_The corners of his mouth curled upwards. "I can't help it if I'm comfortable with you. Besides, it's pretty warm out today."_

_She glanced up at the cloudless sky and sighed. Len sensed that she was growing restless, just as she always did if she stayed in one place for too long. The girl was so full of energy, she always had to be doing something. The only time she was willing to sit still was when she was singing._

"_How about another song?" he suggested. "I liked that one about the evening star."_

_Ayla pouted. "It's not night time. I can't sing that one."_

"_Okay…how about the Cave of Two Lovers? Surely you remember that one."_

"_What is it with you and love songs?" she asked._

_He didn't skip a beat. "You sing them well."_

_Ayla's face flushed in delight and her gaze dropped to her hands. It was as though the girl wasn't used to receiving praise…or was simply enjoying the hell out of it and didn't want it to show. Len suspected it was both._

_She rarely talked about her old companions, but he knew that she missed them. For a while, Len had been worried that she would try to leave on her own, to go out and look for them; but to his surprise and relief, she did neither. Instead, she bustled around like a flustered hen, trying to repay the villagers who were kind enough to take her in. Unfortunately, in spite of Ayla's enthusiasm, she tended to cause more shenanigans than not, and hardly anything got done._

_Len smiled as he remembered how awkward his neighbors became whenever her good intentions went horribly awry. She didn't know much about sewing or mending, was hopeless with cleaning, and simply couldn't cook to save her life. But she was so damn _nice _about it…no one wanted to hurt her feelings._

_Thank God he had discovered that voice of hers, or she'd still be burning soup. And once he had spread the word to a few people, everyone was more than happy to let her sing for them…anything to keep her from doing more chores._

_It had taken them forever to put out the fires from the last time…_

"_What are you thinking about?" she asked suddenly, startling him out of his reverie._

_Len blinked at her. "Hm? Oh. Nothing, I guess. I was just remembering when you first came to the village, is all. You remember?"_

"_It was only two weeks ago. Of course I do."_

"_Well, good. You should."_

_The girl puckered her lips thoughtfully and looked at him for another moment. After a while she breathed out a heavy sigh and stared up at the branches. Len followed her gaze and saw her watching a sparrow perched on a twig and preening its feathers. She managed a tiny smile, but her amber-colored eyes were filled with sadness._

"_Do you miss them?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_The people you were with," Len clarified. "Do you miss them?"_

_She blinked at him, caught off guard by the question. Then, quickly, she lowered her eyes. "I…yeah, I suppose, I do. We were together as long as I can remember. Those people took me in and raised me…but it's strange. We don't really behave like families I've met in this village. Things here aren't so…strict."_

_Len considered that. "Does that bother you?"_

"_I don't know. I'm not used to being on my own or having so little structure. Usually Sifu Prospero is there to make plans for everything. He's the one who tells me what's expected of me, and I do it. And we work so well together, so…"_

"_Prospero? That's a weird name, don't you think?"_

_She smiled. "It means something in Ancient-Tongue. It was the language spoken before the Avatar came into being…back when there were…" And suddenly, she clammed up. Len noticed the abrupt change and sat up slowly._

"_Ayla?"_

"_It's nothing. I just…I'm not supposed to talk about that stuff. It's ancient history, anyway…nothing anyone needs to know."_

_He frowned. "You can tell me, you know. I can keep a secret."_

_She shook her head, a frantic spasm. "No, it's fine. Thank you."_

_He took in her tense facial expression and her locked shoulders and got the hint. So, he decided to change the subject to something more benign._

"_It's just…you seem lonely sometimes," he explained. "In spite of all the friends you made here…sometimes I get the feeling like you're distancing yourself."_

_Ayla didn't deny the claim. _

"_Well, I can't stay here forever, you know," she murmured, twiddling her thumbs. "Eventually I'll have to move on. Sifu Prospero will find me eventually. I just need to be patient until he does. Besides," she added, smiling at him. "It's not like I'm having a bad time here. I truly love your village. It's such a happy place…it's just not where I'm supposed to be."_

In the back of his mind, Shen-Long felt like this conversation was more familiar than it should be. It was as though he had heard something like it very recently…only with someone else. Abruptly, Julie's face loomed in his mind's eye, scowling at him. _I don't belong here_, she had repeatedly told him…and everyone else who would listen. _I have to go back. _

"_Well," Len hesitated. He knew that logically there was no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to leave if she wanted to. After all, those people were practically her family. Though part of him wondered what she meant when she said that they weren't like normal families._

_Eventually, he decided that you won more flies with honey than with vinegar. Not wanting to upset Ayla, he forced a benign expression on his face. "At least you'll always be able to come visit. I'm sure as heck ain't going anywhere…" he trailed off, momentarily embarrassed by the unconscious slip of his coastal accent._

_He and his sister Rena used to live in a seaside village, but had to leave due to…um…unusual circumstances. They had lineage that could be traced back to the Southern Water Tribe, and it showed in their blue eyes and slightly darker-than-normal skin tone. However, here in the middle Earth Kingdom, people were quick to comment on their unusual appearance, and frankly it had gotten old by now._

_Fortunately, Ayla hadn't been one of those people, mostly because she was a bit strange-looking herself. Her long, wavy hair was a deep russet color, an unusual blend of earthy reds and browns. An unkind person might have compared the color to that of fresh-spilled blood; but Len wasn't one of them. He thought the girl was lovely, inside and out._

_In any case, Ayla paid no mind to Len's accent. Instead, she averted her eyes. "Maybe…"_

_But the doubt was obvious. Once she left, she didn't think she'd ever come back; and that was clearly making her sad. Len wasn't sure what to do._

_He watched her for a moment, watching the wind pick up tresses of her vivid hair and making them sway. It contrasted heavily with her pale skin, which was a trademark of her Fire Nation heritage and a sight rarely seen in these parts. She was as different here as he was. He had asked her time and time again why she was traveling around the Earth Kingdom, and her responses were always vague. She kept calling it a "spiritual journey," but never elaborated on what exactly that meant._

_Privately, he wondered if she even knew herself. But it must have been important to her since she refused to give up on the idea._

"_Hey," he said suddenly. Ayla looked up at him and paused at the very serious expression he was wearing__.__ He stared at her for a beat, then, keeping an utterly straight-face, he broke the silence. "Bougar."_

_Her mouth twitched. She quickly regained her composure and attempted to look stern. "That's not funny, it's crude."_

"_Then why are you smiling?"_

"_I'm not. I'm not smiling."_

"_Oh, ho! Not smiling, she says. Not amused, she claims." Len's face lit up in mischievous glee. "It sounds to me like someone is lying. I wonder…"_

_Ayla hastily looked away. However, it was clear that her moody efforts were evaporating rapidly. Len simply scooted to her other side and stared intently into her eyes. She leaned back, anxious and trying very hard not to laugh._

"_Don't," she warned him, her voice quavering._

_He blinked. "Pants."_

_She stuffed her fist into her mouth, biting down on her knuckles and whimpering in mirth. Her shoulders trembled as she struggled to keep the giggles inside of her, but that was like trying to keep champagne from overflowing once the cork gets popped. Len grinned evilly._

"_My, is that laughter I'm hearing?"_

_She shook her head frantically, but her face said otherwise. It was like cracked glass, betraying just how amused she really was. Finally, in one last act of self-betrayal, the girl accidentally let out a loud snort, causing Len himself to crack up a little. Ayla flushed a deep red and stopped laughing immediately. She stared at her friend in horror._

"_No…! Stop it! It's not funny!"_

_She was embarrassed. Spirits, that was adorable._

"_It's fine," Len said quickly, still chuckling. "I like it. It's sexy."_

_Ayla turned even redder, mortified. "WHAT? No, it's not! You're lying! It's horrible and embarrassing…and I hate it…so cut it out!"_

_He sighed. That had been a good laugh, anyway. _

"_All right. I'm sorry. It's just…it's really, really cute when you're trying not to laugh. You have a nice voice, you know."_

_For the record, Len liked it when she watched him during his antics. He liked the sound of her laugh and the way her entire face lit up with whatever emotion she was trying to hide. She was the embodiment of warmth and merriment, and Spirits, he loved her for it._

_Too bad she was being such a killjoy, or he'd tease her some more. Well…there was always tomorrow. And the day after that…and the day after that…every day until her so-called family decided to come looking for her, he'd always have her buttons to push. And honestly, what were the odds that anyone would find her in a remote place like this?_

_It was the whole reason he and Rena had moved here. It was a good place to hide…a good place to start over. And it was completely land-locked. His sister would be safe here so long as she wasn't near the water._

_He shook the thought away. It wasn't the time or place for it._

_Ayla had gotten over her giggle-fest and had plopped back against the trunk of the tree again, looking petulant and cross. Len wanted to lean over and kiss her, but didn't. He may have been a clown, but he wasn't a creep._

_Instead, he nudged her with his elbow. "Hey," he said. "How about another song, milady?"_

_She just rolled her eyes. But the smile was back, just like he knew it'd be._

* * *

Yoshi was having a wonderful time on his little adventure. Granted, he had no idea where he was, and that was slightly discouraging. BUT he had found the Shen-Long human sprawled against a tree trunk, and that had been interesting enough to make him forget all about that. Besides, all he needed to know that he was right where he was standing, on all four legs…right on top of Shen-Long.

_Pledge fealty to me, human, and I shall give you a tongue-bath. OF VICTORY!_

The young man groaned again as he opened his eyes all the way. It took him a minute to remember why he was on the ground. Julie had thrown mud at his head. He might have blacked out when he hit the ground, but he really had no way of telling how much time had passed except that one minute Julie had been there, and the next she _wasn't_…but her eelhound was.

Shen-Long would have to have been a complete vegetable not to notice Yoshi.

The little monster kept alternating between growling and barking, all while hopping up and down on top of his rib-cage. If Shen-Long hadn't been wearing armor under his tunic, his claws might have seriously maimed him in the process. As things were, they were getting quite sharp now; and were currently slick with sparrow guts and other such goopy innards. This made Yoshi very, very happy.

_Hello, Person-who-is-not-Mother!_

Shen-Long didn't reply (mostly because he couldn't hear the eelhound's telepathic voice the way Zuko could). Instead, he crankily wiped the mud off his face with a single swipe of his forearm. Some of it was still plastered in his hair (Spirits, why did he keep it so long, again? He was seriously regretting it now…) and he had a nasty suspicion that some of it had somehow gotten behind his ears. But for the most part, he could see.

A whole lot of Not-Julie, that's for sure. He felt seriously annoyed.

"That little…" he breathed a frustrated sigh and reigned himself in. Because it wouldn't do him any good to lose his patience. He had known from the moment he met Julie that she would be trouble. It didn't make him care about her any less, but there it was. The girl was difficult, and being friends with her had proved quite thankless up until now.

He sighed and sat up. Yoshi slid off his belly and fell into his lap, and growled petulantly for having been moved without his permission.

_I was STANDING there, human!_

"Where could she have run off to, now?" he muttered, looking around. "Damn…I knew I should have brought Bo-Fen with me…!"

But someone had to keep Jee distracted. The last thing any of them needed was for the Lieutenant to figure out Julie was missing and to organize a search party.

Because then they'd end up bringing her back by force, and Shen-Long knew Julie long enough to know what a bad idea this was. It would only make the girl more stubborn, more determined to claw her way out of their grasp…even if that wasn't what she really wanted or needed. No, if Julie was coming back to the ship, she'd have to do it on her own.

He would have smiled if it all wasn't so frustrating. No one could really force Julie to do _anything_ she didn't want to.

Shen-Long rose to his feet and looked around for any clues as to which direction she might have gone in. Traveling with Prince Zuko might not have been a glamorous expedition, but it had certainly taught him a few things about tracking. Granted, he didn't have the same instinct for deduction the scarred teen had, but he'd be damned if he couldn't find a few footprints in the mud.

Her footprints were tiny compared to most people. Ayla had, had little feet, too; in fact, she had the same feet, the same short stature, the same willowy torso and…erm…_modest_ bust…the same bright eyes, the same practically _everything_. The myriad similarities were enough to melt Shen-Long's heart every time he so much as looked Julie's way, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Because she wasn't Ayla. Not anymore.

_It'll take her a while to accept who she really is,_ he told himself over and over again. _Like it took me. Dealing with memories from a past life can be traumatizing…especially when you lived the kind of life _she _had._

Julie had claimed repeatedly that Ayla spoke to her, that she lived inside of her. But Shen-Long could only assume that this meant that she was remembering in bits and pieces, and this was her mind's best method of rationalizing it all. Creating a separate personality…that had been Ayla's coping device as well. Without it, she would have been as crazy as Anju…

…hell, she would have _been _Anju.

_I can worry about this later_, he grumbled in his thoughts. _First things first…I have to find the crazy girl._ And maybe if he was lucky, he could coax her into returning without getting more mud thrown at him…or worse, a rock. Julie tended to turn vicious when confronted.

"She's changed so much," he murmured. And his face darkened some more. "Come to think of it…maybe I've changed as well…"

She was so very different from Ayla, and yet so similar. And it would continue to eat away at him and torture him until the day he died. But until that day came, he would keep an eye out for her. He would bring the girl back to the ship where she would be safe and maybe even happy…if she would just swallow her pride long enough to enjoy herself, that is.

And it wasn't as though Julie was completely horrible. She wasn't. In fact, there were times when she could be inspiring, like when she had braved that Agni Kai against Zhao to protect that Kuba kid…or when she forced herself to confront her fear of Energybending so she could get stronger. Granted, she instigated a lot of trouble, but for the most part…she could be very brave and compassionate.

And, if he was being perfectly honest with himself, Julie had a pretty smile. It was just harder to find. Come to think of it, when was the last time he heard that girl laugh?

That was something he'd have to look into.

With this in mind, he set off again.

* * *

**MEANWHILE!**

Okay, I get it. Bad things happen when I go off on my own. The Spirits, or whatever Powers at work in this crazy world, they were sending very clear signals. The number of pitfalls in my path should have been an indication that this little venture on my part would end very badly. Things were already going badly; I mean, I had freaking Shen-Long on my tail.

And he probably was going to be ticked off when he managed to scoop all the mud out of his eyes. For all I knew, he had probably given up on us and was storming back to the ship to rat me out to Jee. Or maybe he'd just forget about me all together.

This wouldn't have been such a tragedy if I wasn't currently dangling in a poacher's net, being stared at by a very scary-looking bear of a man who was clearly a few spoons short of a tableware set. He just kept blinking at me, as though he had never seen another human-being in his life.

"You," he drawled finally. "Whatcha' doin' in my net?"

I sighed and glared down at him. What did it _look_ like I was doing? Composing limericks? Knitting a fucking blanket?

But I guess the swear jar was doing me some good. In a way, it helped me learn to bite back my tongue for a few seconds, and in those few seconds it occurred to me that cursing the man out probably wasn't a good idea. Probably, he'd leave me hanging up here forever if I was snarky to him. So, swallowing all the things I _wanted _to say to him, I breathed out a heavy sigh.

"I'm stuck. Will you please let me down…Sir?"

He frowned some more. "You're kind of funny lookin', kid. You got a name?"

Oh, for the love of…

"Julie. Look, I'm…kind of in a hurry. Could you please, please just lower the net so I can get out? I don't really like heights, and I…"

"Julie?" he repeated, bells going off in that thick skull of his. "Wait a minute…_Julie_…? Like the five-hundred gold pieces Julie? The one with that huge bounty on your head? _That_ Julie?"

Wait, what? Bounty?

"Um…" I tried to think fast. "No. A different Julie. It's…um…a common name where I'm from. An old family name. I was named after my…uh…my grandmother!"

Sheesh. This guy must have been as smart as a sack of used diapers or something. I was way too panicked to think up a coherent lie, but he was swallowing it like honey. He mulled over what I had just told him for about thirty seconds before he grinned like an idiot.

"Heh…wow. Sorry about that. I guess I had you mistaken for that other Julie person. My bad."

I blinked. "Um…"

Holy shit. He really was a big idiot after all. I was so lucky! Finally, things were going my way for a change! HA! Hell, yeah! Suck it, Spirits! That's what you get for making me trip on so many tree roots and eating mud, for all those hours forced to meditate with Zuko, for all the pointless posture lessons with Jee! Ha, ha, ha! Sucks, doesn't it?

Hee…ha, ha, ha!

"Yo, Kenta…you skin the bastard yet?"

Uh…huh. Did I speak too soon?

Just when I thought I was safe, another four guys lumbered in through the trees. Aw, crap. Don't tell me this guy had friends! Seriously? Uggh…I should have known. This guy obviously wasn't smart to get it in his head to start poaching endangered wildlife. He clearly had help.

Looks like I was about to meet the gang. Fan-pucking-tastic.

Kenta turned around and grinned at his buddies. "Hey, Shoji. Got a kid trapped in my net. How much do you think _that _hide will sell for?"

It said a lot for my predicament that I didn't immediately catch on to his lewd intent. I was too fixated on how badly outnumbered I was and all the pointy weapons they were carrying…obviously for skinning an animal or stabbing one very defenseless girl trapped in a net.

The lanky man in the center and whom I guessed was the brains behind the operation looked up and gave me the once over. "Huh. Not bad. Is it supposed to be a boy or a girl?"

What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK? AGAIN?

"I kinda figured it was a chick. I mean, she has a pretty face…but no tits or anythin', so…"

"Does it matter?" another one of those goons cut in. "Boy or girl, someone will pay for a little figure like that. Besides, a pretty face is a pretty face."

"Heh…" Kenta started to chuckle. "I didn't know you were into _little boys_, Zhong."

"Wha…hey, screw you!"

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" I screamed, thrashing wildly in the net. "DO I LOOK LIKE A BOY TO YOU? DAMMIT, GET OVER HERE SO I CAN TEAR YOUR FUCKING BALLS OFF! WRAAAAAAAGGGH!"

I was snarling in frustration, literally seeing red as I strained my limbs through the openings in the net. I was that angry. Suddenly, it didn't matter that they were bigger and stronger, or that they were obviously going to do something bad to me…or sell me to some rich pervert. I just wanted to make them hurt really badly. I wanted to hurt them so badly that it ached.

Shoji just quirked an eyebrow. "She's an angry little thing. We might have to drug her before we can let her out of the net."

Kenta thought about this. However, instead of coming up with a useful suggestion for how they could drag my flailing ass out of the net without incurring my ungodly wrath, he decided to say something completely irrelevant.

"Hey, Shoji. There's something else. The kid said her name was Julie. Pretty stupid name, huh?"

They all stopped.

"Interesting," said Shoji, sneering up at me. "Now I know why she looked so good to me." He reached into his pack and rummaged around for a few seconds before pulling out a piece of paper. He looked down at it before scrutinizing me again. Then, he smirked. "Julie McVay…wanted alive for five hundred gold pieces. This must be our lucky day."

"Nah," said Kenta. "She said that it was a different Julie in the bounty."

The men groaned in unison at their companion's blatant stupidity. Shoji massaged the bridge of his nose for a moment before walking over to the bigger man and handing him what was obviously a wanted poster. Namely, of me.

I was horrified to see from my hawk's-eye view my own portrait staring back at me. Which was bizarre since I sure as hell didn't remember sitting through a portrait-session or anything…so who had placed this stupid bounty on my head? Who?

"Heeeeey…" said Kenta slowly. His eyes trailed up to me, then back down at the poster. "She looks just like the picture."

"Yeah."

"So that means…that this girl…and the girl in the picture…they're the same, aren't they?"

Shoji sighed, clasping the man on the beefy shoulder. "Brilliant deduction, buddy. You'll definitely go far in life with that brain of yours."

The sad part was that Kenta had no idea he was being sarcastic. He just grinned like a big idiot and looked up at me. Like he thought he was smarter than I was. Like I was the stupid one. Holy shit…I just wanted to beat the stupid out of this guy.

"Excuse me," came a familiar voice from the trees. "Am I interrupting something?"

Everyone turned in unison (except for me; I just craned my neck to see who it was, and it kind of hurt to twist like that). Silence swept over the group as the mysterious interloper stepped into the clearing. My heart skipped a beat when I recognized the newcomer.

Ayla was suddenly very THERE in my head. "_It's Len! He's here…!_"

"Shen-Long…" I breathed.

He surveyed the group of men for a moment, taking in their gruff appearances and the weapons they were carrying before glancing up at me. Our eyes met, and I felt myself blushing in embarrassment. He just quirked an eyebrow and smiled.

What? He thought this was funny? I was about to be sold on the black market, and he thought it was FUNNY? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Having fun?" he asked me.

Ayla's heart did a weird flip-flop thing that distracted me for a second or two. While I was quietly freaking out about the slim odds of my survival, she was busy taking in every physical detail about Shen-Long, from the piercing blue eyes to his long, raven-black hair that hung down past his shoulders. Huh. Apparently she found that to be somewhat sexy.

Um…this was getting awkward as hell. Thankfully, I wasn't able to brood on this for very long since I was still kind of being kidnapped by a gang of pervy poachers. That had my priorities straight, after all.

"Don't just stand there!" I squeaked. "They're bad guys! They're perverts! They're going to kill me and I…I can't get down…! STOP LAUGHING!"

Shen-Long schooled his expression. "I'm not laughing. Believe me, this isn't a laughing manner."

I was starting to blink back tears. "You…you don't even _care_, do you? I'm going to die…"

"No, you're not," he said, sounding bored. "It's going to be fine. I'll get you down. Just sit tight for a little bit. And I swear to the Spirits, if you throw mud at me again, I'll tell Jee everything you said to these guys a minute ago. You'll have to put so much money in that swear jar that you'll end up broke."

The poachers were looking incredulously at one another, and who could blame them? Shen-Long had just strolled right into their midst, as if they weren't even there. Anyone with half a brain could see that he was outnumbered, five to one.

Hell, even Kenta knew it.

"Hey!" Shoji barked at him. "Just what do you think you're doing? That's our bounty…and if you take another step closer, we'll carve your ass to pieces!"

On cue, the rest of the thugs drew their scimitars and knives. Shen-Long glanced at them out of the corner of his eyes, but other than that he didn't seem very concerned. I was utterly speechless at this. Was he just trying to look cool or something? Those guys were going to kick his _ass_. They were totally going to kill him.

I mean, Shen-Long is kind of a wuss. I've seen him getting his butt kicked by Bo-Fen so many times…over and over again. Who did he think he was, acting like some kind of hero or something?

Ayla was freaking out. "_No…oh, no…! Julie, we have to do something! He'll be killed…!_"

"Shen-Long…" I said slowly, my voice tense. "Maybe you should…"

"Hold on, Julie. This won't take long."

What?

"You think you're some kind of big shot, don't ya'…?" one of the others quipped. "Come to think of it, you've got a bit of a pretty face, too…for a dude. I bet you'd look good in a dress."

"Probably," Shen-Long conceded. "My sister can be pretty vindictive when I'm stupid enough to get drunk around her. But that's neither here nor there."

"This girl your sister?"

"Julie?" he laughed. "Spirits, no. She's my girlfriend."

That fucking smart-ass. The sad part was, though, no one could really tell if he was joking or not. Hell, I wasn't entirely sure myself. But given that he was my only chance at getting out of this alive, I was more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop Ayla from feeling a seething wave of jealousy. "_What does he mean, girlfriend? You're not his girlfriend. You're…his friend…just his friend…and he still loves me, right? He hasn't forgotten about me, has he?_"

_Don't be stupid. Of course he hasn't._

"Yeah?" Shoji bit back, forcing us back to reality. "Well…don't think for a second we'll let you take her. She's worth three hundred gold pieces, you know! And we saw her first…!"

Shen-Long's eyebrows went up. Way up.

"So, are you insinuating something along the lines of that if I try to do anything to get Julie out of that net…you guys are going to become…violent?"

"Very," the poacher spat.

And then, to my complete bafflement, Shen-Long smiled. Just _smiled_.

"Just as long as we're clear," he replied. "I don't want there to be any misunderstandings when all of this is done and over with."

Shoji blinked for a few seconds, not quite knowing how to respond to this. But he wasn't an idiot. He could tell he was being played for a fool, and didn't like that one bit. So, giving his own men a quick look-over and liking the odds, he turned back to Shen-Long and sneered.

"I hope you like the taste of metal, you pretty bastard," he growled. He gestured towards the others. "Get him…!"

"_EEEEEP…!_" Ayla squealed in my head.

I sucked in my breath as they all started to gang up on him. Shen-Long flicked a glance their way and calmly spread his legs apart, taking a loose battle stance. He looked unaffected, but his eyes were alert. His body seemed relaxed, and that had me completely speechless.

Then, one-by-one, they lunged towards him. I squeaked and put my hands over my face, but obviously I was peeking through the cracks between my fingers, prepared to see my friend get skewered alive.

Shen-Long's face twitched. And then he moved so fluidly that I almost missed it. As one poacher went to stab him, he moved to the side and grabbed the guy's wrist. I heard a sickening _CRACK_ as he twisted it hard enough to break the bone. The man screamed and dropped the knife, his face white as chalk. In another second, his scream was cut off as Shen-Long elbowed him in the face, sending him slamming into the ground, hard.

At that point, two more had reached him. Shen-Long ducked and weaved around their slashes and ended up backed up against the tree I was hanging from. He started keeping them back with his Firebending, successfully nailing Kenta and setting the poor bastard aflame. The couple of guys who were closer managed to dodge the blasts, sometimes by the skin of their teeth, but were sweating from the effort.

From my vantage point, I could see them attempting to pincer him against the tree, one guy taking the left while the other crept forward on the right. Abruptly, Shen-Long ceased his fire blasts and ducked around the trunk of the tree as one of the blades moved to stab him. It ended up getting buried deep in the bark, and I could feel the vibrations moving up the tree and shaking the branches.

I think by now, I was more worried that the battle below would make me fall. Shen-Long was obviously capable of handling himself in a fight.

Momentarily detained, the man was struggling to pull his blade free. His companion threw himself at Shen-Long to give his ally more time to get his weapon back, but Shen-Long easily side-stepped the slashes and punched the guy in the jaw. He followed up with a swift roundhouse kick to the face, sinking into a crouch as his foot came down. He watched with narrowed eyes as his foe went down, knocked out cold.

Slowly, he turned his gaze to the other poacher trying to pull his scimitar out of the tree. The man went tense and gulped before completely abandoning the fight. He sprinted away through the trees, leaving a pale and anxious Shoji alone in the clearing.

Shen-Long straightened up and eyed him. "I'll be taking Julie and leaving now."

"Urggh…dammit…" the grimacing poacher looked positively hateful as he glared at the soldier. "I'll remember this, you son of a bitch…!"

And with that, the coward turned and fled in the direction his companion had gone, leaving the two of us alone in the clearing. My jaw hung open like a busted gate, and I found myself pinching myself to make sure that I hadn't completely lost my mind. Shen-Long had just…he just went and…and that…and those moves…and…the hell?

Holy shit. That had actually been really, really bad-ass. _Shen-Long_ had just…kicked some major ass.

The world as I knew it had ceased to exist.

"Comfortable up there?"

I just stared at him, utterly at a loss for words. "I can't believe it…you're still alive."

Shen-Long shook his head. "Your faith in me is quite reassuring. Spirits…I ought to leave you up there. Maybe then you'd learn how to say thank you."

I felt a cold feeling slide into my chest, and I realized it was fear. The thought of being left alone in this net made me go dead quiet and pushed my already grated nerves to their last edge. Tears swelled in my eyes, and I started sniffling.

Shen-Long gave a start. "Wha…Julie, I was kidding! What are you crying for?"

"S-shut up…! Just get me down already! Or I'll…I'll make you wish you had never been born!"

He stared at me for a beat before his face softened. He sighed and shook his head. Without another word, he went over to the tree and picked up one of the knives the poachers had dropped. Slowly, carefully, he started cutting the ropes holding the net in place.

I could see that he still had mud in his hair. For some reason, that made me feel guilty.

Before I knew it, I was being lowered to the ground. Shen-Long made sure not to jostle me too much and had my feet on solid earth within a couple of minutes. I sat there in a heap, still surrounded by netting and unable to free myself. Shen-Long knelt down beside me and wordlessly began slicing through the rope. I couldn't bring myself to say anything, either. I just watched him, tears prickling at my eyes and a ball of hurt making my chest ache.

Shit, I had been scared out of my mind. He had no right to tease me like that. I had every right to be pissed with him, didn't I?

"There," he said, pulling the net off of me. He looked me over with a surprisingly gentle expression on his face. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and shook off the question. "You mean besides my pride?" I asked gruffly. "No. I'm fine."

Shen-Long frowned. "You don't look fine."

"Yeah? Well…" I found it hopeless to deny it at this point since I _was _crying. "…I've been better, I guess."

He managed a smile and held out a hand to me. "Well, if you're not hurt, then we should probably get moving. Unless you want to wait until these guys wake up."

I shuddered. Abruptly, I forced myself to my feet, ignoring the offered hand. My legs hurt from being cramped for so long (it was about ten minutes or so, which was more than long enough for me), and I wobbled a little as I started walking away from him. Quickly, I fixed my stride and took off as fast as I could go.

Shen-Long had apparently expected this from me since he caught up to me in a few seconds. But then again, he was taller, so his stride was longer than mine. It was probably easy for him to keep up with me.

Abruptly, I stopped. "Would you really have left me in that tree?" I asked quietly.

I didn't look at him, but I felt his eyes on me as I stared at the ground. He was quiet for a long while, and I felt the silence eating away at my patience.

"You know how I feel about Ayla," he said. "You know I would never leave her. I would never turn my back on her."

For some reason, this made me feel incredibly insignificant. It was like the only reason he had bothered to come rescue me was because Ayla was trapped inside my body. Probably, he couldn't stand me at all. I mean, either he really, really loved Ayla enough to put up with me, or he was just incredibly patient.

Hell, the only real friend I had back home was Jessie. I couldn't see why things would be any different here. I mean, come on. I was kind of a bitch. You couldn't blame people for avoiding me.

Ayla, of course, was all melty at his declaration. My own hurt and bewilderment barely registered with her, but then I guess it wasn't her fault. I remember what it was like being in love with Ramon and thinking that he felt the same way. It was really easy to not give a crap when you're that happy.

I mean, it annoyed me a bit, but I could understand why she felt that way.

"And anyone who's a friend of Ayla is a friend of mine," Shen-Long finished. He was watching my expression intently. "I don't leave my friends to die, Julie."

I forced the lump in my throat down. "You're not my friend…you're _her _friend."

"I care about both of you. Now quit being so melodramatic, will you? Since when did you start caring what I think about you?" There was a smile in his voice.

That was a valid question. When _did_ I start caring? Not just about Shen-Long, but about everyone? Hell, I had been absolutely miserable ever since I had come up with this plan…and I hadn't been able to cheer myself up even after I had left the ship.

Ayla forced herself to pay attention to me. "_I've been trying to tell you all along, you know. You really do belong on there. You don't really want to leave. You don't want to have to say good-bye. That's why you went through all the trouble of sneaking away…because it would have hurt too much to actually part ways with Jee and Len and Rena…I mean, Shen-Long and Bo-Fen…and Zuko. You've always cared about them, and that scared you._"

I didn't say a word. I just stood there and kept all my feelings bottled up inside of me. I felt like a bomb that was about to explode. I was an inch away from a meltdown.

"Julie," said Shen-Long quietly. "It's going to be all right now. I'm not going to leave you alone…ever."

Huh. Zuko had said the same thing, hadn't he?

"Spirits," he said, looking at me in disbelief. "You're so sensitive…I keep forgetting."

That made me look up. "Wha…?"

"Well, it's kind of obvious. You get angry a lot, which tends to say that you get hurt very easily…or offended. I mean, why else would you pick so many fights?"

I blinked at him, not understanding. "B-because…because I'm just…angry. I dunno…I mean…I can get pretty bitchy, so…why does that need explaining?"

He gave me a flat look. "You can be a pain in the ass, but you're not a bad person. And you certainly don't deserve to be left to the mercy of a pack of thugs. Do you really think I'd do that to you?"

"I dunno…" I snapped. I was blinking back tears so frantically that I couldn't concentrate on much else. "Look, just forget it, all right? Just…just forget I asked."

Shen-Long nodded. "All right, if that's what you want. Anyway, I think we have some bigger things to worry about…like this."

He handed me a piece of paper, and I realized it was the wanted poster that Shoji guy had been carrying around. I saw my own face staring back at me, surprisingly accurate in the details.

"It looks like the Brotherhood is really anxious to get you on their side," he told me.

I shook my head, dazed. "How much am I worth, again?"

"Five hundred gold pieces."

"That…sounds like a lot of money…"

"It's a crap-ton of money, Julie. And it means that the entire Earth Kingdom is going to be crawling around looking for you. We need to get you back to the ship before we run into anyone else, and we need to warn Jee as soon as possible."

I gulped. This was really, really bad.

Shen-Long seemed to realize how freaked out I was by all of this. Instead of chewing me out for running away or for chucking a huge wad of mud at his head, he just took everything in stride. Maybe he would have done those things before, but for some reason, the longer he looked at me, the easier it was for him to forgive me.

"It'll be all right now," he assured me, touching my shoulder. I tensed automatically. "We'll get through this. Let's just keep moving, okay?"

On cue, we heard a shrill barking in the distance. I gave a little start as Yoshi came barreling out of the bushes and running up to me. Then, in a ridiculously cute impulse, the eelhound stood up on his hind legs and plopped his fore-paws against my thighs, wagging his tail and yellow eyes shining with joy. He looked like he was having the time of his life.

_I found you. That means I get a fish, right? RIGHT?_

I reached down and scooped him up, hugging him close. I really needed some comfort, and I was less likely to be judged for hugging an eelhound than I would for hugging a person. Anyway, I knew that Yoshi's affection was pretty much unconditional. He was my little bad-ass, plain and simple.

I felt his rough tongue run a slimy trail up the side of my face and I grimaced. "I missed you too, boy."

When I looked up, I saw Shen-Long smiling at me like he thought I was being cute or something. It ticked me off, and I sent him a fierce scowl.

"What are _you _looking at? Come on, we need to get back to the ship!"

"I'm surprised you're willing to come back. I thought I'd have to reason with you some more."

"Yeah? Well, it turns out that it sucks being on your own. Screw that. I'm going back to my warm bed and free meals. Got a problem with that?"

His smile grew a little wider. "Not at all, milady."

Ayla perked up at the familiar pet-name. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough to keep my own face from mirroring her reaction. And unfortunately for me, Shen-Long was just as observant as Zuko was; that is to say, extremely. How frustrating.

Realizing this, I turned my face away and blushed. "Um…and…I guess…I might have decided…that I…I mean…shit, I'm terrible at this. It's just…I haven't even been gone a day, and I…_missed_ everyone. And I was…I mean…I was _scared_…" I admitted, my voice going quiet in shame.

Shen-Long paused. "You were scared? Of what?"

I shook my head quickly. "It's nothing…"

"If it made you run away, it has to be pretty serious. Come on, you can tell me."

I closed my eyes, feeling my face heating up some more. "Well…it's just…all of these terrible things are happening, and…well…I've never had so many people actually _care_, before, and now everyone is getting hurt because of it. I mean…the Brotherhood will hurt anyone just to get to me…and even though I've been training really hard, it doesn't seem to matter. I mean, look at what just happened! I couldn't even fight my way out of a net!"

Shen-Long squeezed my shoulder. "No one can handle everything on their own."

"_You _did."

"I was motivated," he said, a bit darkly. Then, he looked at me some more. "Is that the only reason you took off?"

Shit. "Um…well…it was the initial reason…I mean, things happened, but I…it only made me feel more…_confused_ about leaving."

"What happened?"

I had no idea if I should even be telling Shen-Long this. I mean, it was kind of personal. And it wasn't just my secret, if you thought about it. I mean, what if Zuko got mad about me talking about…um…well…that kiss? He might never speak to me again. And the worst part of it was, I had no idea if this was for the best or not.

I mean, I didn't want to fuck up the canonverse by engaging in a risky romantic liason with a main character (the universe was fucked up enough as it was)…but…I didn't want Zuko to _hate _me, either.

"Promise you won't tell anyone…okay?"

He nodded, expression wary. "Sure."

I took a deep breath. "Well…last night, when I was packing my things, I sort of ended up on deck, and…well…Zuko was there. And then…well…we said some things, and we were arguing…and then…all of a sudden he just kissed me, completely out of the blue…hey, are you all right?"

I asked because Shen-Long looked like he had a major case of stomach cramps. The skin around his eyes had gone tight with anger…or pain. I couldn't tell which. It made me take a few steps back, seeing him like that.

"Shen-Long…?"

"Did he hurt you?"

His question was curt and his voice was low. Like he was holding back whatever murderous things he happened to be feeling. Like a lightning bolt, I realized just what he must have thought I was implying. I hastened to clarify.

"Wha…? No! He just…I mean…it was just so weird. It wasn't like he was trying to…I mean…Zuko wouldn't do that. He wouldn't hurt me, I don't think."

He exhaled sharply through his nose, and I think I saw a bit of smoke. "But he scared you, didn't he?"

I blinked at him in bewilderment.

"You said you were scared," he clarified. "Because he kissed you."

Oh, my God.

"No! That wasn't what I meant!" I cried, upset that this was being blown out of proportion. "I just meant…that it made me realize…I can't stand it if anything happened to him because of me…and I…that's why I ran away! Okay?"

Shen-Long looked deflated. He didn't say anything for a long while, and I was getting worried. Then, shaking his head, he took the wanted poster back from me, rolled it up, and put it in the pouch he had hanging around his waist. I felt like I had done something wrong.

"Shen-Long…?"

He turned and forced a smile on his face. "You worry too much, you know that? I'm sure Prince Zuko knows what he's doing…so…" he looked down for a moment. "I don't want you to get hurt, either. You let me know if he crosses the line, and I'll straighten him out."

I didn't know what to say. Why was Shen-Long being so weird, anyway?

"Len…" I murmured.

He gave a start and looked at me. "What did you just say?"

I shook my head quickly. I couldn't say anything else. The words were trapped inside of me, as though something was blocking the sound of my voice. It made me anxious, and that made it harder for me to say what I wanted to say.

"Julie…"

He turned around and looked at me, a strange expression on his face. I held Yoshi tighter against me and tried not to look at him. My heart was pounding.

"She told me," I managed to whisper. "She told me your real name…but that's all she would tell me."

"Ayla?"

I was about to nod, when suddenly I felt it. The pain I had felt a few days ago, the pain that felt like lightning was slicing into my brain, it cut through me in one paralyzing instant.

Shen-Long stared at me alarm when my knees suddenly buckled. "Julie…!"

I caught myself before I could fall. Yoshi felt too heavy, and he ended up sliding out of my arms and landing on his feet, looking up at me in confusion. I leaned against the trunk of a tree, clutching my temples and gritting my teeth.

Holy shit…holy mother of God, this hurt…!

"Breathe," Shen-Long advised me sharply, suddenly at my ear. "Relax…it'll pass soon…just keep breathing for me, okay? Julie…?"

I hadn't realized I had been holding my breath. I exhaled through my teeth and forced myself to suck in another mouthful of air. The pain got worse with every pulse of my heart-beat, and it felt like the energy around my body was alive with needle-sharp electricity. I couldn't think. I could barely keep myself on my feet.

I must have toughened up since the last vision. This one didn't make me throw up, at least…but it certainly made my stomach churn.

_Zuko was barking orders at his men, who were engaged in some sort of melee against a pack of blue-clad foes. It looked as though they had been caught in some kind of ambush, and their opponents were wearing dark face-paint, striped and making them look like savage wolves. _

The Water Tribe, I realized. Could it be…?

_A man confronted Zuko, then, immensely tall and menacing. He had managed to get within his guard, catching the Firebender by surprise. He raised his machete to strike…_

"Zuko…"

"Easy, Julie…it's okay."

"No," I gasped, choking for air. My voice sounded hoarse. "No, it's not. Zuko's in trouble. He's…been attacked!"

* * *

**A/N: This is a chapter I am extremely proud of. I've been really looking forward to this for a long time now, the chance to push the Shen-Long x Ayla pairing and give it the spotlight it deserves. Because it's a beautiful tragedy (if I do say so myself). And yet, it is not one without a spark of hope, as is evidenced by Shen-Long's observations of Julie. He sees her and notices how similar she and Ayla are, and thinks that maybe there's a chance he can get back what he had lost.**

**It's unlikely, but he's going to try. **

**I know a lot of people are tempted to hate poor Shen-Long, and who can blame you guys? He's such a Zuko-basher (cue seething rage from all the Zuko fan-girls reading this fic). He's vying against the Zulie pairing (which is considered by many to be unforgiveable) and as such, I expect as many more fans to be angry with him. And the sad part was, we never got to hear things from HIS point of view.**

**So, I decided to throw caution to the winds and give him his own chapter. **

**A few things I should probably clarify. One, you're all probably wondering why Shen-Long can't hear or understand Yoshi. It is true that spiritually-enhanced beings can communicate with the little eelhound, namely people who have crossed over into the Spirit World like Zuko and Iroh, and obviously Avatar Aang. However, in my little fanonverse, the act of reincarnation is not a physical guarantee that you'll wind up with spirit powers of any kind. In order to pick up that kind of sensitivity, a living spirit (i.e. one that is connected to a living body) has to cross over with the spirit world, or has to have made some sort of exposure to the spirits.**

**Anybody wondering about Sokka? And why he could see Ayla back at the Southern Air Temple? (Evil Grin) Let's just say that he's going to prove to be quite valuable to the team once that little plot bubble gets popped. **

**But more on that later.**

**Shen-Long was reincarnated, but Bo-Fen already stated in a previous chapter that they had no way to contact the Spirits. Or at least, he didn't. Bo-Fen's ability to see and communicate with Spirits has manifested due to her questionable involvement with the mysterious Mesmers from the Void, otherwise known as the Inner Circle. She does all the wheeling-and-dealing for the two of them (often to Shen-Long's chagrin, since he has very little say in what happens). **

**So, no. He can't understand Yoshi. He can't see Spirits, which means he has no physical means of seeing and hearing Ayla except by communicating with Julie. This is going to cause him a good deal of angst as he struggles to reconcile his feelings for the two girls. And unfortunately, the easiest way for him to do this is to make the assumption that they're the same person.**

**Another interesting thing to note is the vast difference in Shen-Long's temperament from past to present. His past incarnation was a lot more fun-loving and mischievous. But the Shen-Long we see on Zuko's ship is a lot more serious. Obviously, a lot happened since his first meeting of Ayla to make him this way. Losing her in his past life had a serious impact on him, mentally and emotionally. However, we start to see glimpses of his old self leaking through at the end of the chapter, once he dispatches the poachers who captured Julie.**

**And here you guys were, expecting Zuko to sweep in and save Julie…err…I'm assuming. **

**I can sincerely say that I'm sorry to disappoint everyone (given how much I love writing Zulie fluff), but it just wouldn't make any sense for him to just **_**know **_**she was in danger, nor would it have been plausible for him to compulsively veer off course to conveniently save the day. Besides, doing so would just imply the stupid cliché that romantic relationships are the only ones with any real value. I see way too much of that crap in fanfiction these days. It's just plain SAD.**

**It kind of annoys me, actually. The bond between two friends, or between a parent-figure and their child, or the kind of bond you see between a master and their pupil…those relationships are just as important! And if Julie is ever going to grow as a character, she needs to build on these relationships as well.**

**So, no. Zuko is not the only one who is going to come to Julie's rescue. And he certainly isn't going to be the only person in her life. But Shen-Long is certainly going to wonder after what Julie confided to him at the end of the chapter.**

**And so the love-triangle plays out. I love it!**

**We'll obviously be seeing more of Zuko and Iroh next chapter, but I think you guys figured that out from the vision Julie had. To be honest, I wasn't originally going to introduce the Water Tribe warriors until later on in Book I, but the idea one of my reviews suggested intrigued me so much that I couldn't resist throwing them in.**

**So, thanks Kenegi! Your review gave me the unexpected burst of inspiration to tie this chapter to a close.**

**Anyway, that's all I have to say for now. REVIEW! **


	83. Ambush!

**A/N: (HUGE GRIN)**

**So, where do I begin? Gushing gratitude towards my awesome readers? Sure, why the hell not. As always, I love you guys to pieces. The reviews I have been receiving are not only supportive, but very helpful and inspiring. Seriously. It's one thing for someone to say they like my story, but it's another kettle of fish entirely to hear exactly what makes my fic so…well…_good_.**

**And I don't think I'm being vain…much. I mean, so many people seem to enjoy Happy Endings, so it must be good. Or at least it's entertaining. So…yeah. I'm happy.**

**However, I will admit that in spite of all the motivational words of you wonderful, amazing readers, I _was _a tad bit distracted. Part of this was due to a well-intentioned friend supplying me with a bunch of old RPGs for the Playstation 2 (my most current gaming console if you don't count my Nintendo DS Lite), and me getting sucked in for several wasted hours. The rest of the time I was watching the new Legend of Korra series.**

**Might I waste a few more paragraphs to rant about how AWESOME the new series is? Mostly, I will be fangirling over Steve Blum, who does the voice for the main bad-guy, Amon. I mean, come on; how can I not? The man's voice is like _liquid sex_. It's intimidating and scary, yet refined. It deeply reflects the man's character, the kind of person who exhibits a rare, calculated, and restrained sense of terror. Oh, he could totally kill you in a heartbeat. But he won't.**

**Instead, he'll just let you go and _remember _him. All while the clock ticks down to the moment when it would finally be advantageous to eliminate you, his hated foe. He's the kind of villain who would make any hero feel downright helpless and frail. Like their defeat is inevitable.**

**Although, I'm a bit miffed. SPOILER ALERT…well, I'm not sure how much of a spoiler it is at this point, but whatever. I'm not taking any risks. Ahem:**

**Energybending cult? Seriously, Mike and Bryan? Were we on the same brain-wave or something when that idea was thrown into being? Although Amon seems much scarier than Delun (then again, Delun isn't being voiced by freaking _Spike_ from freaking _Cowboy Bebob_, so maybe that's why…), the Nickelodeon creators prove themselves to be more adept at naming their characters and organizations.**

**The Brotherhood? Meet the Equalists. Much better name…and I think I'm going to have to rethink my fanfic-cult a bit. Maybe I'll have them be early pioneers to this anti-bender movement we see in the future Avatar-verse. I'm going on the hunch that most of this anti-bender sentiment stemmed from the hundred-years war, either directly or indirectly. So it makes sense to have that kind of ill-feeling _during_ the war itself.**

**So…my fic might not be ruined just yet. I just have to tweak it better to make it fit in with the canonverse. Whatever. Like I didn't foresee this kind of problem the moment they announced the imminent creation of Legend of Korra. I knew there would be a crap-ton of new canon material introduced, and _knew_ that something might come along to screw with my carefully composed saga. **

**It was one of the reasons I was like, "Screw canon! I'll write the canon from now on!" Thus, the alternate version of the main plot. Besides, isn't it more interesting this way?**

**But, damn. This is really going to take some careful planning.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Six: Ambush!  
**

It had been roughly two hours since his departure from the main vessel, but by that point Zuko's boat had reached its destination and had set anchor. The air was oddly still as the small band of men elected to accompany the prince on his mission prepared their mounts. The animals also seemed uneasy, but were nonetheless obedient as their riders steered them on to dry land.

They had already lost an hour renting those komodo rhinos from the Fire Nation dispatch base Iroh had contacted before they reached shore. Zuko, exhausted from his sleepless night and weak from his unpredictable coughing fits, was in a terrible mood; at that point it didn't matter how hard he pushed his men to get there in record time, nor that the base already had the dumb beasts saddled and ready for them. In his mind's eye, everything and everybody was moving too slow; his soldiers were too lazy and inefficient to be bothered with.

"Pick up the pace," he snarled back at his subordinates. "If the Avatar slips away due to your carelessness, I'll hold each and every one of you responsible…! And I don't think I need to explain just how severe the consequences will be!"

Iroh frowned the longer this kept up. He had noticed his nephew's temper flaring a lot more since Julie rejected his advances yesterday, but he chose not to comment further on it. Anyway, as much as Zuko's mood swings concerned him, something else took priority over them: his declining health.

"For the last time, Uncle," Zuko rasped quietly (for he was starting to lose his voice after barking so many orders at his men). "It's just a cold. I'll be fine once we return to the ship…and all the more sooner once we reach our target."

The ex-General scrutinized the young man. "Your haste is unnecessary and will only exhaust you long before we find the Avatar."

"I can't risk losing him. We'll keep moving…and we won't slow down."

Iroh steered his mount to stand beside Zuko's. "Jade Valley is meant to be impenetrable, nephew. There is a reason why it is still not under Fire Nation control, in spite of its vast resources and its being surrounded by Fire Nation encampments. Remember, there is supposedly a dangerous spirit watching over the mountains."

"That won't stop me. Anyway…if Julie's vision is correct, it means that someone already infiltrated the village. If the Brotherhood can get in, then so can I."

"Even so…perhaps it would be wise to be cautious for the first leg of our journey…at least until we know what it is exactly that we are facing."

Zuko didn't answer him. He just made a dour face and turned his rhino away, urging it to go faster. Iroh sighed, but chose not to comment. It never did any good to argue whenever Zuko was in _this _kind of mood.

However, there was another matter that weighed on Iroh's mind.

"My nephew, are you aware of what else lies in these mountains…? There is another village not too far away from the valley we are seeking…"

Zuko stopped dead in his tracks, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide as his mind grasped his uncle's meaning. He turned slowly, incredulously. "We have a narrow window of opportunity to capture the Avatar, and _you _want us to go to that stupid tea village? NOW?"

The older man frowned. "There is no need to be so blunt, Prince Zuko. Ginseng Village happens to be the world-renowned export of the finest teas available…and if I recall, you _did _promise that we would be able to pay it a visit after _your _detour to Kyoshi Island."

"That wasn't a _detour_," Zuko grumbled. "And if you think I'm going to let you abandon everything just for some tea, then you've gone completely senile, uncle!"

"It is not an unreasonable request. After all, if the Avatar is not in the valley village, the next most likely place for him to hide would be Ginseng Village. It _is _the closest. And it was recently placed under Fire Nation control…"

"I don't care! There's no way I'm going to let you…let you…" he trailed off in an explosive chain reaction of coughing. The prince hastily turned away from his uncle, covering his mouth with his sleeve, his shoulders shaking as his lungs burned. His eyes watered as he struggled to compose himself.

He pulled back his arm and felt a spasm of horror to see tiny flecks of red spotting his wrist. Suddenly, he felt a bit woozy. That couldn't be blood…could it?

"Zuko…!"

Grimacing, Zuko swallowed his panic and schooled his facial expression as he straightened up in his saddle. He gave the older man a sour look as he reached for his canteen, but his heart was still pounding.

"The air here is dry," he muttered in a voice so low it was barely audible. I just need a drink."

Iroh watched in trepidation as the scarred teen took a long swig of his water. Zuko did his best to act natural. After all, he couldn't afford to be dragged back to the ship now of all times. The Avatar was so close…

Julie was counting on him to at least keep him alive. But more importantly, Zuko wanted to be the one to capture him. So many things would change once he regained his honor. He could finally go home, back to the Fire Nation. He would have his title restored, and with it…not only could he get back what he lost…he might just have enough power and influence to protect that crazy girl from the Brotherhood.

And maybe then, he and Julie could be…no…it wasn't possible. Not after the way she had reacted before.

_She isn't interested in me_, he thought. _Why would she be? I have nothing…no throne, no honor…nothing…_

It was the best he could afford to rent these slow, lumbering beasts instead of the well-trained reptilian beasts used in scouting missions. His father had cut him off from his allowance after his first year at sea, and as such…well…it was sometimes _difficult_ to procure funds for his mission. Zuko suspected that if Iroh wasn't with him, he would have gone bankrupt long ago; not because he was terrible with money, but because he was terrible with _people_, and couldn't persuade anybody to contribute to his cause.

His financial backers were mostly old friends of his uncle's. It was sad and downright humiliating.

Once he had the Avatar, Julie would learn to take him seriously. Everyone would.

Perhaps then he'd see about maybe bringing her back to the palace. It wouldn't be too hard to arrange. He would return home a hero, and Julie, as a member of his crew, would receive the same treatment. Of course, it would be out of the question for her to _live _there…Zuko just couldn't imagine her interacting peacefully with the nobles, and the last thing he wanted was for her to get herself banished for something stupid.

BUT there were a lot of nice places to live in Caldera City, the capital of the Fire Nation. He could convince his father to award Lieutenant Jee with one of them and grant him early retirement…and Julie would have to stay there with him, wouldn't she? And she could come visit him at the palace as often as she wanted and she could boss the servants around, too. Hell, she could even bring that stupid eelhound of hers if she wanted.

The girl could be stubborn, but she would come around eventually. After all, he couldn't imagine how anyone could hate the Fire Nation…besides the ignorant peasants in the Earth Kingdom, who had never even laid eyes on the Great Gates of Azulon. Julie would grow to love the Fire Nation and its people as much as he did.

Given what he stood to gain from all of this, Zuko could put up with this stupid cold for a little while longer…couldn't he?

"Prince Zuko," said Iroh, interrupting his thoughts. "May I ask how long you've had that cough?"

The young prince made a point of not looking at him. "Let's continue moving northeast," he said. "If we cut through the woods up ahead…and then crest the hill beyond that, it should take us right into the heart of the village. If we move quickly we can make it before nightfall."

The ex-General frowned. "I do not think it is a good idea to leave the path. At least if we stay on the secured route, we can easily find reinforcements in case we are attacked."

"Our men can handle an attack. They're trained soldiers, and I'm not paying them to do nothing. We'll take the quickest route."

The assembled soldiers seemed to be watching the moody prince bickering with his uncle. Zuko happened to glance up in time to see them muttering amongst themselves, their faces uneasy. Apparently they had heard the rumors about these hills and weren't so eager to find out if they were true.

"The sooner we get there," he added. "The sooner _you _can be in Ginseng Village. So long as we have reason to believe the Avatar is there, there shouldn't be any reason why we can't go."

Iroh smiled sadly. "I am blessed with an understanding, patient nephew. I only ask that you keep your guard up until we have returned to the ship. And perhaps we'll find something for your cough in Ginseng Village…or Shim might be able to prepare something, instead."

Zuko bit back the cynical remark he had pent up inside of him. He knew better than to argue right now…not while he uncle was so alert to his condition…whatever it was. That was, of course, the only reason he had made that concession and agreed to make this stupid detour. By the Spirits, he knew he would regret it…but at least he wouldn't get dragged back to the ship prematurely just because of a stupid cough.

That probably wasn't even blood on his sleeve. And anyway…it wasn't _that _much blood.

He was fine. He probably just scratched up his throat from all the coughing he had been doing. It couldn't have been anything serious. He refused to believe it.

But in the back of his mind, Zuko couldn't help but remember what that healer from Kyoshi Island had told him. The way she had appeared before him so suddenly, so terrifying and gaunt, vowing revenge for a crime he wasn't even entirely sure he had committed. And ever since that encounter, he hadn't been able to light up even a semi-decent flame…and then that cough…

He still hadn't told his uncle about The Incident. Deep down, he was worried about what the man would say if he were to learn that his own nephew had been responsible for the death of a civilian. Zuko had kept his thoughts away from it, but he still felt guilty and frustrated about the whole thing.

_Don't think about that old hag…there's nothing you can do about it now, anyway. She's dead, and she can't hurt you._

"Just as long as we get there," he told Iroh. "And quickly…nothing else matters."

He would put these thoughts behind him. Fear wouldn't help him. Doubting wouldn't get him his honor back. Only decisive action…that was his only option. He would continue to pursue the Avatar…and he wouldn't stop until he found him.

And caught him.

Zuko turned his mount and steered it through the trees. Twigs snapped under the rhino's massive feet, and within minutes his Uncle's steed was matching pace with his own. With the help of the animals they were able to force their own path through the unyielding forest.

The sound of the wind through the branches startled Zuko, mostly because it had been so eerily calm up until now. It sounded like someone laughing at him. Looking up, he found himself face to face with a large, dying oak. Its bark was being eaten away by a thick fungus, and all of its leaves lay crumpled at its twisted roots.

He stared at the tree and felt a chill of foreboding. Quickly, he urged his mount forward again, ignoring the curious stares of his men (not to mention his uncle) and determined to put all of this behind him. Ironically, he disobeyed his former vow of keeping Julie out of his thoughts for the duration of the mission, just this once. He needed to forget and he didn't care how he did it. No, that wasn't quite it. He just needed _her_.

If only he could get her to believe that. If only his need for her could somehow overlap with his mission; if only embracing one didn't mean neglecting the other. But he had to keep believing he could somehow have both. It was his destiny to capture the Avatar, and he and Julie were destined to have met…they had to be, given the astronomical odds of him finding her in the South Pole.

This had to be right somehow. He would _make _it right.

* * *

"Just keep your head between your knees," Shen-Long told me calmly. "And take slow, even breaths. That should help with the dizziness."

I swallowed my nausea and kept my eyes closed. No matter how many times this happened to me, I don't think I would ever get used to this feeling. My chakras must have been really out of sync with my body because I was extremely disoriented; and even though my back was firmly pressed against the trunk of a tree, it felt like the whole world was swimming around me.

Of course I had no way of knowing it then, but that was the current of chi in the air I was sensing. And during the instant I had that vision of the future, my chakras had been completely shaken, as if they had been blasted open by a cosmic lightning bolt. In short, I was a victim to my own Energybending…again.

Shen-Long was trying to get me to relax, mostly because I was about to barf on him. Yoshi was apparently of the same mind. The eelhound, in a misguided surge of affection, attempted to scramble on to my lap and push my hands away from my face with his muzzle. It would have been adorable if I wasn't so disoriented and sick.

I was grateful when Shen-Long took Yoshi and held him firmly in his arms. He tried to soothe me while struggling with the anxious animal. After a minute, Yoshi settled down, but he didn't seem too happy about it.

_I will eat this human. He is keeping me from mother…I will lull him into a false sense of security and THEN I will GET him and…oooh…wait…that feels nice…a little too the left…mmmmmmm…_

He cheered up immensely when Shen-Long started scratching him behind the earholes.

"Ayla had the same problem, you know," he told me. "We used to call it Bending Sickness. During certain times of the year, she would become especially sensitive to spirits and the like. Not to mention that the Winter Solstice is getting closer. Do you know what that means?"

I groaned quietly. "Isn't that…when spirits can cross over into our world or…something?"

"Yeah. And since you haven't exactly gotten a firm grip on your bending, it only makes sense that you would be so affected by the dissolving barrier. This disorientation is going to be more severe than normal. One time it got so bad for Ayla that she couldn't eat any animal products until the solstice had passed…especially meat. She kept having flashes of slaughtered livestock, and you can imagine what that did to her appetite."

My eyes widened. "I am _not _becoming a vegetarian…!"

Shen-Long took one look at my horrified expression and laughed quietly. Yoshi growled low in annoyance because he had stopped stroking him.

"Well…it might be different for every Energybender…but I doubt you'll have to do something _that _extreme. In any case, it's not going to last. Eventually the solstice will be over, and hopefully you'll have mastered Energybending before long."

I made another sick noise and pushed him away. "Come on. We don't have time to waste sitting here. We need to find Zuko and warn him."

"About?"

I blinked. Oh, that was right. I hadn't even told him about my vision, yet.

"The vision I had just now," I explained quickly. "I saw Zuko and Iroh getting attacked, and…well…they were outnumbered, and…and I think Zuko was in trouble because he…and that man, he was…and then…" I shook my head, trying to smother my panic long enough to form a coherent sentence. "It looked like Zuko got hurt…or…_killed_…"

I honestly wasn't expecting too much. Up until now, the only person who had taken my visions for a grain of salt had been Zuko, and he wasn't here right now. Jee had made it very clear that he wasn't going to humor whatever it was I thought I had seen, especially if it meant putting myself in danger; and I wasn't entirely positive that the others disagreed with him…except maybe Iroh.

So, when I looked up at Shen-Long and saw the seriousness on his face I practically melted in relief and gratitude. It wasn't the kind of look you would give someone you thought was crazy or emotionally disturbed; I had gotten a lot of those looks over the past couple of weeks, so I would know. Instead, his eyes were full of concern, the kind born from genuine belief and understanding.

It might have been Ayla influencing me (the little she-demon), but I just wanted to hug the crap out of Shen-Long, just for taking me seriously. And it was about damn time someone did.

Dignity is hard to come by in the Avatar world.

"The vision," he said. "Do you remember what time of day it occurred?"

I thought about it, not expecting the question. "Um…I think…maybe sunset? Or a little before. It wasn't really clear."

"But it was definitely daytime."

"Yeah. I'm positive."

He nodded slowly, his face grim. He gave me a swift look-over, weighing his options as he scrutinized me. I frowned at him, wondering what the problem was.

"Are we going?"

"I think you should head back to the ship. You're in no condition to fight right now, and I'm not putting you in harm's way for Prince Zuko's sake."

"WHAT?"

Shen-Long made his let's-be-reasonable face. I hated that face. Every time he made that face at me, it made me want to punch out his front teeth…and break a couple of ribs while I was at it.

"You've already been through a lot today. I'm bringing you back, and then we can explain everything to Jee. It's the only way."

"Are you serious?" I demanded. "You want me to leave? Leave _Zuko?_"

"If I recall, you were just about to do that, weren't you? Or am I imagining the whole part about you sneaking off the ship and running into a poacher's net…?"

I glared daggers at him. "This is completely different! It's one thing to part ways with someone, and it's another thing entirely to leave them to _die_…! And I…I can't let Zuko die! I just _can't_…!"

My hands were clenched into determined fists and I pushed myself up to my full height, wishing I could be as indomitable as I was pretending to be at that moment. Because I knew I was talking really big for someone of my…um…_limited_ fighting capabilities. There probably wasn't much I could do to help Zuko in a fight, but maybe…maybe…hell, I had to do something!

Why didn't Shen-Long understand that? Why couldn't he see how horrible things would be if something happened to Zuko? It would be bad, and awful, and _devastating_…and there was no way things would ever, ever get better if he died! He would be gone!

Gone.

There wouldn't be anybody to glare at me from across the dinner table…no one to make fun of me for holding my chopsticks wrong…no one to meditate with me in the morning or to berate me for whatever trouble Yoshi had gotten into…no one to listen to me complain about this stupid marriage situation…and certainly no one to join in my bitching when things got really bad. More importantly, there wouldn't be anybody to call me out on my shit…Zuko was the one person who was willing to go toe-to-toe with me, in spite of my powers…he wasn't _afraid_ of me.

He wasn't like Jee, who chose to act as if my bending didn't exist and insisted on my trying to live a normal life (which, apparently, meant settling down and starting a family of my own). He wasn't like Bo-Fen, who was a good friend, don't get me wrong, but tended to be a tad opportunistic, and usually at my expense. He wasn't wise like his uncle or patient like Shen-Long, but he was smart enough to see me for who I really was…and brave enough not to hide from that person.

Hadn't he proved that back at Kyoshi Island? When he held me back while I tried to run amok with my _god-damned _Energybending…he had hurt himself badly doing that. He could have been hurt so much worse, and he _knew _that. But he did that for me, in spite of all the risks. He did these amazing things because he was my friend and refused to let me fall over the point of no return. He would always do this because he _cared_ about me.

There wouldn't be anyone to do any of those things for me once Zuko was gone. And then…and then…there would just be this huge VOID where he had been.

Shit. No fucking wonder I had been so torn up about leaving. The thought of losing him…even if I was the one to walk away…it was like I was tearing myself into pieces trying to do that. How the hell did I even expect to go home if I couldn't stand to be away from Zuko?

I knew I was attached to everyone on the ship, but when it came to him…to Zuko…good God. This went beyond anything I had ever felt for anyone in my life…maybe even the way I had felt for Ramon. Oh, God…I needed him. Technically, he wasn't even _mine_. He belonged to Mai in this world…and if things had gone the way they were supposed to, he never would have even _met _me.

I didn't want to need anybody as badly as I needed Zuko, but that didn't change the fact that I needed him. The fact that he was slipping out of my reach was too terrible to put into words.

I couldn't speak. Shen-Long, who had been staring into my face and watching my facial expression, seemed to understand all the things I couldn't string together in a sentence. It was like he knew exactly what I was thinking…and that whatever was on my mind was causing him a fair amount of internal struggle…and grief.

"You love him, don't you?"

My throat felt tight and swollen shut. My face flooded with color, but I couldn't look away from him. I just looked at him, trying to say what I needed to say with my eyes.

Shen-Long sighed. "And I suppose the fact that _I _care about you…I suppose that doesn't matter to you, does it?" He looked at me, pleadingly. "Julie…it's not just Ayla I'm trying to protect. As far as I'm concerned, both of you…you both mean the world to me. And I _vowed_ to protect her; to protect the two of you to the best of my ability."

Ayla had mixed feelings at this declaration. "_But we're different people…_" she pointed out, troubled. "_He can't love both of us, can he? Hey! Stop looking at him like that!_"

_I'm not looking at him any differently! Cut that out!_

"_You were staring at him! At his sexy blue eyes! Stop it right now!_"

I winced, clutching my temples and turning away from him. He reached for me in concern, but I jerked away from him violently. "Don't…!" I yelped, keeping away until the pounding in my head subsided. Unfortunately for me, Ayla was in a bit of a jealous frenzy.

"Julie…! What's wrong?"

"Just…don't touch me…_please_…"

Shen-Long looked hurt. He didn't understand why I was being so cold to him, had no clue that it had nothing to do with either of us rejecting him. Rather, it was because Ayla loved him too much to let him anywhere near me. It was because the thought of him falling in love with me was a fear as real to her as _my_ fear of Zuko ending up with Mai.

"_He can't love you…he can't…! I can't lose him again…please…_"

"Please…"

"All right," Shen-Long said in a low, calm voice. He didn't make any moves to touch me this time, for which I was grateful. Ayla was too caught up in her tumultuous feelings to realize what it was doing to me, nor did she seem to care. "I'm sorry. I won't touch you if you don't want me to. I wasn't trying to hurt you."

Idiot. I knew that.

"I would _never _hurt you…either of you."

Ayla was in tears she was so upset. And me? Hell, I was so freaked out I was shaking. Unfortunately, I didn't even have the luxury of breaking down. If I didn't get my ass into gear, my fears would turn into a cold, gruesome reality, and Zuko would die.

"If I have to see these horrible things," I said quietly. "I want to do something about them. I want to believe that something _good _can come out of this. I have to believe that I can help him. Otherwise…what's the point?"

He gave me a very stern look. "Julie…just because you see glimpses of the future doesn't make you responsible for what happens. None of it is your fault. And you don't owe him anything."

"I'm not doing this because I _owe_ Zuko…I just…I can't let him die…" I looked up at him hopelessly. "We're friends, right? Is it wrong for me to want to protect him?"

Shen-Long looked down for a beat. He didn't have anything to say to that. I hugged my arms to my sides and watched him nervously, unnerved by the very real pain I saw on his face. It made everything more clear to me; Ayla's longing, his unresolved grief for her passing, and the very present romance between them. And it hit me like a fist that this love would never have closure. I was the only person who could see or hear Ayla.

She was so close, and he would never, ever know. All he could see was _my_ face, which was so much like hers.

An unspeakable feeling of guilt plowed through me.

"Len…" I said softly, pleadingly.

His eyes shot up, met mine in a paralyzing instant. "Ayla…"

Oh, God…I couldn't do this. I quickly lowered my eyes.

"I'm Julie, remember?" I reminded him quietly.

He stared at me for a long time, swallowed hard.

"I'm not Ayla," I told him. "But I…but she…I can feel her…_here_…" I put my hand over where I was sure my heart would be. "And she…cares about you. She always did…and she always will…no matter what, she'll…"

"Stop."

My mouth snapped shut.

His blue eyes cut into me. "If you're going to love him, that's fine. I understand. I want you to be happy, you know…but don't patronize me. And don't you lie to me. This is hard enough without having to listening to this."

Ayla flinched away, too hurt to speak. I could feel her shrinking, shrinking back deeper inside of me, as if my body were a shell protecting her from a harsh gale. She was like a plant that had been suddenly cut off from the sunlight. Surrounded in darkness and never wanting to move or speak again, Ayla curled into a ball and waited for the tears that wouldn't come.

"_He doesn't believe…_"

No. No, no, no…

Shen-Long reached forward and touched my cheek softly, and his fingers came away wet. I realized that I was crying.

Knowing this made the tears roll down my cheeks faster. He breathed a sigh and wiped them away. His hand was gentle and soft, and warm too. Looking up at him, I could almost understand what Ayla meant when she had called him handsome. His kindness made him more approachable, and both of us had needed to feel safe.

But he wasn't Zuko.

"I'm sorry…"

To my surprise, he managed a smile. "Didn't I already tell you that it was fine? You have nothing to cry about. I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you, you know."

Ayla was already alone. But I felt my insides heating up anyway. He really was my friend, in spite of everything. He got on my nerves a lot, but that didn't change the fact that he would always be on my side. Maybe it was for the wrong reasons…but still…

The sound of Ayla keening softly inside of me snapped me back to reality.

"If she really loves him," he said softly. "…why would I ever tell her no? I can't…see her upset…or in pain…especially because of my own selfishness. So please…please, don't cry anymore, Julie."

Abruptly, Ayla froze. "_He…he thinks that I…what?_"

And then it was clear. _He thinks we're the same person. _Disappointment sagged through me. _He doesn't really understand…not like I thought he did…_

"Ayla," he said, addressing just the girl inside of me, the one hanging on his every word. "I want you to be happy. So don't cry. I'll smile with you, just…smile for me. Please."

Mixed feelings. She was elated that he was talking to her. She was relieved that he knew that she was alive (okay, maybe not _alive_, but present). But she hated to see him hurting so badly and she desperately wanted to prove to him that she had no feelings for Zuko whatsoever.

But I did. And I was always lousy at hiding my feelings.

I felt something pushing the corners of my mouth upwards, almost half-heartedly. It was like someone else was trying to smile for me. I realized that it was Ayla. Ayla, whose heart was breaking even as we speak. Ayla, who couldn't bear to see him suffering, in spite of all of this; who was willing to lie to satisfy him, just this once.

She would smile for him. She always would. And I would be her willing puppet.

Shen-Long breathed out, a tired breath. Quickly, he composed himself before turning back to me…to _us_…and smiled. But it wasn't a real smile. It never reached his eyes and looked so empty that it almost broke my heart again. All of us were lying to each other, and it was so painfully obvious. It was a ridiculous farce.

However, I was very urgent of the time passing. "Zuko…?"

"Right," he said quietly. "We'll save him. If that's what you want, then I'll do everything I can to help." He held out a hand towards me. "Let's go."

I hesitated. "Really?"

He nodded.

I looked at his hand, then up at his face. He really meant it. He would do everything in his power to make sure that I didn't lose Zuko. I believed that so deeply, more deeply than I had believed in anything or anyone in my life. My eyes widened in surprise, and I felt myself beaming at him. I felt like a freshly-lit candle as our eyes met.

"Thank you…"

He grasped my hand tightly. "There should be a military encampment not too far away from here. We should be able to rent a mount there, maybe snag some reinforcements…though we'll have a hell of time trying to convince anyone to help us. But we know where Prince Zuko was going, so if we move quickly, we should be able to catch up to him before it's too late."

And just like that, Shen-Long had pulled a solution out of thin air. He had put my worst fears at ease and made me believe that things might be okay. But only if we quit flapping our gums and hauled some ass.

I furrowed my brow in determination. "All right. Let's do this."

_Zuko…I'm coming to save you, you son of a bitch. Don't die on me…!_

* * *

**Several Tense Hours Laters…**

There was no rest for the weary that day.

Silence weighed heavily on the group as they continued their trudge through the trees, making their own way the best they could. None of the soldiers dared to speak, and anyway, most of them weren't in the mood for conversation. It was getting humid in spite of the cold, and such conditions did not create much of a social atmosphere. Even Iroh seemed withdrawn as he watched his nephew leading the way into the forest.

Zuko looked like a statue as he rode, unflinching, into the steadily worsening weather. The only time he made any noise were the moments his lungs spasmed, sending more blood and phlegm burning up his windpipe. He was careful to conceal these coughs the best he could. He did not want to give his uncle any reasons to turn back before his mission was complete.

But his throat felt raw and his entire body felt weak. He wanted to lay his head down against the komodo rhino's rough hide and rest, but the uneven cantor repeatedly jarred him into focus. These animals might be slow and stupid, but at least you would never fall asleep riding one.

Eventually, the trees thinned out, revealing a marked trail big enough for them to travel single-file. Zuko consulted his map for a moment, squinting to keep everything from blurring.

"If we continue northwest, we should reach the hills in an hour…provided we aren't slowed down."

The words felt like a jinx, and Zuko, though not particularly superstitious, regretted saying them out loud. But it needed to be said, anyway. He was making it quite clear that they would not be stopping any time soon.

Not of their own accord, anyway.

"I have a bad feeling about this trail," said Iroh. "Can we be certain of where it leads?"

"If we have to stray from the path to stay on course, then that's what we'll do."

And that settled that.

The morale of the group sunk lower and lower as they continued on. The clouds thickened, making the humidity even worse; the lack of wind made the air feel stifling and stagnant. The branches were utterly still. The birds, if there were any, seemed quieted by a sense of foreboding, as if they knew that something would befall the travelers, these invaders of their solemn forest.

The rhinos were starting to balk. Their endurance was starting to wear thin, and something about the ambiance was spooking them. Zuko tightened his grip on his reigns, not tolerating disobedience from his mount.

"Stupid beast," he muttered.

"It seems uneasy," Iroh commented. "Perhaps we should stop and rest for a few minutes…and get a better sense of our bearings."

"I know where we are," Zuko snapped. "What we _need_ to do is get out of this blasted forest. Sitting around isn't helping anyone."

His uncle merely shook his head. He glanced back at the men and took into their dark expressions and weary postures. He also felt a bit tired. Traveling in military armor in this kind of weather was no joke. Sweating in the cold was only going to compromise their immune systems, and in Zuko's case that could be deadly.

There was a crack of a twig somewhere to their left, about twenty paces behind the last rhino in their chain. Zuko, intent on his pursuit, hadn't heard it. But Iroh did. He glanced warily at his surroundings, wishing there was a way to silently signal to the young man to be wary. As it was, he couldn't get his attention without speaking, and if they weren't _alone_ in these woods…well…

That wasn't something worth brooding on. Iroh heard another twig snap up ahead. This time Zuko noticed that something was amiss. He slowed his rhino into a walk, looking intently at the trees.

"We're being surrounded," he commented in a low voice that only Iroh could hear.

"Indeed," he replied softly. "I cannot be certain of their numbers. It is too dark to see them, but they are definitely there."

Zuko looked cross. "Whoever they are, they'll regret getting in my way."

"You mean to force your way through?"

"What other choice do I have?" he muttered harshly. "Look, there's a clearing up ahead. I bet that's where they're waiting for us."

Iroh hesitated. "Prince Zuko, this is extremely reckless. In your condition, you shouldn't be…Zuko…!"

The hot-headed prince was already riding ahead to face the danger waiting for them. The Dragon of the West silently cursed his stubbornness, but was unwilling to let his nephew face these enemies alone. Hastily, before they could be separated, he sped up his rhino and fell into pace behind him.

The men seemed to sense something was wrong by now. But they weren't able to catch up to Iroh's mount before they were ambushed. With a piercing whistle, several men clad in blue leaped out of the trees, startling the rhinos and almost unseating many of the soldiers.

Zuko turned, hearing the commotion from behind him. Swearing bitterly, he turned his rhino around, but noticed as he did so that the path ahead was suddenly blocked off by the Water Tribe warriors. Apparently they meant to keep the Fire Nation soldiers on the narrow trail, where it would be difficult to fight back, while preventing them from coming to Zuko's aid.

The leader of the men stared him down, looking menacing in grey and black face-paint and holding the kind of club he had seen that oaf Sokka carrying during their last meeting. Zuko glowered at him.

"Force your way through," he yelled back at his men. "Head for the clearing and fight back!"

The man leading the attack frowned. "You're a bit young to be giving orders. Just goes to show how ruthless the Fire Nation can be…sending _kids_ into battle."

"I'm not too young to put you in your place," Zuko growled. "You'll pay for slowing me down."

"Damn brat," the freakishly tall man standing beside the leader commented. "You happen to be talking to Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe. Show some respect."

Iroh smiled amiably. "It is nice to meet you both."

"Uncle…! Stop fraternizing with the enemy!"

"I am merely exchanging formalities, nephew. We may be at war, but that is no excuse for rudeness. We should treat them as our honorable enemy."

Zuko felt like a blood vessel was about to burst in his head. "There is _nothing_ honorable about _ambush…!_"

"This is true, but that cannot be helped now." He turned back to the two bemused warriors, regarding them coolly. "It is a shame that we could not meet under different circumstances. However, if you insist on continuing this fight, we won't hold back on you or your men."

The tall man scoffed. "What are you talking about? You're clearly outnumbered."

Iroh smiled, exchanging a knowing glance with Zuko, who merely nodded.

"Yes," he agreed. "But _you _are outmatched…"

And then, without further preamble, the two Firebenders leapt from their rhinos and spewed fire at their enemies. Hakoda ducked low to avoid them, tucking into a roll and coming up with his club swinging. The tall man jumped to the side and confronted Iroh while Zuko parried the blows from the chief's weapon with flaming knives.

The rest of the men were faring as decently as they could. However, a few of the rhinos had already been killed, and the rest of them were too spooked to control. The soldiers were forced to fight their Water Tribe assailants on foot, regaining their senses now that the element of surprise had passed. They took initiative and fought back tenaciously, slowly forcing their opponents back towards the clearing, like Zuko had ordered.

However, the warriors were clearly well-trained for ambushes and tight skirmishes, and were difficult to dispatch. Besides the fact that they outnumbered the Firebenders about three to one, they knew their turf well and used that knowledge to their advantage. They were dangerous foes.

Zuko felt his insides burning as he forced himself to keep fighting. His initial fury at being attacked had done well to fuel his inner flame, but it was starting to wane as the battle drew on. He was tired. He was sick. He shouldn't have been exerting himself so much. Eventually, he gave up using the fire knives, which had dwindled down into a feeble joke of weapons, and resorted to hand-to-hand combat.

Iroh noticed his nephew growing tired and knew that something was wrong. It was all he could do to watch the young man's back and while keeping the taller man from cleaving his skull with the machete.

Abruptly, the man he was fighting dodged his fire blast and ended up in the path of Hakoda and Zuko's duel. He took the opportunity to raise his weapon to strike the distracted youth, only to be struck down by Iroh at the last second.

"Bato!"

The man fell back to the edge of the trees and didn't move. This made Hakoda furious, and he retaliated against Zuko viciously. Unable to withstand the blind rage of the chief, Zuko's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground hard, coughing violently.

_No…! I can't…not now…!_

Hakoda snarled and raised his arm to strike. Iroh brought his arms back up to Firebend, but knew deep in his gut that whatever he did would be too late to help his nephew.

"Zuko…!"

* * *

**A/N: DUN-DUN-DUUUUUUUUN…!**

**Yeah, so quite a hectic chapter, this was. Everyone has their own emotional turmoil to sort through, as well as additional issues…such as a team of warriors waiting to ambush and kill them. Huh. That was oddly specific, wasn't it?**

**Anyway, Julie and Zuko still have to sort things out between them. Even as they are becoming increasingly aware of their feelings for one another, the kiss seems to have unintentionally thrown their relationship in a tailspin. As Julie struggles to accept her dependence on the people in her life (not just Zuko, but everyone), Zuko tries to come to terms with the very real possibility that Julie might not share his feelings…even though she does. It's confusing, right? Think about how confusing this must be for those two. I mean, seriously.**

**To be clear, they both enjoyed the kiss to a certain extent, but at the same time, it left them both feeling rushed and bewildered. Zuko honestly regrets putting his friendship with Julie in jeopardy since she is the first person he has met in a long time who has the potential to relate to his many issues. And Julie…well…since when has that girl ever been in touch with her own emotions?**

**Nuff said about the Zulie bits. Now on to Shen-Long and Ayla!**

**It is clear that after all this time, Shen-Long still feels very strongly about Ayla. That should have been clear from the last chapter, but here we actually see just how much this attachment is hurting them both. Ayla has no real way to reach out to him except through Julie, and Shen-Long finds himself unable to separate the two like he should. And can you blame him? How easy do you think it is to watch the person you love falling in love with another man?**

**Yeah. It sucks. Big time.**

**However, his resolve to protect Julie/Ayla remains strong. He is even willing to put his own dislike for Zuko aside to put Julie's fears at ease. It should be said that he's risking a lot to help her right now; not just his life, but his job too. Jee is NOT going to be happy when he finds out that the two of them ran off together to do something extremely reckless.**

**Also, I want to point out to a few concerned readers that Happy Endings is not solely an "angsty romance." It has other genre elements carefully woven into the plot, such as adventure, mystery, suspense, explosions, and Yoshi. Shut up. Yoshi IS TOO a genre!**

Yoshi: "Yes! Bow down to the fearsome genre-beast of DOOM!"

**Ahem. The point is, while romance plays heavily into the events to come, there is a lot more to the story. There is an impending war brewing, conflict burgeoning from the Brotherhood and the Fire Nation, and everyone is going to be involved. So, whatever shameless fluff I happen to inject into this fic is…um…very necessary! And awesome!**

**And it's not all angst, so you can rejoice.**

**The ambush! Yes, the danger is real. Hakoda and Bato are no light-weights, and their men are well-trained for this kind of combat. Zuko and Iroh should count themselves lucky that they weren't completely taken by surprise. I really liked the idea of introducing the Water Tribe here not only because of the sheer bad-assery of it all…but because now we finally learn _just how_ Bato got himself injured.**

**After all of this is over, he'll most likely end up with those nuns, just a bit earlier than planned. And yes, this will tie up nicely with the "Bato of the Water Tribe" episode. Just you guys wait and see. It'll be awesome!**

**Anyway, I have to get going now. The library is closing, so I'm going to shut up and post this before they shut down the computers. Heigh ho, updating!**

**Did you guys like? If so, REVIEW!**

**P.S. The next Deleted Scenes is on the way. It's not getting updated tonight because the library is closing early for Mother's Day stuff…but definitely sometime this week. See you guys soon!**


	84. The Lord of the Mountains

**A/N: On Friday, my apartment flooded. A pipe exploded in the upstairs apartment, and it leaked down through the walls and trickled through my ceiling. I had been just about to leave for work when it all came down, destroying my stereo, my book shelf, my tv…soaking through my carpets and staining the posters on my walls.**

**It was EVERYWHERE. I freaked the fuck out, naturally. My landlord came over right away and we got the water turned off, but the damage was done. At least I managed to save my computer. If I had lost everything on this hard-drive, I would have probably gone completely bananas.**

**So, I really, really hope you guys understand why I didn't update this weekend like I said I would. This kind of fucked up my week, and this was when it had already been going piss-poorly. I already had to waste two days playing therapist to one of my friends, who is having "friend drama," and decided that it was now **_**my **_**problem. Granted, I don't mind being there for my friends…just not to the point where I can't deal with the water pouring through my ceiling tiles. Just saying.**

**As it was, I barely got any sleep this week trying to jumble through these thoughts in my head. I kept trying to figure out how I would be able to maintain these two separate friendships simultaneously, how I would clear up the massive piles of mail on my desk (because the workload itself has increased exponentially, by the way), and how I would somehow find the time to update The Drifter on time.**

**And then THIS happened. Fuck my life!**

**Okay, I get it. Life is full of responsibilities and I need to learn to juggle. I totally get it. I just wish everything hadn't decided to fall on my head ALL AT ONCE. You know?**

**I'm too tired to write any more. Enjoy the chapter, because I fried what few brain cells were left standing in my skull to crank it out. I admit, it DID help me take my mind off of things…so, I hope it was worth the effort. Thanks.**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Lord of the Mountains**

Yoshi did NOT like the lizard mount we had borrowed from the Fire Nation camp we found up the road.

How could I tell? Well, come on! How could I not?

Obviously, it's because we have such a close bond. Yoshi and I just have a way of understanding each other; a way of communicating that goes deeper than words. Our silent camaraderie was unrivaled; it was the kind of friendship that made Jay and Silent Bob weep in envy. Hell, I was practically his mother, as biologically impossible as that sounds. No, the real impossibility lay in the mere notion that there was even a way I could NOT tell what my little bad-ass was thinking.

Also, he kept trying to squirm out of my lap and bite at the lizard-horse's neck when he _thought _I wasn't looking. Okay, that might have been the real clue…but whatever.

Yoshi must have been going on pure instinct since I'm pretty sure he didn't even know what a jugular was. He was also damn persistent, the way he kept lunging at the other animal. Not that he was doing any real damage to the lizard-horse. It would occasionally glance up at the eelhound, like it was a fly that it was too lazy to swat at. Privately, I could sympathize with the lizard-horse.

_I don't like you_, the eelhound announced to the pony-sized reptile in disdain. _You are clearly an inferior species that doesn't even hunt. I shall eat your corpse in front of mother so that she praises me! Errrgggh…nooooo…! Momma! Lemme goooooooo…!_

My puppy let out a frustrated whine as I held him firmly in my lap. I sat up front with Shen-Long's strong arms wrapped around me, holding the reins. We would have taken two mounts, but neither of us had the scratch to pay for it. It had been hell just getting the one. Besides, Shen-Long had heavily insinuated that he didn't trust me with my own lizard-horse.

Stupid jerk. I could _so _ride my own steed. He was just being paranoid.

_Very well, prey. I can be patient. Mother can't keep me here forever and ever! And then, I'm gonna GET you! And I'll EAT your FACE…!_

"Hush," I said to the eelhound. "We can play later, baby. Just sit still for me, okay?"

_But the prey is SMIRKING at me! It is GLOATING! I hafta kill it NOW!_

"He's probably just bored," Shen-Long noted. "I bet he just wants to run next to the lizard-horse. Heh. Maybe he wants to race."

"Yeah, well, I don't want to take a chance of us leaving him behind. He's staying on my lap whether he likes it or not."

_Curses_.

I will admit that my mood had pretty much tanked since we left the Fire Nation camp a couple of miles back. I insisted on sitting in a sullen silence, only speaking when spoken to. And when Shen-Long finally managed to drag a word or two out of me, it usually came out snappish. It had gotten so bad that he had practically given up trying to make conversation with me.

"If you feel like talking to me again," he had said finally. "Just let me know. Because it's hard to tell with you, sometimes."

Oh, yeah right. It was _his _fault I was upset in the first place. How could he even blame me after almost an hour was lost—yes, LOST—wrestling in red tape?

Seriously, it had been a regular bitch even getting the stupid lizard-horses. Shen-Long had wasted a good fifteen minutes trying to reason with the guy in charge of the mounts, but of course it was all pointless because we didn't have the right _paperwork_. Good God.

So, finally, I just had enough. I was tired of standing and tired of being ignored when Zuko's life was at stake. It was really pissing me off. They shouldn't have been so surprised that I elbowed the guy in the stomach and took his horse.

I mean, lizard-horse.

Anyway, we couldn't even get out of the camp before someone else stuck their nose in. Apparently this complete schmoe saw me assaulting the guy on lizard-horse duty and ran to get their boss…or commander…or someone important like that. I don't know and I don't care. If it wasn't Zhao, I honestly didn't give a crap.

Shen-Long cursed when he saw the guy. I guess he _was _kind of important, but really. This was much more important. And we were obviously Fire Nation, right? We were on the same side. Really, they should have been practically _handing away _those stupid lizard-horses. Who did they think they were, anyway?

"Excuse me," he said. "But I don't believe either of you had authorization to take that mount. Who is your supervising officer?"

I was about to tell the stupid bastard where to go, but Shen-Long clamped a hand over my mouth. What the FUCK?

"This is an abnormal situation," Shen-Long started out diplomatically. "We're reporting to Lieutenant Jee, and…"

"Ah, Jee," the guy said. "Yes, I remember. Isn't he in command on Prince Zuko's ship?"

"Erm…well, yes. But how did you…OUCH…!"

I bit down _hard _on Shen-Long's hand, and he let me go right away.

"I don't care who you are," I snarled at him. "There are lives at stake, here. You aren't going to miss one lizard-horse, are you?"

The guy smiled, but I wasn't sure if it was a patronizing smile or not. But seeing it made me stop and look at him again. He couldn't have been that much older than me. Actually, he might have been around Shen-Long's age, maybe a year or two younger. Needless to say, he looked kind of young to be commanding his own unit.

Not to mention that he was so weird-looking. And I mean really, really weird-looking. I mean, he was all pale and his hair definitely wasn't the normal silky black I was accustomed to seeing from people from the Fire Nation. Actually, it was almost white. And his eyes were a strange pinkish-red.

_An albino? _I wondered to myself. And a fairly muscular, good-looking one at that. Not to say that albinos couldn't be handsome. I'm just pointing it out because if anything, it made him stand out more. He was as conspicuous as I was, with my red hair.

Whatever. It was a freaking cartoon universe. Shit like this happens all the time. Even more so in crappy fanfiction, with those stupid Gary-Stu characters who may as well have just been renamed Zuko clones. Probably, this guy wasn't even an albino at all, but was actually secretly a vampire. Yes, I know this is the Avatar world, which doesn't exactly lend itself to that kind of mythology. I'm being sarcastic, people.

I just took it all in stride and kept glaring at him until he actually said something.

"I think I know you," he said, conversationally. "You're Julie McVay, aren't you?"

Shen-Long gave an unnerved start. I managed to keep my surprise in check, working it into a scowl I could be proud of. It was a scowl that said I was NOT about to be intimidated by this…um…strange person who apparently knew who I was. I was not going to let _anything_ keep me from saving Zuko.

"I don't know _you_," I countered, trying to hide how perturbed I was.

The guy lifted a single eyebrow, making all of him seem infuriatingly amused. Damn. He was one of _those_.

Yes. The kind of guy who could express a magnitude of things with the simplest of gestures. And the careful brush-stroke eyebrows of his were communicating loud and clear, carefully arched to convey their ridicule over me.

Which, you know, made me want to punch him.

"I thought you didn't care who I was," he said smoothly.

"I don't," I snapped, flushing red for some reason. I am choosing to blame it on the curse of being a redhead. "Look, can we take the stupid horse-thing or what? We're kind of running on a tight schedule."

His expression became sharp, calculating as his eyes raked me over from head to toe. "I expect you wouldn't," he said, ignoring my request entirely. "I am Commander Yamada, however, since you _didn't_ ask. And no, you can't have the stupid horse-thing. I'm using him."

That smile was really getting on my nerves. I didn't even know this guy, and he had the nerve to make jokes at me? Really?

"How much do you want for him?" Shen-Long asked, pulling out his wallet. "We don't have time to request a mount the normal way, and…"

"Just give us the stupid horse! We need it more!"

The corners of Yamada's mouth twitched. "So, the rumors about you _were _true. Interesting."

Oh, for the love of…I didn't have time for this!

Still…rumors?

"What do you mean?" I asked, against my better judgment. "You don't know me."

"Oh, but I think you'll find that I do." And then, to my surprise, Yamada pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. I frowned at the kanji splashed all over the place. I couldn't make heads or tails of it, and the worst part was that I was probably holding the stupid paper upside-down.

So I thrust it at Shen-Long, pretending not to care what the damn thing said.

"Listen," I growled. "You know we work for Jee, right? That means we work for Prince Zuko, too. So, you better let us have the stupid animal, or Zu is going to royally fuck you in the ass! You won't even command a janitorial squad, let alone a group of soldiers once _he's _through with you!"

Shen-Long made a choking noise next to me, and I assumed it had something to do with the way I had threatened Yamada. I looked over, about to tell him not to be such a little girl about the whole thing when suddenly I got a good look at his face. His eyes were riveted to the paper he was reading…the one I had handed him; i.e. the one that Yamada had handed to me.

Oh. That couldn't have been a good sign.

"What is it?" I asked, getting a bad feeling in my stomach.

He shook his head. "Julie…do you know who this _is_…?"

"He just said who he was, dumb-butt. Weren't you listening?"

Slowly, Shen-Long lifted his eyes to meet mine. "Didn't Jee ever tell you the name of suitor you were supposed to be meeting in this area? The one who was supposedly heading over to the ship to see you and Jee?"

I scowled, not understanding…or maybe choosing not to understand. "Actually, no. I don't remember. Anyway, what does that have to do with…" I trailed off, glancing at Yamada warily. He smirked at me and I felt a ripple of foreboding. "Oh, you have _got _to be shitting me."

I looked at Yamada in horror.

"You have the wrong idea," he said lightly. "I'm not your suitor. One of my men happens to be courting you. I just happen to have that notice as I am in command of him and his fellow men in arms. But I should mention that there were many _interesting _things said about you…rumors…mostly pertaining to your volatile temper and your unusual abilities."

"You mean the Energ—mmmmpph…!" Shen-Long slapped a hand over my mouth again.

"As much as it pleases us to make your acquaintance," he said over the sound of my struggling. "I'm afraid we really need to be leaving. Now, to be exact. And unfortunately, we'll be taking the lizard-horse whether you authorize it or not. Prince Zuko's life could be in danger and we are under strict orders to protect him."

Commander Yamada stared at us coolly. His gaze lingered on me, and I felt goose-bumps rising on the edge of my skin. His stare was starting to make me edgy. I don't know what it was, but there was a hint of something in him that reminded me of Ramon, and a little of Zuko, too. He had the unmistakable air of a person who could be dangerous…and _knew _it.

His smile was almost predatory, challenging his prey. "If you wish to take the lizard-horse so badly, then take it. But I'll expect something in return. From _you_ specifically," he said, nodding at me.

I glowered back at him. Using as much force as possible, I stomped hard on Shen-Long's toe, making him let go of me with a yelp. Then, I followed up by elbowing him in the ribs. He had been staring at Commander Yamada, so he had been caught off guard by my sudden retaliation. I wasn't sorry to see him momentarily winded, either. That had been the second time he had put his hand over my mouth. Frankly, he was lucky I hadn't done something worse to him.

I took a breath to steady myself before facing Yamada again.

"Now, about that favor," I said quickly. "As long as it's nothing pervy, I guess I'm fine with that. Anyway, it's not like I have much of a choice, right?"

The Commander quirked an eyebrow. "I don't have any such interests, girl. You can rest assured."

What the hell was that supposed to mean? I wasn't pretty enough to perv on? That asshole had a lot of friggin' nerve.

"Get up," I told Shen-Long, pulling myself back up on the lizard-horse's back. Groaning and grumbling to himself, the soldier managed to follow me; but not without shooting Yamada another covert glance. It was clear that whatever injustice I had done to him, it paled next to his blatant distrust for the higher-ranking officer.

He didn't say anything, though. So, we took off. It kind of bothered me that Yamada didn't try to stop us or anything.

Maybe there was something wrong with the lizard-horse. Shit. I hope we didn't get ripped off.

Anyway, that was why I was in such a bad mood. The whole encounter had left a sour taste in my mouth. Something about that Commander had really, really bothered me, and I wasn't the only one. Ayla had felt it, too. She didn't even raise her voice to protest back there when I had elbowed Shen-Long; that was how unnerved she was by that guy.

It wasn't his looks. I mean, he hadn't been ugly or anything. If anything, his albinism made him stand out among all the other people here. And to be honest, some might find him reasonably attractive. Not that I was looking, or anything. I mean, come on. It was bad enough I was so hopelessly smitten with Zuko (and that was pretty bad by Season One standards since he _is _technically one of the bad guys, even if he is one of the most honorable people I'd ever met; the only way I could have done worse for myself was to fall in love with Zhao, who was _definitely _evil).

Then again, I did end up with Ramon for all this time, and he certainly was a bastard if there ever was one. Do I just have a really bad taste in men?

"Copper piece for your thoughts?" Shen-Long asked. "Or are you still being stubborn?"

I sighed. "You don't want to know what I'm thinking."

He considered this for a moment. "I think I'll risk it."

"You think?"

"Just tell me."

I furrowed my brow. "I don't like that Yamada guy. He gives me the creeps. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach…and it wasn't even in an obvious way, like the way Shim is creepy. He just seems…_off_. Do you get that feeling, too?"

"Actually, yes." Shen-Long sat in a troubled silence for a minute or two. "I wish you hadn't promised him that favor. I've heard rumors about Yamada…and there's a reason he's a Commander at his age."

That got my attention. "You mean he's like Zhao?"

His face twisted indecisively. "I won't say _that. _Don't repeat this, but Commander Zhao has gotten more promotions by kissing up to the Fire Lord than anything else. Yamada, on the other hand, actually knows what he's doing."

"Okay…"

"In other words, he has a reputation for being ruthless towards anyone he sees as a threat. He's also a keen strategist. Even though he inherited his position from his father, it's clear that he has the talent to keep it. I wouldn't advise making any more deals with him. Okay?"

"We needed the lizard-horse."

"I get that. I'm just saying…don't do it again."

I scowled. "I hate it when you boss me around."

To my chagrin, he only smiled. "You're kind of cute when you're mad. Did anyone ever tell you that?"

I had a feeling he was just trying to change the subject. But Ayla thrummed unhappily, her jealousy and doubt making me feel nauseous. I gagged quietly, turning my face to the side. I actually thought I was going to throw up for a minute. Shit. She could really make me _physically ill _if she wanted to. That couldn't have been good.

"Hey," he said. "You all right?"

I grunted and shook my head, no.

"Sorry. Are we going too fast? Do you want me to slow down?"

"No…!" I gasped. "Are you stupid or something? We need to rescue Zuko! We don't have time to waste like this. I can put up with a little motion sickness. It's fine!"

Shen-Long shook his head, not believing me. "If you say so, milady."

I bit my lip and stopped myself from saying something vicious. It wasn't like I could explain any of this to him, anyway. He was still living in some fantasy world where Ayla and I were the same person. He wouldn't understand if I told him that Ayla was jealous of the way he treated me. Would he?

No. He wouldn't.

Okay, so that was another reason why I was so sore at him. I honestly couldn't make up my mind as to whether I should be grateful towards him for believing in my visions and helping me divert them…or just plain angry that he didn't believe me about Ayla. I had no idea how I was supposed to feel about this…or about his feelings for Ayla…about his promise to protect us, no matter what, even though I liked Zuko; hell, even that was confusing.

I felt like I was getting a headache. Why couldn't anything ever be simple?

"So, which way?" I asked him. Shen-Long looked around, then consulted his map of the area. He studied it for a moment, going quiet in concentration.

"We know Prince Zuko is going North…so we'll do the same."

He started off down the path. I felt myself getting impatient.

"Hey," I said. "Isn't there a quicker way to where he's going? A short-cut or something?"

I got a blank stare in reply. "You want us to go off the path and risk running into whatever spirit lives out here that protects the mountain from the Fire Nation?"

"So…that's a yes?"

He sighed. "It's a yes. But it's also a no. I'm not budging from the path."

"You know, Zuko probably took the short-cut," I argued. "I mean, think about it. He was chasing Aan…I mean, the Avatar. You know how he gets about that. I bet he wanted to get to that village as quickly as possible, so he left the path and…"

I trailed off. But thankfully, I didn't have to finish. The rest was obvious.

"And he ran into trouble," said Shen-Long dryly. "Why am I not surprised?"

I didn't answer him. Instead, I took the reins from him and steered the lizard-horse into the woods. Granted, I didn't have the best sense of direction in the world, but at least I knew Zuko well enough to know that he would totally do something reckless like this. That was almost as good as knowing where I was going.

Shen-Long stopped arguing with me. I guess he realized there was no point in it; and I hope for his sake it was because he realized that I was right.

"And if we run into the spirit?" he asked me.

I frowned. "Well…I dunno. I guess we play dead or something. Or maybe I'll use my bending to make it go away. I mean, it is technically spirit bending, right? Maybe I can tie it into a spirit pretzel…or a donut."

"This isn't funny. We could be killed if something goes wrong."

The conversation dried up after that. Neither of us was in the mood to contemplate our odds of survival, nor did we have the cushy option of turning back. I thought of Zuko, that stupid, reckless idiot, throwing himself in the middle of a fight against the Water Tribe warriors. Seriously, when I got my hands on him, I was going to beat the stupid out of him.

I looked down at the lizard-horse. It had no problem following my lead, and didn't seem to react no matter what weird noises we heard in the woods. Not that I was an expert or anything, but I remember Zuko complaining about how skittish kimodo rhinos are. I guess the fella had sturdier nerves.

Which was good considering we were probably riding into battle.

_Please, _I prayed silently. _Don't let Zuko die. Let me find a way to protect him._

* * *

_There was sorrow in these trees. Though still firmly rooted in the loving earth, they seemed to cluster together in a collective sigh, their melancholy branches drooping and hiding from the sun. The very soil seemed to lose its nurturing properties. Everything was unbalanced, and Baihu could feel the mountain's pain._

_The whole world was thrown into disorder since the Avatar disappeared. The Fire Nation's encroachment on the Earth Kingdom had been the prologue to something darker, something that would shake the foundations of time and space. He knew this as well. He knew it long before it came to pass, but had chosen to hide away in these hills until the Avatar returned._

_But it had waited for a long time. There were consequences for waiting. The world had become warped…and so had the humans he protected._

_Blood…fire…smoke…sorrow…death._

_The Lord of the Mountain closed his eyes, a growl rumbling in his throat. Anger and betrayal burned in his veins, just as those abominations had turned a torch to his precious shrine. The sons and daughters of man, all dressed in deep purple cloaks, burning everything housed there…all because he had tried to protect his children, his Earthbenders._

_They were monsters. It did not matter who opposed them, man or spirit. Anyone who antagonized the Brotherhood would fall into their bloodstained hands. Baihu felt his anger spike at the vision of his own people putting his children to the torch. Traitors…_

_He had been blind in his anger. In his fury, he already devoured several people. Many were Fire Nation soldiers who had come to conquer Jade Mountain, fleeing from the Brotherhood acolytes. And then he remembered the satisfaction of grabbing some of the cloak-wearing fiends, as well. He had dragged them into the Spirit World and tore them into shreds, each and every one of them._

_He was still angry. He was restless and wary of everything he encountered. He felt like a bowstring about to snap forth an arrow. He wanted to lunge and rip and bite…but he knew this was wrong, and that made his anger fester like an open wound. He was a spirit of protection, not of slaughter._

_Baihu felt lost inside himself. He felt lost in his own mountain. _

_Roaming, the great beast stalked through the trees, invisible to the naked eye. He could hear voices in the distance, people shouting and fighting. Remembering the taste of human blood on his teeth, Baihu followed the path carved out by the noise. _

_He would join the battle. He would not cease until every human was dead. Then, and only then, would his world become still again. Maybe then he'd be able to make sense of his own feelings._

Let me protect him…

_What was this? Baihu could hear a voice whispering in his ear. It sounded like a very sincere wish, one he hadn't heard in a long time. _

Please, please don't let Zuko die…

_He stopped so he could listen better. This girl, this one human girl breathing her wish in her mind, he could hear her voice as clearly as the chiming of a bell. Baihu felt his anger dissolving in the wake of his curiosity. Who was this girl? And who was this Zuko she wanted to protect so badly._

_It had been so long since a human prayed for his kind of strength. Many humans foolishly craved power to crush their enemies, but that was not the kind of power Baihu gave to mortals. He was a spirit of protection. Yes, he remembered this now. He closed his eyes and he looked with his mind, using the clairvoyance that had made him legendary._

A lizard-horse carried two humans on its back, a young man and a girl with red hair. The color was striking, even from a distance. They sat in silence as they trudged through the forest, going as quickly as they could. Urgency radiated in their auras. Their faces were grim and afraid. And they were looking for someone.

_Baihu opened his eyes. The humans were headed towards the battle as well. Perhaps this Zuko would also be there, waiting. _

_He would go and see. _

* * *

We found him. Shen-Long and I were still a long ways off, but we could hear things up ahead. Faintly, the shouts of men echoed past rows and rows of trees, too far away for me to hear what they were saying. I could hear the clashing of weapons. I could even smell the smoke from the Firebending.

The lizard-horse slowed its pace, sensing my indecision. I glanced up at Shen-Long, who stared up ahead with a firm set to his jaw.

"I'll go and scout it out," he started to say. And I realized that he totally meant to leave me behind while he did all of the fighting.

Um, excuse me, but hell no.

"And I'm coming with you," I cut in, glaring at him. He had already slid off the lizard-horse's back and looked at me pleadingly, but I refused to waver. Still holding the reins, I carefully folded my arms and gave him a _look_.

You don't argue with the _look_.

"Julie," he said calmly. "You improved a lot in your training. You really have…but you can't do this. You're not ready for melee combat yet. You haven't even gotten a rudimentary grasp of swordsmanship, and…"

"Well, I'm not looking to kill anybody," I snapped. "I just want to save Zuko. I'm only going to fight if they get too close to him, okay?" Then, I folded my arms and glanced down at my shoes, embarrassed. "Besides," I mumbled. "You're going to be in danger, too. I'm coming with you."

He was quiet. Uncertain. The silence made me break my façade of stubborn indifference. I knew that if I couldn't convince him, I could end up losing both him and Zuko. And that terrified me. It really did.

So I lifted my eyes off the ground and met his gaze.

"Please," I said softly. "Shen-Long…I _want_ to do this. Even if it means getting hurt, I…Zuko's already gotten hurt protecting me. Now it's my turn to protect him."

There was a moment's silence.

Then, abruptly, a gust of wind raked through the area. The air had been completely still a moment ago, but now it was dangerously windy. It was like something massive had just swept over us…and around us. An invisible giant circling us, like an animal stalking through the trees. We both flinched, and Shen-Long edged closer to me, sinking into a tentative fighting stance. The lizard-horse pawed at the ground and hissed at nothing. Even Yoshi was growling.

We all knew that something was there. We were being watched by something huge and scary.

Then, the air became still again. Whatever had been lurking had vanished. Shen-Long and I were really spooked by the whole thing. It had been beyond weird.

"What…what was that…?" I muttered, my voice sounding as frail as broken sea-shells.

Shen-Long looked at me. "The spirit, probably. It knows we're here."

"Then…why did it leave us alone? Why hasn't it attacked yet?"

"I don't know. Maybe it doesn't see us as a threat." He frowned, looking up at me in concern, like a parent mentally flipping through friends and acquaintances in search of a babysitter. "But I can't leave you alone. Not now."

I swallowed heavily. "Y-yeah. Right."

We reached this agreement between us. Whatever happened next, we would do it together. I wasn't alone. I felt strong…bizarrely so, given that a few seconds earlier I had been afraid of getting eaten by the mountain spirit.

This feeling was like an embrace, like a familiar coat. It was warm and it was safe. Nothing bad would happen to me in these sleeves. It was as soft as a feather but harder than steel; that was how the word, _together_ felt.

I took a deep breath. "If anything happens," I began. "Shen-Long…"

"Yeah?"

I felt my face heating up, but said what I had to say anyway. "Thank you…for being my friend. And for not ditching my ass after I threw mud at you…and stomped on your foot and—"

"I get it."

He smiled, relieving me of my fears. I smiled back.

"Good," I said. "Now, let's go save Zuko."

* * *

Zuko had done his best to parry blow after merciless blow. His arms felt so heavy, like pieces of lead growing out of his shoulders. And knowing that giving up would mean certain death didn't make it any easier to lift his arms up over and over again. He was running purely on adrenaline now, but that temporary strength had almost burned away. Any second now it would become too much. He would drop his guard for a second too long.

He was going to die here. He would never get his honor back.

"_Zuko…!"_

His knees gave out. He landed on the ground, dazed and wracked by a spasm of coughs that set his lungs on fire. He was burning up inside from the unwanted exertion of the fight as well as the alarming fever he was running. _Get up_, a voice inside of him yelled. _You're going to die!_

Perhaps it was the adrenaline and fear clouding Zuko's perception, but the Water Tribe chief's arm moved in a slow, dramatic arc as it swung down to end the skirmish (and most likely his life) in one blow. And even as his mind processed what was happening, his own body refused to obey his frantic orders to _move_ out of the way, dammit to hell.

He wasn't going to make it.

That was all his mind had time to understand before the unthinkable occurred. In other words, the tide of battle was about to inexplicably change, just as quickly as any other miraculous occurrence in history. Seconds are precious; they make all the difference in the world. In one second, one's entire way of life can be completely and irrevocably altered.

And in one second flat, Hakoda's arm went limp, and the club fell uselessly from his slack fingers. Zuko thought he was hallucinating out of exhaustion and sickness when saw a strange green glow surrounding the man's limb.

_What on earth…?_

"My arm…" Hakoda muttered frantically. "What happened to…what's going on here…?!"

And that was when a voice spoke to them from the clearing. Zuko had to do a double-take when he saw a very familiar redhead perched on the back of a lizard-horse, a sword resting on her hip and a very fierce expression on her face. Yoshi sat on her lap, mirroring Julie's tenacity as he glared at them all with its yellow hawk-eyes. Shen-Long stood ready at her side, making it clear with his body-language that he was there as her bodyguard. However, he didn't seem to notice that her hand, the one that was resting on the hilt of her blade, was glowing a very faint green.

Zuko couldn't exactly see it from that far away. It was more like a feeling. He could _feel _the energy coming from Julie. She didn't seem to realize it herself, but it was there…and it had just saved him from getting decapitated.

"Get away from Zuko, you asshat!"

Seriously, what the _hell_ was she doing here? He had to be delusional. There was no way that crazy little peasant had dropped in the middle of their battle, poised to fight like a vengeful angel intent on the slaughter.

Because she looked _pissed_.

Hakoda massaged his wrist as he stared down the enraged girl. "You don't look Fire Nation…who are you…? _What _are you…?"

Julie huffed. "I'm only going to say this once," she said, glaring at the Water Tribe chief in a way that was meant to be formidable. "That was _my _idiot prince you were about to kill. You lay _one finger_ on that _idiot_ head of his, and I will fuck you up so badly that you'll have to pee sideways! So help me God…!"

Before anyone could react, something terrifying happened.

As though accompanying her speech, the low, but deafening roar of a monster split the air into halves, sending it all screaming out at them all. Everyone, Fire Nation and Water Tribe alike, stopped fighting immediately. Weapons fell to the ground. Jaws went slack in fear. A few people probably shit themselves at the very sight of the animal-like shape materializing directly behind Julie.

Zuko's eyes went wide. It was a spirit.

No. It was the spirit of the mountain.

Julie had barely recovered from the thunderous roar. Zuko saw her holding her ears in a daze as she looked up. Her gaze flickered around at the awe-stricken faces of her audience, her expression suddenly very wary. She didn't seem to like how all of their gazes were locked on to something looming directly behind her. She started to turn, but didn't manage to get her lizard-horse all the way around before someone reacted. That someone was Shen-Long.

"Behind you," he yelled. Julie let out a startled sound as he faced down the spirit and launched a fire blast at it.

Flames licked the creature's flanks and sides, outlining it and giving it a clear shape to the many present who could not see or hear spirits. A giant tiger stalked forwards, unharmed by the fire. It glanced at Shen-Long for a long moment, sizing him up.

It wasn't long before it decided that it didn't like having fire shot at its face. It growled and crouched down low, ready to pounce.

Zuko was having trouble staying conscious in spite of the urgency of the situation. His shoulders heaved as another vicious cough racked his body. Iroh was suddenly at his side, gripping his shoulders and pulling him back, away from the battle and the angry spirit.

"We need to leave," he said in a low voice. "Now, before things get out of hand."

"But…Julie…" he stopped short, coughing into his arm. Iroh held him steady, noticing for the first time the blood spotting the wrists of his sleeves. His eyes went wide and his face paled in alarm.

"Why didn't you _tell _me you were this sick…?" he demanded, uncharacteristically sharp for the genial older man. "This is serious…!"

"U-uncle…"

"Don't talk. Just rest. I will get you to safety."

Zuko cursed, gritting his teeth and acquiescing to the tea-lover's care. He didn't have the strength to continue the fight on his own, anyway. However, he could not ignore the fact that Julie was in harm's way…and that was an understatement.

Even if he had found it in his heart to accept Yoshi, he still hadn't forgotten what had happened with the Unagi. He stared at the spirit and felt his heart sinking in dread. He imagined what it could do with Julie's power. It would possess her…or it could swallow her whole…

What was she _doing_ here, anyway? Why had Shen-Long brought her here? Where was Lieutenant Jee? And how had they found him in such a remote location? None of this made any sense!

The spirit pounced right over Shen-Long's head and landed in the middle of the clearing. The sound of its padded feet hitting the grass made no sound at all. There was no impact. There was only this vast, terrifying thing suddenly very present and very fierce. It was completely ignoring the Water Tribe warriors and most of the Fire Nation soldiers.

It loomed menacingly over the two people it had singled out, the older man trying and trying to urge his nephew to move. Its eyes were locked on the Fire Prince.

_**Zuko**__, _it rumbled in a terrible voice.

* * *

That warm feeling of protection I was gushing about before? Forget about it. It was history.

I don't know how and I don't know why, but there was a giant…tiger…._thing_, and it was in the clearing with us. All right, I knew it wasn't just a thing. It was probably the friggin' mountain spirit, and it was probably angry for the same reasons Hei-Bai went all wolf-bat crazy on Senlin village in that one episode. It was the same reason all spirits decide to go ape-shit on humanity.

I figured that someone must have done something very stupid to piss it off, and now it was going to _eat Zuko_.

This had NOT been in my vision, that's for sure. I'd remember something like THIS.

The spirit took another step closer, and Iroh was pushing Zuko behind him. The older man's eyes were locked with the tiger's, filled with awe and respect, but also fear. I could understand. If I were the one being looked at by a giant ghost monster thing, I wouldn't know what to do, either. As far as I knew, the Avatar was the only one who stood a chance at something like an angry spirit.

Or…an Energybender…?

The spirit growled, making one of the Water Tribe guys very nervous.

"Hakoda," he said to another man in blue. "What should we do?"

Oh, come on! Seriously? Had I just been about to attack Sokka and Katara's _dad_ of all people? It must have been the curse of hanging out with "The Bad Guys." Apparently I was doomed to be on the wrong side of the stick. I was an enemy by mere association.

But, whatever. Giant angry tiger spirit! And it was going to eat Zuko!

I looked at the giant tiger and saw it approaching him, snarling with its teeth bared, and felt a horrible, mind-numbing panic. In that moment I forgot everything. And I mean _everything_.

I forgot the fact that it was dangerous. I forgot that I had no idea what I was doing. I forgot all about the Water Tribe men who considered me their enemy as I scrambled off the lizard-horse's back (leaving a startled Yoshi behind on the saddle) and ran in their midst. I forgot about Shen-Long, who had tried to stop me and tried to chase me down, only to have me slip through his fingers. He stumbled and skidded on to his knees; and as frantically as he tried to pursue me, it was too late. I was gone.

I ran past everyone and threw myself in front of Zuko and Iroh.

"Stop," I barked at it. "Go away! Leave them alone!"

I know it was lame, but I didn't know what else to do. Trying to sound threatening was the best I could manage (and I have to admit that my best was downright pathetic; I felt like I was going to projectile vomit all over the place, I was so scared). I mean, it wasn't like I could use my sword and cut the _spirit_ in half. I mean, come on. It was practically a ghost. Weapons don't do shit on ghosts.

"Julie," Iroh called to me. "You have to run!"

I was shaking. The spirit's eyes locked with mine, and I swear to God it was as big as a young elephant. It started to come closer, taking very slow and deliberate steps. I let out a panicked squeak and splayed out my arms, as though to shield Zuko and Iroh with my body.

"Get away from her!" Shen-Long yelled, and he threw another ball of fire at the tiger.

The spirit deflected it effortlessly and snarled at the soldier. The wind became intense, warping into a vortex that hovered around the three of us. Shen-Long tried to fight his way through the gale, but kept getting pushed back for his efforts.

"No!" he screamed. "Julie! Dammit, no!"

I couldn't breathe. The air was still all around us, and I realized we were sitting in the eye of this supernatural wind-storm. My heart thundered against my ribs as the spirit turned back to me. The seconds stretched as it came closer to me, step by step, until finally it loomed over me. I felt like a statue, petrified by the feel of its breath on my shoulders. Its face was so close to mine, and its eyes were like jade tablets as they stared into me.

Time stood still. I didn't move a muscle.

_**Why don't you run away?**_

I swallowed heavily. "W…what…?"

The spirit growled low, but its words echoed into me. _**If you fight me, you will perish, human. It will be slow and painful. Your suffering could last thousands upon thousands of years into eternity…your spirit will exist simply for the sake of being tortured by my claws.**_

Fear shot through me like a pulsing jet of ice water. Pain…I knew what pain was like. But even when my Dad would lay into me, I had the hope in the back of my mind that it would be over soon. He couldn't keep hitting me forever. Eventually he would lumber off somewhere and fall asleep, and I could curl up into a ball on the floor and wait for the sun to rise. Just the start of another day.

But this…there would be no end to it. I thought about my Dad, what it would be like if he was always angry and always wanted to hurt me. What would it be like for me if he never needed to stop and rest? I imagined what his hands would feel like clenched into fists that would never let go of me. The thought filled me with panic.

I wanted to run away. I wanted to escape so very badly.

"But…" I found myself saying. "If I leave…you'll kill Zuko…won't you?"

_**Perhaps**_.

"Why?" I demanded shrilly. "He never did anything to you! He doesn't deserve to…to get hurt…or to die! He doesn't deserve that just because I told him to come here!"

I stopped to catch my breath, as though I had just run a marathon. I felt shaky and exhausted just by that one declaration. I was tired because I knew that I was the one who was guilty, not Zuko. If anything, I should have been the one to be eaten.

Everyone back home probably thought I was dead anyway. What was the difference?

Wait, what was I saying? I didn't want to die here! I was only sixteen years old, for crying out loud. I was too young! I haven't even begun to figure out what I wanted to do with my life…not really. And it wasn't fair at all. I had just started to accept my place here. I had just started to feel like I actually belonged.

I had been so stupid about everything. I have a family here, and I had completely taken them for granted. I was going to completely abandon them and run back to my fucking Dad. I was going to leave Zuko, and if I hadn't changed my mind he'd be dead right now.

Maybe I didn't deserve to have a family…or a second chance.

"I'm the one you should kill," I said, my voice shaking. "It's all my fault that he's here, okay? So…just take me and leave him alone. Do whatever you want to me, just _please_…" I cracked, blinking back tears. "_Please_…don't hurt them. Just leave them alone!"

The tiger stared at me for a long time. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest, and I swear I couldn't hear anything else but the sound of its frantic beating, thumping relentlessly against my ribs and lungs. My ears were ringing as I contemplated my final moments, imagined what it would be like to be repeatedly torn to pieces for an eternity. Sweat beaded on my upper lip and my entire body felt weak with terror.

But I didn't move. I didn't run away. It wasn't so much that I was trying to be brave. I just _couldn't_ leave. Because as horrible as it was going to be to die like this, having something like that happen to people I cared about was…unthinkable.

Besides, I think I was about a hair's breath away from fainting. I don't think I could have run away, even if I wanted to.

You can imagine my utter shock when instead of lunging at me and tearing out my intestines, it bowed low before me instead. I froze, not understanding even as it lifted its eyes to meet mine. It was a gesture of deep respect, and I had no idea how to react to it. Was this some kind of joke?

Wasn't it going to eat me?

_**I yield to your spirit, daughter of man**_, it said. _**My name is Baihu, and I am the guardian of these sacred hills.**_

"B-Baihu…?"

_**My sleep has been disrupted. Humans have violated my shrine, deep in these woods…set it aflame with torches and watched it burn. It drove me into a violent frenzy, and I admit…I have wrongfully slain many innocent people. I was blinded with rage.**_

_**I am still angry…but I am myself again, thanks to you.**_

Um. What?

"I don't understand. What did I do? I've never met you before in my life."

Baihu looked at me intently. _**It was your voice praying for the strength to protect someone. I heard your wish, and it was like waking up from a dream. You would not know this, but I am a spirit of protection. For centuries I have watched over the children of the Jade Mountains, nurtured their Earthbending and protected them from harm. But that all changed when the men in the cloaks destroyed my shrine.**_

"Men in cloaks," I murmured. Then, my eyes widened. "The Brotherhood? They did this?"

_**Yes. And because of it, I lost myself. I became focused on pointless slaughter…I became the very thing I foresaw would come to destroy the people who live here. They, too, have taken up torches and started burning their own at the stake…Earthbenders…and Firebenders they captured, following my example. The sons and daughters of the Brotherhood you speak of, they tempted them to do this abominable thing, but I am equally to blame for turning wild**__**.**_

_**But hearing your wish made me remember who I am. I am a guardian, not a killer or a fiend. And as you ran to find this Zuko, you prayed for the strength to protect him. You wanted to prevent the future you saw. **_

I frowned, lowering my arms as a sudden thought occurred to me. "How do you know that? Are you…like…psychic or something?"

It was a stupid question. Obviously it knew because it was a spirit. It probably knew a lot of things about me.

"Okay, fine," I said quickly, covering up my embarrassment. "You can see the future…but then…wait. The vision I had…the one with Aang and the village…was that _your _vision I was seeing, Baihu?"

The moment I said it, I knew it was true. I don't know how I knew, but it was solid and unshakeable fact to me. This time I met the tiger's gaze boldly, waiting for an answer.

_**Your preconceived notions about time are mistaken, child. It is true, I can see what is to come, but it is the same as seeing what has already past. Time is merely an illusion. There is only now, and right now I am choosing to grant your wish. I will help you protect this Zuko this once.**_

And then, the tiger vanished. I felt a warm glow surrounding me as I turned to look at the men in the clearing. By now, the Water Tribe warriors had pulled away from the Fire Nation soldiers and eyed me warily. I felt powerful and certain that none of them would hurt me.

Zuko and Iroh were staring at me. I could see their eyes on my back without actually seeing. This ancient knowledge pulsed through me, and I reveled in this temporary state of enlightenment. Suddenly, I understood what Baihu had meant about the illusion of time. There was no past and no present; it made no difference to me. Everything was clear in that one instant.

I saw a number of things flashing before my eyes, countless visions of people I knew and people I cared about…some were things that had already happened, but there were many scenes that were new to me. They blinked by too quickly for me to piece them together. It was like having all the pieces I needed to finish a jigsaw puzzle, but no way to tell how they fit together. It baffled me.

Some of the things I saw were good. But there were a few things I saw that scared the crap out of me. However, I'm not going to tell you about them right now. To be honest, I didn't have the chance to really reflect on them until much, much later.

Trust me. You'll find out just what it was Baihu showed me. Just be patient, reader.

Pushing the visions from my mind (they were irrelevant to the matter at hand) I looked away from Zuko and turned towards Hakoda. He immediately moved to stand in front of his men, shielding them from my gaze. He was clearly smart enough to realize that I wasn't myself anymore. I was a threat, and he aimed to put himself in between me and the rest of his tribe.

"Go," he said over his shoulder to the others. "Take Bato and get out of here. I'll follow you."

The men nodded and began their retreat. Hakoda turned back to me and watched me, as though I were a coiled rattlesnake that could lash out at any second.

"I'm not going to fight you," I said. "I just wanted you guys to stop fighting…that's all."

The Water Tribe chief looked incredulous. "I don't understand. You made that spirit bow to you. I thought only the Avatar could do that." He looked me up and down, as though trying to puzzle together the living, breathing paradox standing in front of him. "But the Avatar is supposed to be an Airbender…and you're helping the Fire Nation! Why?"

"It's…complicated," I replied. I glanced back at Zuko and I swallowed, realizing just how dry my mouth had gotten by now. Quickly, I looked away. "I'm not your enemy. I'm just trying to protect someone I love. Do you understand?"

My face flooded with heat as I looked pleadingly at Hakoda. The man just shook his head from side to side. He just looked so confused.

Before he could reach a clear decision about me, though, voices erupted through the trees again, startling us. Hakoda looked past me and saw something that made him curse under his breath. Giving me one final glance, he turned and ran back into the woods, following his men on their path to retreat.

The glow pulsed once around me, then faded into nothing. Baihu had done his job. He left just as suddenly as he came.

I blinked as several Fire Nation reinforcements surged past me. I felt a thrum of alarm as I saw their sheer numbers pressing into the clearing. They ran to their fallen allies and got to work tallying up the casualties and helping the survivors. A few scouted up ahead, trying to pick up where the Water Tribe had gone. I felt my gut clench tight, worrying that they would be caught.

Shen-Long was at my side in an instant, grabbing my arm and turning me to face him.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a low, tense voice. "You're not hurt, are you? Julie?"

I opened my mouth, but the words died as I looked back at Zuko. He was slumped over against Iroh, barely conscious and breathing raggedly. My mind went blank, and without really knowing what I was doing, I pushed Shen-Long away and scrambled back to the Fire Prince. Actually, he didn't really let go, so I ended up dragging him along with me.

I took one look at Zuko's face and knew it was bad. Something was really, really wrong with him.

"Zuko," I whispered. "Zuko, are you…hey! What's wrong with you?"

Iroh looked at me. His face was tense with anxiety. "He is sick. We need to get him to a healer immediately."

"No…"

Zuko heard me and cracked open his eyes. "J…Julie…?" he rasped. He squinted, as though he was having trouble seeing me. "You're here…how…?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Just shut up, stupid. Can't you see you're too sick to talk? Just…just rest. Don't say a fucking word!"

Tears were stinging my eyes as I watched him settle back again, his eyelids sliding shut for good. He just sank out of consciousness, and it was like watching a pair of boulders falling into the ocean and sliding under the surface of the water. It was such a heavy gesture, one of sheer resignation.

Oh, God. He looked terrible.

Shen-Long grabbed at my arm. "There are healers here. They came with the reinforcements."

I blinked as my brain plowed through the mud, struggling to understand. But when I did, I jumped to my feet. The soldier followed me, his mouth set in a worried frown.

But whatever he had been about to say died on his lips. Standing in front of us was Commander Yamada, holding the reins to my lizard-horse in his fist and smirking at us. He looked like a chess master who had just backed his opponent into certain checkmate. I scowled defensively at him, backing up into Shen-Long.

Suddenly, it became nauseatingly clear where all these sudden reinforcements came from. We had been followed. But…why?

"Well, well," said Yamada lightly. "Funny meeting you two, here. What a coincidence."

Yeah, some coincidence. I don't know what this guy wanted or why he was here, but I doubted that it meant anything good for me.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, it's eleven o'clock at night as I write this, and I have to get up at six in the morning for work. My apartment still smells like mold and crap, but there's nothing I can do about it. Eventually my landlord will admit that the carpet needs to be replaced, and he will deduct it from my rent. It was, after all, his fault that this happened in the first place.**

**I hope this chapter didn't come across as filler. We find out plenty of things that explains what happened to the Gaang in Jade Valley village. Namely, if there was a spirit protecting the mountains, why was the Brotherhood able to come in and fuck up the town so badly?**

**Baihu the White Tiger is a real character in Chinese mythology. However, he is considered a god, not a spirit; I took artistic liberty with that. Actually, he is considered one of the four great Gods, and is specifically associated with the West (another artistic liberty I took since they're in the Northeastern Earth Kingdom…but whatever. The earth is round. I'm sure the Jade Mountains are West of **_**somewhere**_**.). After I had done research on him, I realized in a lightning bolt of inspiration that he was absolutely perfect for the Jade Mountains. For one thing, he is a god of protection. People would bury the emperors with pieces of metal shaped like tigers (**_**or pieces of jade with tigers carved into them**_**). Baihu watches over mankind with clairvoyance and watches over the dead, even protecting them from demons. Occasionally, he also lends a hand to the living (usually the armies of the emperor during times of war).**

**The fact that he is a clairvoyant god/spirits lends itself to Julie's visions. Originally, I was going to attribute the phenomenon to the near arrival of the Winter Solstice. For those of you who are still confused about timing, we are about nine weeks into the story. Julie ended up in Avatar-verse at the beginning of October, so it's almost the middle of December now. Winter Solstice isn't until December 21****st****, and by my estimate, Season One itself doesn't end until the end of January.**

**In other words, the series will still continue over the span of one year. I just happen to be way too prolific, so it feels like a lot more time has passed.**

**Anyway, I decided that it would make more sense if a spirit was unknowingly broadcasting its visions to the one Energybender in the area. The fact that Julie is going to become more and more sensitive to the supernatural as the solstice approaches makes this more plausible, in my opinion. Naturally, we are going to keep seeing some freakish spikes in her abilities, many of which will become troublesome, volatile, and unpredictable.**

**Be prepared.**

**As for Commander Yamada, he really isn't that much older than Julie and Zuko. I know I'm doing very badly by tossing another OC at you guys, but you have to keep in mind that this story stretches on for six books. I have to start introducing these guys now, especially since a lot of them will play prominent roles in what will transpire during the events of Season Three and Sozin's Comet.**

**Yamada, I will admit, is based very heavily off of a character from an RPG that I really like. Anyone ever play Devil Survivor or Devil Survivor 2? I just discovered them. I never thought I'd actually find a GOOD game series for the Nintendo DS, but I was pleasantly surprised.**

**You won't see the similarities now since he was just introduced, but as we get to know him in later chapters, you'll see it better…those of you who have played those games, that is. Not to say that he's a carbon-copy OC. I fleshed him out and gave him his own motives. And let's just say that he's got something big up his sleeve.**

**And as for Zhao and Mantis, I know they haven't shown up in a while. I do plan on ending this book with the Winter Solstice episode arch, and they will be the main villains during it. They will also make an appearance soon-ish, but don't worry. We're getting closer to the end. I'm telling you guys right now that I'm not writing ALL of the episodes since the timeline is so different, and, quite frankly, this story is long enough as it is.**

**Ahem. So, I think that just about sums it up. I'm sleepy and want to go to bed. I will post this tomorrow night, when I can get to the library to update. Oh, internet…how I pine for thee…!**

**So? A copper piece for your thoughts? REVIEW!**


	85. Love and Loss

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm finally back. It's been three long weeks that I've been working on my apartment, getting it fixed after that catastrophe shook everything up. And by that I mean, completely ruin my carpet, my stereo, my books, my TV…pretty much everything I use to distract myself from writing.**

**Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something. So, here I am, back and better than ever! **

**And I come bearing news! Finally, I've received intel from some of my readers that Happy Endings fan-art is nigh! And the sketches that were sent me look pretty good, I have to say. Here's the link to the very first reader-sketch of Julie, brought to you by Ga66ie at Deviant Art. Check it out:**

** ga66ie . deviantart # / d54ntwf**

**Just don't forget to take out the spaces when you put the above link in your web browser. I had to put them in because I learned the hard way that automatically deletes links you slip into a chapter. Which is kind of stupid, but who am I to judge the strange and omniscient ways of the admins? Not I.**

**And yeah, I know I've been promising fan-art for ages. And it's finally here! I'm practically bouncing in my seat with excitement. Isn't it absolutely AMAZING? I'm completely psyched!**

**Woo!**

**Anyway, this chapter is already eleven-thousand words long. I should cut to the chase, yes? **

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Eight: Love and Loss**

It was quieting down at Commander Yamada's base camp, but not because things were calm.

The Firebenders could sense the sun's demise as it sank lower and lower in the sky. Though they were trained to be alert and ready to fight no matter what time of day it was, they couldn't help but notice the subtle tug on their chi when the source of their power grew weak. It was an unnerving feeling, one that permeated into the core of one's being—a coldness that couldn't be shaken away. It made many of the newer recruits listless, and that was an understatement.

Often driven to the point of anxiety, Firebenders gradually learned to adjust to the different time zones in the world…they had no choice, really. However, the process was nail-bitingly long; just when your body adjusted to the sun's movements in one region, they would move on to another. For some it took weeks, others months. And yet, the general consensus is the same for everyone: the whole process sucked, no matter how tough you were.

And that was just in the Earth Kingdom. No one envied the poor bastards who were sent on raids against the Water Tribes. Those accursed poles were rumored to be covered in darkness for six-months at a time. Being without the warm caress of the sun for that long was unthinkable. It was madness.

Anyway, the point was that there were a good number of new recruits in Yamada's division, and…well…unfortunately, some weren't faring as well as their comrades. As a result, many of them unintentionally set their bunks on fire (or sleeping bags, as was the case for most of them) when an _absolutely livid_ Lieutenant Jee unexpectedly crossed the perimeter of the camp grounds, startling the holy bejeezus out of them.

"I swear, that girl is in so much trouble…!" he snarled. "If she thinks THIS is bad, just wait! I'll make her grow her hair out and wear it in braids! Tied with ribbons and lace…and they'll be PINK ribbons! A really girly shade of pink that'll make her want to puke!"

Jee threw his head back and laughed maniacally at the sky. There were bags under his eyes, and his forehead looked a little red—as if he had dug his hand into his scalp so many times it had started to irritate the skin. He certainly was a terrifying picture, especially to the new recruits on duty that were mentioned earlier. They were currently debating on whether or not Jee was some kind of raving spirit, or just plain mentally ill.

Bets were leaning on the latter.

It was obvious that the man was on his last tentative thread of patience. He had just had a very long, very exhausting and stressful day; first finding out that Julie had run off to Spirits know where…then in having to track her down, while explaining to a very chagrined councilman and his son that the soon-to-be-betrothed in question wouldn't be meeting them today…THAT had been a mess, all right. And on top of it all, he had no idea if the girl was alive.

Well, until a few hours ago, that is. Shen-Long (who had allegedly left the ship on an unauthorized search-and-retrieve-Julie mission) had sent them a messenger hawk telling them, in no small words, that they were alive and that they were staying in Commander Yamada's camp for the time being. Obviously, Jee wasn't about to just _leave _them there.

He had a big, angry, fatherly lecture built up inside of him, ready to go. There was no way that girl was going to get out of it. Julie could be dead or bleeding right now, and he would never have known. She could be cold and scared and he wouldn't have been able to do anything to make it better. That just wasn't okay.

"She's more vulnerable than she lets on," Jee had tried to explain to Bo-Fen earlier, when they had left the ship. "She may cause a lot of trouble, but I can't just leave her be. I imagine that she's been neglected so many times that it's difficult for her to understand how any of us feel. I need to get through to her that people care about her…that she can't just run off and expect everyone to be okay with it."

He looked away, his face solemn and contemplative. "There's a lot of good in that girl, but she's too angry and headstrong. She doesn't realize how she hurts the ones who care for her."

Bo-Fen made a non-committal sound under her breath. "Julie's a tough nut to crack, Sir. I think there was another reason she left…a more complicated reason."

The Lieutenant had looked so drained when those words hit him. "I _know,_" he said.

And that had been the end of that conversation.

Bo-Fen's gaze drifted to Shim, who had also elected to accompany them to Julie's current whereabouts. He insisted that they were in enemy territory and that there could be injured people to research…err…heal. And Julie, being the volatile and accident-prone person that she was, would need a medical professional who was already familiar with treating her. Jee had been too worried about his missing step-daughter (almost, since she never actually signed the papers) to ask too many questions.

"You look like a kid that woke up and found presents next to his pillow."

Shim turned to her with a smile. "I happen to be in a good mood. It had been a while since I was on dry land, and it'll do me some good to stretch my legs."

Bo-Fen was not in the habit of swallowing other people's shit. So, obviously, she didn't even bat an eye at such a blatant lie. Not only was it a lie…it was a crock of day-old fecal-matter left to fester in the mid-day sun. Shim didn't even bother to try to lie convincingly. It was unnerving…it was like he just didn't care if people saw through him or not.

"Oh?" was all she said.

The healer's eyes glinted in recognition. "As you might have figured out," he said. "I am trying to develop a specialty in spiritual ailments…conditions that are prone to target benders specifically. Spending a day around Julie allows me to draw upon many hypotheses that would never occur to me on my own. She is invaluable.

"Plus," he added, "I heard there was a spirit that protects this area from the Fire Nation. I'm eager to see if it's true or not."

She nodded. "That explains it, then. Not that I really care of anything. I'm just making an observation."

"I do that and more, Bo-Fen. That's why I am a scientist first and a healer second. I need to observe an illness running its full course if I am to learn how to treat it. That is all."

His words were chilling, but they were made even icier by his jarringly benign expression, the one that was so wrong for this conversation. Bo-Fen kept her face stoic to hide how uneasy Shim had made her just now. Besides, she had a reputation for being completely unshakeable to uphold.

"There are a number of ways the human body can be influenced. The very environment we inhabit affects the way we physically grow and heal…there are even unseen forces at work in our development. Invisible factors that can help or hinder us…from the energy currents in the air to the chi that flows through our chakras, all down to the blood that flows in our veins…"

"Stop talking."

Shim smiled. "Request granted. I'll bill you later."

_Smart-ass,_ she thought. If the guy wasn't so damn creepy, they might have been able to be friends. As things were, she was able to grudgingly tolerate him. She had no problem with him so long as he didn't fuck around with her personal space bubble like he did with Julie's.

_Anyway…_

One of Commander Yamada's guards had wandered cautiously up to Lieutenant Jee (who was still laughing like a deranged rodeo-clown on crack). "Um…Sir? I'm going to have to ask for some identification and…um…are you all right?"

"Nothing that a pint of fire-whiskey can't fix," Bo-Fen replied. "But we're here on business."

Jee seemed to regain his military decorum and poise. "Er-hrmmm…yes…I mean…sorry. I am Lieutenant Jee, reporting to General Iroh, who has supposedly retired in _this _camp for the evening. I received orders via messenger hawk to meet him here."

"Ah, y-yes…" the soldier accepted the letter that the Lieutenant handed him and scanned it. "This looks legit. All right. I'll take you to his tent." He exchanged a quick look with the other guard on duty. "Um…but…I should warn you, Sir. General Iroh seems to be…well…in rather low spirits."

"Meaning?"

The soldiers looked at one another again. "You see," the other man spoke up. "Prince Zuko, his nephew, has fallen gravely ill. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but…well…no one really expects him to pull through. His condition is serious."

Oh, perfect. Jee felt a tremor of worry for the esteemed General. He had known the man for years, served under him back at the siege on Ba-Sing-Se and had grown to respect him—for he was not merely good at making war, like so many other people who served in the Fire Nation army. No, what separated him from the rest was how much he actually treasured peace. He did not heartlessly lead his men to death, but guided them to victory; for he knew and respected the value of life.

Jee also knew how broken Iroh had been when his son, Lu-Ten, had perished against Ba-Sing-Se's walls. The last thing he needed was to lose another son. He knew the General well enough to see as plain as day that he loved his nephew like one of his own. Whether or not Prince Zuko noticed or cared was another matter entirely, and it was irrelevant now as the boy lay dying in a foreign land, honorless and alone.

But then again, he wasn't alone, was he?

Suddenly, it made perfect sense to the Lieutenant why Julie ran off so suddenly. He remembered the stricken look on her face when he had told her that Prince Zuko had left before she could say good-bye. She must have known something even then…she had looked so torn and confused.

Jee had a bad feeling about this.

"And…what of Julie? She's here as well, isn't she?"

"Oh, Spirits," one of the guards muttered. "Not _that_ one."

Well, that answered that question.

"I'll show you to where they're all staying," said the first man tiredly. "Right this way."

Jee followed him with a heavy heart. He couldn't readily explain this foreboding, but it made all of his anger melt away into a cold, numb feeling. Nothing about this situation portended anything good for them.

_First Julie runs off…now, Prince Zuko's is dying… _His thoughts were buzzing at him. _How did things get so bad so quickly? _

That thought fled his brain when the soldier pulled back the flap of the tent and beckoned him to enter. Jee hesitated, but saw the questioning look on the man's face and steeled up his nerve. He crossed the threshold, ready to tear into whoever was inside. Dammit, it was about time someone gave him some answers! What in the name of Agni was going on here?

Except when he got a good look at Julie's face, all the questions and angry words died on his lips.

She had been sitting by herself in the corner, her eyes glazed and red as they stared at nothing. She had been trying very hard not to be noticed as the healers toiled away on their patient, who was curled up and unmoving on the cot in the center of the room. However, as Jee strode into the tent, her eyes flickered to him in alarm. Tears flooded her eyes (for what he suspected was not the first time that evening) and she frantically tried to blink them back as their gazes locked.

The glance held, and her resolve broke. She completely dissolved into quiet despair, rising stiffly to her feet and moving to leave the tent.

She took brisk, jerky steps as she walked, too erratic and upset to even walk straight. Her shoulders were stiff and her head was bowed as she avoided any further eye contact. Julie must have thought that he was there to yell at her and sought to remove herself from a situation she couldn't deal with at the moment.

Well, things were different now. There was a time and a place for lecturing, and this definitely wasn't it. All of that could wait until…was it naively optimistic to assume that things would go back to normal?

Jee caught her shoulders as she moved to pass him and pulled her into an awkward hug. It was an impulsive decision, one that he wouldn't have made under normal circumstances. Technically, she wasn't officially his daughter yet. Some might consider the gesture to be inappropriate.

But how could he leave her like this? He couldn't. There was no way.

Surprisingly, Julie didn't resist. She crumpled against him, grabbing on to his uniform in angry fistfuls. She drew a shuddering breath, as if she were drowning. It was as if she couldn't get any air into her lungs, as if she was slowly suffocating. Jee held her, watching her struggle to compose herself and failing. It didn't take long for her flimsy façade to crack.

He felt her tears staining his shirt moments before the words came pouring out. It was like watching a dam break.

"He…he's dying, Jee…!" she sobbed. "He's going to…to die…and I…it's all my…" she drew another shaky breath, unable to finish. "I…I'm so sorry…! I'm sorry…!"

Jee had a flash of painful nostalgia, a distant memory of comforting his Cheng in the very same way when she had fallen and skinned her knee. But this was far worse and far more difficult to fix; it was all he could do, rub small circles into her back and let her cry into his shoulder.

"Easy," he said calmly. "Just let it out. It's okay."

"It's _not _okay…!" she snarled, clenching her fists tighter. "It'll never be okay again!"

Her burst of anger seemed to drain her, and she sagged against his chest again. Jee, not knowing what else to do, steered her back to her chair, pushing her gently into it. He reached out and cupped her chin in his hand, inspecting her. Julie's face was flushed and blotchy from crying, and quite frankly she looked exhausted.

Dejected, he let her go.

"You need to get some rest," he told her softly. "We can talk about this later. Right now, we're going to find you a nice soft bed for you. Okay?"

She glared at him. "I won't leave."

"That's not for you to decide, young lady. Come, now. Do you want me to carry you out like a child?"

Julie shied away from him. "If you touch me, I'll scream," she warned him. "Don't you _dare_ take me away from Zuko! What if he…what if he needs something? What if he wakes up and I'm not here? Did you think of that?"

He gave her a stern look. "There are plenty of healers here. They're perfectly capable of taking care of his Highness. There's nothing you can do here."

She looked like he had just stabbed her. Her eyes flickered to the bed, and Jee's gaze followed. Now, there wasn't anyone blocking his view of the prince; nothing hindered him from seeing how dangerously flushed he was. He could hear the boy drawing ragged breaths, ones that clearly pained him and caused him to sputter and cough. It was a miserable sight.

Shim, at his point, had finished questioning the healers on duty in his typical perturbing manner. With an unaffected smile, he wandered over to Jee and glanced down at Julie to acknowledge her presence. "It's good to see you again."

Julie went very stiff and bit out two words, an automatic response. "Fuck off."

He nodded, as if he had just tested her reflexes and found everything to be normal. Then, he looked at Lieutenant Jee. "The prognosis is grim. They say that they can't figure out what's wrong with him, but they suspect that spirits are involved in his sickness."

"Spirits?"

At this point, more people entered the tent. Shen-Long pushed his way inside carrying a cup of water, followed by his sister. They had been talking outside for a few minutes while all of this was happening. The soldier scanned the room, found Julie sitting like a broken marionette in her chair, and quickly made his way to her side. He handed her the glass, and she accepted it without a word.

"Are you sure you don't want anything to eat?"

She shook her head.

"Julie," Jee tried again. "This isn't helping. Do you think Prince Zuko wants you to get sick, too? What if this is contagious? You shouldn't be…"

Someone put a hand on his shoulder before he could finish. The Lieutenant looked around and saw General Iroh standing behind him, looking pale and exhausted. Actually, he looked worse than Julie, if one can believe such a thing. Julie's grief made waves; it screamed and clawed at you like a maelstrom. But Iroh's grief was silent and imposing. It left the impression of a lone tombstone in a clearing, standing alone, cold to the touch and permanently rooted to the spot. It was an unmoving, all-consuming grief.

Iroh met Jee's gaze and the Lieutenant relented immediately. He stepped aside and let the General pass him.

"She may stay if she wishes," he said, his face expressionless. "Zuko sometimes calls for her in his sleep. It would be heartless to keep them apart right now."

Julie's hands tightened around the cup of water. Shen-Long had his hand on her back, supporting her. Jee looked from her to Iroh before letting out a sigh.

"If she's staying," he decided. "Then so am I."

One of the healers cleared his throat. "Um…actually, there are already too many people in the tent. I'm going to have to ask some of you to leave. It's hard for us to work when it's this crowded."

Bo-Fen came over and looped her arm around her brother's. She started pulling him towards the door. "Shen and I will give you guys some space. Lieutenant Jee, Sir? Shen still needs to report to you about today's incident, if that's all right. It'll only take a few minutes."

The Lieutenant looked annoyed, but nodded. He knew his duty, after all. He couldn't entirely forsake them, even for the sake of the girl he had grown to accept as his daughter. Patting Julie on the shoulder (she didn't react at all), he rose to his feet and followed them outside.

He would debrief Shen-Long, figure out what to do with the rest of the crew during these uncertain times, and then he would return to her. For he, too, knew what it was like to lose someone he loved. And he had learned that it was something no one should have to face alone. After all, if it wasn't for General Iroh, who knows what he might have done during _that _time.

He decided, then. He would be there for Julie, yes, but he would also be there for Iroh; the man who held his deepest respect and gratitude.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Commander Zhao quirked an eyebrow as he watched Mantis preparing herself for what she called a "little detour." It had been a sudden decision to change direction, taking them several days off schedule from their destination (and turning Zhao's mood sharply south of where it had been). Perhaps if he had been informed of this prior, he wouldn't have been so livid about it. He could have made preparations to avoid facing repercussions with the Fire Navy should he happen to be late for the blockade.

But she hadn't, and therefore he couldn't have. He had known nothing about this spur-of-the-moment mission, and had been just as surprised as his crew when that woman ordered the helmsman to head southeast, back into Earth Kingdom waters. And she still hadn't told him why.

Mantis didn't have to. Out of the two of them, she was the one holding the reins and whip. And as much as Zhao liked a bit of S&M in the bedroom, it downright sucked if he wasn't the one in control of things.

That bitch had been silently gloating the whole time, too.

The naval commander knew that this could cost him dearly; if he did not arrive at the blockade he was supposed to be supervising, the Fire Lord would demote him…maybe worse. All sorts of dark thoughts floated through his mind as he watched Mantis getting ready. He had to hope against common sense that she would drop some kind of clue about what she was planning.

Aware of her audience, she took extra care in strapping on a few more knives than usual. They weren't throwing knives, but were thick and made for parrying, like daggers. She had them readily available, one attached to each arm, and one strapped to the inside of each thigh. The effect was intimidating and mouth-wateringly appealing, as was evidenced by the reactions of the men stationed at the door. Their interest was poorly concealed as they glanced into the room and roved Mantis's scantily-clad body with their eyes.

Zhao had other things on his mind, though. He was still trying to figure out the woman's intentions.

"You must be nervous to be taking such precautions," he noted.

The woman smirked at him. She was revealing quite a lot of skin and took her time in getting dressed, indifferent to the show she was putting on for the Commander. "This should be fun," she purred. "It's been a while since I've gone to visit that old glutton."

Zhao ignored her blatant flirtations and focused on this useless tidbit of information. But he knew he couldn't directly pursue the truth without alerting Mantis to his suspicions. "And you're sure this is worth the detour?"

"Oh, definitely."

He frowned, moving towards the door. "I'm surprised you're only bringing two guards with you. I'd say you're confident that nothing bad will come of this, except that you seem to be anticipating trouble, with all those knives of yours."

"A girl can accessorize any way she chooses, Commander. It's wiser not to ask too many questions."

The veiled threat was present. She was telling his in sugary tones to mind his own fucking business. Zhao grudgingly dropped the topic of the knives and instead honed in on her escorts.

"And the men…are you sure they're qualified for this mission?"

Mantis flashed a coquettish smile. "Why, Zhao…are you worried? I never knew you cared."

He just stared at her. The Commander wasn't known for being especially patient, but he also rarely took the time or effort to correct others on their own stupidity. Rather than heatedly deny the claim, he would wait for her to reach a more logical conclusion on her own. Or not. It really wasn't his problem.

As if sensing his thoughts, she pouted. "The men you assigned to me…they're expendable, right?"

He blinked at her. "Yes," he said. "Most of them are."

She got up and walked over to him, the heels of her boots clicking seductively with every stride until she was right in front of him. Inches separated him from her, and she lingered there, letting him savor the suggestive warmth of her body heat. She certainly was appreciating his, after all.

"Then they're qualified," she replied sweetly.

Zhao didn't respond. His eyes narrowed at her until she breezed past him and left the room. The guards, hearing this, exchanged looks of panic. They suddenly had second thoughts about accepting this mission, and who could blame them.

They should have known what they were getting into. He wasn't about to waste any sympathy on the weak.

"Get going," the Commander told them. "Stay alert…for your own sakes."

Zhao watched their confidence plummet, like a stone getting sucked into a viscous swamp. That bitch would eat them alive…if something else didn't, first. She clearly had plans for them, and he certainly didn't envy them in the slightest.

After all, Mantis had, had plans for him, too. He was just fortunate in that they involved him remaining alive…for the time being. It was another reason why Zhao hated Julie so much. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be trapped under that woman's thumb right now. That girl was solely to blame for his cursed existence, and he would make her pay for it.

Soon, she would be begging him for death, and he would keep her alive. He would keep her alive just so he could break her over and over again. He would mangle her…tear her to pieces…melt off her skin and break her fingers and toes, gouge out her eyes…he would burn tattoos into what flesh she had left…there were so many things he wanted to do to that girl.

But, for now, he would bide his time.

Saluting in unison, the soldiers followed Mantis down the hallway, dragging their feet and looking like scared little mice. They were certainly doomed, but they were lucky. If Mantis disposed of them, they would be free of her. Zhao would probably never be free.

How he _hated_ that bitch.

* * *

Half an hour later, the trio brought their little boat to rest beside the abandoned Fire Navy tanker. They could tell it had been abandoned by the way it drifted aimlessly in the water, like a massive dead whale. The engines had been left to run to the point where it had been feeding off of fumes, and the propellers jerked in random spasms since they had never been shut off. But it was unlikely that the ship would be going anywhere, and it was open for anyone who was brave enough to explore its bowels.

Mantis smiled. "It's a nice day to go sightseeing, isn't it?" she quipped, while the two guards stared apprehensively at the tanker's hull. They glanced once at the woman sitting in between them (who was fondling one of her knives) and quickly got to work bringing their boat to rest alongside the larger vessel in spite of their foreboding.

"I heard stories about abandoned ships," one of the guards muttered to his companion. "Nothing good comes out of them. Nothing but dead bodies, cursed treasure, vicious spirits, and face-hugging monsters that lay eggs in your stomach. Nasty stuff."

"Face-huggers?"

"That's what I heard. They're awful buggers. They force the eggs through your mouth, and they go into your stomach until they hatch, and…"

"You've been reading too many horror stories, Taki. There's no way I'm going to believe in something stupid like that."

The first man looked up at the tanker again. "I dunno. I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Maybe there aren't any face-huggers on that ship…but I'm willing to bet there's something worse. _A lot_ worse than anything we've ever faced.

At this point, the two were interrupted by an impatient noise from a female throat. They looked up and saw Mantis leaning suggestively over the top railing of the tanker's deck, revealing some cleavage and pouting at them. But she was also caressing the knife and narrowing her eyes at them.

"I'm getting bored," she stated, and the two men shivered. Hastily, they tied the boat to the main vessel and lost no time in climbing the rope ladder that had been conveniently left to danger over the side of the ship. They had heard some gruesome stories about what happened to people who couldn't keep that woman entertained.

"What did I tell you, Liu?" the first guard whispered sharply, nodding in Mantis's direction. "Much worse than a face-hugger, that's for sure!"

The second man looked sullen. "That doesn't count…smart ass."

"Show's what you know."

But nothing more was said as they climbed over the railing, helping one another until they both had solid footing on deck. Mantis was waiting for them by the door leading down below…or rather, the gaping hole with empty hinges, gaping at them like a slack jaw. The door looked as though someone or something had torn it off. There were scraps of metal littering the floor, supporting the notion that this something had forced its way inside.

"Took you long enough," she said. "Let's go. We're burning daylight."

They hesitated. "Um…ladies first?"

She smirked. "Nice try. You lead the way, gentlemen. I'll follow up the rear and make sure nothing uncuddly follows us inside."

(**A/N: Guys, what happens next is going to be really, really nasty. So, taking note of 's tendencies to purge overly-graphic and violent stories, I am letting the readers know beforehand that they are about to stumble into something very unsettling and disturbing. If you can't handle gorey descriptions, skip ahead to the next author's note (farther down the page) so you don't miss the plot point. If you feel you can handle it, don't complain later when you end up sick. Or enjoy. Whichever floats your boat.**

**~Distant-Moon~)**

They didn't like this plan, but what could they do? Miserable and dreading what they might face past the threshold, they crossed over and began descending the steps into the darkness below. Immediately they were assaulted with a foul odor, something akin to rusted copper and festering meat. One of the men, wary of tripping in the dark, ran his hand along the walls as he climbed down the stairs, and was startled when something wet and sticky met his fingertips.

He paused to light up a flame, curiosity getting the better of him. When he saw that his hands were now stained in blood that had been smeared along the walls, he felt the walls of his stomach clench tight in horror. He resisted the urge to heave.

"Shit…" the other man cursed, stopping short. "Look at the state of this place…it's…completely wrecked."

They looked around at the troubling signs. The metal that made up the walls, the ceiling, and the floor had man-shaped dents in them. Blood and other body fluids were puddling in random spots, usually coming to a stagnant pool made by the caving metal; and a lot of it was also splattered on the walls, like paint. Suddenly, they realized why the air reeked so badly.

Mantis sidestepped the puddles, careful not to get her boots dirty. She glanced coolly at her two companions, who were trying very hard to compose themselves. The very sight of the one hallway had their morale plummeting even more so than it had for the entire trip.

"Suck it up," she snapped. "You're trained soldiers. This is nothing to you."

Taki, had enough mettle to glare at the woman. "That may be true…but that doesn't mean we enjoy it. We don't kill for shits and giggles…not the way _you _do! And anyone who can look at this with a straight face can't possibly be human!"

"Shut up!" Liu hissed, grabbing his arm and shooting Mantis a cautious look. But to their surprise, she just broadened her smile, revealing rows of pearly teeth that gleamed almost menacingly.

"Not human, huh?"

They didn't answer. She giggled openly at their trepidation.

"Oh, that's droll. I haven't been this tickled since the time I drugged my first husband and had my way with him. He thought he had been drunk, you know. It was hilarious…and not too far off the mark since he was so fond of scotch."

She trailed off, her eyes still gazing into her memories. Twisted though they might be, they seemed to bring her into a state of quiet happiness.

"I wonder how that bastard is doing," she murmured. "I wish I knew."

The two guards gave a start. "Um…you actually slept with someone, and left them alive?" Taki blurted out without thinking.

Her eyes cut to him. The two froze simultaneously, sensing danger in that gaze that was only now noticing that they were there. Real anger sparked in her face, turning her into a livid snake. Even then, the two unfortunates couldn't be certain whether she was angry at the remark or for having been interrupted from her moment of nostalgia.

Or perhaps she was mad that they had been there to witness it. Either way, they knew they were in deep shit with Mantis.

"You ask too many questions," she spat quietly. "One of these days, someone is bound to cut off your tongue if you aren't careful."

The guard gulped and turned even paler. "M-message received."

She sniffed in disdain, turning on her heel and striding away from them without a word. They looked at each other, surprised that no harm had come to them. After a moment, they shrugged and followed the woman as she stalked deeper into the ship.

"Shouldn't be too far now," she muttered as they passed through another hallway.

This one was much worse than the last. The farther in they went, the more devastation they encountered. Doors had been completely torn through, as though they were made of paper. A few times they made the mistake of peeking into one of the rooms and caught sight of a mangled body or two. They never looked for more than a second. That was a second too long, in their opinion.

As they rounded the corner, they almost ran into a corpse that had been left in their path. The two guards recoiled in horror, but Mantis just sighed at the hindrance. It was as if she couldn't see the way the skin had been torn off in random spots…the way limbs hung awkwardly in the sockets…and good Spirits, it was even missing an arm.

_It_. They couldn't see this thing as a person anymore. Not if they wanted to stay sane.

"I guess it's true. They really do shit themselves when they die," Mantis commented, covering her nose with the back of her hand. "Come on. What we're looking for is in the basement…at least, I suspect it is. That's where all the destruction seems to lead."

Taki gagged and ended up expelling the contents of his stomach on the floor. His companion steadied him, looking like he would be doing the same thing if he had anything to throw up. The woman certainly wasn't going to wait for them, and they were supposed to be following her orders until the mission was over.

_Just keep thinking about the mission…anything but the hell surrounding you_…

Swallowing, Liu pulled the younger soldier along with him, not suspecting what lay waiting for them in the darkness of the basement level of the ship.

(**A/N: You know, I'm realizing how hypocritical it is for me to leave warnings for violence and gore after that one chapter where that guy gets burned at the stake. But no, I'll just reiterate what was said earlier. This is a very disgusting scene. I kind of got sick writing it. God, this is what watching all those horror flicks have done to my brain. I think I need therapy.**

**Seriously. It actually gets worse from here on in. If you're already blowing chunks, just skip down to the next author's note at the end of the scene.**)

The smell was even worse down below. The two men had to blink back their tears of disgust, the thick odor of corpses heavy in the air. It was pitch black until one of the Firebenders lit up a flame and carried it in the palm of his hand. The other soldier grabbed him by the arm, hissing at him not to be stupid.

"Whatever did _this_," he whispered. "…will find us if you keep that lit. Put it out!"

"He already knows we're here," Mantis replied from ahead of them. "He could smell us a mile away. It doesn't matter. He won't attack us…not yet."

They stared at her. "You _know _what did this?"

"An old friend," she said lightly. "Well…friend is pushing it. I guess you can say we're kindred spirits…something like that."

That made the Firebenders go pale. _Kindred spirits?_ Just what the fuck had they gotten themselves into, actually agreeing to lead this woman into a place like this? They had practically agreed to commit suicide!

Mantis, meanwhile, had cleared the bottom of the stairs, oblivious to horrified silence she left in her wake. She narrowed her eyes, peering around in the gloom for the man in question. She frowned, her lips puckering as she made out a hulkish outline up ahead. He was waiting by the far wall, a great behemoth of a man (or was it a man?) curled up all by his lonesome and seemingly engaged in something.

The two soldiers saw him, too. They froze, gaped at the thing hunched over with his back facing them as the sound of _chewing_ reaching their ears like the sound of grinding leather.

"What in the name of Agni _is _that?" Liu breathed in shock.

His ears jerked at the sound of a human voice. He turned slowly, still chewing as he glanced at them from over his massive shoulder. Blood was caked around his mouth, dribbling on to his chin as he swallowed whatever it was he was eating. But even as they wondered, the creature brought the severed arm to his lips to take another bite out of the flesh, pulling it apart with his teeth like an animal.

He was eating it.

"I figured you'd be full after such a large meal," Mantis spoke up, smiling innocently up at him. "You certainly ate more than usual. Hell, there must have been a good fifty people on board this tanker. You finish them all in one sitting?"

The man-thing took its time swallowing his mouthful of human flesh before replying. "I've…g-got…left…leftovers…"

The words came out with difficulty, as if the mouth that was so quick to devour humans was too clumsy to shape out the language they spoke. The voice that came out sounded garbled, like a man trying to talk and gargle at the same time. The Firebenders could feel bile rising in the backs of their throats, but were still paralyzed at the gruesome image before them. If they could move, they'd have already been shooting fire at it and watching the monster burn.

"Hmm…I guess these guys weren't enough to satisfy you, though. I mean, you _are _still eating."

The Thing growled under his breath. "Spirits…weak…need…feeding…."

He sounded frustrated and pained that it couldn't find the right words to express itself. His eyes darted to the two guards Mantis had brought with her, and they tensed, expecting to die right then and there. But the woman got the beast's attention when she snatched the severed arm by the wrist and held it in front of him. He rumbled in displeasure, making grabbing motions at it, but Mantis was careful not to let him have it back.

"I know," she said in a low voice. "You need to keep feeding. You need to eat the flesh of people with powerful spirits; you need to feed on their chi or else dear Niptra will tear off more pieces of your soul. As it chews on you, you start devouring your own flesh…was that how you got that _interesting_ wound on your arm, Pisaca?"

The creature flinched, looking angry and afraid. His large hand went to clasp the very noticeable gap in his forearm, a gaping hole that skin had barely healed over. It looked like a sinkhole of flesh.

"Leave!"

"Oh, but why would I do that?" she cooed. "Especially when I have _so much _to tell you. You're not very nice to me at all…and after I go through all the trouble of preparing your meals, the least you could do is thank me."

"Wait a minute!" Taki choked. "Y-you? You _prepare _his _meals? _Are you saying that you…that you…brought this creature here?"

Mantis gave him a bored look.

"You don't even _care, _do you? You just walked through a ship full of dead bodies, and you didn't even bat an eye! You're _holding a severed arm_…! And you don't feel a thing! Nothing!"

She sighed. "You're annoying. Why would I care? I didn't know these people. I didn't need them for anything. It's like stepping on ants. Am I going to cry over them when they get crushed under my heel? No. They're just insects."

The man shook his head, bewildered and livid. "You're just as much of a monster as that thing behind you. You'll _never _get away with this! Do you think we'll just let you keep slaughtering more of our brothers and sisters in uniform? We _will _stop you…even if we have to kill you _and _that disgusting pet of yours!"

But the older man put his hand on his companion's shoulder. "Taki…of course she isn't going to let us leave. She brought us here to die...didn't you?" he added, turning to Mantis.

The woman smiled at him. "Good to see one of you has a functioning brain. I'm sure Pisaca will savor the taste of it very, very much."

And before either of them could react, the man-beast Picasa rose to its feet, eying them hungrily. Taki, the younger of the two guards, panicked and sent a fire-blast directly at the monster's face. He didn't stop at just one, though. He kept tossing a barrage of fire balls at the predator, his fear and adrenaline fueling his inner fire to an alarming frenzy.

"Taki, you idiot! Conserve your strength! You aren't even fazing him!"

The young man gasped as Pisaca lifted his head. Its skin was now a grotesque mural of burns, but even as it took a step towards them, Taki could see the wounds rapidly healing themselves. "W-what…?"

"Move, you fool!" the other guard ran to push his ally out of the way, but they ended up sliding in the blood on the floor and falling to their knees.

Mantis smirked, amused by their hopeless struggle. Taki was flailing and screaming, but the older man, Liu, had his eyes on Pisaca as he tried in vain to pull them back on to their feet. It looked as though they were embracing for the three seconds they were vulnerable.

_Three…_

Taki realized they were kneeling in blood and froze. For that brief instant he truly believed that blood was his. For the moment, he believed he was already dead. The fire he had lit in his hand flickered and died, too.

_Two…_

Liu jerked the other guard up as Pisaca loomed just ahead of them, just at their only light source went out. Darkness fell over them, and the last thing he could remember seeing was the gleaming of the monster's teeth. All he could hear was Taki's gasps and his own heartbeat.

_One…_

The distance closed between them.

Mantis waited until long after the screams had ended, until the sound of crushing bones and messy chewing had subsided. She reached into her pocket and found a box of matches, picking one out at random and striking a tiny light. Holding it aloft, she could make out Pisaca sitting in between the two dead Firebenders, his hands and front covered in entrails.

"And let me guess," she said wryly. "You're still famished. Aren't you?"

The creature continued dipping his fingers into the bodies, only half-listening as it continued to eat.

"Consider the snack a promise of the feast waiting for you. I happen to know of a place where you can find one person…one measly human…with such a powerful spiritual presence that you won't have to eat anything again for a long time."

Pisaca dropped the lung he had been about to put in his mouth and turned to look at Mantis with wide eyes. Those eyes looked startled, almost hopeful in a deeply haunted way.

"I…wo…won't need…feeding…?"

"Perhaps. If you swallow this girl, even Niptra is bound to be satisfied. What will he need his pathetic host for when he's completely satiated with chi?"

Something clenched tight in the man-creature's expression. "Tell me…!" he wheezed, staggering forward on his knees and dragging the dismembered corpses with him. His blood-stained fingers caught Mantis by both shoulders as he stared pleadingly into her face.

There was a beat of silence.

"Tell me…p-please…!"

And the woman smiled.

"Her name is Julie."

(**A/N: Aaaaaaaand…END SCENE! Okay, it's safe for the faint of heart to read now. All you guys need to know is that Mantis has enlisted the help of someone very, very bad to go after Julie. And apparently he eats people. Nuff said.**)

* * *

It wasn't fair.

It had only been a few hours since the battle ended, mere hours since I had stolen that lizard-horse and defied time and spirits and God knows what else to find Zuko. It had all happened so fast that I hadn't really stopped to take any of it in. It was only then, those few hours later, as I found myself watching Zuko from across the room, when everything collapsed on to me.

My mind was like a pendulum, going back and forth and colliding into memory after memory. It went all around in circles, over and over again. My thoughts were erratic and dizzying, and nothing I did would make them slow down or stop. My mind wouldn't shut down the way I wanted it to.

I buried my forehead in my hands and chose to stare at the floor. I was too numb to cry anymore. I was too numb to care that I had broken down in front of Jee; too numb to notice to cup of water Shen-Long had given me, left untouched on the table beside me; and far too numb to notice General Iroh sitting in a chair in front of me, watching me.

But I noticed. Even if I couldn't feel anything, everything was painfully sharp and clear. I noticed all of the details, even the ones that would sting and burn long after they had passed into my memories.

"That was brave of you," said Iroh, breaking the silence between us. "What you did for Zuko…it was very noble…and…unexpected."

I didn't answer him. I felt like a piece of furniture; as silent and hidden in the background as I tried to be, I was still somehow a part of the dramatic events unfolding. Though I wondered how Iroh could be thinking of me while Zuko was…no, I couldn't even think about Zuko right now. I wanted to stay numb.

If the ice in my veins got any colder, it would start to burn.

"I didn't do anything," I answered, my voice hoarse.

Iroh looked at me for a moment. "You were willing to put yourself in between my nephew and death…and possibly worse. Do you realize how much danger you were in when you offered yourself to Baihu?"

"Does it matter?"

He looked down at his hands. There was something hard and pained and fervent in his expression, bitter and passionate and afraid…I wasn't sure which of those Iroh was feeling, but for all I knew he felt all of them at once.

"It does matter. You care very deeply for Zuko. Love always matters, Julie."

I winced. "Stop. I don't want to talk about this. There isn't even a point to it anymore!" I let out a sharp breath, horrified that I was blinking back tears again. "It's too late."

I was speaking in a quiet, small voice that sounded like it should have belonged to a child. It made me feel so completely helpless, like everything was spinning out of control. It was like getting sucked up in a black, twisted tornado—everything screamed in my ears and time seemed to blur in front of me, but for all appearances I was still sitting perfectly still in my seat.

Nothing made sense anymore.

"Julie," Iroh said softly, as if he had to strain himself to speak. He paused for a moment to collect his emotions, which was not surprising at all. I could only imagine how much worse this was for the ex-General. It must have felt like he was losing another son.

As much pain as I was in right now, I knew that it would never compare to what _he _was feeling. Knowing this, I forced myself to look at him, to pay attention to everything he said to me.

"You have only known Zuko for about three months at best…and yet you two have already developed a powerful connection to one another, and I don't mean that figuratively." He almost smiled, but it was a very sad and empty smile. "But you did not know how he was before...before he met _you_."

His eyes met mine and it was like looking into Zuko's eyes. They both had that same intensity and golden irises that left me speechless.

"Did Zuko tell you why he hunts for the Avatar, Julie?"

I nodded. I remembered that day we had gone shopping together, the details agonizingly clear…the clear sky, the trinkets and the merchants, the litchi nuts…sitting on that bench and listening to Zuko as he explained how much his banishment had cost him…how important it was to him that he found a way home. Though I hadn't really understood then what he was getting at. Maybe I just didn't want to.

But Iroh was making me understand whether I wanted to or not.

"He was obsessed," the older man said quietly, pain lacing his voice. "All he could think about was how he could restore what had been lost…_if_ such a thing were possible. After all, the Avatar hadn't been seen…"

"…in a hundred years," I finished dully. Seriously, why was he telling me this?

He nodded. "That's right. Naturally, when he was sent away from the Fire Nation, no one expected that he would succeed. Zuko knew that…and he was determined to prove them all wrong. That need consumed him…turned him angry and unstable, especially in the beginning." He looked me in the eyes, his face drawn and solemn. "I knew that if he kept up like this for long, it would destroy him. Either he would wear himself down trying to capture something that might not have even existed anymore…or he would realize how hopeless it was, and he would give up…not just on his mission, but on everything."

I blinked. "You mean…you thought he would…like…kill himself or something?"

Iroh didn't quite look at me. "There was one incident…but it was a long time ago. But that…" he shook his head, not elaborating as my blood turned into ice. "Nothing came of it. In the end, Zuko was too strong to throw his life away. He has had to claw his way through a dark wilderness to achieve something that might not be possible…in a way, it was a blessing that he could never let go of the mission his father had given him."

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Iroh couldn't have meant what I thought he meant. This all had to be a joke, a sick joke. Zuko would never try to kill himself. It was so unlike him. He wouldn't allow himself to die until he…oh.

Until he captured Aang. But he only found out Aang was alive a few months ago…so what had it been like for three years, searching and searching and not knowing if he would ever find him? Three long years…how could anyone stay so determined for so long?

They couldn't.

"Do not be alarmed. I highly doubt Zuko will attempt something so foolish a second time."

My eyes flickered to him. "How can you be so sure?" I asked. "You mean because he's…sick?" I couldn't bear to say the word _dying _again. Not in front of this man. Not at all.

The thought was too horrible.

"No," Iroh replied evenly. "Zuko does not have solely his mission to rely on for his happiness anymore. He is starting to realize that honor cannot simply be given to him…it is something he has to achieve for himself. He has told me this himself, so…I know it is true. He said that it was something he came to realize as he got to know you.

"In other words," he concluded. "Things have changed for Zuko because he met you."

I clenched my hands into fists at my sides. "He said that, huh?"

"You didn't know my nephew before," Iroh replied to my obvious skepticism. "You do not realize how much more patient and gentle he has become around you. Lately, you have become his greatest hope at regaining his honor…not because of your bending or the things you can do…but because of what you represent to him. You are valiant and selfless…and Zuko is starting to seek those same attributes in himself. And," he added. "I believe that he cares for you as deeply as you care for him."

Did he really think that this was helping?

I had a feeling that Iroh was telling me all of these things in an attempt to make me feel better. Whether they were true or not were irrelevant. The fact of the matter was that these were the last things I needed to hear. All this did was confirm what I had been pushing back the entire time I had been sitting there in the tent, waiting for Zuko to draw his last breath.

This was happening because of me.

"So, it's my fault then," I breathed angrily. "This stupid thing…he was doing it because he promised me. He said he would find Aang and capture him honorably. _I _was the one who sent him out here in the first place! He would have been fine if he had stayed on the ship, right? He wouldn't have been pushing himself so hard and he…" I swallowed. "If I hadn't pushed him away…would he be dying right now?"

Iroh's face was grim. "My nephew knew what he was getting into. I don't blame you for this…especially when you did everything in your power to save him."

"Yeah," I spat. "Too bad it didn't work. I love him, right? Love should be enough, right?" I laughed bitterly as tears misted in my eyes again. But the sound was empty and discordant. "It doesn't do shit. It can't perform miracles. It isn't going to change anything…or magically make him better. Love is _worthless_…I don't want anything to do with something so _useless_…!"

Iroh didn't say anything to contradict me. Perhaps he realized that it was pointless trying to argue since I wouldn't believe him. Instead, he just nodded sadly and got up from his chair.

"I am going to have a word with Commander Yamada. Can you keep an eye on my nephew for me, Julie?"

I jerked my head affirmatively. "Whatever. What else am I going to do?"

He nodded again, not fooled by my pretense. Not that I cared. I had other things to worry about. Namely, the idiot lying in the bed across the room and rasping out labored, uneven breaths. It was a painful sound, listening to him trying to breathe. It was like something heavy was sitting on his chest, preventing him from drawing in air.

And sometimes, when he tried to exhale, he would start coughing. It scared me every time this happened, and it happened a lot. It made me angry that I couldn't stop being so afraid of the moment I knew would come…the moment he drew his last breath, the moment it would all be over.

I realized that I had wandered to his bedside without noticing. The healers weren't in the tent at the moment. It was just me and him. Me and this insufferable, stubborn idiot.

I had mixed feelings. I found myself repressing both an urge to wrap my arms around him _and_ the bizarre temptation to punch him repeatedly in the face…you know, for making me worry so damn much.

"I hope you're satisfied," I snapped tearfully. "You got what you wanted, right? You're dying for your stupid honor, now. You must be flying over the moon, you stupid bastard." I sank down on the cot and ghosted a hand over his forehead, my touch feather soft in spite of my harsh words. "I…I don't know how to fix this. No one does. Why the hell do you have to be so _difficult_…?"

I stopped, forced to collect myself. Otherwise I knew I would start bawling. He couldn't even hear me, and even now I didn't want him to see me cry. There was obviously something wrong with me.

"This is just like you," I muttered, my heart in my throat. "Expecting me to just _deal_ with whatever you decide. Like now, how I'm supposed to just pick up the pieces of my life and carry on without you. After you went through all the trouble of getting me to _like _you…making me _trust_ and _need_ you, you freaking moron! Were you planning this the whole time? Was this just some kind of sick joke to you?"

My hands were shaking, and I couldn't keep the tears out of my voice anymore. I clung to him and laid my head against his shoulder, pleading with him. It was dramatic and pointless, and in the back of my mind I knew if the healers were still in the tent they would be dragging me away. Such display of grief was inappropriate, they would probably argue…only it wasn't, because they didn't understand how I felt about Zuko. No one did.

Not even _I _understood how I felt. It was crazy. I was crazy…and I didn't care anymore.

"Please," I breathed. "Please, please, please…don't die, Zuko…please…!"

I gave a start when I felt his hand ghost over mine, weakly. I froze, my heart pounding. He was awake? But he was still so hot…so feverish and sick, and…

"Don't cry…" he rasped.

Oh, sure. Just surprise the crap out of me, give me that false hope by stirring, only to remind me that you're dying by talking to me in that weak voice…trying to comfort me even though _you're _the one who needs comforting. Okay, Zuko…you son of a bitch…I won't cry. I won't shed a single fucking tear.

"Are you kidding me…?" I growled at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He didn't answer. No surprise. Just uttering those two words had completely drained him. His hand went slack over mine, and it felt too cold to belong to a Firebender. I sat up and glared at him as he lost consciousness. I was so angry and confused. I had no idea what I was supposed to feel right now. But then, how could anything make sense in an emotional hurricane? Because that's what it was like for me.

Perhaps you have noticed how utterly self-centered this part of the story is. Zuko is dying right now, and all I can think about is what it's doing to _me_. Was grief always this selfish? I had never lost someone to death before, never someone I actually cared about. My mother, obviously, doesn't count since I don't really even remember her.

This was more real. This was like someone tearing off your skin and telling you to live without it.

Anyway, I think you guys can understand why it took me so long to notice how _off_ this was. And by _off_, I meant wrong. There was something _wrong_ with Zuko's sickness; this sudden all-consuming illness that would leave him dead pretty soon, but didn't seem to be contagious at all. I held his cold hand in mine and it just hit me. Something just didn't feel right.

Perhaps it was because I didn't want to accept what I was seeing that I finally noticed it. The chi currents that I had learned to sense…the ones I could sense more strongly as the Winter Solstice drew ever closer…they felt disrupted. Tainted.

I stared down at Zuko and frowned. His pulse felt weak to me, and longer I held his hand the more I realized that I wasn't just feeling his pulse. I could feel the pulsing of his chakras. Only as I stared down at him, I felt like I was staring at a polluted river. But that wasn't right. The energy that was tainting Zuko…it didn't feel like it _belonged_ to him.

It was like something else was _making_ him sick. My eyes widened at my discovery.

"What the…? What's this…?" I murmured, tracing my hand over his heart. That was where I could feel the greatest disturbance. I stared down at his chest before glancing at Zuko's face, which was flushed from his fever. Instinctively, my other hand went to his forehead to confirm what I already knew, that he was burning up inside.

So, you see? What happened next was a total accident; pure coincidence. It had nothing to do with me at all. I want you guys to understand this right now, so you don't read this later and think I'm some kind of God-modding freak of nature, straight off the set of a bad fanfic.

The moment my hands were in place, I got the mental image of Aang doing the same thing during the series finale, Sozin's Comet. And before I could pull away, instinct took over entirely. Or _something_ did…because I knew one thing for sure.

As I got sucked into the blackness, I knew that I wasn't the one in control. That was as much as I knew before the darkness swept over me, and I was gone.

* * *

**A/N: Okay. I shall take the opportunity to apologize ONCE AGAIN for the massive amounts of drama in this chapter. I also apologize for the excessive gore and…Mantis. Just Mantis in general requires an apology of sorts. Every time I put her in a chapter I feel the need to make amends, because she just _aims_ to offend in the worst possible ways.**

**Anyway, some of you might have read that scene thinking, "That's it?" But whatever. It grossed _me_ out, so I felt it was safe to assume that other people might be disturbed as well. Besides, after eight hundred or so reviews, the last thing I want is someone getting _finicky_ and taking Happy Endings down.**

**Though, how I'm supposed to write a saga that takes place in a fandom where the _entire world_ is engulfed in a hundred-year war…WITHOUT using graphic violence…well, if anyone has any ideas how I'm supposed to do that, give me a hint. Because I'm sorry, as far as I'm concerned it's a crime to those who've actually learned the consequences of war _first-hand_ to depict it in anything but a realistic manner.**

**War sucks. Bad things happen and there are no winners. There is only loss and suffering on both sides. And every day people make valiant sacrifices to protect what they believe in—true heroes, mind you, because it is in no way _easy _to put your life on the line for others. And in the end, it might not be enough. War only takes from the world. War doesn't solve anything.**

**At least, that's my opinion. I know there are people who disagree on the effectiveness of war, and people are free to think and feel the way they choose. I also know that I'm not what you'd call an expert on the subject since I've never been directly exposed to war. I am no veteran and I have never lost anyone in a war. But I do know that the people who have deserve respect, and I aim to give it to them, even if I haven't shared in their experiences.**

**I won't promise that this story is going to be completely gore-free. But I will promise not to portray _senseless_ violence (which would also be disrespectful, I think). Everything I write will be, at the very least, necessary to the plot, true to the AtLA universe, and as respectfully realistic as possible.**

**Also, for those of you who are wondering, the character Pisaca was named after a type of demon that is summonable from the game Devil Survivor 2. Yeah, I'm a bit obsessed with that game lately. Apparently it's a type of preta with a giant, gaping maw. It's a giant mouth monster, by all appearances, so I thought the name would work for this guy. I forgot the exact mythology pertaining to Pisaca, but if anyone is interested I'll go check my game card and get back to you later via PM. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter, does it?**

**I'm kind of going on the basis that entities that are considered "demons" in our world are "spirits" in the Avatarverse. It makes it a lot easier on the writer. Just saying.**

**Okay, moving on.**

**Julie is obviously very, very, very upset that Zuko is on his deathbed. And when I say deathbed, I mean literal deathbed. The healers do NOT expect him to survive, Iroh doesn't expect it, NO ONE expects anything but a slow and painful demise for the banished prince. Naturally, this is hard on everyone who loves and cares about Zuko, especially Iroh.**

**I may not know about war first-hand, but I do know what it's like to lose someone to an illness. I know what it's like to grieve. I know that when _I _was grieving, I couldn't do much but focus on what it made me feel; _my _sense of loss. Gradually you come to understand that this loss affects other people as well, but the initial instance of grief is self-centered.**

**And I don't mean self-centered like selfishness. Those are two different things. I mean self-centered in the affect that you're in too much pain to be able to cope with other people's pain on top of it…at least, in the beginning. But ironically, doing so is an important part of the healing process. Sharing memories of the lost loved one does actually make it a bit easier. Naturally Iroh knows this after losing Lu-Ten, and makes a flimsy (he _is _grieving for Zuko, himself, you know) but sincere attempt to help Julie in her grief.**

**But since Julie herself is experiencing death for the first time, she isn't exactly in a receptive mood. She listens out of respect for Iroh, but she doesn't take it to heart. Iroh isn't in the state of mind where he can persuade Julie not to blame herself, and rather than argue with her, he leaves the tent to collect himself.**

**Of course, since Julie doesn't _want _to accept that Zuko is dying, she ends up doing something that might just save his life. But it won't be without consequences. Everything comes with a price, ladies and gents. This is no different.**

**I know a lot of you were expecting Baihu to save Zuko here like he promised, but then again, a lot of people are assuming he meant in _this _instance. Remember Baihu is a _clairvoyant_ spirit of protection. If he isn't interfering now, then chances are he sees a situation farther down the line where his help would be more valuable. And Julie herself mistakenly believes that Baihu's promise had been fulfilled when he helped to scare off the Water Tribe ambushers in the clearing.**

**Well, that's as much as I'm going to tell you guys. Again, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, angst and all. **


	86. Equivalent Exchange

**A/N: Happy Fourth of July, everyone!**

**And for those of you who are reading this fic from another country, Happy Wednesday! (Oh, crap…time zones…mmmmmmmeh!) You get the point. Technically, I'm not even posting this chapter until the weekend where I am, so it's a little late, regardless. However, the sentiment is there. Appreciate it.**

**So, I now have an interesting scar on my right forearm. Apparently the simple act of baking snickerdoodles has become a valiant life-or-death struggle, from which I emerged the victor…sort of. Apparently, when skin comes into contact with a white hot cookie sheet, it tends to burn very, very badly. Granted, it didn't hurt much then, and it doesn't hurt much now; but medical sources tell me that this is not necessarily a good thing with a burn. If there isn't pain, it means permanent scarring and possible nerve damage.**

**Mmmmmm….snickerdoodles!**

**Worth it. :D**

**Oh, and before I forget, more fan-art for Happy Endings! Check it out on Ga66ie's deviantart page, guys. I gave you the link to her profile in the last chapter, but here it is again in case you guys forgot: **

**http**

**/ / ga66ie . deviant art # / d 556 vo 7**

**I had to put extra spaces to make the entire link appear. Anyway, it's really good. I hope everyone takes the time to check it out. Forsooth!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventy-Nine: Equivalent Exchange**

It was dark.

I felt like I was drifting in this inky blackness. The medical tent was gone, Zuko was gone…everything and everyone around me had vanished. I was all alone in this strange, scary place. And the worst part of it was, I was only _hoping _that I was alone; it was too dark for me to really be sure. But someone or something was whispering in the shadows, several quiet voices too soft for me to hear clearly. And every now and then something would brush against me, feathery soft; but the feeling was cold, icy, and unnerving as hell.

I'm not going to lie. I was really, really afraid. I couldn't even move. I couldn't see anything supporting me, no stone or earth, or even the familiar sight of concrete under my feet (God, I wish). But it was strange…it felt like I was standing on something soft and grainy.

Sand?

"Hello?" I called out, weirded out when my voice echoed. The soft voices chattered to each other again, but nothing came out of the darkness to greet me. Considering the fact that most things lurking in the dark have tried to kill me so far, I should probably count myself lucky. But I couldn't muster the gratitude since I still had no idea where the fuck I was.

I hugged my arms to my sides and shivered. This was all kinds of messed up. I shouldn't be here. I needed to be back with Zuko.

That's right! Zuko needed me! I had to find my way back to him. I had to…

"_Get off my beach, you filthy little peasant!"_

That voice.

I turned around and saw a little boy, no older than eight or nine, glaring straight at me. For a minute I was frozen as I took in the sight of him. He stood upright, his shoulders back and his head held high. I got a good look at his face, which was actually kind of handsome…or it would have been if he wasn't wearing such a nasty expression.

He had also sounded just like…

"Zuko?" I said out loud, reaching a hand out towards the child. But then I stopped myself. He didn't make any move towards me. Actually, he didn't react at all. "Is that you?"

His gaze seemed to go right through me. I was puzzled.

"_Gee, I don't see your name on it," _I heard another voice behind me. It also sounded familiar…but in a different way. I frowned, turning on the spot to look at the person the boy was _actually_ glaring at, and found myself staring at…

Me? A little me, no older than the kid-version of Zuko, only my hair was longer then. I was dressed in a dirty windbreaker jacket, jeans, and sneakers…but my clothes had reddish-brown stains on them. I realized with a chill that those were blood stains.

Okay, seriously now…what the actual fuck?

Neither of the two children noticed me standing there. I frowned and moved to stand in between them, looking from one to the other. When this failed to elicit a response from either of them, I realized that they couldn't see me. It was kind of freaky…though not as freaky as seeing a younger version of myself hanging out with a younger Zuko; and covered in _bloodstains_ no less!

But it was still pretty weird. I had no idea what to make of it.

I could hear the sound of waves lapping up against the shore and realized that I was standing on a strip of pristine white sand. As light filtered into the scene, I felt my eyes widen and my breath catch in my throat. I looked around me in awe, utterly confused and happy all at the same time. Because I knew this place. I knew this place!

It was the beach…_my _beach. This was the beach I used to dream about all the time since I was…well…a kid!

I don't know if I ever got the chance to say so earlier, but I love the beach. I love everything about it. It's warm and _alive_ with color and sound…and there's life everywhere you look. Above the sand you have those long grasses and the plants that only grew in dry environments. You have the snails that wash up on shore, and the crabs and mollusks buried beneath the sand. There are these amazing tide pools and crystal clear waves…you could just plop right down on the sand and feel like you're sitting the center of the universe. You could be perfectly still while life carried on all around you, perfectly at peace.

Everything was pure and fresh and new here. The only thing was I had never been to the beach before in my life. And there was no way in hell _Zuko _should have been here. This was _my _beach. This was _my _dream…my hypothetical "happy place."

Hell, I didn't have an actual beach of my own back home. Was it so much to ask to be able to hold on to this make-believe one?

The city I lived in was almost completely landlocked except for where the interstate bridge crossed the bay. There was _kind of _a harbor there with a shallow beach (during low tide), but it was a dirty place where ships came and went without a second thought. There weren't any tourists dumb enough to go there, and the only people who were desperate enough to seek it out were the young stoners and sex-addicts looking for a place to escape adult supervision.

I stared at Little-Zuko and tried very hard to understand what was happening.

"_You're not supposed to be here,_" he said angrily. "_This beach belongs to the royal family of the Fire Nation. Go away._"

Little-Julie got to her feet and glared at him. "_What's the Fire Nation? You're just making things up. Do I look stupid to you?_"

Little-Zuko blinked, furrowed his brow and took a deep breath. "_You're crazy, then. How could you not know what the Fire Nation is? You're standing right on it._" He walked over and looked Little-Julie up and down, wearing an expression that made her ball her hands into angry fists. "_Those are weird clothes._"

"_Yours are weirder._"

"_They're royal clothes. And they're NOT weird. And this isn't your beach. I'm telling you right now. You had better leave or I'll call someone, and they'll lock you up!"_

Little-Julie seemed to consider this for a minute or two. Then, an evil expression lit up her face. Stooping, she reached down and scooped up a fistful of the white sand and held it out. Some of it sprinkled out from in between her fingers, but she held most of it in her palm.

"_You mean THIS beach?_"

He scowled. "_Yes. THAT beach. Put it down and leave._"

She smirked at him. She stuck out her tongue and licked the sand, nice and slow. This seemed to have the effect she wanted since Little-Zuko flushed red with anger.

"_Hey! Stop that! You can't do that!"_

"_Guess it's not YOUR beach anymore, is it?_" she replied. She licked her fistful of sand again, and Little-Zuko looked like he was on the verge of a major tantrum.

"_Cut it out!_"

"_What's wrong? You gonna cry, you little baby? You want your stupid beach back?_"

Wow. Little-Julie was a snot-nosed brat. I was starting to feel bad for kid-Zuko…not bad enough to intervene, mind you. They couldn't see me, anyway. But I still kind of wanted her to stop teasing him. He really did look like he was going to start crying…or shooting fire out of his fists, considering the fact that this is _Zuko_ we're talking about, here.

"_I _said_ CUT IT OUT…!_"

The next thing she knew, Little-Julie had been tackled to the ground mid-lick. I heard her sputter and choke, and Kid-Zuko was sprawled on top of her, breathing hard. He glared down at her, enraged. Little-Julie made a face as tears sprang to her eyes. But she blinked them back and struggled to free herself, kicking and flailing.

"_Get off me! You made me eat sand, you jerk! GET OFF!_"

Finally, she pushed him off and rolled on to her side. Free of the weight, she coughed again, and both I and Little-Zuko heard the sob mixed in. He blinked owlishly at her before the guilt started creeping in. I could see it all over his face.

He dusted himself off and noticed the reddish-brown smudges on his clothes. He looked startled.

"_Hey_," he said sharply. "_Are you bleeding? Do you need a healer?_"

Little-Julie sniffled. "_A-are you stupid? I…I'm fine! I hate you!_"

"_Then what's this blood? Where's it coming from?_"

The girl stopped and looked down at herself. She let out a gasp that sounded like "_Oh no…!_" before she unzipped her windbreaker and looked down at her shirt. It looked like it was soaked through with blood. With shaking fingers, she lifted up her shirt and stared down at her stomach.

There was a neat, oval-shaped scar there. There was still blood smudging her skin like paint, but it was faint. The wound was completely sealed up and wasn't bleeding at all. But Little-Julie looked faint anyway, her face turning pale as chalk.

Quite honestly, I wasn't feeling so good, myself. Because I remembered how I got that scar…or rather, the wound that caused the scar. My hand drifted over my stomach, right over where it lay hidden beneath my clothes. I racked my mind, trying to understand what I was seeing. There was blood on her clothes. It looked like that wound had been bleeding very heavily up until a little while ago.

But now it was healed.

My head felt like it was ringing. What was this? A memory? But…I didn't remember this at all. The beach was just a place I dreamed about. And the person who was always with me in the dream…I never once saw their face.

Not once.

"_What happened to you_?" Kid-Zuko asked, kneeling down next to my younger counterpart. But Little-Julie shook her head and didn't answer. She looked scared and confused.

"_I want to go home…_" she whispered, tears prickling at her eyes. "_I…I don't know where I am…or…why I'm here…_"

He frowned. "_Um…you mean…you were lost this whole time?_" He looked down, away from her. "_Why didn't you just say so?_" He tentatively glanced at her face, curiosity overriding his shame at having knocked her down. "_Hey, I didn't hurt you too bad when I pushed you, did I?_"

She shook her head, biting her lip and trying very hard not to cry.

"_How did you get that scar, anyway?_"

It was interesting because Zuko didn't have his scar yet. He was completely unmarked as he sat next to Little-Julie in the sand. He reached over to brush some sand out of her hair, but the younger me flinched and scooted away. She glared at him.

"_Don't touch me!_"

"_Sorry. Um…are you going to be all right?"_

She looked around her, ignoring his question. She didn't seem too sure of the answer, anyway.

"_Where am I?_" she wondered out loud. "_This isn't anywhere near my house__._" She glanced over at Kid-Zuko and remembered that he was there. "_I just woke up here…and then you came. Where am I?_"

"_Ember Island. You're in the Fire Nation._" He looked her over again. "_Are you from the Earth Kingdom? Or somewhere else…?_"

"_Um…I guess somewhere else. I've never heard of that place before. I'm from America._"

"_Where's that?_"

Little-Julie shrugged. She seemed to be losing her fear the longer they kept talking. Kid-Zuko got up and walked over to her, offering her a hand. She narrowed her eyes at him, sniffled in disdain, and climbed clumsily on to her own two feet without help. She wiped away her tears with a grubby hand, leaving dirty streaks on her cheeks.

"_Where are your parents?_" he asked finally, stung at having been rejected outright.

I could totally understand why the younger-me cringed. She breathed out in anger, turning on him savagely. "_Where are _yours_?" _she shot at him.

Strangely, the younger-Zuko shuffled awkwardly from one foot to another, looking like he was hiding something. "_They're busy._"

He looked and saw the girl's disbelieving expression and let his façade drop.

"_They're not here_," he admitted reluctantly. "_I came here on my own. I…ran away from home. My mother…she's…missing. I wanted to find her._"

Little-Julie's hard expression melted away. "_So…you're alone, too?_"

He looked like she just punched him in the gut. "_I…of course not! I…I mean…no one knows I'm here, but…someone will notice that I'm gone. They'll come looking for me. I mean, I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation. I'm Fire Lord Ozai's only son…his first-born._"

"_So?_"

"_What do you mean, so? Didn't you hear me? I'm the Fire Lord's son! He'll care that I'm gone!_"

Little-Julie looked really sad. "_You know, just because someone raises you doesn't mean that they have to love you, right?_" She met his angry stare, undeterred by his tense expression. "_You want to know the truth? My Dad was the one who…did _this_." _She put her hand over her stomach. "_He hates me. He cut me with a broken bottle and…now I'm here._" She bit her lip for a minute, her thoughts churning shadows in her contemplative eyes. "_Maybe…maybe I'm _dead_.__ Maybe this is the after-place. You know…that place you go to when you die._"

For some reason, I got a very deep chill when she said that. But I quickly shook the horrible idea away. I was alive. I was _alive_. Of course I was alive. Death was supposed to be some kind of relief, and lately things have been exactly the opposite of relieving for me. I had to have been alive, as surreal as said life had become…what with my getting sucked into another dimension and stuff.

"_The Spirit World?_" Kid-Zuko asked. "_But I just told you. This is the Fire Nation. And you're not dead…I don't think…unless you're a spirit or something_."

She hugged her arms to her sides, looking very small. She wasn't paying attention to him anymore. She was combing her fingers in the sand, as though testing it to make sure it was real. I felt a lump in the back of my own throat, feeling a great and terrible sadness welling up inside of me.

Watching myself struggle to stay strong all by myself was painful.

"It's just a dream," I said to myself. "This is just a dream. This never happened. I'm just dreaming about Zuko because…because I miss him. I need to wake up right…_now_!"

I looked around hopefully. Nothing changed. Nothing except for a pair of hands that appeared on my waist. A very familiar pair of hands pulling me back, into a very solid body. I felt the warmth of his chi seeping into me, felt his breath on the back of my neck.

"You came back," said Zuko.

And then everything faded to black.

* * *

**Meanwhile, back in the cold, hard world of Reality…**

"Spirits," Katara groaned, pulling the blanket over her head and curling tighter in her fetal position.

She was lying in Appa's saddle, trying to get some well-needed R-and-R while Aang and Sokka cleared up camp and restocked on their rations. And since they were now in the middle of the wilderness, this meant foraging for foodstuffs. "Why won't the light just _shut up_…?"

The monk glanced up worriedly from his half-packed knapsack. He knew exactly why the Waterbender was so badly out of sorts, and the memory of it made him turn red from embarrassment…embarrassment for _her_. That had been one crazy night in Ginseng Village. Gorin hadn't been lying when he said how easy it was to have a good time there…but Aang got the feeling that Katara might have had a little too much fun.

And now she was dealing with the aftermath.

"Do you need anything, Katara?" he asked, in an effort to smooth things over. "Maybe you'll feel better if you drink some more water."

She took a deep breath. "Well," she snapped. "For starters, it'd be nice if you would stop _shouting_ in my _ear, _Aang…"

He blinked in confusion. "Um…I'm not standing anywhere near you."

"Ugggh…just…go get me something to drink…for the love of the Spirits…" she threw her empty water skin at him, having apparently chugged its contents earlier when she had woken up, complaining that she was completely parched.

Then, she withered back in her little ball of despair and moaned. She really wasn't feeling good at all.

Aang stooped down to pick up the water skin and caught sight of Momo drooped lifelessly next to Appa. Upon further inspection, the lemur seemed to be suffering from similar symptoms to the Waterbender. He frowned, poking the small animal gently in his side. The lemur swiped at his finger and chattered angrily before shrinking back and pressing his large, bat-like ears to the ground and covering them with his paws.

"Huh…maybe letting you try a whiskey sour was a bad idea," the monk reflected sympathetically. He scooped up the miserable animal and let him slump against his shoulder (though not without getting a few bites and scratches in retaliation. Momo was _not _a happy camper right now and didn't want to be picked up). "Maybe we can find a healer in the next village who can fix this."

"There's nothing to fix," Sokka replied, emerging through the bushes with his rucksack slung over his shoulder. "Katara is just going to have to sleep this off. Serves her right, too. I can't believe we got permanently banned from Ginseng Village because of her."

"Will you two just _shut up_ already? I said I was sorry!"

The Water Tribe boy gave her a stern look that went unnoticed (she still had the blanket covering her). "_Sorry _isn't going to replenish the rations we had to leave behind when that angry mob chased us out of the tavern! _Sorry_ isn't going to find us a way out of this forest or something to eat, Katara! And I'm sure Dad would have something to say if he were to find out about the little show you gave in the town square…"

She let out an all-suffering whimper from under the blanket. "I _know_…" she said pitifully. "I feel terrible about all of that…and I've never been more ashamed or embarrassed in my entire _life_…and I want to just _die_ right now…but can't you please just stop yelling at me while I'm sick…?"

Katara sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Aang, picking up on her emotional distress, turned to Sokka. "It really doesn't seem fair to yell at someone when they're sick," he said.

Momo made a chattering noise of agreement, but it was short and angry. He didn't much like all the yelling that was going on. He finally managed to worm his way out of Aang's grip and flew lopsidedly into a patch of bushes. He didn't emerge, but the boys could see the lemur's tail poking out, twitching every couple of seconds; so the creature was still alive, at least. That was reassuring.

The older boy sighed, realizing he was being overruled by the majority. "I guess you've been punished enough," he admitted reluctantly. "Anyway, I'm sure we'll figure this out…_somehow_. At least I found us something to eat."

"Really? What?"

Sokka dropped his rucksack, reached inside and pulled out a handful of small, unappetizing-looking nuts. "We've got a few options," he told them. "First, round nuts and some kind of oval-shaped nuts, and some rock-shaped nuts that might just be rocks. Dig in!"

Aang just stared at him. Katara made a sarcastic noise from underneath the blanket.

"What is it with guys and nuts, anyway?" was what it suspiciously sounded like.

Her brother was appalled. "_Katara…!_"

"What? I'm just saying…you're a hunter, aren't you? Why don't you go catch us something for dinner, mister big-strong-warrior of the South Pole?"

He stared at her incredulously. "That's it! You are never allowed to drink ever again! I mean, _you _were the one who got all in my business about hunting because of Aang's medical condition!"

The monk turned to him in confusion. "Sokka, I'm a vegetarian."

"Yeah, that's what I said. Medical condition."

"Um…actually…"

But Aang never got to finish his sentence. Right at that moment, the calm of the forest was completely shattered by a loud, piercing BOOM that shook the surrounding area. The boys jumped, and Appa jerked in alarm, lowing unhappily. Katara lurched up into a sitting position, the blanket falling away and revealing the girl in her disheveled state. Her hair was starting to come out of its braid in random bunches, and her cerulean eyes were fierce and wild-looking.

"W-what was that…?" Sokka yelled.

Katara looked positively menacing as she gritted her teeth and dropped down from Appa's saddle. "Whatever it is," she snarled. "…it's about to die. My head is _killing_ me, and they have the nerve to make that kind of racket…? Just who do they think they are?"

Unnerved, Aang could only gesture towards the distance. "I…think it came from over there…" he said weakly.

The Waterbender actually growled as she stalked past him and towards the trees. The boys noticed how the water in the nearby stream began to churn in agitation as Katara passed it. However, the reason why became clear as a tendril of liquid neatly pulled itself out of the water and flowed into the girl's water skin, which she had the foresight to snatch from the Airbender.

"Come on!" she barked at them before turning and disappearing through the trees.

Gulping, Aang turned to Sokka. "I…I think we should do what she says…" he said nervously. "She looks kind of mad…"

The older boy could only shake his head. "Shouldn't we run _away _from huge booms, not towards them…?"

The monk only shrugged, turning and running after Katara. Sokka stood indecisively on the spot for a few seconds, but finally decided that his sister would probably end up in more trouble if he wasn't around to supervise. That was all it took for his overprotective older brother instincts to take over.

"Wait up, you guys!"

He found them crouched behind a large fallen tree, staring at someone in the distance. The Water Tribe boy looked past his friends and saw a boy around his own age dressed in traditional Earth Kingdom clothing. He watched him sink into what he had learned to recognize as a bending stance, and a giant boulder lifted itself into the air.

Katara made an angry sound under breath, which got Sokka's attention really quick.

"He's an Earthbender," she muttered, clutching her head from the hangover migraine plaguing her. "Why am I not surprised…?"

Aang, on the other hand, was much more excited. "Let's go meet him!" he chirped, unknowingly making the Waterbender wince with his obscenely upbeat attitude.

"Oh, I plan on meeting him, all right," she said in a low voice. "And when I get my hands on him, I'm going to…"

"Hold it," Sokka interrupted in a tense whisper. "He looks dangerous. If we're going to approach him, we should do it…" he trailed off as his younger sister completely ignored his warning and charged into the clearing, summoning her water from her pouch and holding it threateningly in the air. "…cautiously. Seriously, why do I even bother?"

Meanwhile, the strange boy had continued with his practicing, completely oblivious to the stirring coming from the bushes. What happened next would undoubtedly spawn a life-long lesson he would hold near and dear to his heart until he was bent over with old age: always, always, _always _be aware of your surroundings.

As it was, he only had time to hear the twigs snapping under someone's foot before something icy collided with his chest. He was sent rocketing backwards into the very boulder he had been bending moments earlier; the one he had dropped when he had been ambushed by…a Waterbender?

Startled and winded, he looked up and found himself being glared at by an insane-looking girl with pretty blue eyes.

"Good. I got your attention," she spat. "Do you realize how noisy you were being just now?" She narrowed her eyes at him, making him shrink back nervously. "Don't you know it's a _crime_ to disturb the peace…? Well…? Don't you…?"

At this point, Aang and Sokka had run into the clearing, both grabbing on to an arm to keep Katara from water-whipping the poor boy in the face. As it was, he seemed to be in a state of shock that rendered him mute and frozen.

"It's her first hangover," the monk explained. "She's much nicer than this, normally."

One of the Waterbender's struggling elbows collided with Sokka's jaw, and the boy cried out in pain before tightening his grip on her. "Seriously, when Dad hears about this, you're going to be in _so much trouble_, Katara…!"

"Let me go! I want to teach this jerk a lesson!"

"Spirits…! Just give it up already…!"

Finally, the boy seemed to get his wits about him; or rather, his fight or flight instincts had started to kick in. Panic seized him, and cracks began appearing in the surface of the boulder he was frozen to. With a mighty wrench, the rock shattered into several pieces, rubble strewn everywhere with a loud clatter. Katara clasped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut in extreme discomfort from the noise.

When she could finally open her eyes again, the boy was gone. Rats.

"Well," said Sokka after a beat. "I have to say, this was a great way to top off last night. First we get banned from an entire village over your shenanigans, and now you're guilty of assaulting a complete and total stranger we met in the woods."

She scowled at him, still holding her head. "Oh, you think I'm _enjoying_ this?" she asked through gritted teeth. "I was this close to asking him to drop a boulder on my head, just so it could break like that rock of his…anything to get rid of this headache."

Aang patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. "It'll pass in a few hours," he assured her. "I remember my first migration festival with the older monks. That was a crazy party, all right."

She gave him a look. "Is that supposed to be helping?"

"Um…sorry. But, hey, it's not all bad! Just look on the bright side."

"What bright side?" Sokka asked. "As soon as that guy gets back to wherever it is he came from, he's probably going come back with a team of Earthbenders to arrest us. And who can blame him? We pretty much just ambushed him and threatened his life…or at least, my baby sister did." Here, he gave Katara a pointed glance.

Aang shuffled awkwardly from one foot to another. "Well…yeah, but…if he's running somewhere that means there's probably a village nearby. And villages mean markets, which means…"

"…Hangover cures…" Katara cut in hopefully. "…and a healer!"

"…and no nuts for dinner," the monk added. "You know…_real_ food."

Sokka looked cross. "You know, that's rich coming from a guy who doesn't eat meat. Besides, I worked _very hard_ for those nuts!"

He waited for someone to acknowledge his efforts, but all that happened was that a very dazed Momo flew in out of nowhere and flopped gracelessly on to the boy's face. The lemur chattered dolefully, disoriented and confused as he clung to Sokka's cheeks in a death grip.

It took him a minute to pry the animal off. When he finally had the furry creature trapped in his arms, he stood there panting from the exertion and found himself alone. Apparently Aang and Katara had gone off after the Earthbender without him noticing.

With a sigh, he admitted defeat. "Yeh. I hate 'em, too."

* * *

Zuko and I stared at each other for a long time.

"You're here," he said. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again after…what I did."

I felt myself blushing. "Well…um…" Dammit! Now I was embarrassed! My gaze fell to my shoes as I fidgeted on the spot. "I…almost didn't. But I guess I care about you more than I thought I did. Not that I _wanted_ to…not really. It's all your fault."

He sighed. He sounded so sad that it made me forget my shyness. My head shot up in time to see him close the distance between us. Without a word, he reached out to me and pulled me into an embrace. My eyes went wide in shock.

"Z-Zuko…!"

"I don't care if this isn't real," he murmured. "Even if you're just a dream…please stay."

Oh, God.

"You…what makes you think I'm going to leave?" I asked, my voice trembling. Tentatively, I reached around him and gave him a little squeeze back. "I came here to save you…idiot."

He gave a little laugh, but I could hear the pain in his voice. "You talk just like the real Julie. She's stubborn like that. I remember her trying to fight an angry tiger spirit…or was that a dream, too?"

"No. That happened."

Zuko was quiet for a beat. "I want to believe you're really here. I…really messed up before…I know I shouldn't have kissed you when you didn't want me to. I just…I was afraid that you'd actually leave."

I felt terrible, because he obviously had no idea that I had tried to run away before. "I did leave. Well…I _almost_ did. But then I realized what I would be leaving behind. I didn't _want_ to lose my family…my _real_ family. And…" I turned even redder. "…well…_you_."

He pulled away and looked at me. He studied my face intently, still convinced that I was just an illusion. His fingers brushed against my face and I unconsciously leaned into his palm, my face burning. I scowled at him. I didn't like how flustered I felt around him. I was seriously on the verge of punching him because of it.

Stupid, sexy, loving idiot prince. I hated how he made me feel.

"You suck," I muttered. "I never wanted to fall into this trap."

Zuko frowned. "What do you mean? What trap?"

I made a frustrated sound. "_This! _This...thing that we have going on between us…whatever that's supposed to be! It's god-awful! I was perfectly happy being a selfish bitch, and now you've gone and screwed it all up by making me _care_ about you!"

I was still glowering, but I couldn't meet his gaze anymore. On the likelihood that he survived this illness, I was counting on him discounting this entire conversation as a fever-induced hallucination. The odds of that were undoubtedly in my favor. Keeping this in mind, I swallowed my embarrassment and gave him a fierce look.

"When you're well again, I'm going to make you suffer for it. Just…get better soon, okay? If you deprive me of this one silver lining, I'm never going to forgive you!"

Zuko stared at me for a long time. His expression was disbelieving at first, but the longer our gazes were locked, the more times he had turned over my bold declaration in his mind. I saw something changing in his face, then. Hope began glistening in his golden eyes.

"J…Julie…?" he breathed.

Oh, great. _Now _he believes that it's really me? Damn Murphy's Law!

"What do you want?" I grumbled, unhappy by his sudden leap of faith. "It better not be something stupid. I'm kind of having a moment, here. Asshat."

His eyes went wide. "You're being overwhelmingly abrasive and rude. It really _is_ you."

Okay. That tears it. If Zuko survives this illness, I was going to murder him. Slowly. Although it was hard to stay mad at him for very long. His expression betrayed a flicker of joy, and I felt my icy exterior begin to melt. He looked like a sunrise on Christmas morning, and I had nothing better to do than to let go of my chagrin and bask in the light. "Julie, I…"

And all of a sudden, he disappeared. My arms felt empty as they closed around nothing. A horrible sense of loss came crashing down on my shoulders. I felt winded. My chest was too solid to take in any air; and the air itself felt too cold and heavy to breathe, anyway.

Not Zuko. Please, not Zuko.

"No…" I whispered. I groped blindly for him in the dark. "Zuko! Zuko, come back! Dammit! I just found you again! Get your stupid ass back here! Or I'll be kicking it so hard you'll be tasting your own anus! DAMMIT!"

Tears stung at my eyes. I collapsed on the ground, bitterness and grief surging through me in toxic waves. I pressed my face into the ground and cried silently. _Zuko…dammit, why…?_

_You came to save this Firebender, Julie?_

I looked up sharply. "Who…who's there?"

The form of an old woman materialized in front of me. I stared at her for a while before recognition struck me. "You…you're the woman who took care of me…back on Kyoshi."

She bowed her head in acknowledgement. _I felt so sorry for you. You seemed like such a good girl…in spite of your temper. But you were in love with the Firebender all along, weren't you? _She narrowed her eyes at me sternly. _He's the reason you almost died on our shore. Why do you have feelings for him?_

I blinked. "I don't understand. You're…a spirit?"

_I am now. That Firebender you're trying to save…he killed me. _

I went rigid. "No fucking way. Zuko wouldn't…he didn't kill you. I don't believe you!"

_It doesn't matter if you believe or not. His fate is sealed. By the time the sun rises tomorrow, that boy will be dead…struck down by my illness. Justice will have done its work._

"You…you're the one who did this…?" I muttered in shock. "You're the reason Zuko is dying?" Anger flooded me, and my whole body was glowing with energy that was fueled by my emotions. "You freaking bitch. You're not going to get away with this! I'll stop you!"

She frowned at me. _This Zuko…he was searching for you when he found me. He locked me in my house so that I couldn't escape and get help. And then he left me there to burn to death. He set my hut on fire with me trapped inside! He's a murderer! If you insist on helping him, then my blood is on your hands, too. _She glared now, decided. _You'll share his fate. You'll die together._

And then she vanished.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Get back here so I can beat the crap out of you!"

There was no answer. And before I could utter another word, the scene was changing before me again. I blinked in confusion as I found myself trapped in a crowd of people, my feet touching black tiles. Red banners hung all around the vast room, and I looked up and saw some sort of stage…or arena.

"What the…?"

I looked and saw a boy around thirteen years old hovering near the edge of the stage, a cloth draped over his shoulders. It took me a minute to recognize him without his scar or stupid haircut. It was Zuko.

Wait a minute…this looked like…

"Oh, fuck," I groaned. "The Agni Kai."

Dread seeped through me and my blood ran cold. This was when Zuko was forced to fight his own father…and the part when he gets half of his face melted off in one blow. Holy shit…I would have to stand here and watch it happen. That bitch was going to make me watch…

The crowd was murmuring in anticipation. I felt a surge of anger at them. How could they be excited about something like this? This was god-awful! Didn't they care about Zuko at all? How could anyone just stand there and watch a young boy fight for his honor…and his life? It was sick!

I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. I wanted to run up on to that stage and warn Zuko what was going to happen. I wanted to make this stop.

But what could I do? No one could see me. No one could hear me. I suspected that if I tried to touch anyone, my hands would phase right through them. I was practically a ghost here. I was useless.

"Zuko…"

The torches were lit on all ends of the arena, casting menacing shadows on the floor. The crowd hushed as the two combatants took their places. Zuko looked confident, completely oblivious to the identity of his opponent. I craned my neck and tried to get a good look at Ozai. Weirdly, despite the spotlight on the stage, he was in shadow and I couldn't see his features very well at all.

Then again, this was probably coming out of Zuko's memory. I had come to realize that when Zuko had appeared to me before. I must have been inside his head or something…and I was seeing these things for the same reason I was seeing those visions of Aang. It was more of this stupid Energybending bullshit.

If that was the case, it would explain a hell of a lot. This was a spiritual illness, right? I must have been linked to Zuko's spirit right now. Really, it made sense that I couldn't see Ozai. Zuko still didn't know he was even there. I could only see what Zuko himself remembered.

Wait…if this was one of Zuko's memories…then what about that thing on the beach? That couldn't have been real. Could it?

_Get a clue, Julie_, I thought to myself, taking a deep breath to calm down. _He was probably just dreaming that. That's all._

But a voice in the back of my head wondered how he knew what _my _beach looked like.

A gong sounded, startling me out of my contemplation. I looked up and saw Zuko's jaw clench in determination, his body turned and the cloth falling from his shoulders on to the floor. He took a Firebending stance and faced his opponent.

My stomach dropped the exact same moment his expression froze in horror. "Father…?"

"Shit…" I cursed, pushing my way to the front of the stage. I didn't want to see this, but my body wasn't listening to reason. I strained to get as close to Zuko as possible. Maybe if I could somehow get the real Zuko's attention, he would lose focus of his memory of the Agni Kai and it would stop.

It was worth a shot. I certainly didn't have any better ideas.

"HEY!" I shouted up towards the stage. "OVER HERE!"

No one reacted. Frustration welled up inside of me and threatened to spill over. Zuko stood frozen in place, eyes riveted on the Fire Lord as he stalked towards his bewildered son. I could hear the surprised murmuring of the crowd dissolve into eager anticipation (for people like Zhao and Azula) and horror (for the audience members who hadn't sold their souls to Koh yet). No one paid me any attention at all, and this made me desperate.

"Zuko!" I yelled. "Snap out of it! This isn't real! You're dreaming! Wake up, already!"

His face was drawn tight in anxiety as Ozai continued his advance. I was close enough to the stage by now to see the golden hues of his irises contract in horror.

"Please, father, I only had the best interests of the Fire Nation at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!"

Cripes! Screw getting his attention! Zuko was just too wrapped up in this memory to let it go; and no amount of begging and screaming on my part would convince him to tear his gaze away from his father. I had to do something, though. I couldn't watch this. My hands were shaking as I frantically gripped the edges of the stage and started to pull myself up.

"You will fight for your honor."

Zuko dropped to his knees, his forehead caressing the smooth tiles of the arena floor. "I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son." I could hear his voice shaking with fear.

The Fire Lord's voice pierced the din of the crowd, barking at his groveling son. "Rise and _fight, _Prince Zuko…!"

The young prince shook his head frantically, his eyes still on the floor, too terrified to lift his gaze to his opponent, who was now towering over him. "I won't fight you."

There was a distinct chill in the air in spite of heat of the many, many torches that lit the room. And then I heard the sound of a flame materializing in Ozai's palm. My heart stopped beating for a second, but time continued to move on as if I wasn't even there. So, I forced myself to move with it.

I had hated all of those push-ups Bo-Fen made me do, but now I was glad. In one easy movement I dragged myself up and over the edge of the stage. I rolled on to my feet and started running towards them as he brought up his fist to strike.

"You will learn respect," he spat. "And suffering will be your teacher."

I gritted my teeth in anger. _Oh, hell no…!_

I threw myself in between them, hands aglow (I guess watching someone you love about to get permanently maimed with fire is an excellent motivational tool for Energybending). And that would have been fine and dandy if I had ever gotten the chance to use said bending. Only, of course, being the smooth tactician that I was, I ended up literally running face-first into Ozai's flame. You know, because I'm such a flawless badass.

Now, don't start thinking that I have this valiant, self-sacrificing streak in me, lying dormant like a hibernating bear during the winter. I wasn't cut out to be a martyr. Let's face it; I just wasn't the kind of girl that would throw her life away at the slightest hint of danger. For one thing, I wasn't suicidal. For another, I didn't actually think there was any danger to me, this being a dream and all.

I was just clumsy as fuck. So yeah, flaming fist in the face; you get the picture.

And it hurt. A LOT.

I suppose I should launch into this long, descriptive rant about the _essence_ of pain, or the numerous epiphanies I had suddenly reached from it. Or maybe I should turn my pain into a beautiful, artsy metaphor that will bring tears to your eyes. But that would be a massive contradiction to what pain was; ugly, discordant, and jarring to the senses. It doesn't leave any air in your lungs for soliloquies of any kind because all you can do is _scream_.

Your mind just goes completely blank, and there is only that searing, unbearable flash of pain that cripples you from its sheer intensity. I ended up dropping like a stone, collapsing in front of Zuko like a rag doll. My one good eye was wide in shock. The other was plastered against the floor.

_What the fuck…? _These were the first words I was able to think after it had happened. They were the only words I could find left in me as panic and nausea settled in. _What the actual fuck…?_

That had hurt. But…wasn't this just a dream?

The last thing I saw was Zuko. The real Zuko. He was still dressed in his sparring clothes, but he was back to his normal age (which was an improvement; it said a lot that I was able to notice him like that even while I was in so much pain). And he was staring at me, looking exactly the same as he had that moment he had turned and found his father in the arena with him.

But there was anger seeping in. He was absolutely speechless and utterly livid with me.

"Why…?" he demanded hoarsely.

There was darkness embracing me again. The arena had faded away by now, just a bad memory in the back of his mind. I guess when I got hit with the fire it was enough to snap Zuko out of it. I might have been relieved if I wasn't about to lose consciousness.

Which I did, thankfully, a moment later. This shit was too much for me.

* * *

**The Next Day**

(Zuko's POV)

He sensed it before he felt it; the subtle tug of the sun as it started its climb over the horizon. The Fire Prince felt its warmth for what felt like the first time in years. He inhaled, eyes still closed as he let the heat fill his body, his inner fire growing and feeding him vitality and strength.

_How long have I been dreaming…?_ It felt like the sun had risen some hours ago. He must have overslept.

Zuko didn't want to open his eyes just yet. Though he was distinctly aware of how uncomfortable the cot was, how damp the sheets were with his own sweat, even so he wasn't ready to rise. He couldn't explain the hurt feelings churning inside of him, the dread weighing him down and preventing him from facing the new day.

He had only been awake for a minute, but he already wanted to scream into his pillow. And he didn't know why. He couldn't remember anything except that he had been sick. The hours spent tossing restlessly in his cot seemed to have flitted by in a blur. He felt disoriented, but he knew one thing with upmost certainty. As sick as he had been before, he wasn't anymore. His inner fire felt more alive than it had been since he had left Kyoshi Island.

He breathed again and exhaled a flame. No doubt about it. He was going to be just fine.

Reluctantly, Zuko opened his eyes. He found himself staring up at the ceiling of a tent. His gaze slowly went around to examine the four tarp walls, finally settling on his uncle, who was dozing in his chair next to the bed. He was careful as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, feeling shaky and famished. He figured this was normal since he had just been very sick.

"Uncle," he spoke over the man's snores. "Uncle…!"

Iroh jerked awake. Blinking in surprise, he sat up very straight in his seat. His eyes met Zuko's in astonishment, and a relieved smile broke out of his face. Buoyant, the ex-General floated out of his chair and was at his nephew's side in an instant, enveloping the teen in a crushing hug.

"Thank the Spirits…" he said with genuine emotion. His voice betrayed how close to tears he was, making Zuko feel unnerved and slightly uncomfortable. He never knew how to react to his Uncle's displays of affection. "I thought that you…we were all so sure that you would not make it."

"What?"

He hadn't been_ that_ sick, had he? Frowning, Zuko struggled to remember how he had gotten there.

"Uncle," he tried again. "What happened?"

Iroh pulled back and scrutinized the young man. "You don't remember?"

Numbly, the teen shook his head.

The Dragon of the West sighed. "We were supposed to be searching the Jade Mountains for traces of the Avatar." He looked stern for a moment, undoubtedly remembering a reason to be scolding his nephew now that he was out of danger. "However, you were pushing yourself too hard. You fell gravely ill, and almost perished when we were ambushed by some Water Tribe warriors guarding the path."

The Fire Prince grimaced, clutching his forehead. "My head hurts. I…I think I remember, but…" he trailed off as the memories started to come back to him. "Julie."

Zuko saw the joy drop out of his uncle's face, replaced with something solemn and wary. A cold fear prickled at him as it started to sink in. The feeling of wanting to scream and break things came back like a wrecking ball in the gut. The inexplicable hurt and anger he felt, it was starting to make sense as he got the mental image of Julie putting herself between him and the ghostly figure of a massive tiger.

No. That wasn't quite it. There was something else…something worse.

"Where's Julie, Uncle?" he demanded. "She should be here, shouldn't she?"

Iroh's gaze dropped to his hands. "She is…resting. And she is not having visitors, nephew."

Zuko went very still. "I don't understand. Tell me what you mean."

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Julie has sustained some…unusual symptoms. Last night, she was sitting here with you while you were ill. She did not want to leave you by yourself, and no one could make her leave. There was some time when she was left alone with you…and…we think she might have done something to help cure you."

He tried to make sense of that. The only thing he got for his efforts was a flash of a memory. Julie's small, slender hands clinging to him, her face buried in his shoulder as she begged. _"Please, please, please…don't die, Zuko…please…!"_The softness of her fingertips as she touched his forehead, the sudden warmth of her spirit coming into contact with his own.

And then.

_His father, towering over him, preparing to strike him down. "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."_

_Julie running in from no-where, putting herself in between them. The flame shooting right through her before it reached him. When it finally did it wasn't nearly as hot or as painful as he thought it would be. As painful as it should have been…it wasn't. Because she had taken the blow for him._

_Her body tumbling to the floor, the surprise still emblazoned on her face. Like she couldn't believe what had just happened to her. She was in so much pain that she couldn't even move._

"Zuko…!"

He looked down and cursed, realizing that he had accidentally set his own sheets on fire. Iroh quickly moved and extinguished the flames. He gave his nephew a questioning look, which the young man steadfastly decided to ignore. Anger was seething through him, bitterness at having been protected by that girl…by _her_ of all people.

Why had she done it? Why did she get in the way? How dare she get in the way!

"Where is she?" he growled. "Tell me where she is."

Iroh was astonished. "I don't think Julie is even awake, yet. She was in critical condition until a few hours ago." He caught Zuko's shoulder and reeled him back to the bed, forcing the teen to look at him. "There are things you must know before you go to see her, nephew. I want to make sure you are completely prepared…"

He shook his head. "_She _should be the one preparing," he said angrily. "When I'm through with her, she's going to regret interfering!"

There was a tense silence. Iroh's confusion hardened into a solid block of stern disappointment as he stared the young man in the eyes. They clashed silently for a minute, gold meeting gold until Zuko's glower dissolved into doubt. Why was his uncle looking at him like that? Didn't he understand what a horrible thing that girl had done?

But Iroh looked absolutely fierce. "She saved your life," he said in a voice that was deceptively calm. "Twice in one day. You should be grateful she cares enough about you to risk so much for your sake."

Zuko winced. "I never asked her to do that! She had no business…"

"If she didn't, you would be _dead_ by now," the ex-General snapped. "What you did, Prince Zuko, was reckless in the extreme…hiding your illness from me and the crew, pushing yourself on this mission until you _collapsed_…you have very little right to complain about what _Julie_ did."

He looked away, abashed. "I…I'm sorry. I just…" he shook his head sharply, refusing to get distracted. "What happened to her? I just…please, I have to know what happened to her!"

His uncle stared at him for a beat. "Do you truly wish to know?"

Zuko didn't know how to answer. Foreboding sat like a massive glacier in his chest, and he repressed the urge to shudder as he remembered, again, the sight of her taking the blow meant for him. He nodded stiffly.

Iroh breathed another sigh. "Very well. I will tell you, but you must promise me that you will not overreact…and you will not do anything rash. Julie's condition is unstable, and more stress would only compound the situation. Do you understand…?"

"I…I mean…yes."

At this moment, Shim came bustling into the tent. Zuko instinctively bristled at the sight of the man, sensing the abnormal aura of cheer floating around him. Iroh turned to the entrance, surprised. "Have you finished with Julie already?"

The healer smiled. "Not much to do. She won't die from this, but she will have to sleep this off. The swelling is already starting to go down, so it doesn't seem lethal. It has the same characteristics to an allergic reaction…that is, if you consider another person's chi to be a legitimate pathogen to the human body. I wonder if it's possible for someone to be allergic to certain kinds of energy patterns…that would explain a lot."

Zuko was perplexed. Pathogens? Swelling?

"Perhaps you can explain the situation to Prince Zuko while you examine him," Iroh suggested, noticing his nephew's rising confusion. "He is a bit out of the loop."

This immediately got the teen's haunches up. "I don't need to be examined," he snapped. "Just tell me what I need to know so I can go see her, already. This is a waste of time!"

The Dragon of the West gave him a look so severe that it made Zuko shut up like a clam. It was the look that was synonymous with spilling tea, the one that threatened immediate and intense suffering to those who were too foolish to heed its warning. Zuko had enough imprinting at a young age to know what this look meant, and he knew better than to argue with his uncle now.

"Um…I mean…I shouldn't be so hasty," he said, reluctantly turning to Shim. "Do what you must. Just…try to be quick, please."

Iroh relaxed, but only slightly. "Be thorough. My nephew can be too stubborn for his own good."

Shim nodded. "He and Julie have that in common. But don't worry…I've had my share of stubborn patients. They just require special handling." He reached into his pocket and retrieved a long, tube-like object. "This dart has enough tranquilizer in it to knock out a kimodo rhino. Very handy to have around, you know."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at him. "You used that on Julie…?"

"Oh, Spirits, no. She hasn't woken up, yet. But if she plans on getting testy, I'm prepared for it." He pocketed the dart again. "So, where to start…?" he asked himself. "Hmmm…oh, right. I suppose I should tell you how we found her."

And he began to explain.

"Lieutenant Jee had returned to the tent to check up on Julie, and found her on the ground by your bed. He says that she was in some kind of delusional state, crying about how someone had burned her. I arrived about ten minutes later, by which point her left eye had developed some kind of strange rash. It was as swollen as a black eye, but we couldn't figure out what had done it.

We brought Julie to another tent for the time being. The healers went to check up on your condition, and found that your fever had suddenly broken. You started breathing normally again, and within hours your sickness seemed to have completely faded from your body."

Zuko looked at him skeptically, but the older man had no trace of mirth or trickery in his expression. He glanced at Iroh for confirmation and his uncle gave him a firm nod. It was just as the healer said, then. He was cured.

"Simultaneously, as your condition improved, Julie's worsened," said Shim. "Based on what I've seen, I've come to the conclusion that your illness was some kind of spiritual ailment. Julie, I think out of desperation, attempted to Energybend on you, and ended up drawing the sickness into her own body."

"She…she did _what…?"_

"If you don't mind my saying so, it is entirely possible that there was some negative energy trapped inside of your scar as well," the healer added. "This would explain why Julie is having such a severe reaction. She was hallucinating constantly last night, and truly believed that someone had burned her eye. So her body, following through, tried to heal itself from an injury she didn't have. It's not your typical allergic reaction…but it's the closest comparison I could come up with," he said apologetically. "And it's the only explanation I could come up with for her condition."

Zuko unconsciously put his hand over his scar when he heard this. But he flinched when he realized he could actually _feel_ his own fingertips against his skin, something he hadn't been able to do in years. His heart skipped a beat, and his breathing hitched in his throat.

"Ah, so you noticed. General Iroh, you haven't showed him a mirror, yet?"

Iroh grabbed Zuko's shoulders to steady him. "I did not want to alarm him. He only woke up a few minutes ago. He needs time to…"

"What happened to my face…?" Zuko choked out.

He kept prodding the skin with his fingertips. The telltale signs of the scar were still there, but the skin actually felt smoother, less inflamed and chaffed. It felt closer to the other half of his face. His hands were shaking, and his stomach swooped with hope and fear.

Wordlessly, Shim picked up a hand-mirror from the side table and passed it to Iroh. With trembling fingers, Zuko took the mirror out of his uncle's hand and stared at his reflection.

He couldn't speak.

"It isn't much, but your scar seems to have healed a little bit since last night," said Iroh, keeping a firm grip on Zuko to hold him up. "Are you…going to be all right, nephew…?"

He shook his head. "How…?"

Shim came to stand at his other side, taking the mirror back. "I'm guessing that the negative chi Julie absorbed was preventing your scar from healing to the best of its ability. However, now that your body is purged of it…well…it probably might never be what is used to be, but it's likely to improve even more than it has already."

His eyes widened…both of them. He could actually open his bad eye a little wider now. The realization made him lightheaded and dizzy. It was healing. His scar was _healing_.

"Julie…did all of this…?"

"Well, she wasn't the one who cut your hair," Shim interjected. "The healers on duty did…allegedly, because it kept getting in the way."

Zuko noticed for the first time that he was missing his ponytail. But he was too numb with shock to really care much. In the back of his mind, he could hear Julie taunting him. _"Your hair is stupid__!_" She had to have told him this on a number of occasions. Either way, he didn't feel any sense of loss at its missing weight. He didn't feel anything at all except dazed.

The shaved head and ponytail was a hairstyle meant to act as another mark of his dishonor. But now that his scar itself was starting to fade…maybe it wasn't so unreasonable for him to start growing it out again. Who was going to stop him?

His hand ghosted along his scalp for a few seconds before it dropped to his lap. "It doesn't matter. I never liked that haircut, anyway," he said in a hoarse voice.

For the first time that day, Iroh smiled. "I think this new look will suit you better, Zuko."

Perhaps. Only time would tell.

* * *

**A/N: I fully expect to get the moral majority on my ass for this last scene. "You fixed Zuko's scar!" the readers will scream at me. "That's not allowed! You're killing Zuko's inner Zuko-ness! You fiend!"**

**All I have to say in my defense is that I have my reasons for writing this chapter the way I did. Zuko's scar was a physical reminder of everything he had to suffer with since his banishment. I believed that having Julie accidentally helping it to heal would be an excellent metaphor for how she unknowingly helps him heal from his **_**emotional**_** wounds as well. **

**Granted, Zuko's scar is **_**never, ever**_** going to go away entirely! I want to make that clear. It's going to fade a little and his vision will improve in that eye, but the scar is still there. To Zuko, though, these small changes will speak volumes. He had to swallow the idea that he would have that mark for the rest of his life; that it would never get any better. The slightest evidence that this isn't the case has him reeling.**

**It's obviously going to make some waves in how Zuko perceives Julie. Obviously, he is in such a state of shock that he doesn't know how he's supposed to feel. Right now, he's still dealing with the seemingly irrational surge of resentment towards her for getting in between him and his father. But the realization that Julie did this out of desperation is also present in his mind, and the knowledge that he owes her a lot for his current well-being is a lot on his shoulders. **

**So, no; he isn't going to go leaping into her arms over this. And they are not going to go riding off into the sunset, tongue-kissing on the back of an ostrich-horse. This just means that his feelings for Julie are going to become a lot more complicated. **

**The feeling will be mutual, though. Julie herself is still trying to make sense out of her seeing a younger version of herself and Zuko meeting in one of his memories. Obviously Zuko and Julie have different impressions of that incident; Zuko somehow fails to keep it alive in his active memory; and Julie, while able to recall things in startling detail, can only remember the boy without a face to identify him. **

**Is there more to this story? You bet your sweet snickerdoodles, there is.**

**When she wakes up, obviously there is going to be the question of how her and Zuko's relationship will change as a result of her actions. Although, in retrospect, anything is better than having the show heart-throb die in the middle of season one. Not to mention that she'll also have to deal with the obsessive-compulsive Jee as he tries to nurse her back to health; and the suitors that tag along later on.**

**It's not a spoiler. You guys had to have known that was coming. Seriously.**

**(Evil smile) As for the Gaang, we see the episode "Imprisonment" kicking off to…erm…a fresh start. And man, did I take liberties with the plot this time around. Granted, I know full well I haven't been doing so good in tackling the canon episodes. I've been too busy inserting my own material, it's barely recognizable as the show it once was.**

**However, as I sat here trying to narrate the first scene of the episode, I found myself incredibly bored. And that's when I remembered that Gorin, Yuu, and Ming-Tsai had promised to buy Aang a round of drinks. Only, somehow, Katara is the one who ends up uproariously drunk…and now she is woefully hung-over. Poor girl. :D**

**I just got tired of the whole, "Hello, handsome-stranger!" bit. So I had her freezing Haru to a boulder, instead. It is now mind-canon that this is how that scene should have happened. In my opinion, the episode is much more interesting with bitchy, hung-over Katara. Fear her wrath!**

**Obviously, what happened in Ginseng Village is going to be part of a story for the next deleted scene, which will be up (hopefully) by next weekend. Though it might end up being next Monday or Tuesday since I'm going up to visit my friend in her summer dorm. College can be a regular bitch sometimes. ALSO, you guys will learn the REAL reason Zuko ended up getting his ponytail chopped off.**

**What? Did you really think it was a medical necessity? Come on, guys. You know me better than that by now.**

**I'm done rambling. You've read it, so now go REVIEW! **


	87. An Awkward Turtleduck in a Sweater

**A/N: I know, I know. Sorry for the delay in updating. Let's just say that writing the Deleted Scene is proving to be a bigger hassle than expected. Apparently writing drunken ditties is a lot harder than it looks. So, please bear with me with that.**

**This is definitely the one you all were waiting for. The big ol' confrontation scene between Julie and Zuko. I really hope it lives up to your expectations. However, I get the feeling like my last chapter was a bit confusing for some people (because let's face it; what happened was a huge, HUGE mind-fuck). However, most of you seemed to pick up on the main gist of the last chapter: Julie absorbed the negative energy associated with Zuko's scar, the same energy that was preventing it from healing to the best of its ability. **

**But for those of you who are still confused, here is a more in-depth explanation.**

**First off, no; Julie did not go back in time when she witnessed the Agni Kai, nor did she alter Zuko's past in any way. She was connecting with Zuko's spirit through a bit of accidental Energybending (something that she is more prone to do as the solstice draws closer). Since Zuko's sickness was entirely spiritual in cause, it would require something of a similar nature to cure it. So Energy or Spirit Bending was the key.**

**The scenes Julie witnesses were glimpses of events in Zuko's life that were significant to Zuko. I only had enough chapter space to really address the Agni Kai and (the kicker) the beach scene. The latter is something I expect readers not to understand since it will be a significant plot point to be revealed in later chapters. **

**Since their spirits were connecting, it is entirely plausible that this was just Julie's spirit revealing a significant memory in her life...but that would imply that this actually happened. Or it could be a dream one of them is having; but if Zuko is having the dream, how would he know what Little-Julie looked like, or "her beach?" If Julie is dreaming it, then the vice-versa applies. She wouldn't have guessed, even in her subconscious that Kid-Zuko would go so far as to run away and look for his mother.**

**But your mileage may vary on that one. All I'm trying to point out is that there could be a number of reasons why that scene happened, but every explanation opens up more questions. I want the readers to try to piece it together before I reveal the truth.**

**MORE FAN-ART STUFF: This newest pic was drawn by Rennyyrenn at deviantart. Here's the link: : / / rennyyrenn .deviantart art / Zulie - 316 13 25 43**

**Or, just search her pen-name. The pic should be titled "Zulie." Anyway, check it out if you have the time. **

**Anyway, nuff said. Here's the pure fluff you guys ordered. Enjoy. :D**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty: An Awkward Turtleduck in a Sweater**

Zuko was restless all through breakfast.

Iroh had kept a careful eye on his nephew during the entire meal, all too aware of how such a drastic change would impact the young man. He was concerned that the stress would trigger a relapse…something that was very possible in his current convalescent state. But more importantly, he wanted to make sure that Zuko didn't suddenly freak the fuck out.

That sort of thing never ended well; and quite honestly, he was expecting it to happen sooner or later. The scar was a very sensitive subject with Zuko, and its sudden change was unsettling to say the least. If he didn't elicit some sort of outburst from him by the end of the day, then something was gravely wrong with his nephew.

Granted, he seemed to be handling things okay, but for all Iroh knew he could be a hair's breath away from snapping and setting fire to the tent. Zuko tended to get very emotional, and for a Firebender who frequently forgets the basics (such as breath control) something like this could be deadly.

But so far, the only thing he had done was to stare at his reflection on the back of his spoon. A troubled silence sat in between them as Zuko scowled at the piece of silverware, as though it had done him a personal wrong. Iroh knew that something deeper lay on the boy's mind, something…ah, of course.

"Nephew," he spoke up. "Were you planning on going to see Julie by any chance?"

Zuko nearly dropped the spoon. "Wha…? I thought…I mean…I thought she wasn't taking any visitors."

The not-so-subtle evasive maneuver did not fool him. Iroh knew his nephew; he was generally quite blunt and straight-forward, and it was quite obvious when he was trying to hide something. Plus, his ears were turning pink, a sure sign that he was getting flustered.

"Right now she isn't. Shim is observing her and wants her environment to remain spiritually stable until she can regulate her chi-flow again. And since you and Julie seem to share some sort of spiritual connection…"

"You mean because of the Unagi?"

"Yes; that whole thing. Shim is concerned that your presence might trigger another reaction…or that re-exposure to Julie might cause you to relapse."

Zuko went tense and quiet as the implication of all of this set in. "Oh," he finally muttered. "I…guess that makes sense…" But there was relief in his voice, which further convinced Iroh that he was worried about something; and that very same something made him want to put off visiting the redhead as long as he could.

"Zuko," said the retired general gently. "I'm sure it is merely a precaution. There is no real reason for you to avoid her now. I am sure the danger has passed…and when she wakes up, she is certain to be concerned about you. Visiting her would put her mind at ease."

The Fire Prince's hand clenched into a fist around his spoon. A confusing mixture of emotions seethed through him like poison: anger, guilt, and remorse, longing and dread…he would be lying if he were to say to his uncle that he wasn't worried about her, either. Just knowing that she was sick—very sick in another tent, where he couldn't see her—made him edgy and impatient. The inexplicable weight of a deadline settled on his shoulders like a stubborn toddler demanding a piggyback ride.

But she would wake up eventually (Zuko didn't want to think about what would happen if she _didn't_). And when she did, she would come looking for him. She would want to see him, and he just didn't look the same anymore. Julie was the only person who didn't see his scar as a badge of shame and dishonor, as the revolting stigma that it was…and now she would see him looking suddenly new and different, and he had no idea what she was going to say.

What if she didn't like it? Hell, she had already rejected him once. And all this time since the day they met she had been doing everything in her power to get away from him…everything short of throwing herself overboard and letting the bull sharks have her, that is. She would rather go back to her abusive drunk of a father (and a questionable ex-boyfriend that Zuko had only heard about in the vaguest of unpleasant terms) than to make a life for herself as a member of his crew.

What did that say? When you added everything up, it could only mean that she despised him. They were barely friends, and that was probably only because she felt like she owed him for all those times he pulled her ass out of danger.

"Uncle," he said slowly, his voice catching in his throat. It took him a few seconds before he could bring himself to continue. "I…look better now…right?"

Iroh lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "Better?"

He flushed. "I mean…I know it was bad before…but what if…what if the scar wasn't the only reason I was so…" he trailed off, not wanting to say the word that was on his mind…which was _repulsive_. Instead, he settled for "…unworthy?"

The older man blinked at him for a few more seconds before his expression turned sad. "Oh, Zuko…"

The Fire Prince flushed indignantly, hating the pity in his uncle's eyes. To him, it seemed to confirm his worst suspicions.

"Forget I asked," he spat, forcefully slamming his spoon down on the table and rising from his chair. He suddenly didn't have an appetite.

Seldom did he pursue the thought of what his life would have been like without his scar. The most he had dared to dream of was being able to walk around in public without having to catch strangers staring at him. Regardless of intent, the surreptitious glances were like barbs digging deep into his skin and refusing to be pried loose. They were little hurts that followed him wherever he went…wherever there were eyes to follow him, at least.

To say the least, it had never occurred to him to consider what his _romantic _prospects would be like. They had been so pitiful for the last couple of years that he didn't even let the thought enter his mind. And Zuko doubted that this would have been any different if he _hadn't_ been scarred and banished. He had always been terribly awkward around girls…they were so giggly and suspicious. Talking to one made him wonder if he was secretly being made fun of (but then, he usually had Azula and her friends to thank for that one).

But then, Julie wasn't like most girls. For one thing, she wasn't dainty; she swore like a sailor and didn't seem to grasp the concept of _tact_. But then, what some people considered tact, Zuko would call flat-out lying, which just plain rubbed him the wrong way.

Not that the girl wasn't a liar. As a matter of fact, she was a notorious one, and she was also notoriously bad at it. Zuko could always detect when she was trying to hide something. She had been practically radiating dishonesty all those times she fed him that "I'm-a-nomad" garbage; and it had been more than clear that she wasn't from any place he had ever heard about.

No, she was from another world. But if that was true, then how…how had they…?

His thoughts always traced back to that other memory. The one he could barely make sense out of himself; the vivid flashback of having met Julie as a child, back on Ember Island. When had that happened? He had scoured his brain for clues, and the only one he had gotten was his admission from his younger self that he had run away to search for his mother, who had just gone missing apparently. And Julie had seemed so lost and confused, not sure how she had even gotten there. It was a hell of a mystery.

It had been so long since he had seen his mother. And he certainly couldn't remember every single thing that had happened to him as a child. So, for all he knew, this could have actually happened. He could have actually met Julie for the first time back when they were both kids…but what did it all mean?

Was it really a coincidence that he had found her in the South Pole?

Maybe it explained why he had felt such an instinctive kinship with her. Talking to her was just easier because it was Julie—his cute, flighty little peasant—and she was just interesting to be around…and terrifying because she was so brutally honest about everything. But it was also damn _frustrating_ because she had a tendency to do things to get his hackles up…like, for example, how she went from calling him a scar-faced mutant to literally jumping in between him and his father and _taking the blow_ for him. It was downright nuts.

And yet, in spite of all of the reasons he had to be fuming (and he was, don't be mistaken), another, just as huge part of his psyche was worrying about whether or not Julie would approve of his new look. It was so shallow and stupid…and very indicative of how badly he wanted her to like him. It was pathetic.

What if it turns out he was just plain ugly, with or without the scar? What if, after all of this, she started to see him as just some miserable failure, like everyone else? It was bound to happen now that she knew…everything. Now that she had seen him behave so cowardly in front of his father…how could she possibly think of him as anything _but _a weakling?

It was ridiculous. If anything, she should be the one worrying about what _he_ wanted to say to her; a great many things that had a lot to do with her completely sticking her nose in a private family matter during his Agni Kai…and really, the fact that she had good intentions only made him angrier. The fact that it had been just a memory she intruded on was insignificant. The implications of her actions were what he couldn't ignore.

Why? Why had she tried so hard to protect him? Zuko tried to tell himself that this meant that she cared, at least a little bit; and that it had nothing to do with her being a habitually reckless person.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a lone tent. No one had told him this, but instinctively he knew that Julie was probably inside, sleeping or tossing restlessly in some nightmare. If she was feverish, she probably would have bad dreams; he remembered how it had been the last time she had been so gravely ill.

Zuko pushed open the flap of the tent and ducked inside. But then he stopped short when he heard the plucking of strings and a soft melody floating into his ears, the lilting song of a pipa played by a pair of expert hands. He peered inside and immediately discovered the source of the music, and the sight of it made him instantly queasy for some reason.

Shen-Long played a few more notes on his instrument while Julie slept on, unaware of his presence. But he looked up as Zuko entered the tent, the song trailing off into an awkward silence. The colonist looked him up and down, his gaze resting on his face and something bitter flashing in his blue eyes.

"_You're_ looking better."

The Fire Prince swallowed, too aware of how dry his mouth had gone. "What are you doing here?"

Shen-Long frowned. "I'm keeping watch over Julie. Lieutenant Jee's been up for the past nine hours straight waiting for her to wake up. Shim sent him to bed about forty-five minutes ago."

Zuko felt another jab of frustration, but froze when he got a good look at the redhead. He felt his eyes popping out of his head as they raked over the bandages covering the left-half of Julie's face, covering all of her eye and some parts of her cheek and forehead. He swallowed back the panic he felt rising with the bile in his stomach. Faintly, he could hear a ringing noise in his ears, a sure sign that he was in danger of passing out.

_Keep it together…_

"Her face…" he said, his voice cracking.

Shen-Long glanced down at her. "Relax. It's just a rash. It'll heal."

Zuko shook his head, trying to keep his spinning thoughts under control. Finally, he just sank into the nearest seat, emotionally drained. "It's not…permanent? Then why does she have that bandage?"

The soldier gave him a deadpan look. "Because it'll probably itch, and none of us trust Julie enough not to go scratching at it." He sighed. "Let's just say that she's not the most restrained person in the world. The sooner this heals the better."

He looked up and met the Fire Prince's troubled stare. Neither of them said anything, and an awkward silence ensued. Just when Zuko thought that he would have to say something, Shen-Long broke his gaze and turned back to Julie. He moved her bangs out of her eyes and the girl stirred slightly, bunching up her nose and turning over.

"Fuck off…" she grumbled, swatting his hand away. "…mmmsleepin'…"

Zuko felt the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, but he forced himself to remain stoic in front of Shen-Long. Spirits, how had she done that? A moment ago he had felt like screaming and now he was keeping himself from smiling. It should be illegal for someone to have that much of a hold on him.

_She's lucky she's cute_… he grumbled mentally.

"Well, that's reassuring," Shen-Long noted lightly while the Fire Prince brooded. "Thank the Spirits she hasn't lost any of her infamous charm and charisma…"

Zuko glanced up at him. "Same old Julie," he agreed warily.

And even though he wished the colonist would stop looking at her so fondly, he felt conflicted. Unconsciously, he began doing a mental comparison between himself and the other young man; and his heart sank in dejection. No matter which way he looked at it, there was just no way he could stand up to the soldier as far as looks went.

"Oh, crap," Shen-Long cursed suddenly, jumping up. "I completely forgot…she hasn't eaten since yesterday. I have to get her some breakfast or something."

"I can get it," Zuko immediately offered. Mostly, this was just another weak attempt at procrastination; though sooner or later he would have to talk to Julie. "She won't even notice I'm gone…besides, she probably prefers having you around."

The soldier stopped dead in his tracks, looking as though someone had emptied a bucket of water over his head. His mouth twisted in a pained grimace, fingers curling into his palms and clenching into fists. Zuko paused, taken aback by the blatant anger radiating from the soldier, watching him breathe out a frustrated sigh.

"Either you're oblivious or you're just an asshole...rubbing it in," he grumbled. His blue eyes locked on his own, sincere as his true feelings spilled over to the surface. "I'm not the one she wants, okay? Are you really going to make me spell it out for you?"

Zuko scowled, but his pulse leaped in a single, hopeful lurch. "What do you mean?"

Shen-Long went tense. "I'll get her breakfast, your Highness. No offense, but I doubt you could crack an egg to save your life. Besides…Julie shouldn't be eating certain foods right now. You wouldn't know what to make her."

"But…"

The soldier finally snapped. "For Agni's sake, just stay here! I won't be gone long…!"

And then he ducked out of the tent before Zuko could stop him. The Fire Prince almost felt guilty, except for the tremor of panic that shook him as he found himself alone in the tent with the sleeping Julie…and judging by her restless movements under the blanket, she wouldn't stay sleeping for long.

_Damn that Shen-Long,_ he thought angrily. He didn't feel so guilty anymore.

Julie turned over on to her side, and his eyes followed her sluggish movements. She made a noise in the back of her throat, the kind of sound you tend to hear from someone who is asleep and very uncomfortable. Zuko watched, not allowing himself to breathe until he just couldn't help it anymore. He was wary about disturbing her further. Secretly, he wondered if her eye was hurting her.

Her nose wrinkled, and she seemed to be getting tangled in her blanket. Subconsciously deciding that she didn't want it anymore, she kicked it off of her and curled up into a little ball.

"Waffles…" she mumbled.

Zuko felt heat rushing into his face. He hastily averted his eyes so he wouldn't see her in nothing but her under-dress. Not that he was overly-familiar with women's undergarments, but he knew enough to recognize it as the kind of silky material that was meant to be covered with a kimono. It only covered her down to mid-thigh, and even that quick glance made him feel like some kind of pervert.

But even as he looked away, he knew it was a vain effort at chivalry after he had gotten that eye-full. It would be hard to forget the sight of her exposed, moonpeach-colored skin, her sleep-tossled hair, the subtle curves of her body under that thin layer of fabric…

…right! Getting the blanket, now! Right now!

He snatched it off the floor and shook it out before cautiously draping it over the girl. Julie squirmed, not liking the extra layer on top of her. Groggily, she tried to push the covers off of her again, but Zuko (out of desperation) threw himself on the edge of the mattress and held down the edges of the blanket. There! Now she had to stay put, whether she liked it or not.

"…'s too warm…" she grumbled. Her eyelid (the one that wasn't hidden under a bandage) flickered. "…the fuck?"

Zuko felt his breath catch in his throat. _No…! Don't wake up now! Go back to sleep!_

Unfortunately, luck was not smiling on the Firebender that day. The girl groaned quietly as she settled on to her back; her eyelid slowly pushing open, as though with great effort and reluctance. For a moment, confusion seized her as she found her sight hindered by the bandage covering her left eye. She fingered the wraps in a daze before her sleep-muddled brain processed that there was someone hovering over her.

Her expression froze in shock as their gazes locked. She sucked in her breath sharply, and Zuko felt his stomach going tight; because she clearly didn't like what she was seeing.

"GET OFF ME!" she shrieked. "Get AWAY from me! HELP!"

Zuko opened his mouth to ask her what her problem was (because she obviously had one) when her fist collided with his left eye. The force of the blow was enough to push him off of the cot and on to the ground, where he lay there winded and confused.

His hand went to his eye; and ironically, it was the bad eye she had decided to punch. It felt tender and stung when his fingers brushed against it. Shit.

But before he could really appreciate the universe's sick sense of humor, Julie had snatched the pillow off of her bed and threw herself over the edge of the cot, tackling him. She then proceeded to wallop him mercilessly with it.

"Julie…!" he gasped. "Hey! Stop that! Ow…!"

She was practically snarling, but Zuko could feel that her blows weren't as strong as they could have been. She was either still weak, in too much pain to focus, or both.

"Why…" WHACK "…should I?" WHACK-THUMP. "Who…" THUMP "…the hell…" THUMP "…are you, anyway?"

Wait…seriously?

"It's me!" Zuko cried, his voice rising a pitch in desperation. "Dammit, Julie! You know who I am…don't you?"

Naturally, she balked, though to his relief it involved a temporary cease-fire of pillow-whomping for the sake of her glaring at him. "Of course not!" she snapped. "I…ooooooh, wait. Oh, my God."

She tentatively reached out a hand to touch him, but stopped herself at the last second. She cringed for a moment as her hand darted to her eye again (Zuko wanted to stop her, but he was frozen in the wake of her impending recognition…and judgment). Eventually she was able to return her focus to him, and her unbandaged eye darted from feature to feature, pausing to squint at his left-eye (which felt very tender by now; and Zuko hoped it wouldn't turn black). She sucked in her breath sharply.

"Fucksocks…!" she gasped, turning pale. "_Zuko…?_"

* * *

Okay, don't be fooled. I may have been groggy and confused, and my eye may have been stinging like a whiny little bitch, but that didn't trigger any massive brain damage to my best of knowledge. It took me a minute for everything to come back to me, and when it did I knew one thing with upmost certainty: I had deny whatever it was Zuko accused me of. I had to lie as though my very life were at stake.

Because if he was sitting here _waiting_ for me to wake up, it could only mean that I climbed even higher yet on his permanent shit-list. In other words, I was in _big trouble_.

Was it a bad thing that this was the first thing running through my head upon reuniting with the guy I got the warm-fuzzies for? Was it normal to look at your crush and immediately be forced to try to figure out what heinous thing you had done to him this time? Because this was starting to become a thing for us. I don't think it was a good thing, either.

Seriously, what gives? After all that crap I had to put up with yesterday, and the first thing I'm accosted with when I wake up is _Zuko?_ Fucking Zuko of all people? Really, Universe? You had to pick the one person I was absolutely dreading having to face?

And…holy crap! I just _punched_ him! I _punched _him in the FACE! I was going to get beheaded or something! You don't just punch out the friggin' CROWN PRINCE of the Fire Nation and walk away unscathed! At the very least I was going to end up with a lifetime sentence of latrine duty…and that was almost as bad as getting executed.

A whimper caught in my throat. I was SCREWED.

"Fucksocks…" I breathed. "_Zuko…?_"

Needless to say, I dropped the pillow I had been beating him with damn quick. I couldn't have dropped it quicker if someone had lit the thing on fire.

And speaking of fire…it was starting to come back to me. _The beach…the arena…the lit torches…the agni kai…Zuko kneeling before his father…the Fire Lord lighting up a flame in his fist…and then…and then I…_my hand clasped over my bandaged eye, and I felt like I was going to throw up.

That had been a dream. It wasn't real. I didn't really jump in between Zuko and his father. My eye wasn't really burned…and yet, holy fucking corn on the cob, it was seething like an alka-seltzer tablet in a glass of water.

My brain shut down for a few seconds as I tried not to scream. The memory of getting struck down with actual fire was paralyzing and crisp and very, very real. My breathing became erratic as my grip tightened on my eye. _Omigod, omigod, omigod…!_

Zuko caught my wrists, both of them, and tried to pull my hands away from my face. I choked back a cry, and it sounded like something to come out of the throat of a wounded animal.

"Leave it alone" he said urgently. "Just…don't touch it. You're going to make it worse."

Was he kidding? How the hell did he expect me not to touch it?

It felt like I could barely open my eye under the bandage, and the inside of it was stinging and tearing. I guess I could say it was like the time I had pink-eye in the third grade, only this was a lot worse. The inside felt absolutely raw and the skin surrounding it was puffy and almost numb except in the spots where it itched.

It was the most disgusting feeling in the world, and he just wanted me to ignore it? I'm sorry, but screw that. I wanted to see what had happened to my eye.

"Let go," I growled at him. "I want to get these stupid wrappings off of me, already."

The concern melted off of Zuko's face faster than a sugar castle in a flood. "Those bandages have to stay on, you stupid peasant."

Well, great. Now he was back to calling me peasant. I guess this meant he wasn't stricken with passion for me anymore. I waited for the relief to come, but only felt my stomach twisting uneasily. I fidgeted under his hard stare.

"But, it itches!"

"Deal with it. You're the one who decided to interfere, remember? _I _never told you to just…to just…"

He stopped, momentarily speechless as emotion overwhelmed him. Then, it was like watching the wind suddenly leaving his sails. He was stuck in a state of disquiet, haunted by something…but what I had no clue.

"Why?" he breathed.

The question confused me. "Why, what?"

His fingers were still wrapped around my wrists, but I could feel just how shaky they were without the anger to fuel his inner flame. And this was saying quite a lot since I had pretty much just punched the guy out mere minutes ago. I figured he'd at least give me an earful about that.

But it turns out there was something a lot more important on his mind than my random act of violence.

"For the longest time," he said. "…all I've been hearing from you is how much you _hate_ me and how you just want to go home…over and over again, with you. And you had the perfect opportunity to leave. So, why didn't you? Why did you come after me? Why did you…why did you save me?"

Oh, God. Seriously? Right when I just woke up? This was way too serious of a conversation to be having so early in the morning.

At least he wasn't asking about the Agni Kai.

"I did leave," I replied. "Didn't Jee tell you? I waited until you were gone and then I…"

"_I know_," he spat coldly. "And to answer your question, no. Jee didn't tell me. _You _did. Back when you Energybent my scar and went inside my head, and…almost got yourself killed trying to cure me!"

If life was a game of poker, the deck was clearly stacked against me. This game had to be rigged somehow; because no matter how many hands I would play, I always lost. I mean, why else would Zuko simply believe everything he had seen during his _fever-induced hallucinations_; other than the fact that it was the one thing that would really, really fuck things up between us? More than they already were, that is.

"Aww, crap! You…you _remember_ that?"

His golden irises were wavering with the poorly suppressed urge to exhale a stomach-full of a white-hot flames. His grip tightened on my wrists, a sure sign that he was getting angry again.

"Did you think I would forget everything?" he snarled through clenched teeth.

I winced. "That…would have been convenient, yeah."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. "Typical," he muttered. "I should have expected as much from you. You didn't tell me about Ayla for the longest time, either."

Apparently today was going to be the day where every single fuck-up moment of mine gets dragged up into the conversation I would have traded a limb to avoid. How promising.

"Look," I said, trying to pull my wrists out of his hands (obviously I wasn't going anywhere, but I thought I'd at least try). "I knew you'd react like this. Was it really so wrong to try to spare you? I mean, damn…you have so much other shit to deal with…Avatars and honor and all that crap. It's not like my freaky powers are _your _problem."

Zuko let out a frustrated sound and lowered his gaze, too infuriated to look me in the eyes anymore. But he still wouldn't let go of me. He seemed determined to keep me within arm's reach for some reason.

"They _are_ my problem," he said softly. "They…_you_ saved my life."

And then we were both silent. I could feel Zuko's thumb tracing circles above the artery in my wrist; it was like having a feather brushing back and forth until I felt the heat. I gave a little start, but then I realized that he wasn't burning me. He was just lost in thought, his inner fire reaching out to me, perhaps subconsciously. And then I was seized with a ridiculous urge to wrap my arms around him and lay my head over his heart so I could feel it beating.

I could never get over how _alive_ Zuko felt. Maybe that was why it terrified me to think of him dying. His fire was too precious to go out.

"I…I don't know why you even bothered!" he snapped suddenly, the gentleness gone in a puff of smoke. "That's what drives me completely crazy about you! You say one thing, like how you just want to get away from me…and then you chase after me at the last second, stared down that mountain spirit, and took my sickness away from me…you risked so much! _Why_?"

My face flushed. Wasn't it obvious why I did those things? Was he really going to make me say out loud just how much I needed him now? He couldn't have been that oblivious…he couldn't. Didn't he realize how I actually felt about him?

My heart sank. Because now he wasn't going to leave until he got an answer out of me. How did I really feel? I didn't even have words to describe how I felt about Zuko. He was just…such an important person in this world, and he had somehow become such a vital presence in my life. He was the person I caught myself thinking about all the time. He was the person I secretly wanted to see, though preferably from a distance where he couldn't see me watching him.

But was it love? Did I love Zuko? More importantly…did I _want_ to love him?

"Are you just so desperate to get away from me that you'd throw your life away to do it? Is it really that unbearable, being here?"

His question left me shaken. "W-what…?"

"The Avatar wasn't even really there, was he?" he said quietly, some kind of enlightenment causing him to go still. "That was all just a pretense to get me off the ship. You would never hand me the Avatar…not after you went so far as to call him your friend."

Wait…wait a minute. What?

"No!" I cried. "I…I mean…yes, he was there! I saw him there, okay? I just…" I took a breath, stalling while I tried to think of an answer…a true one. But there was really only one answer to all of his questions, and the implication of that answer was just too much for me to handle.

The truth was…and I'm going to sound really, really horrible because of it…but…Zuko's happiness was starting to seem more important to me than the precarious balance of the world. It was more important than kingdoms and nations and spirits, more important than honor and maybe even more important than Aang. And it was certainly more important than my immediate well-being.

I mean, I'm not about to _die _for the guy any time soon. I happen to enjoy being alive. All I'm saying is that if it were a toss-up between him and me…well…I think I figured out where I stood on that issue when I offered myself up to Baihu in Zuko's place.

"…I just wish there was another way," I said truthfully. "But…I really do think that it's best that _you_ capture him…if someone absolutely has to."

_Besides, he could always "mysteriously" escape again when you have your back turned. _But, obviously, I didn't say as much out loud.

Zuko did not look at all impressed. "Oh, well thanks," he said bitterly. "That really means a lot to have your grudging seal of approval, Julie. But it doesn't change the fact that you apparently would rather get yourself killed than to have to put up with my feelings for you." He turned his face away for a second, as though he were about to be sick. "Spirits, if that's it, then just…I won't even stop you. Just leave. It's better than having you dying over something so meaningless."

Meaningless? What the hell was he even talking about? Was he trying to say that _he_ was meaningless? But that was…how could he not understand how wrong he was? The truth should have been so obvious to anyone with eyes. It wouldn't be _meaningless_ if something happened to Zuko. The whole world would just end if he died. There was just no way it could carry on now that I had spent so much time with him, every single day for the past couple of months. I couldn't imagine going back to my old life anymore…

..and _that _was what really scared me.

"You're right," I growled, a surprising amount of anger causing my voice to shake. "I…I _am _desperate to get away. I _did_ run away because of you…and I did all those other things, like stand up to the mountain spirit and jump in the way during your Agni-Kai…all of that because of you. But not because I don't _care _about you! And don't you ever, _ever _say that you aren't worth anything…! Your life means a hell of a lot more than mine, you stupid idiot!""

His expression froze. "What?"

Tears were pushing their way to the surface, but I blinked them back. My stomach was churning as I remembered what Iroh had told me about Zuko trying to kill himself a few years ago, when he had first been banished. The thought of anything happening to him terrified me, and fear always turned to rage inside of me.

"You're important," I whispered. "You're life is so much more valuable than you know. And you're so stupid that you can't even see what you mean to the world…and to me...I…I _hate_ you!"

Zuko didn't move. He stared me in the face, his expression suddenly changed—no longer despairing, but alert and scrutinizing me intently, as though anticipating something, but not knowing what it was. Maybe it was hope I saw on his face. Maybe it was something else. I sure as hell couldn't tell you. I'm not a mind reader.

"I don't understand," he said slowly as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. "Which is it? Do you hate me or don't you?"

"Oh, fuck it," I snarled, completely fed up at this point.

And then, because I had nothing left to lose; because of all of my feeling whirling around inside of me; because of this _need_ I had to be vindicated for this stupid misunderstanding…I decided that life was just too short, and I flat out didn't care anymore. I was not in the mood to be rational or reserved about anything.

So, I leaned in and I crashed my lips against Zuko's.

* * *

(Zuko's POV)

He had never been good with girls. Never. It was like women were a completely different species, with their own rules and customs and nuances that men had no hope of fathoming. And at a young age, Zuko had learned all too well how crazy girls could get…nothing they did made any sense, from the secretive glances from his sister's friend, Mai, to the blushes and giggles from Ty-Lee, to Azula's…well…everything. His sister was downright nuts sometimes.

Julie seemed different at a glance. She was definitely more boyish and balls-to-the-walls in her approach to the world. She would sooner eat dirt than wear a dress (without Jee forcing her, that is), she kept her hair relatively short, and hadn't worn an ounce of makeup since that time she had been disguised as a lady and fleeing her Agni Kai against Zhao….weeks ago.

But when you stripped her of those superficial things, Julie was still a girl. She acted rough as sandpaper, but underneath she was still soft and small and complicated. Not to say that women were weak or fragile. Zuko knew they weren't. His mother had always been a formidable, if loving and affectionate figure in his life. And Azula was just plain scary.

Julie was different, though. She wasn't openly-loving like his mother, but she definitely had a heart; misguided though it may be at times. And despite her determination to be scary, she was anything but. Similarly, the more she tried to push him away, the more reasons he discovered to stay, to keep her. The more little quirks he noticed in her, the more interesting and endearing she was.

_She's not like anyone else…she's…special._

Zuko was also pleased to note that the things he found alluring about her didn't falter the moment she stopped pushing him away. They were just more achingly real, enough so that it almost caused him physical pain.

Her mouth moved against his, and his mind went completely blank. For a moment, he forgot about everything he had ever learned to fear from the opposite sex. He even forgot to breathe. There was only the softness of her lips, the smell of her every time he breathed, and the feel of the girl in his arms; and these little things were enough to stir some very deep want within him. In the heat of the moment when he parted her mouth with his tongue, she responded fiercely, not quite yielding so much as defiantly kissing him back.

Even her kissing-technique reflected her stubbornness, her tenacious and passionate nature. She bombarded all of his senses at once. She was intoxicating, and Zuko was seized with a crushing urge to pull her closer. He wanted to hold her smaller body against his until he could feel their heartbeats pulsing together, beat by beat. He wanted things he couldn't even put to name, things that involved not just this lust-driven moment, but tomorrow, and the day after that.

He wanted her, and he started to suspect that he always would. But his mind was having trouble catching up to what was happening. Why was she suddenly kissing him?

Zuko pulled his head back at the same time Julie did, both having needed to come up for air. He hadn't meant to go back and plant a few more kisses along her jaw, but soon he found himself nuzzling the spot by her right ear. This was just instinct, though; he had never gotten close to a girl like this, not even Mai, so he had nothing else but his own wants to guide him. Julie shivered, and that overpowering urge to _possess _her returned in full-force, almost forcing the Fire Prince to succumb.

_Focus_, his thoughts chastised him. _This isn't the time_.

One of the basics that every Firebender had to learn and learn _well_ was how to keep their flame in control. And though Zuko himself occasionally found himself lapsing on these lessons, he was self-aware enough to know at least when he was slipping. And so, instead of allowing this wildfire to expand into an all-out inferno, he closed his eyes and breathed in deep through his nose, forcing himself to get a grip.

Besides, the eye she had punched was really starting to ache, and he found that to be more than a little distracting…which wasn't necessarily a bad thing considering where his thoughts were going.

Instead of doing everything his hormone-driven body urged him to do, he decided to seek answers to the questions literally exploding in his brain, foremost pertaining to how Julie actually felt about him.

_Which is it? Do you hate me or don't you?_

Zuko cupped her face and tilted her head so that he was looking her in the eyes. This seemed to embarrass her, since she immediately averted her gaze to her lap, blushing. Slowly, timidly, she brought her eyes back to his face, expectant.

She was waiting for him to say something.

"That was…nice…" said Zuko. "…but…now I'm _really _confused."

Julie, who was flushed and still breathing heavier than usual, glared at him. "Fucking idiot."

As the seconds passed, Zuko couldn't even navigate his own brain. His thoughts were still fumbling over each other like billiard balls. There was a girl, a very pretty girl his own age, and she had just kissed him. And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why. She couldn't have found him even remotely attractive, let alone have feelings for him. It was too unreal. It was too good to be true.

"Humor me," he muttered, his voice husky. "Explain."

He had been politely ignoring the fact that she was inadvertently straddling him. Tally that in with the mid-thigh, so pearl it was almost see-through under dress she had on, and it was a miracle he was able to keep his mind out of the gutter for so long. He was wrestling with the urge to just skip the explanations and go right back to kissing her.

Spirits…where had she learned to kiss like _that_, anyway?

"It doesn't matter anymore," she grumbled. "I mean…you're alive. That's what matters. Everything else is just…asinine in comparison. Insignificant."

Zuko nudged her. "And that kiss was because…?"

She winced and hid her face in his shirt. The Fire Prince could feel her heartbeat speeding up again in agitation, and though he couldn't see the look on her face he could tell she was embarrassed. Her ears were a bright red.

"B-because I…I…_don't_ hate you. And I might…possibly find you attractive…in a dorky way." She tensed, and immediately started rambling in abject horror. "…and it's all _your_ fault, so don't you _dare_ judge me, you jerk! It's not my fault you're so damn chivalrous and a good kisser! You fucking ass!"

But Zuko didn't mind being called names because he was buzzing inside at what she had said. "You…like me?"

The redhead let out an infuriated groan.

"You do," he said, his expression brightening. "This entire time…you didn't hate me at all? Not even a little?"

She shook her head mutely, no.

Zuko suddenly had a flash of recall: of Julie standing in his embrace, holding him close as she whispered to him. _I realized what I would be leaving behind. I didn't want to lose my family…my _real _family. And…you_.

Julie kept her bandaged eye pressed against his chest so he couldn't see her burning face, and she clung to his shirt in angry fistfuls. He decided to keep rubbing her back until he could feel her heartbeat slowing down. It took a while, but eventually she settled into his embrace, not returning it, but accepting it grudgingly

"Just so you know," she said suddenly. "I don't plan on running away ever again."

Zuko frowned. "You say a lot of things. I have to see it to believe it." Then, something else occurred to him, another question he just had to ask her. "Why did you attack me with a pillow before? Didn't you recognize me at all?"

She was completely silent, the very admission of guilt.

"Seriously?"

"Well, your hair is completely different!" she grumbled defensively, avoiding his gaze. "I mean, cripes! You go from stupid emo ponytail to…fuzzy baby chicken. How the hell was I supposed to know you got it cut?"

Zuko digested that for a beat. "Anything _else_ you noticed that was different?" _Oh, for the love of Spirits, please, she can NOT be that oblivious…she had to have noticed._

Julie, more curious than embarrassed now, stopped hiding her face in his chest and took a bold look at his face. She stared at him, her eyes raking over his face but darting up to his hair repeatedly. She frowned. "Um…you mean…the black eye I gave you?"

"Wait…what?"

"I kind of punched you in the face, remember?"

Zuko pushed her off his lap and immediately went looking for a reflective surface. He found a mirror and peered into it. His lips pressed together tightly, and an intense wave of chagrin washed out a lot of the good, happy feeling he had from kissing Julie.

"You…you punched my bad eye…!"

Julie looked abashed. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you!"

He just shook his head. It was starting to swell, and to be honest you couldn't really tell that it had been healing anymore. So, of course, it was pointless to mention it now. Julie was bound to figure it out eventually once it was back to normal…

…or maybe not considering that she didn't even recognize him to begin with.

"Was that the only reason why you knew it was me?" he asked, pointing at his eye. "Because of this?"

Julie scowled. "Are you going to start bitching about your scar again? Look, I already told you I could care less, okay? Why do you have to be such a _girl_ about it?"

Zuko opened his mouth, then closed it. It just wasn't worth it.

At that moment, someone appeared at the door to the tent with a tray of food and a kettle of fresh-brewed jasmine tea. General Iroh nudged open the flap to the tent carefully so that he wouldn't spill any of the things he prepared. Then, he eased his way into the room and turned to smile at the two teenagers.

"I see someone is finally awake," he said with a warm smile.

Julie fidgeted. "Hi, General Iroh."

The older man nodded and turned to Zuko. "Nephew, could you grab that…" he trailed off, getting a good look at the black eye. "What did you do to your face? What happened?"

The two looked at each other awkwardly, neither one knowing what to say. Where to start…?

* * *

**A/N: I really meant to put more plot in this, but to be honest, this scene alone took up, like, eight thousand words. I didn't want to make this uber-long just to slip in one scene. Plus, I'm already past due my update deadline, and I wanted to get this to you guys ASAP.**

**And since the computer is about to time-out, I'm going to just shut up and update. Nuff said. REVIEW!**


	88. Making Adjustments

**A/N: Hey! So, guess what? I finally got my copy of "The Promise Part 2." It only took me THREE MONTHS to shell out the money for it, right? **

**Meh. I've been busy. But man, oh man, this was actually worth the read. And I find that to be genuinely surprising…so naturally, I'm going to end up ranting to all of you about it. Because I can. (smug grin) **

**Granted, I have my issues with the Promise comics in general, what with the many, many logical flaws _to the overall premise_ of the story. What, you can't kill a deranged dictator like Ozai, but it's suddenly _crucial_ that Aang kill one of his closest friends, i.e. Zuko? NO! Are you shitting me? You can't make exceptions on your monk teachings for someone who deserves it, like Ozai, but all of sudden _Zuko_ is at risk of getting the chopping block? NO! Just…NO!**

**But I just can't hate part 2. I _can't…!_ It's just so fan-servicey! I mean, we get to see (SPOILER ALERT) little toddler Zuko almost drown trying to protect a turtle-crab. It was fucking CUTE. And I really liked the whole bit with Toph and her Metalbending students (even if solving their bending block was a little _too_****convenient for my tastes).**

**Plus, the artwork is fantastic. The jokes made me giggle. And the sad part is, I actually found myself agreeing with Ozai just a little bit (which was the author's intention, I suppose…but, holy crap!). The whole reason why Zuko is struggling to find peace as Fire Lord is because he doesn't trust himself to make a decision. He's trying too hard to do the "right" thing, and is only looking at the world in black and white. There are shades of grey to every situation (which I think is what the comic is trying to push as its theme), and instead of looking for the "right" solution, you should just do what you feel is right.**

**The problem with Ozai's logical bit of logic is that…well…he uses that as justification for attempting genocide on the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes…and for permanently disfiguring his own child…and driving the other one to the brink of insanity. Yeeeeeah. **

**I think this bit of logic, like everything else in life, comes in shades of grey. You need to trust yourself to take a stance on an issue, but only after regarding said issue and its shades of grey with an open mind. Ozai doesn't realize that he is also guilty of thinking in absolutes (everything I do is right _because_ I choose to do it, for example), and ironically what might be an attempt to manipulate his way back to the throne from the backseat…might just end up helping Zuko find the right path. Because it's pretty sound advice if you think about it…the whole trusting yourself to lead thing, I mean.**

**You can't find balance by thinking in absolutes. Accept the shades of grey, the different possibilities and viewpoints at hand, and find your own balance. **

**Also…WHERE THE BLOODY FUCK IS IROH?! I think he was due to give out his award-winning advice, like, since before the comic even STARTED. I mean, WTF? Is his tea shop really more important than impending war between the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation?**

**I know _tea_ is (obviously)…but the damn _shop_ can wait long enough for Iroh to send Zuko a stinking messenger hawk. It just doesn't seem to occur to Zuko that he even _has _an uncle to turn to. **

**I was actually sad to see Mai leave Zuko (as much as it might surprise all the Zulie fans out there; I mean I'm not one of those _crazy_ authors who absolutely cannot abide seeing the character with anyone but the OC they created, you know). I don't really take a stance on the shipping wars, to be honest. I simply read what I think is good writing. If you can write for a pairing in a way that _entertains _me, then why the hell should I complain about it? Good writing is simply good writing.**

**As such, the whole "I don't hate you," kiss scene was pretty good in my opinion. So, given the dynamic of their relationship, I am actually feeling a twinge of loss at their break up. As much as I love writing Zulie, I can't just ignore other pairings because of it. Maiko, you will be missed.**

**…although, I _can_ say that I totally see where all the Zuki fics are coming from now. But still, if Suki dumps Sokka to be with _Zuko_, I'm pretty sure that'll spark yet another international incident. Heads will probably roll over it. I will be waiting eagerly with a bowl of lightly-salted popcorn (no butter, because it's freaking _gross_).**

**End rant. Read my story now.**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-One: Making Adjustments**

The day began for Katara, honorary Disney Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, much like it should. The sun was shining through the nooks and crannies in the walls, and the specks of dust hovered in the air in a golden cloud, never settling or sitting still for longer than half a second. Outside, one could faintly hear the snippets of birdsong. The sound could almost be considered romantic if it were springtime and the buds were still hanging on the trees. But it was rapidly approaching winter, and the birds almost sounded sad and forlorn like the bare branches they clung to.

But life goes on, even at this time of year. Even at the crack of dawn. Even for Katara, who was thankfully not hung over anymore, but couldn't help stirring inside of her sleeping bag as the sounds of splendorous nature reached her ears. Her eyelids flickered and slowly pushed themselves open, and she blinked blearily at her surroundings. It took her a while before she recognized the grain storage hut she had spent the night in. And then it all came back to her.

_Oh_, she thought. _That's right. Haru's mother let us stay here after she found out we saw him Earthbending._

It hadn't even been hospitality, exactly. It was more like, "Please spend the night in our grain shed and eat our food, and don't tell _anybody_ what you saw my son doing, for the love of the Spirits." The woman had been downright skittish, even after finding out that Aang was the Avatar and that they had no intention of ratting Haru out to the Fire Nation…especially now that Katara had gotten over her hangover.

She was more than sober enough to feel a twinge of remorse at her behavior; and once her brain had woken up with the rest of her body, she felt compelled to seek the boy out and apologize for nearly leaving him frozen in a dark, spooky forest all night to possibly be devoured slowly by wild animals. And for scaring the crap out of him when they stalked him all the way back to his village. He had taken one look at Katara and nearly had a heart attack.

Actually, he had taken a long sip from his canteen, spotted Katara staring at him from across the road, and ended up choking. A lot of it ended up going out his nose.

And then he fainted.

Haru's mother had come running out and crying for a doctor, and they had felt obligated to explain themselves to the distraught woman. She had been pretty forgiving of Katara's intimidation tactics all things considered, but it soon became clear after the Fire Nation soldiers came to collect taxes that these people were used to being bullied and stepped on. What was a little more blackmail on top of that, really?

Katara had felt terrible about the whole thing. And she was _determined_ to make it up to them; both Haru _and_ his mother. She wanted to do something for them, something to help solve their problems and possibly learn a life-lesson in the process. Because that was kind of her thing, her being an honorary Disney Princess and all.

She only took the time to scribble a note for Sokka and Aang before venturing outside, looking around hopefully in case she spotted a potential good deed in the making. Of course, one of those wasn't just going to come exploding out of the ground like fucking Oscar the Grouch. So, getting mildly frustrated, she went to sit on a log and sulk while watching the sun rise.

_There has to be something…maybe if I just apologize? But that's just not enough._

"Uh…ah…!" came a startled exclamation behind her. She jumped and looked around, and caught Haru frozen on the spot. "Oh, sorry! I just…I usually come out here and…you know what? Forget it. You can have the spot, just…sorry!"

Katara realized that her chance at redeeming herself was trying to run away from her.

"Wait!" she cried. "Don't go…! I…I need to tell you something…"

Haru jerked to a stop. He took a breath and dared a reluctant glance back at her. His body was tensed for an incoming assault of water or ice, but strangely enough the Waterbender didn't seem openly hostile like she had been yesterday. The ire was gone, replaced with something sincere and repentant. The change was drastic and somewhat unsettling.

She was kind of pretty when she wasn't so angry. He noticed that, too.

She took a deep breath. "I just…I wanted to apologize. For yesterday, I mean. I shouldn't have attacked you the way I did." She looked extremely embarrassed and dropped her gaze to her shoes. "I know it's not an excuse for what I did, but I really wasn't feeling good, and…"

"No," he said. "I mean…I'd rather you didn't do it again, but…it's okay. I'm not mad or anything. I shouldn't have been practicing to begin with."

Katara felt guilty. "I was just making that up, that thing about disturbing the peace. You can practice wherever you want. Really, I just…"

"What?" Haru looked confused. "Katara, that has nothing to do with it. I mean…yeah, I definitely don't want to be on your bad side, but…that's not why." He came over and sat down next to her on the log, and the Waterbender scooted to make room for him. "It's really dangerous for Earthbenders. You saw how it is around here. The Fire Nation's been in control of this village since I was a kid, and they banned Earthbending."

Katara looked up. "So, that was why your mom was so anxious before. She was worried that we'd tell someone what you are."

"Yeah."

She frowned. "But I still don't understand why she was so desperate for you to hide your bending…it's just some stupid rule. Even if the Fire Nation banned it, what's the worst they can do to you?"

Haru frowned. "I'm the only one my mother has now. My father was an Earthbender, too…and the Fire Nation took him away from the village along with all the other Earthbenders."

Her eyes became soft and sad. "She's afraid that they'll take you away…"

"Yeah. But…that's not the only reason why she wants me to hide."

"Huh?"

Haru stared at the ground, his face taut in quiet self-reflection. "Every now and then, _they _come to town. These men in beet-colored cloaks…they just appear and start preaching about bending and how evil it is. They say that if there weren't any benders in our village, we wouldn't have suffered such a heavy loss from the Fire Nation. They say that because we grew so dependent on Earthbending, we were being punished by the Spirits…and the Fire Nation are our hand-picked destroyers."

Katara gasped. "The Brotherhood!"

"Yeah," he said, surprised. "You heard of them?"

She scowled. "Oh, yeah. They tried this in another village and ended up turning them against all of their Earthbenders. They started having public executions, burning people at the stake just for being able to bend…it was horrible."

"You saw it?"

She turned her eyes away. "I was there. We all were, Aang, Sokka, and I. We saw the smoke while flying over and went to investigate…and there wasn't much we could do except save what few benders that were still alive."

Haru looked stunned. "The Brotherhood _kills_ the benders they take…?"

"Take?"

"Yeah. There were still a few kids left in the village who could Earthbend, and they were living in secret…but they couldn't control themselves very well, and the Brotherhood found them and took them away." The boy looked nauseated. "Spirits…they're all _dead_…?"

Katara caught him by the shoulder. "Haru, we don't know that just yet. They might still be alive. How long ago were they taken?"

"About a month ago."

Her grip slackened. Her face became downcast, and she couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. "I'm…sorry."

He exhaled sharply. "I…I'm going back inside. This is just…a lot to take in. Excuse me…"

And in an abrupt manner, the Earthbender shot up from his seat as though it were on fire and left Katara sitting there alone. She watched, stunned and guilt-ridden as he quickly disappeared inside his house. She could only imagine how devastating that kind of news was to him…and she wasn't handling it so well, either.

_Children…they were taking children…_

Her mind flashed back to that horrible day the Firebenders had come to her village…that day they had taken her mother and killed her. She remembered the man's face, cruel and disdainful as he sneered down at her, she remembered her mother trying to force the fear out of her voice as she urged Katara to leave the tent.

_He had been looking for a Waterbender…he would have taken me if he hadn't taken mom_.

But she had lied to save her. She had died because of her…because she was a bender. No child should have to face such consequences just because they could bend. No child should have to suffer like that…period.

"They need to be stopped," she whispered.

She glanced back at the grain hut where Aang and Sokka were still asleep and steeled herself in determination. She knew exactly what she wanted to do for Haru and his mother…and for the entire village. She was going to help these people if it was the last thing she did.

And it just might be the last thing she ever did.

* * *

Okay…okay…I need to get a grip.

So, we kissed…and it was one of those kisses that makes your entire body suddenly switch on and lights you up from the inside out. And it turns out Zuko has these _feelings_ for me…even better, right? This was clearly a _good_ thing. I should have been over-the-moon with happiness right now. I should have been positively radiant with joy.

Only, all I felt now was extremely self-conscious.

Seriously! I couldn't even look him in the eyes as I ate my breakfast (or tried to since it looked like a bowl of something the cat threw up). I was too busy wondering what on earth made someone like Zuko—_Zuko_ of all people—want to kiss me. And that just got me to worrying that I would do something stupid or embarrassing…something that would make him realize he had made a horrible mistake.

It was the most awkward meal of my life.

But, of course I knew I was being ridiculous. Obviously Zuko wasn't going to just change his mind at the toss of a hat; and certainly not because I still couldn't hold my chopsticks right as I picked at my morning rice. He wasn't _like_ that. I mean, that's part of the reason why I liked him so much.

And he seemed to really enjoy it…the kiss, I mean. Sure, the only other guy I've kissed in my life turned out to be a total scumbag who was just out for a piece of ass, but…well…I'm pretty sure that you don't kiss a girl like Zuko kissed me if you don't at least _like_ her (which, in guy speak, apparently translates to: has a tremendous boner for her). That had to mean that Zuko thought I was attractive enough for his lofty standards.

So, why couldn't I stop freaking out inside? What was the matter with me? Where was the ego-boost I should have been feeling from that short make-out session with a member of royalty? Where?

A girlish giggle echoed in my mind, and I realized that Ayla was listening in. Wait a minute, how long had she been awake, listening to what was going on? Oh, damn it all, she was NOT going to let me live this down. She was going to tease the crap out of me if and when she found out about me and Zuko.

Oh, God. _Me_ and _Zuko. _

I was freaking out.

Zuko had already explained everything to his uncle, and the retired general had been enthusiastic to hear that we had reached some sort of…well…understanding. To be honest, I think he was a little _too_ enthusiastic; but at least he was more interested in teasing Zuko than he was in teasing me. Actually, Iroh was being very, _very_ nice to me, and I wasn't really sure why.

Whatever. At least he approved. That was one less problem I had to deal with.

"Aren't you hungry?" Zuko asked, noticing my hesitation. "You're barely touching your food."

Iroh, who was sitting next to him, refilled his cup of jasmine tea and placed the kettle back on the table. He glanced at me in concern, but I avoided his gaze as well. I knew how shrewd the Dragon of the West could be just by pure legend alone; the last thing I wanted was for him to get a clear read of my feelings. It would be a tad awkward having to explain how badly out of my league Zuko was…especially with Zuko in the same room.

My gaze trailed down to my food. It was a bowl of some kind of weak broth with little white things floating in it. They were flavorless and bland, and adding fire flakes only made them taste like spicy pieces of nothing. It was the most unappetizing thing ever.

"I...I'm fine…" I muttered, furrowing my brow as though I were merely sulking. "The food just sucks, is all." I made a face at it. "What do you call it, anyway? Soup de Crap?"

"Hey," said a voice from the doorway. "I go through the trouble of fixing you a completely vegan meal, and all you can do is insult my cooking? This is the thanks I get?"

I felt some of the tightness leaving my stomach. "Shen-Long..."

Zuko scowled as Shen-Long ducked into the tent with the rest of us. I noticed right away how tired he looked. There were faint shadows under his eyes and a general lethargy to his movements. But that didn't stop him from shooting me a wry grin, and I could feel Ayla practically blushing inside of me. Though we were separate, her emotions resonated deep within me and for a moment it was hard to tell my feelings from hers.

That could be a problem.

"Seriously," he said in a chagrined tone of voice. "What's wrong with my cooking?"

I pushed Ayla's bubbly affection for him as far back in my mind as I could force it. "That depends," I shot back. "What's wrong with a bit of meat in my soup? I don't recall harboring any secret wishes of becoming a friggin' herbivore, you dolt."

"Well, that's a shame since you can't eat meat right now," he told me.

And just like that, it was much, much easier to feel the appropriate amount of irritation for Shen-Long. My brow furrowed as I digested this bit of unsavory information. "Whadduya mean I can't eat meat? Why the hell not?"

He just gave me a look. "The Winter Solstice?"

Oh, right. Fuck.

Zuko cleared his throat loudly, getting our attention. It was kind of weird to see him so grumpy when he had been almost cheerful a few minutes ago (which was saying quite a lot for Zuko). Every ounce of the good mood he had displayed when telling his uncle about…_us_…was practically a distant memory as he glared at Shen-Long.

"What does the Winter Solstice have to do with Julie?" he asked, poorly masking his ire.

Shen-Long sighed, sounding a lot like a calculus professor having to explain multiplication tables to a caveman. "You know that normally there is an unseen barrier that separates our world from the Spirit World, don't you? Well, on the days leading up to the Winter Solstice, that barrier starts to erode until it temporarily vanishes all together."

"And?"

"And for an Energybender…namely, for someone who is vulnerable to the unseen chi currents around us, and to Spirits in general…the fluctuations in this barrier could have adverse effects on their bending."

I scowled at him. "Hey! I am _not _vulnerable!"

Shen-Long pulled up a chair and sank into it. "Of course you're not," he muttered as he closed his eyes.

He looked damn exhausted, that's for sure. For a moment, he just sat there kneading the bridge of his nose. It was enough to stop me for berating him for being a patronizing fuck, like usual. I mean…I was starting to get worried about him. Didn't he get any sleep at all?

"For Ayla, she would experience these flashes of empathy…" he continued. "…and she would spiritually latch on to anything with even an ounce of chi if she came into physical contact with it. And it was entirely random. Sometimes she would connect to an ant she had accidentally stepped on…and other times it would be a scrap of meat she had accidentally ingested." He looked at me dead in the eyes. "Even dead flesh can hold on to traces of energy…"

"Dead flesh…" said Zuko suddenly. His hand flickered towards his left eye, the one I had kind of punched earlier. (Shit. I hope I hadn't dinged it up _too_ badly; it looked like it was really hurting him now). "…like a scar?"

Shen-Long took his gaze off of me for a brief moment to nod at the Fire Prince. "That's right. Or the flesh of a dead animal…like a cooked chicken-pig." He glanced back at me. "I'm not sure _exactly_ what happened before you passed out in Prince Zuko's tent…but I can guess that there was some kind of physical contact involved. Am I right?"

I flushed red. "That's…none of your business! Nosy bastard…!"

The soldier frowned. "So, in other words…I'm spot on." He sighed to himself. "Anyway, considering how severe of a reaction you had to Prince Zuko, I don't think you should be taking any risks with your diet. Until the Solstice passes, no meat."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Good luck trying to enforce that. Since when do you control what I eat? Anyway, I can't go off meat. I'll wither down to skin and bones! I'll lose my mind! You can't keep a girl from her bacon, you butt-muffin!"

"…butt-muffin?"

"I'm running out of creative insults. And the usual ones are getting stale…butt-muffin!"

Shen-Long had the nerve to facepalm. "Right. Well, luckily for me I don't have to. I already told Lieutenant Jee, and he agrees with me that it's better to be safe than sorry. So, guess what?" He nudged my soup back at me. "You're going to eat this bowl of soy-broth, and you are going to _like_ it."

I felt the edges of my temper prickling at me. "Oh, yeah? Well, how about this? I think you're a paranoid, health-obsessed _weasel_ who can't mind his own damn business! I'll eat whatever the hell I want! And don't you _dare_ rat me out to Jee again, or I'll take this bowl of slop and pour it down your pants!"

No one said anything. Iroh coughed into his sleeve and went to pour himself another cup of tea (since tea can cure pretty much anything…including an awkward silence). Zuko looked as though he wasn't sure whose side he should take, and resigned himself to waiting out the current storm until he could make up his mind.

Shen-Long just quirked an eyebrow. "Are you done?"

I flipped him the bird. "There. _Now_, I'm done."

"If it makes you feel better to give me a tongue-lashing, then that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make…so long as you actually finish your food." He pushed the bowl back towards me. "Or perhaps I should let slip to Jee just how many times you swore like a sailor since you woke up…hmmm…what's it going to be?"

I pursed my lips and stared at the bowl of soy broth. It stared right back.

"What are the little white things?"

"Tofu cubes."

Another brief pause.

"I think I lost my spoon."

Shen-Long handed me another one. "It's getting cold."

Sullenly, I took the utensil from him and pulled my soup back in front of me. I gave him the dirtiest look as I dipped my spoon into the broth. "Just so you know," I said, moments before I took my first sip. "I _will_ get you back for this. I don't know when…and I don't know how…but when you least expect it, _expect it_…!"

I ate a spoonful of soup and cringed at the strange flavor. Oh, sonuvabitch…that stuff was just nasty! How the hell do vegetarians do it? I mean, for chrissakes, I'm pretty sure that even vegetarians eat things with _some _flavor in it. Was there any salt in this at all?

Perhaps deciding it was time for a change in subject, Iroh cleared his throat.

"Now that Julie is awake," he said. "Perhaps we should discuss our next course of action regarding the Avatar."

My heart sank. Of course, given everything that had happened (bad soup and all), I had completely forgotten about Aang and the others. I felt cold as I remembered that vision of him going into the Avatar State, unleashing his wrath against the Brotherhood. How many days had passed since I had seen that, anyway? With a jolt, I realized that it might very well be too late to save Aang.

I could only hope that he was all right.

"Did you find anything in Jade Valley?" I asked, my voice tight in anxiety.

Zuko looked bitter. "We never _got _to Jade Valley. And I'm worried that any leads we might have found have gone cold by now…but we have to check, anyway. Just to be sure."

I frowned. "So…you're leaving again?"

Maybe it was the fact that he had almost died the last time he and his uncle had gone off to hunt Aang without me, but I was really anxious at the thought of him leaving again. I had to put the spoon down and push my bowl of slop away from me. I suddenly didn't feel very hungry.

Zuko saw me turn away my food and frowned. "Are you all right?"

I scowled, but refused to look at him. "Why would I worry about you? It's not like I absolutely can't survive without you for a few days. And it's not like I'm…I dunno…scared that some idiot is going to jump out and attack you again." I crumpled up my napkin in an angry little ball. "That's just stupid."

He hesitated for a moment. Then, he reached out and covered my hand with his. I gave a tiny start, which made Zuko go still, gauging my reaction. When I didn't do anything to stop him, he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze.

All the while, I was blushing like an idiot.

"It's only for a day or two," he said. "And I'm perfectly healthy thanks to you. If anybody is stupid enough to ambush us again, I'll be more than a match for them."

I stared at our hands on the table, not daring to move. I didn't want to do anything to make him pull away.

"Can't I come with you?"

Zuko blinked at me in surprise. "Julie…I…" he looked at Iroh, who merely shrugged in response. "I don't think that's a good idea. You only just woke up. And you had a really bad shock. I think…maybe you should just stay here with Lieutenant Jee."

I groaned. "You're killing me, you know that? He's totally going to kill me for sneaking off the ship."

Iroh smiled at me. "I do not think you need to worry about that. Lieutenant Jee is mostly relieved that you are unharmed." He gave me a look that was faintly sympathetic and understanding. "I doubt you will have to face any severe punishment for your actions…especially considering that they resulted in your saving my nephew's life."

His grin spread wider, and it was obvious how relieved he was about the way everything had just worked out. I'll admit, sometimes things go right over my head; but it still shouldn't have taken me so long to figure out that this was a large part of why he was so happy about me and Zuko. He looked at me and saw someone who had saved his nephew…as someone who would always be able to protect him. Just yesterday, he had been trying to tell me how much Zuko had changed after I arrived on the ship, and none of it had made any sense to me.

It still doesn't make sense to me. Everyone should be mad at me for what I did, not proud. I had almost sent Zuko to his death by telling him where Aang was. I had taken advantage of his absence to sneak off the ship, and I had stolen Commander Yamada's ostrich-horse. I had lied and deceived a lot of people, and what's worse, there was a very good chance that my Energybending on Zuko would have killed him if I had fucked up. And it had been a complete accident to boot.

"Besides," Iroh added in a softer voice. "Jee cares about you very much, as does everyone else here. He won't overreact."

I tensed. "I think you're wrong. I think he's really mad at me." I glanced at Zuko. "_You _were mad, too, you know."

Zuko was the only person who reacted appropriately. Hadn't he been furious with me earlier? He didn't give me any special treatment just because of whatever _feelings_ he might have for me. It didn't matter that I had just woken up, and he didn't let my convalescent state stop him from being completely honest about how much I had hurt him.

I liked that about Zuko. He always told the truth, even if the truth was painful.

"I was mad because you almost died," he said, exasperated. "But that doesn't mean that I don't…care about you or anything." He flushed a little. "Anyway, if you were to come with me and a fight broke out, I'd be distracted trying to keep you safe. I can't afford that, especially if the Avatar shows up. I have to face him at my best."

I snatched my hand away and balled it up in a fist on my lap. "Whatever," I grumbled. "It's only for a few days. You're just going to check out Jade Valley and then you're coming straight back, right?"

Okay, so it would suck not having my…my…(Boyfriend? Significant other? Love interest?) Oh, fuck it.

It would suck not having _Zuko_ around, but it wouldn't be for that long. Hell, by the time we packed everything up here at Camp Yamada, Zuko would probably be at Jade Valley Village. It would take us a day to return to the ship, and by then he and Iroh will be on their way back as well. At most, I wouldn't be seeing them for two days. I could handle two days.

"Actually," Iroh cut in. "Prince Zuko has promised that we would get to visit Ginseng Village should we ever find ourselves in the area. Did you know that it is one of the most prominent tea-leaf exporting villages in the Eastern Earth Kingdom?" He brightened. "Zuko, perhaps you should purchase a nice souvenir for Julie…since she _is_ your girlfriend, after all."

He waggled his eyebrows teasingly, and Zuko stiffened. I saw him turning red and immediately look away, something that caused a fresh scowl to erupt on my face. You know, I hated things like this. When people just went and _said _things like that, it only ends up making things more awkward than they had to be. And I was already struggling to wrap my brain around my current relationship status.

Uggh! What relationship? We haven't even been out on a date! We just kind of…like each other…and swapped spit once or twice. Does that automatically make me Zuko's girlfriend?

I kept my gaze away from the Fire Prince and ended up looking at Shen-Long instead. I caught a very unguarded, pained expression on his face, like he had swallowed a roach. The moment he noticed me watching, though, he forced the revulsion off of his face and averted his eyes.

Something was bugging him, and he did _not _want me knowing about it. I frowned, wondering why he would care about me being with Zuko when he was completely smitten with Ayla. I mean, yeah, he didn't entirely seem to believe we were separate, Ayla and I…but hadn't he said that all he wanted was for me to be happy?

I guess even if I was happy with Zuko, that wouldn't stop him from getting hurt in the process. I felt a sense of guilt that tasted like nausea, and my shoddy appetite waned even further. I put down my spoon and scowled at my distorted reflection in the metal.

"She's not…I mean…" Zuko stopped himself, closing his eyes and breathing out of his nose. "Uncle, you shouldn't say things like that."

Wait…was he about to say that I…wasn't his girlfriend?

_Good to know where we stand_, I thought grumpily…admittedly, more grumpily than I was justified in feeling. I mean, you don't call a girl your girlfriend when you've only known her for a couple of months and only _just now_ told her that you like her.

It was way too soon for that. Of course it was. I couldn't blame Zuko for being embarrassed…of course I couldn't. Anyway, it had to be a huge let-down for a prince, not to mention humiliating, to get caught having a _thing_ for a peasant-girl from another dimension. And it wasn't like I was exactly a _knock-out_ or anything. I mean, some people still mistook me for a boy.

Well, okay, not so much now that my hair was growing out, but still.

"Yeah," I said snappishly, folding my arms. "That's just stupid. I'm not his girlfriend…phsssh…!"

Zuko's eyes cut to me in confusion. But before he could say anything else there was an interruption at the door of the tent. The sound of someone clearing their throat reached my ears, and I looked up to see Commander Yamada coming in, those unnatural red eyes focused on mine.

I felt a flash of pain in my bandaged eye, and my hand flew to my face to clutch at it. A sharp hiss clawed out of my throat.

"Julie," said Shen-Long, alarmed. "Are you…?"

He trailed off when he noticed Yamada walking past him. Zuko wasn't so easily distracted, though. He was at my side in an instant, trying to get me to let go of my eye. I think he was worried I'd ruin the bandage or something; but dammit, why the hell did it hurt so badly?

"…'sfine…" I grunted, my attention still focused on the doorway. I glowered at Yamada, not really sure where all of this frustration for him was coming from. "What the hell do _you _want? Can't you see I'm busy?"

The Commander smiled. "You must not be a morning person. Then again, none of the reports on you indicated that you would be anything but hostile, so in a way this is reassuring."

Reports? What was this guy talking about?

"To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Commander?" Iroh asked, his tone as warm and courteous as he could make it without sounding insincere. "This is not your typical location for a war meeting."

His face was contemplative, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was the same look I remembered seeing in the episode where Azula makes her first appearance and tries to sucker them into coming with her as her prisoners.

Yamada glanced at Iroh and seemed to scrutinize him for a beat before sinking into a short bow; undoubtedly out of respect for the man's title. "I am sorry to intrude, General Iroh. I merely wanted to have a few words with this remarkable young woman in front of us…if that is agreeable, of course."

"That is up to Julie," the older man replied. "Whether she is up for a conversation or not, I cannot say. However, if you ask nicely she might be willing to listen to whatever it is you came here to say."

Their gazes were locked for a moment, and it was like watching a game of chess unfolding at the blink of an eye, with those two as the silent players of the game. Zuko let me go and folded his arms, narrowing his eyes at Yamada, distrust plainly visible on his face.

"You mentioned reports," he said flatly. "I want to know what exactly you're talking about before this conversation goes any further. What reports do you have regarding Julie?"

Yamada just blinked. "Did you think news of Commander Zhao's Agni Kai wouldn't spread, your Highness? The girl's existence and peculiarities are common knowledge to many commanding officers in the Fire Nation Army after that incident." He glanced at me. "I had to say, it was quite an unexpected pleasure meeting you before…though whether it was fate or a happy coincidence, I can't say."

I scowled at him, still clutching at my bandaged eye. "I don't know why you would be. You shouldn't be impressed by some stupid fluke…and I'm hardly a military asset, you know."

He smiled. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. You showed us quite a bit of your power when you drove away that spirit for us. Because of you, the Fire Nation was able to secure the entire Jade Mountain region. I have already coordinated it with other units in the area." He folded his arms, raising an eyebrow at me. "You should be proud of what you accomplished."

That news hit me like a fist. The Fire Nation took over this area because of what I did? But…I hadn't been trying to get anybody conquered. I had just been trying to make up for my stupid-ass mistake of sending Zuko into a death trap laid by the Water Tribe. I had just been trying to protect him…that was all.

I didn't mean for this to happen.

"You've gone pale," Yamada commented. "Are you in pain?"

I shook off the question. "Are people going to die because of this…?" I demanded. "Are people from the Earth Kingdom going to…die? Because of what I did?"

Please tell me it isn't true. Someone…anyone…just tell me what I needed to hear. No, tell me I wasn't responsible and let it _not_ be a lie. I can't handle being the reason both Kyoshi Island _and_ the Jade Mountains fell to the Fire Nation. This has to be some sick joke.

The Commander's expression went flat. "Only if they're stupid enough to resist their fate. And quite honestly, the world could use less stupid people in it. It's about time we stopped nurturing the weak and rewarded the stronger, more talented individuals in society…don't you agree?"

There was something hidden in his words, and it was very clearly directed at me. But I had no idea what he meant by that cryptic statement.

"That's enough," Zuko snapped. He got in between me and Yamada and stared challengingly into his eyes. "I'm sure you have more important matters to attend to, and I suggest that you go attend to them before someone more capable does it for you."

No one spoke. It was like we were waiting for an Agni Kai to break out right there and then, and the tension could be cut with a knife. Shen-Long had his arm around my shoulders as he stared at Yamada, and I knew he had nothing dishonorable in mind. It was just a protective gesture. He was ready to get me out of harm's way if a fight actually broke out.

"Are you here for that stupid favor I promised you?" I asked.

Yamada broke eye-contact with Zuko, flicking his gaze away dismissively and turning to look at me. How anyone could have such a calm demeanor and seem so sinister at the same time…it was mind-boggling. And it was unnerving having him look at you with those hawk-eyes of his while he wore that secretive smile on his face. I just looked at him and _knew_ deep in my gut that he was laying some kind of trap for me.

"Oh, no," he laughed. "My, you're jumpy aren't you? I don't have any use for you just yet…especially in your current state. So you can relax for the moment." His expression grew calm, a metaphorical plateau of emotions. "When it comes time for me to collect on your debt, you will know. Don't you worry about that."

Zuko looked from me to Yamada in alarm. "What debt?"

The Commander smiled just a little wider, but completely ignored his question. He was acting as though the banished prince simply wasn't worth his time to acknowledge.

"You have a lot of potential," he told me. "I suggest that you seek out the right people to help you achieve it…before someone unworthy snatches it out of your hands. I'm sure you want to become stronger than you are now…" He scrutinized my expression for a moment, looking deep in my eyes. "Yes, I'm sure of it."

This was creeping me out. "Sure of what? What are you sure about?"

Yamada held my gaze. "You want to be strong so badly that it hurts. There's a hunger in your eyes…a raw need that convinces me…you've been stepped on a lot in your life. Haven't you?"

Shen-Long stood up suddenly. "Prince Zuko is right. I think you should leave…_Sir_."

He let out a chuckle, amused.

"In any case, I can help you achieve what it is you so deeply desire," he said, turning to leave. "If you're tired of being coddled and domesticated by these simpletons, then you know where to find me." He glanced at General Iroh. "Though I suppose things aren't quite so hopeless…after all, you _are _traveling with the Dragon of the West. But I doubt he's the one who's been training you."

He paused at the door.

"Think on my words, Julie. You'll have to make a choice soon enough."

There was a cold feeling in my chest that wouldn't go away, even after Yamada ducked out of the tent. I hugged my arms to my sides and stared down at my lap, my thoughts whirling around in my head. How…how did that guy know _anything_ about me? Just by looking at me? Did he really see how vulnerable I really was in a single glance?

Was I really that weak?

Zuko stalked over to me. I glanced up sharply as he took the seat directly opposite from mine and glared into my eyes. "What exactly did you promise that man…?" he demanded in a low, rough voice. "Tell me!"

Oh, snap.

"You know…" I said slowly. "…he really isn't that much older than we are. And might I say _right now_ that I don't exactly find him to be that manly?"

His expression darkened. "I'm not screwing around. You have ten seconds to tell me everything before I completely lose my patience with you."

Okay, I seriously take offense at this. Of all the things to get everyone mad at me, and it's _this_? The shitty ostrich-horse that I stole? Just when it looked like I had actually gotten away with my stupidity for a change, and then this happens…I mean, damn. That's just shitty luck right there.

I breathed out a sigh. "I went and borrowed his stupid ostrich-horse on the way here…but now I kind of owe him a favor." I glanced at Zuko, looking to see if he was in any way mollified by my rather simplistic, absolutely harmless-sounding explanation. "Um…he wasn't really specific about the terms, and I didn't exactly have time to go around negotiating a friggin' contract. So, yeah. It's really not a big deal."

Zuko's jaw ticked. "Not a big deal?"

"Um…"

"And what if he takes the Avatar as his favor?" he asked. "Did you think of that?"

I gave him a miffed look. "No, actually I was a bit preoccupied with the fact that you were about to be ambushed, and that if I didn't get to you fast enough you were going to _die_. And since when is the value of the friggin' master of four elements equal to the price of a stupid ostrich-horse? Dumb-ass…" I shook my head. "Anyway, I wasn't expecting him to actually come find me later. And we didn't even have a written contract or anything. He can't seriously hold me to something like this, right?"

"He could bring you up on charges for stealing the ostrich-horse," Shen-Long commented. "And I _told _you not to take it, didn't I?"

"Whatever. I'll deal with it, whatever his stupid favor is. He already promised it wouldn't be kinky sex, so how bad can it be?"

Zuko flushed red and didn't seem to know how to answer this question. I could tell he was already fretting over the lewd scenario of Commander Yamada demanding some kind of sexual favor in exchange for the ostrich-horse. He was getting himself all worked up, and I'm pretty sure that this was keeping him from thinking logically. This had to be the reason for what he said next.

"If he touches you, I _will _snap his fingers off," he growled. "…one at a time."

Holy shit.

"I think what Prince Zuko means," said Iroh quickly, "…is that he does not intend to let anything happen to you. And _that's all_."

Zuko gave his uncle a look. "I'm not joking. No one is going to _touch_ her, Uncle. He doesn't have the _right_ to demand something like that from my…my…" He stopped himself from finishing that sentence and seemed to consider his words carefully before continuing. "…from _Julie_. I'm not going to let it happen. I'll challenge him to an Agni Kai before that happens."

Why was it that neither of us could utter word _girlfriend_ out loud? I mean, I knew why _I _couldn't say it. It felt so presumptuous to call myself Zuko's girlfriend. It was like wearing a coat that was too loose for my shoulders and made me look ridiculous; or finding a coat that fits exactly right, but is way too expensive to even consider owning. That was what this felt like.

But for Zuko, I had no idea if he was embarrassed of me, or just following my example. Dammit…I shouldn't have said that I wasn't his girlfriend. What was I thinking?

Wait…what _was _I thinking? Did I actually _want_ to be someone's girlfriend? After what Ramon did to me?

I mean, I used to be in love with Ramon. I had _trusted_ Ramon. Well, okay…maybe not entirely, but enough not to do what he did. There was no way I'd ever be able to forgive him. I just can't let go of that, no matter what.

If I let go, it'll just happen again. I'll get hurt again. I don't ever want to hurt like that again.

"No one," I snapped. "…is going to be challenging _anybody! _I'm not going to let you fight in an Agni Kai…because I…I would never agree to something like that to begin with!" _Rally, Julie. Summon every ounce of indignation you can muster_. "What kind of girl do you think I am, anyway? Are you saying I'm some kind of whore? Is that what you're telling me?"

He looked completely blind-sighted by the question. "Wha…? No! I…of course not!"

I folded my arms. "Then stop trying to defend my honor like an idiot. If I tell you I'll take care of it, then I'll take care of it. Besides, there are other ways of negotiating that don't involve trying to burn each other alive. I mean, is this how people from the Fire Nation handle every single disagreement? With fiery fights to the _death_? That's just really, really stupid."

Zuko was the most honorable person I knew, so of course he'd be obsessed with defending mine as well. _I_ was the one being stupid. Of course he wasn't like Ramon. I could trust him, I knew that deep down. Maybe the thing I was really scared of more than anything wasn't that he would betray my trust and sully my honor…but that he would figure out that I didn't have any honor left to lose.

"For your information," said Zuko, cutting into my internal crisis. "Agni Kai's have been fought for centuries. Not only is it a cultural precedent and _tradition_, but it serves as a clear, precise way to end a dispute. And besides…"

I tuned out the rest, because I had a lot worse things to worry about than stupid traditions. I haven't been with Zuko for even a day and I was already at risk of losing him! That's pretty fucking serious.

How was I going to make this work? I couldn't be _with _Zuko and keep all these secrets from him. But if I tell him _anything_, I just know he isn't going to look at me the same anymore. I mean…to be perfectly honest, a lot of what Ramon did…was _my _fault. I couldn't deny that.

Because all Ramon had given me everything. He took me in when I couldn't go home to my Dad, he hid me and trained me to deal cards, he kept me around and protected me…and all he wanted in return was my body. I mean…damn, people do it all the time. What was so wrong with me that I couldn't just suck it up and let him touch me?

Zuko continued ranting, oblivious to my plight in the wake of the slight I had made on the honorable precedent that was the Agni Kai. Though, in all honesty, I think he was just telling himself what he _needed_ to hear.

"You just don't get it," he said. "But when you think about it, it's the best way to settle things. Why shed the blood of innocent people fighting a civil war when you can decide the outcome between two willing combatants?"

I gave him a look. "Yeah? Well, I still think it's messed up. There's no point in it! Either way, people still get _hurt_. They still _die_. And I…there's enough of that shit with a war going on. Can't we just stop fighting pointless battles?"

Zuko's expression darkened. "You just don't understand. Sometimes, you have to fight. Sometimes you don't have a choice. And sometimes…there are things at stake that are _worth _fighting for."

"Yeah, well not this time!" I snarled.

What made this worse was that deep down I knew why he was mad. I knew that the subject of Agni Kai's were a very touchy subject for Zuko. It was as good of an idea as picking at a raw scab. Imagine being told that Agni Kai's are pointless and stupid after fighting in one and getting permanently maimed because of it. After experiencing such a crushing loss, you kind of need to rationalize it.

When you get hurt badly enough, it doesn't matter how ridiculous your logic sounds to other people. You get so desperate to make it _make sense_ that you'll tell yourself anything…and believe it.

Unfortunately, nodding and smiling wasn't an option here.

"Um…your soup is getting cold," Shen-Long said, looking very uncomfortable.

I glared at the luke-warm broth. "I don't want it. I'm not hungry."

Why couldn't Zuko get it through his head that I wasn't worth fighting over? His life had so much more value than mine…and it always would. He had a destiny and a nation to rule one day. He had a bright future ahead of him, and I…well…I had no idea what to expect for myself anymore.

Yamada was definitely right about one thing. I had to make a choice about my future, sooner or later. And the longer I put it off, the more likely I'd cause another major screw-up in the Avatarverse timeline. The more people would get hurt and possibly die, and the more blood I'd have on my hands because I couldn't make a choice.

But I knew one thing for sure. Compared to him, I was trash. The fact that he even thought I had any honor to protect was just cruel. Painful.

Zuko was scrutinizing my expression, probably because he couldn't get a clear signal from me...not about my feelings or my intentions…nothing. I wasn't even sure what I wanted. All I knew was that I didn't want to lose him. And either way, I felt like it was only a matter of time before it happened. Either he would learn too much about me, see something he didn't like and leave…or he'd try to do something stupid for my honor's sake, and possibly get himself hurt. Or killed.

I twisted my hands in a knot. "Can we change the subject?"

He frowned. "I have to get ready to leave."

My heart sank. "Oh. Right. Fine."

Zuko stared at me one last time as he got up to leave. What he said next surprised me.

"Don't worry about Yamada," he told me. "Or anything else. You risked everything to protect me…and I promise you that I'll come back and protect you. No matter what, I'll be here for you. I swear on my honor, Julie…or what honor I have left, anyway."

My head shot up. "Zuko…"

But he was already out of the tent. I think he was walking a little faster than normal in his haste to leave, and it was probably because he was a bit embarrassed by his own declaration. It was so dorky and endearing…and he had sounded so sad when he had talked about his honor…like it was worth only a few copper pieces at best.

Was it possible that he felt the same way that I did? Inadequate? And was I really something worth fighting for in his eyes?

No. It couldn't be.

* * *

**A/N: Oh, Julie…why can't you make up your mind?**

**The chapter title "Making Adjustments" reflects the awkwardness between her and Zuko as they both try to redefine the boundaries of their relationship. They know how they feel for each other, but obviously they have no idea what to do outside of the heat of the moment. Once things calm down, they find themselves floundering around each other.**

**New relationships take time to grow into. You can't just stumble into the light and expect to perform a perfect tango; and right now they are very much stumbling and tripping all over themselves trying to learn this dance called love. It's frustrating and embarrassing for both of them, and fluffy as hell. Unfortunately, this can also lead to some problems since certain outside forces aren't going to be so lenient in giving them time to adjust to one another.**

**Yes, they are very in "like" with each other. They are together in a matter of speaking, but neither of them are sure exactly what that entails. Julie can't seem to visualize herself as Zuko's girlfriend, and he can't bring himself to say it just yet. Not only is this a new experience for them, but neither one feels quite good enough for the other.**

**And for Julie, there are clearly going to be some major trust issues to work with. She's carrying a lot of baggage from her crumbled relationship with Ramon, and that betrayal is something she still hasn't worked through yet. That's why we see her oscillating between yes and no with Zuko; yes, she wants to be with him and craves his acceptance; no, she doesn't want to risk losing what they have by opening up to him. She doesn't want him to look at her any differently or to suddenly start seeing her as just "used goods," as crude as that sounds.**

**But, as we all can guess, she's not going to be able to have both a relationship and these secrets. Soon, Julie is going to have to choose to trust Zuko or to continue to isolate herself…as well as whether or not she'll take Yamada's advice for a grain of salt. It's a lot to deal with. And she's going to have to choose quickly, because Yamada isn't the only one trying to drive a wedge between the new couple.**

**And what will happen when _Jee _hears about this? Mwa, ha ha ha!**

**At the same time, Katara is really feeling terrible about beating up Haru earlier and wants to make it up to him. But she gets a lot more than what she bargained for when she finds his village in the grips of the Fire Nation and getting picked clean by the Brotherhood acolytes. So, she has come up with a plan to free the village all together. But it's going to be a long, dangerous mission, and there's a good chance that people will die in this bid for freedom.**

**This episode had been one of Katara's crowning moments in the show, and although Aang does still need to assert himself as the Avatar, I don't plan on taking that away from her. Aang is still just a kid and needs to grow into his role as the protector of balance. It's going to take a while, but I promise lots of character growth for the monk. Definitely!**

**Anyway, long-ass chapter…long-ass time to write. I just hope it was worth the wait. But hey, let me know yourselves. REVIEW!**


	89. Proving Oneself

**A/N: So, you guys know how I've been dusting off PS2 games lately (for lack of any modern gaming consoles at my fingertips)? Well, I sort of found Katamari Damacy this week and have been rolling nonstop. And for those of you who have never heard of it, Katamari is a game where you roll around a ball called a Katamari and collect objects that stick to the ball. Naturally as you collect more items, your Katamari gets bigger and bigger until you're grabbing things like stray animals, buses, airplanes, and giant squids…just to name a few. **

**The whole point is that at the end of the time limit, the ball you create becomes a new star in the sky (because the protagonist's father, the King of the Cosmos, sort of went and smashed the sky…and since he gave you life, he decided to go and collect on the debt. Free labor, what parent hasn't cashed in on that?). Your job is to put the stars and constellations back in the sky and eventually rebuild the moon. **

**This game has taught me many things…foremost being that when your parents do something epically stupid (or generally causes problems for other people), it ultimately becomes your problem to fix. This applies in AtLA as well, I noticed. Mike and Bryan really seem to have it out for the Dad's of the show (in both AtLA and LoK), while mothers are regarded fondly in the past tense (and usually off-camera) as the pinnacle of good.**

**The other thing I learned from Katamari Damacy is that rolling up innocent bystanders and watching them flailing and screaming as you roll along **_**never**_** gets old. Especially while targeting the ones that went out of their way to knock shit off my Katamari in its budding stages. I **_**always**_** remember who they are and **_**where **_**they are on the stage, and I **_**always**_** come back to find them.**

**(Blinks at TV) Heeeeeeeeey! A giraffe!**

**-There is an unearthly screech off-camera as the Katamari sucks the unsuspecting animal into its inescapable clutches—**

**Huh…so **_**that's **_**the sound a giraffe makes.**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Two: Proving Oneself**

"So, let me see if I get this straight," said Sokka slowly. "We very narrowly escaped from a group of homicidal maniacs, and now, not even a week later, you want us to go marching right back into their camp…? Is _that _what you're telling me, sis?"

Katara scowled at him. "Well, obviously we need a plan for it to work. So…any ideas?"

Her brother folded his arms in response. "I'm sorry, but I'm still stuck at _you want us to go marching into a camp of anti-bending psychopaths._ I'm going to need a minute to digest this."

"Well, do it quickly. The longer we wait the less chance we have at saving this village…and the children that were taken by the Brotherhood."

That stopped the Water Tribe boy in mid-sarcastic retort. He went very still, his expression frozen on his face in horror. And it was clear that there were no words to express the deep revulsion and anger he was feeling at the moment.

"Children…?"

"Haru told me all about it. He said that the only other Earthbenders that weren't taken by the Fire Nation were too young to bend at the time…and the Brotherhood picked them off about a month ago after they revealed themselves by accident."

Sokka swallowed. "Are they…?"

Katara looked away. "We don't know…but…that doesn't mean we can just give up on them. And I know Aang would agree with me."

"He would, being the Avatar and all. And speaking of, don't you think we should have him here if we're going to be planning something like this?"

There was an awkward pause.

"Katara?"

The Waterbender glanced quickly out the window of the grain shed, checking to make sure that Aang was still feeding Appa. Guilt and indecisiveness flickered across her face in a few heartbeats before she turned back to Sokka. "He hasn't been himself since we left the valley."

"Who, Aang?"

She nodded.

"Now that you mention it," said Sokka after a contemplative pause. "…I noticed it, too. He seems cheerful enough, but there are times when it sounds…I dunno…forced. Like he's trying not to worry us or anything." His frown deepened. "But then, we've _all _been pretty depressed lately."

"Still though," she protested. "Being in that horrible village…it must have been so traumatizing for him. Those people were murdering benders and blaming _him_ for not being around for the last hundred years…using that as an excuse. And I think Aang believes it deep down inside." Katara wrung her hands in frustration. "He thinks this is _his_ fault…and I know it isn't!"

His response was firm, supportive. "We both do. We're a family."

"Yes…but…I'm worried that if he finds out about this, he won't be able to bounce back from it. I'm scared that he'll…break."

Sokka scowled and put his hand on his sister's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him, her cerulean eyes misty. Hastily, she got a hold of herself, but the Water Tribe boy could see her hands clenched into trembling fists at her sides; and suspected that out of the two of them, Katara had been just as scarred by the experience as the monk.

"We all have each other," he reminded her. "None of us are in this alone, remember?"

She nodded, unable to speak.

"You know," he pressed further. "Back in the valley, Aang had said that, that Delun guy had hurt you. What did he mean by that, exactly?" He saw the way she had turned away to stare out the window, not answering him. "Katara?"

The air felt strangely heavy all of a sudden.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Silence, during which Sokka wrestled with the pro's and con's of forcing the issue. But the cold steel in his younger sister's eyes dissuaded him in the end. Troubled as he was about that cryptic incident that neither would speak about, he decided it would be better to save that can of worms for later. Reluctantly (though not with small relief because Katara obviously did _not _want to elaborate any further), he changed the subject.

"I still think we should tell Aang," said Sokka. "About the Brotherhood. He's the Avatar…and like it or not, it's his job to address things like this. We all need him. We can't protect him from his destiny forever."

Katara sighed in frustration. "This war…and the Brotherhood…I just hate them so much. I hate what it does to families…and how no one is spared. No matter how young and good and…_innocent_ you are, it doesn't matter! How is that fair?"

He caught her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Sometimes, life isn't fair. But we can't change that. We can only move forwards…and try to make things better for everyone. And for that…we _need_ Aang."

"Need me for what?"

The siblings jumped. Aang stood in the doorway, the leftover hay cradled in his arms and starting to slip through his fingers. Slowly, he looked from one face to the other, his grey eyes solemn with what could only plainly be dread.

Sokka saw this and turned to Katara, communicating with her silently, asking her what she wanted to do. But her expression was just as tired and desperate as the young Avatar's.

The Waterbender closed her eyes for a moment. _Aang, I'm so sorry._

"We were just talking," she said slowly, her words sluggish and heavy. "…about how we're going to save this village."

Aang breathed out a quick sigh. Strangely, some of the tension left his face; a reaction so unexpected that it made the other two exchange confused glances. He almost seemed…relieved.

"Oh," he said, noticing the looks they were now giving him. "Um…it's nothing. It's just…well…" he fidgeted. "I just…I thought after everything that's happened…well…" he took a deep breath. "Everyone thinks I'm a lousy Avatar…and I am. The whole world gave up on me…and I was scared that you would too."

Katara's eyes widened. "Aang…"

"But, it's okay," he said hastily, holding up his hands. "It really is. Because…I mean, we're still trying, right? You guys said that you still needed me…even though I made so many mistakes, you still need me. The world still needs me…and I'm not giving up! As long as there's something I can do…I'll keep trying. I have to! I won't turn my back on anyone ever again!"

He threw the hay to the ground, but with a tad more force (and wind) than necessary. Everyone blinked as they found themselves completely covered with the golden straws. Sokka in particular got a lot in his mouth, and had to spit it out.

"Um…" said Aang sheepishly. "Whoops. Sorry."

The trio looked at each other for a beat. They all looked so ridiculous with all that hay strewn all over the place that they couldn't help it. The dark, gloomy bubble they had been trapped in for the past couple of days just _popped_. One by one, they started to laugh; a good, deep, cathartic kind of laughter that left them all feeling cleansed and lighter.

"Wow," said Sokka with a sigh. "I needed that. I don't think we even _smiled _at all since we left the valley…"

"Tell me about it," Katara agreed, wiping a tear from her eye. She let out a nervous giggle as she glanced sideways at the monk…and had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from bursting out laughing again. He had secretly gathered the hay and made himself a handlebar mustache when no one was looking.

"I know," said Aang casually. "I practically feel like a different person."

The siblings couldn't contain their amusement any more. They started laughing again, but unfortunately, it was short-lived mirth. The Airbender chose that moment to have a sneezing fit, sending hay all over the grain-shed.

And to answer your unasked question, when an Airbender starts sneezing, it was time to stop laughing and start ducking the random projectiles that came hurtling your way.

It took about ten minutes for everything to settle down again. After the last piece of hay had hit the floor, Sokka had decided that they needed to get organized before they got down to planning the sound and promising butt-kicking of a certain group of religious fanatics. Plus, they all knew that if Haru's mother happened upon the grain shed looking like a bomb had hit it, they would probably end up getting kicked out. And they had already learned the hard way that having the Avatar in your group didn't stop people from banning you from taverns and chasing you out of town.

But the clean-up took practically no time at all, and soon they were all huddled in a circle while Sokka unrolled the slightly outdated map of the area he had purchased back in Chin Village.

"Okay," he said to the younger two. "Obviously it's not impossible to stop the Brotherhood. I mean, we pretty much proved that in the last village we went to, right?"

"Um, Sokka," Aang spoke up. "Most of the time we were being chased by people…and if I hadn't almost gone into the Avatar state…and if you hadn't shown up at the last second to knock out Delun…who knows what might have happened?"

"True. But this time we won't have to resort to luck and your magical Avatar powers to save us. This time, we're going to have the upper hand…because we're going to have the element of surprise, _and_ we're going to have the numbers to overwhelm them."

"Numbers?" Katara repeated with a frown.

Sokka looked up at her. "Didn't Haru tell you that the Fire Nation took all of the master Earthbenders in this village? The Brotherhood only captured the inexperienced benders…which means there are still people who can and _will _fight for this village…and their families."

Her face brightened. "Sokka, you're a genius! We just have to find them and set them free, let them know what's going on, and then they'll come fight with us! We can all take back the village together!"

Aang, on the other hand, was hesitant. "Is there any way we can find some nonbenders to help us? It's too dangerous to rely on just bending and nothing else." He saw the older boy's confusion and started to explain. "The acolytes did something that made it really hard for me to Airbend…I don't know how, but…I think it might have been Energybending."

Katara tensed and looked down at the map, fixing her gaze on the swatches of blue that represented the ocean. She didn't want to think about Energybending or that man…the one who had set her own chakras aflame. It was a terrifying memory.

"Do you think the Earthbenders will have problems fighting the Brotherhood?" Aang persisted.

Sokka furrowed his brow. "We need to let them know exactly what they're getting into before they agree to anything. If we don't, we'd just be sending them to get killed." He glanced down at the map, too, looking around the dot that represented the village. "Hopefully, we can still surprise them and get the upper hand before they can use their anti-bending trick. All we need to do now is figure out where the Fire Nation is holding the Earthbenders."

Katara felt grim satisfaction as a plan took form in her mind. "I think I know how to do that."

Aang looked surprised. "You do? How?"

She met his gaze, determined.

"I'm going to get arrested for Earthbending."

* * *

_One way…or another…I'm gonna get you! I'm gonna get ya', get ya', get ya', GET YA'…!_

And there were so many things to chase here. Yoshi was being a very good dog, and had already chased down several meadow-voles that morning. He was being a good dog and _not_ doing anything bad, even though what he _wanted_ to do was to find mother and give her a tongue-bath. But Julie was still resting, and bathing someone while they were trying to rest made you a _bad _dog.

He missed his mother very much, but Yoshi knew he could still make her proud by committing as many pointless acts of slaughter as possible. And that was exactly what he did.

_I got so many presents, and Momma will be so pleased when she sees,_ he thought to himself, beaming at the pile of animal corpses that littered the ground in front of him. They were plump and bite-sized…and it was ever-so nice to get one of them in his jaws and just _shake_ them until they stopped moving! That was fun!

But mother preferred her meals already dead, which was strange…but Yoshi was not about to judge his life-giver like a _bad_ dog. No, sir.

_I wonder if the mate of mother will want a food…_

Yoshi turned his thoughts to the scowling human who didn't yell at him anymore, the one who started calling him a good dog…yes, the Zuko. Certainly he would need his strength if he was to successfully impregnate mother, wouldn't he? And a good dog would make sure that his mother's mate would be strong enough to provide for her and the young he sired her.

What did Zuko's eat, anyway?

_I am going to look and see! _

And then he scurried away like a total bad-ass.

Yoshi had the foresight to snatch a dead meadow-vole before leaving, and was carrying it in his jaws like a squeaky chew-toy. Its little nose and tail drooped and swayed as he ran. The eelhound kept darting around, avoiding the men-soldier-humans that stomped around looking mean (and they yelled even more than the Zuko, which was saying something) in search of the Zuko in question.

His quest ended abruptly when he spotted the Fire Prince packing up his saddle-bag and attaching it securely to his komodo rhino mount. But he paused when he saw Yoshi race up to him and plop the dead rodent at his feet.

_It's for you, _he declared proudly. _Praises! I did a good job, yes?_

Zuko blinked. "Um…thank you?"

_You need lots of energy for your hunt. That's where you're going, yes? Hunting?_

The Firebender knelt down next to the eelhound, surprised at how perceptive the little beast was. Granted, this was the same creature that attacked piles of dirt, but still…maybe he wasn't completely stupid. And he was starting to see how his affectionate, puppy antics could be considered cute…even though he was a drooling lizard monster with fangs.

"Yeah," he said, deciding to humor the animal. "I'm hunting a very special prey. It's called an Avatar."

Yoshi's eyes grew huge. _I want it!_

Zuko blinked. "You…can't have it. The Avatar is a very powerful being and…he's a bad dog. You don't want to meet him, trust me. I should go get him before he eats you and your mother. Okay?"

The eelhound went berserk. A bad dog!

_I will snap his fucking neck! We gotta find him and catch him and chew on his eyes! _

Bark, bark, bark, bark…! The young predator was completely senseless, snarling and yipping at the air, as though the Avatar was an invisible monster waiting to snatch them up and kill them all. Zuko sensed that he might have phrased his warning poorly; and now the eelhound was definitely going to want to come along and find this new, bad dog that needed to be found.

He suspected that "bad dog" was synonymous with "being of pure evil" to Yoshi.

"Calm down," he said quickly. "I'm going to go get him, so it's okay! Just be a good dog while I go get the bad dog, and when I get back…um…I'll give you…um…a…fish?"

_It has to still be alive,_ Yoshi told him. _I don't want it if it isn't doing the happy dance that all prey does when I jump on them. It has to be a squirmy, dancing fish!_

Zuko shouldn't have been surprised, but was disturbed nonetheless. "Only if you're a good dog…and stay with Julie…I mean, your mother. Got it?"

The eelhound stared into his face. _I will do this thing you told me to do, _he said solemnly._ I will do this…and you will praise me and snap the fucker's neck…and all will be well. And later, when you return to impregnate mother, remember that we are now of the same pack. You will provide for me as well as your own young, and I will teach your offspring to hunt and run and GET things. Yes?_

What?

"I…I'm not going to _impregnate_ her…" he stammered, looking horrified.

Yoshi tilted his head to the side. _Why not? Is she not an attractive enough mate? Mother is a bad-ass and all of her offspring will be powerful hunters like ME! Why won't you mate with her?_

Zuko had no idea how he was supposed to extricate himself from the situation. This was clearly animal-logic, and it was so very unsettling that a baby eelhound expected him to just go up to Julie and knock her up…and did he just offer to teach his future children to _hunt_? Spirits, no.

It wasn't that Julie wasn't pretty enough to…um…_mate_ with. She was doll-sized and pouty, and had a habit of being unintentionally provocative at the worst of times. And spirits…the things that girl could do with her tongue when she kissed you…and she smelled like a mixture of crisp morning dew, the faint scent of flowers, and the saltiness of the ocean. And…

…he really needed to stop thinking about how she had looked in that little dress. Because he could tell that _mating_ was the last thing either of them should be thinking about right now. Besides, Julie wasn't exactly a touchy-feely kind of girl. Kissing her out of the blue had almost caused her to run away and not look back…so, no. He definitely was not going to be impregnating her any time soon.

But how to explain that to Yoshi?

He turned red as a fire-lilly. "Um…in _my _pack, you don't…do that…um…until you know you can provide for your mate, and…um…we need to get to know each other better, and…and…it's not mating season, yet."

Yoshi nodded, as though this made perfect sense. _I see. And when IS mating season?_

"A long, long time from now."

_Oh. No wonder humans are so unhappy. _The baby reptile thought for a moment. _Well, perhaps Momma will take on a few more mates. Then she can bear as much young as she's supposed to._

Zuko froze. For a moment, he got the mental image of Julie surrounded by lots of handsome young men, and felt a bitter backwash of jealousy. But, no…they were together now. She wouldn't dare sneak around with someone else. She wasn't that kind of girl.

"That's not going to happen," he said firmly. Yoshi blinked at him, puzzled. "Why don't you go play with Julie? I'm sure she misses you very much."

_You look mad._

"That's my hunting face."

_OH! I understand now! So…I'm a good dog?_

He sighed. "Yes. Go on, now."

The eelhound let out a happy bark before turning heel and running off.

Zuko buried his forehead in his hand and could feel his skin burning. That had been one of the most awkward situations he had ever been in, and he had been in _a lot _of awkward situations in his life...definitely more than was normal. Though, at least his uncle hadn't been involved in said awkwardness for a change.

"Well, nephew," said Iroh suddenly, practically materializing on the spot as he grasped the startled Fire Prince by the shoulder. "Are you ready to begin your…_hunt_?"

Zuko shook him off, his eyes wide. "How…how much of that did you hear?"

"I was standing within earshot for most of the conversation." His uncle grinned at him. "I think it is good that the little one acknowledges your mating potential…I think it's sweet."

"_Sweet_…?!"

"He sees Julie as his mother, Zuko," Iroh explained. "So, by calling you the mate of his mother, what does that make you? Hmmm?"

Oh, Spirits, no.

"We're wasting time," he snapped, deliberately leaving the question unanswered. "If you're already packed, we should leave camp immediately."

"Without saying goodbye to Julie?"

Zuko balked. "I already saw her this morning. She knows that I…anyway, I won't be gone that long. The quicker we leave, the quicker we can come back…"

Iroh watched his nephew shoving things into his saddlebag with more force than was necessary, and if he squinted he could faintly see traces of smoke coming out of his nostrils; a typical reaction to an incensed Firebender with poor breath control. He would have to really address that during their next training session.

"I still think you should consider getting her something in one of the villages we stop in," he said. "It does not have to have any romantic sentiment…it could merely be a token of your gratitude for her actions yesterday."

Zuko's brow furrowed. "Julie hates presents."

"I'm sure she wouldn't hate something _you _got her, Prince Zuko."

The Fire Prince snapped like a twig. He threw the compass he was holding to the ground, and it lay in the grass, steaming from the heat he had unconsciously been feeding it. He turned on his uncle with the fires of hell blazing in his eyes, radiating his frustration and embarrassment.

"I am _not_ wasting my time," he growled. "…getting that girl something she's just going to throw away! She would barely let me buy her a bag of litchi nuts the last time we went shopping. Why does it even matter, anyway? She knows how I feel about her…and...I know that she feels the same way, so…it doesn't matter! Can't I have a few days to myself where I don't have to worry about her and I can focus on my mission?"

Iroh opened his mouth, but was cut off as Zuko let out an angry sound. He craned his neck to see what the Fire Prince had found in his saddlebag and saw him holding a slightly worn tarot card. It was the one that Julie had dropped the night before they had left the ship…the Lover's card.

"I forgot to give the stupid thing back to her," he said in a low voice, before his uncle could comment. "It wasn't like I was keeping it or anything."

"Of course not," Iroh replied quickly.

"I'm giving it back," Zuko added fiercely. "…right now. I won't be longer than a few minutes. Be ready to leave as soon as I get back."

There was a knowing smile on the retired general's face. "Whatever you say, Prince Zuko."

* * *

It turns out that there isn't a whole lot to do in a Fire Nation camp without getting in someone's way. I found that out the hard way. After Zuko had left, I had pretty much lost my appetite and had taken to wandering around aimlessly. None of the soldiers really bothered with me, which was kind of disappointing since I was so bored.

The air was noticeably cooler than it had been a few days ago (not so strange since it was almost December now), and it wasn't so surprising that the thin garment I had been wearing earlier just didn't cut it. Even after switching to a Fire Nation tunic, sparring pants, and a cloak, I was still shivering. I rubbed my arms and tried to push the goose bumps back down into my skin.

Shen-Long had given me the slip some time ago, saying that he had some things to do. But I knew he just didn't want to be around me right now. He was still upset about me and Zuko. Ayla wasn't too happy about this, either.

"_He didn't have to leave,_" she said. "_Why does he even care that you like Zuko? Doesn't he know I'm still here?_"

I tried my best to think of some way to cheer her up; I was already depressed at the thought of Zuko leaving again, and I really didn't want to have to wrestle with Ayla's hurt feelings on top of it.

_Guys need time to themselves sometimes, _I told her mentally. _I mean, look at that dumb-ass, Zuko. He just barely got out of bed and he suddenly has to go running off to Jade Valley…I mean, it's a pain in the ass. What if he gets sick again?_

"_You cured him,_" Ayla replied. "_And Len isn't sick. He's sad._"

_That's not my fault. I can't help liking Zuko any more than you can help liking Len._

"_Stop calling him that! Only I can call him that! That's _my _name for him…and I don't want to hear you say it anymore!_"

I scowled. _You were the one who told me his real name, stupid. Don't get all huffy at me._

Ayla was quiet for a moment before blinking out of my thoughts. She's been doing that more and more lately, and at first I thought it was just because of the fact that I had gotten sick. Or maybe it had something to do with what Shen-Long had said about the coming solstice, since that affects spiritual-thingummies and whatnot.

But I started to get the feeling that she was just avoiding me. And it was ironic since a month ago I would have been dancing for joy at this. Now, I was just hungry for companionship and, even worse, I had gotten used to Ayla being a part of me. She was starting to turn into my conscience…an invisible sister who clung to my mind and preached good deeds into my ear. If she got quiet for a day or two she always came back because we needed each other.

Sure, we had our disagreements, but never like this. Her silence made me feel hollow inside.

_Hey, I'm sorry, okay? Will you please talk to me? I really need a friend right now._

I felt her stir slightly. "_…I never said we weren't friends anymore…stupid…_"

Whoa. That was a first for Ayla. She just wasn't prone to name-calling.

But before I could really reply to this, I felt all the muscles in my back tense up simultaneously as my danger senses kicked in. Something was rapidly approaching from behind, something bigger and taller and full of self-righteous anxiety. This knowledge struck me in a lightning bolt mere seconds before a pair of hands seized me by the shoulders and spun me around.

Jee was staring down at me, his eyes frantic. It was the first time I had seen him since yesterday, and he appeared to be as tired as Shen-Long had. He looked me up and down (undoubtedly convinced that I should be bleeding or missing a limb) before crushing me into a hug.

If I were a cat, I'd have already slashed him to ribbons; but seeing as I was just a clawless human being, it was much easier to swallow my panic and submit to the onslaught of fatherly-affection. Also, I couldn't really move my arms.

"J-Jee…!"

The Lieutenant sighed and loosened his embrace. I staggered a few paces back, my eyes wide as I gawked at him. He had the decency to look embarrassed as he folded his arms awkwardly; trying to regain what dignity he had left by acting stern.

"You really had me worried," he said in a thick voice. "Shen-Long told me you were awake, and I went to go see you in the medical tent and found out you were missing again! Why can't you just stay in one place?"

I was momentarily speechless. "I…I was just…looking for a bathroom…that's all…"

It was an easy enough lie. I don't think Jee would have appreciated hearing about how my boredom had driven me to sneak out of bed. Plus, he was acting really, really weird. It looked like he was trying very hard to keep himself together.

"I found it," I said quickly. "But…now I can't find my way back."

Jee frowned in suspicion. "Lucky you. I came to bring you back." He offered me his arm. "Come along, now."

Even though I was weirded out by how he was acting, I reached out and gripped on to his sleeve. He was a Firebender, which meant he was a lot warmer than a cloak right now. And anyway, it wasn't like I had much of a choice. He had a tone to his voice that left no room for arguments, and I was too tired to fight with him.

It took us about a minute to get back to the medical tent, but when we did I found my mood tanking. I hated infirmaries and medical tents and hospitals and all of those things...and doctors were just the worst. Deep down I knew that my Dad was one of the reasons I hated them so much; I mean, have you ever tried hiding bruises from a pediatrician? He only took me when I needed a physical exam for school, which was like, maybe at most once a year.

Anyway, I wasn't happy to go back inside. Jee noticed my reluctance and firmly guided me through the flap of the tent and back to my cot. I sat down and hugged my arms to my sides; tents didn't keep out the chill very well.

"It got cold all of a sudden," I said.

"We had a warm autumn," the Lieutenant replied simply. "But I think we're in for snow soon. We'll be heading back to the ship before noon. I already sent back a messenger hawk to inform Councilman Wei and his son, Kira, of our return."

"Who?"

Jee glanced at me. "Kira is one of your suitors, Julie." He saw the face I was making and hastened to reassure me. "I know I promised I wouldn't force you into anything, and I meant what I said. But they're already waiting for you, and I couldn't very well send them away. So…just meet him. That's all you have to do."

I scowled. "Isn't Kira a _girl's_ name?"

"I was told it was an old family name. Anyway…he seems nice enough…respectable…"

"…gay?"

"Julie!"

"What?" I demanded hotly. "You were thinking it…! Anyway…I…I don't have to meet anyone because I already found a guy that I…that I _like_, okay…?"

There was a long silence as Jee digested this bit of information. His mouth opened and hung ajar, his expression puzzled and surprised. He pulled up a chair and sat directly opposite me, not taking his eyes off of me.

"And by that, you mean…?"

I fidgeted, blushing under his gaze. "I mean…I like someone…actually, I've liked them for a while…and I didn't think he felt the same way, but…I just found out that he does…and…we're together now. Yeah…" I trailed off lamely. "So…?"

Jee beamed at me. "Julie…!" he cried. "That's…that's great! I'm so happy for you!" He took my hands in his and squeezed them firmly. "I knew it…! I knew that if you kept an open mind you would find someone you would want to marry…and now look at you! Engaged! This is perfect!"

Wait a minute…did he just say _engaged_?

"We can make wedding arrangements as soon as we get back to the ship," he went on, not noticing my dumbstruck expression. "I have to admit, I'm really surprised. I mean, you were being really stubborn about this…but then again, my aunt always said that there's a lid for every pot…typical women-logic, but I guess it's true after all…Spirits!" He looked at me again. "So, how did this happen? Who is it? Someone on the ship?"

"J-Jee…! I'm not engaged! It's not like that!"

His smile dropped a fraction of a degree. "You said you were together."

"Yeah, he said he liked me, and…we kissed…and we're together…but, not engaged or anything. It's too soon for that! I'm not even officially his girlfriend or anything…!"

He lowered his gaze to stare at his lap, his eyes troubled and distant as he fell silent. I could tell that he was thinking very hard, choosing his words very carefully for whatever it was he was about to say. I could see the unspoken words on his lips as he struggled to find the right ones that wouldn't offend me. I knew immediately that whatever came out of his mouth next, I wouldn't like it at all.

"Does this person _know_ you have suitors?" he said slowly.

I hesitated, knowing that he wouldn't approve. "Well…yeah, but…" I stopped abruptly, unhappy by the silent implication. "What?"

Jee was shaking his head. "And you aren't even his girlfriend?"

My brow furrowed. "It's too soon for that…I keep telling you! We…just need time…that's all."

The Lieutenant slowly lifted his eyes and met mine, looking absolutely pained. "Julie…I don't want to upset you…and I know you really like this person, but…you need to understand something." He held my hands in a tighter grip, insistent. "When a man really cares about a woman, he would do anything for her. He's willing to _fight_ for her…he wouldn't let _anything_ take her away from him…_never_."

"Yeah…" I muttered, trying to pull away.

"And don't you think if this person was really serious about you, he would be trying to court you in a normal fashion? Especially if he knew that there were others who would try to take you for themselves?"

I couldn't say anything. How could I say anything?

"I know it's hard to hear," Jee continued, seeing my face fall and my eyes go glassy. "But I think it's better that you hear it from me rather than learn it the hard way…after making a terrible mistake. Do you understand? There are young men who will trifle with your feelings just for…a moment's satisfaction. And you're a pretty young woman…so you need to be very careful. Okay?"

I bit my lip. What I knew about mistakes I could fill a fucking book with. Jee had no idea that I had already learned my lessons. And his well-intentioned lecture about guarding my heart only brought back memories of why I had guarded mine so viciously to begin with.

And Zuko was the last person who would take advantage of a girl like Ramon would…and…sure, he'd fight to keep me safe, but…he wouldn't fight _for_ me. Why would he? I was a peasant…certainly not someone to be consorting with.

"Julie," Jee muttered sadly. "I'm sorry…I really am…but I can't let you call off your meetings with your suitors. And maybe I'm wrong about this boy. Maybe he'll surprise us both and cast in his lot with the others. You never know."

I wouldn't look at him.

"Or maybe you know better," he sighed. He gave my hands one last squeeze. "I'm sorry…"

I closed my eyes, fighting back my temper. He made it sound so final, like there was no way it could ever work. And he didn't even know who I was talking about! He didn't know it was Zuko…and he didn't know anything _about_ Zuko! HE only saw Zuko as this spoiled, selfish prince…not this brave, selfless person who risked his life to save mine over and over again.

How could he possibly understand any of this? The situation was so complicated, and…there were so many things Jee didn't know. He was the last person who should have been lecturing.

I glared at him. "You don't know him."

* * *

Zuko's finger traced the indentations in the tarot card in his hand as he weaved through the soldiers milling about the camp. When he was far enough so that his uncle wouldn't see him, he glanced down at the two lovers in the picture. His golden eyes traveled from the lush flowers in the garden to the enraptured expressions on their faces, down to where their hands lay intertwined.

The cards were all very intricate and detailed; Zuko knew this after all of the readings he had forced Julie to do in the first couple of weeks on his ship…listening to her fortunes and trying to trip her up in a lie. And all that time he had only gotten more and more involved with her. His curiosity for her had been insatiable, and if he was perfectly honest, it hadn't ebbed much after finding out she was from another world.

_Maybe when I get back…I'll ask her what her world was like._

If they didn't have bending, what kinds of technology compensated for it? What was the land like? The animals and the plants? What system of government ruled her people? Did they have an Avatar?

_Later_, he promised himself. For now he would just have to settle for a very quick, very _private_ good-bye to the girl in question. After all, there was always more time for such things later…after he returned from Jade Valley…after he had the Avatar in his custody…after his honor was restored and they could finally make preparations to return home.

_Home_…

"I won't do it…!"

Zuko froze, paces away from the medical tent. That had been _Julie's _voice.

"Then what do you want me to tell your suitors?" Jee demanded. The Fire Prince frowned as his Lieutenant's voice raised another pitch in frustration. "I'm sorry, Councilman Wei, I'm afraid my daughter refuses to meet your son because she'd much rather toy around with some boy she barely even knows! Yeah, I'm sure that'll go over _real_ peachy."

"I know him! You're the one who doesn't know anything!"

"Oh? I thought you two needed time to _get to know each other better_. Wasn't that what you said when I asked why you weren't his girlfriend? Or why he refuses to court you?"

Zuko crept closer to the tent, his heart picking up in rhythm. They were talking about him…about him and Julie. And it didn't sound as though Jee approved at all, if his increasingly sharp comments were any indication. The tarot card was still tightly clenched in his hand as he hid behind the tent flap and continued to eavesdrop, breathing harshly through his nose. His mouth was clamped firmly shut and lips were pressed in a tight line.

He heard Julie snarl at him, and he could imagine her baring her teeth. "Are you crazy? I don't want him to court me! I'm not ready for that! And I'm _not_ getting married! Ever!"

Jee's voice was contrite. "Even to this boy you claim to like so much?"

There was a slight hesitation, an awkward pause that did not go unnoticed by Zuko. What had gone through her mind just now? Slowly, silently, he moved around until he was crouched down in front of the entrance, just off to the side. He was peeking through the slightly parted flap and caught sight of Julie sulking on her cot. Her legs dangled over the edge and swung impatiently back and forth. She stared intently at her feet and kept her gaze away from Jee, who came into view a second later.

"Well?" he pressed.

Julie breathed out a sigh.

"Even if he did propose," she said with a note of finality in her voice. "I would shoot him down. And he's not going to ask because…because I'm just a…I'm not…" She made another frustrated sound as she wrestled over words. Her hands gripped the edges of the cot in fists. "Besides the fact that we only just met _two months ago…_well…let's just say he could have anyone he wants. And I'm practically a nobody…"

"Julie…you know that's not—"

"Anyway, what do I want with a husband? So he can cage me up and boss me around all day and get me pregnant?" Julie let out a bitter laugh. "That's all these suitors want, and you know it. They just want a pretty, tame baby-making machine."

"Let me guess. You're against having kids, too."

Another pause. Julie's response was so faint that Zuko almost missed it.

"Some people should never become parents," she muttered under her breath. "What would I know about being a mother? I never had one, myself…and…I'm awful with kids…I don't want kids…" She stopped short. "Anyway, that's not the point…!"

"No, I think I understand exactly what you're trying to say," Jee interjected. He folded his arms and gave her a very disapproving stare. "You're settling for someone who won't commit to a relationship because you don't want to get married or have any children. You think that someone who doesn't actually love or respect you won't _expect_ anything from you, either."

Julie sucked in her breath. Zuko felt his stomach getting tight in anger, and the feeling actually made him feel sick. It was a white-hot acid that threatened to crawl up and out of his throat and come out as burning flames.

_I do respect her…! I do care about her…! She's…the only person that I could ever…_

"You're going to get hurt," Jee said, putting his hands on Julie's shoulders. She looked up at him and their gazes met. "Or you'll end up making a mistake. I'm telling you…this is for the best."

She was blinking back angry tears. "You don't know him. If I get hurt, it'll be because I'm not good enough for him. Not the other way around."

Zuko gritted his teeth and pulled away from the mouth of the tent, as though he had just been stung.

_She's crazy_, he thought. _She has to be to think so highly of me…there's no way that girl can be sane. How could she think that I'm better than she is? I…I don't have any honor…and I have nothing to give her._

"Who is he, then?" Jee demanded. "Why won't you tell me?"

She glared at him. "Because you're being a dick! I'm not telling you shit until you apologize for…for saying all those stupid things…!"

Zuko forced himself back up on to his feet. He had made his decision.

He pushed open the flap of the tent and stepped inside, causing the argument to grind to an abrupt halt. Silence came screaming into the room and no one moved. Julie looked by far the most alarmed by Zuko's sudden presence. She and the Fire Prince locked eyes for a moment. Her soft green ones were demanding, and his said quite plainly that he knew what they had been discussing. Red blossomed into her cheeks as a horrified sound escaped her throat.

"P-Prince Zuko," Jee was the first to recover. "Sir, is something—"

"She was talking about me," he said shortly.

The Lieutenant's face was frozen. "Excuse me?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes at him. "I heard some of your…discussion. And I thought _someone_ should let you know that Julie and I…" he blushed a little bit and swallowed. "…we're together. I'm the one she was trying to tell you about."

Julie groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Oh, for fuck's sake…"

His gaze darted to the redhead briefly as he fought off prickles of annoyance at her blatant embarrassment. Then, his eyes flickered back to Jee.

"I'm not sure what problem you seem to have with me…but if I have to, I _will_ give you an order to send her other suitors away…_Lieutenant_. Am I clear?"

Jee's lips pressed together and he folded his arms. "I was only concerned because of what people would _say_, Sir. Surely you understand the kind of social repercussions that girl could stand to face if I were to call off her meetings with her suitors."

Zuko's nostrils flared. "I never asked for your reasons. They don't concern us."

"You damn brat…!" The older man shot his arm to the side, accidentally letting loose a small plume of flame as his temper was unleashed. "You think you can just walk in here and _decide_ you want that girl all to yourself…like she's some kind of toy? And then you expect me to just sit idly by and do _nothing? _She's my daughter!"

"No, she really isn't, Lieutenant."

"She's as good as…!" he fumed. "And all I want is to give her some kind of future where she can be safe and live a normal life! Away from the war and the fighting and your little Avatar hunt…! Don't you think she deserves that much after everything she's _done_ for you…?"

The two stared at each other heatedly. Julie's eyes flickered back and forth between them; absolutely at a loss for words. But judging from the look on her face, it was as though she were wishing the ground would open up underneath her and swallow her whole.

Zuko didn't let that deter him, though. "That's not a future she wants."

"And you would know?" Jee shot back. The Fire Prince clenched his hands into fists, but the Lieutenant wasn't finished. "Because I think we both know that most of the time what _Julie_ wants isn't necessarily what's best for her…or responsible…or _legal_…"

"Hey!"

They ignored her.

"Besides," Jee added. "I thought you of all people would understand what's at risk right now. You know how society is. You tell me what people are going to say about her when they hear that not only did she _refuse_ to meet her suitors…that she did it because she would rather toy around with a banished prince…!"

Zuko's eyes widened and he made a lunge for him. Jee followed suit, and their arms were locked in the Agni Kai position. Steam started billowing in the air around them. Julie slid off her cot, ran over to them, and squeezed in between them, forcing them apart.

"Stop it!" she cried. "What's the matter with you two?"

"Tell _her_," Jee snarled at Zuko. "Tell_ her _what people will call her if word of that gets out! _Especially _if you refuse to court her! Tell her what they'll say!"

The scarred teen felt that same acidic feeling washing through him again, leaving his insides raw and singed and seething in anger. Slowly, he brought his gaze to Julie, to the one girl who would ever look at him and see something more than an exile and a failure…the girl who would never understand the kind of sacrifice Jee was referring to…who wouldn't even _see_ it as a sacrifice.

"They'd think she was just a concubine," he muttered.

Jee narrowed his eyes at him. "They'd call her a whore and a tease." He looked at Julie, too, now; this time imploringly. "I sent your name out to all of the nearby Fire Colonies, to all the respectable families I thought would match your current status…and after word of your Agni Kai against Zhao…after hearing about your strange, exotic beauty from the mouths of others…you even have nobles requesting an audience with you."

Zuko wouldn't look at her anymore. That was an understatement. The girl was so pretty that it made him _ache_ just by looking at her. It made him all the more angry to see bruises on her…or to hear her talking about the faint marks on her body left behind from her father's abuse. She was so heartbreakingly lovely that even in messy sparring clothes he just wanted to get her alone and taste her lips on his again.

She wasn't just some doll for the nobles to gawk at. He couldn't stand thinking about it.

"I love her," he said in a low voice.

Julie's eyes snapped to him and her breath caught in her throat…as though she were surprised.

"And I think you have the wrong idea about us," he went on, feeling his heart sinking lower and lower as he realized the only real solution. He held the girl's troubled gaze for a moment before reluctantly looking at his Lieutenant's ugly mug. "I had no intention of _dishonoring_ Julie. And you're right…I'm not courting her for marriage, but not because I don't care enough about her to try."

He paused, turning to the redhead and feeling something smoldering inside of him as he stared into her eyes.

"For one thing, I know Julie doesn't want that…and for another…even if we did have some kind of betrothal contract, it would still reflect badly on her."

Julie's face lost a little color. "Zuko…what the hell are you saying…?"

He turned away.

"Until I have the Avatar in my possession," he stated. "…until then, I can't even hope to consider myself good enough for you. I need my honor back."

He remembered, all of a sudden, a flash of a memory…his mother sitting with him on the beach, her arms wrapped around him as they breathed in the salty air and told stories about the ocean. But the one tale that stood out in his mind was the story of the fisherman and the mermaid he had ensnared in his net. He remembered how she had willingly shed her tail and grown human legs to be with him, but being cut off from the sea was like cutting off her life. The fisherman had no choice but to return the maiden he loved to the ocean.

At the time, Zuko didn't grasp how difficult such a decision had been. But he was starting to understand as his mother's voice floated out of his memories, reminding him of the moral of the story.

_If you love something, you set it free_, she had told him. _And if it doesn't return to you, then it was never meant to be. But if it comes back, it was always yours._

And true to that tale, the mermaid always reunited with the fisherman on the night of the full moon. Well, now _he_ was going to set Julie free, too…

Ever since learning that he and Julie had met as children, Zuko had realized something. She had already come back to him once. If they had been separated, only to be reunited years later at the South Pole, he knew deep in his bones that nothing short of destiny had brought them together. They were meant for one another…it was so obvious, now. And if _he _had come to realize it, surely Julie would understand as well…right?

But as he glanced back at the girl, he could see just how furious she was with him. Her green eyes were blazing with anger; it radiated through every pore in her body. If she were a Firebender, doubtless the entire tent would be ablaze by now.

"You…punk-ass…loser…!" she snarled. "You're dumping me?"

Wait…what?

"No!" Zuko cried in alarm. "I'm respecting you! And…and protecting your honor! And—"

He was cut off as her pillow flew out of no-where and hit him in the face. He ended up choking on a mouthful of turkey-goose feathers as he swatted the cushion off of him and on to the ground. He spat them out in disgust. And before he could really recover from it, Julie was right in front of him, pummeling his chest with her fists.

It was probably supposed to hurt, but Julie really wasn't that strong. She was more likely to tire herself out than to leave any real dents in his armor.

"I hate you!" she cried. "I hope your rhino throws you off a cliff and snaps your neck! I can't believe I was stupid enough to think that this could _ever_ work out, you…hey! Let _go _of me!"

Zuko had caught her wrists.

"Be reasonable," he growled. "I'm not dumping you. I really care about you, so just…be patient, okay?" He continued to rub little circles in her wrists to calm her. "It's only until I capture the Avatar. Then we can be together."

Jee was just watching them, looking at them as though the mother ship had finally landed. Julie, on the other hand, looked like she was about to start crying. She had stopped struggling by now and was staring at his hands on her wrists, her eyes misty. Her face screwed up in an ugly expression as she tried to force back her own tears.

_Why doesn't she understand?_ He wondered in concern. _Why is she acting like this? I don't get it…_

Realizing that she was fighting a losing battle by struggling to maintain her composure, she lowered her face to the ground. "I don't _want _to wait…!" she protested desperately. "Once you get your honor back, it'll be too late! You'll forget about me! You won't _want_ me anymore…!"

He stared at her. "Why would you think that?"

She bit her lip and wouldn't answer him. Zuko was downright confused. But he slid his hands up and away from her wrists, curling his fingers and lacing them through hers as he tried to scrutinize her face; but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction by looking up at him. Spirits, he hated to see her so hurt and conflicted like this. The doubt and anxiety were radiating from every bone in her body, and it was eating away at him.

So, he looked away.

"Lieutenant," he said, looking at the speechless man in uniform. "…Uncle and I will be setting out immediately. I'm leaving you in temporary command of the ship until I return. Oh," he added. "And just so you know…Julie will be coming with us."

He couldn't just leave her like this. Zuko knew time was short, though, and that he didn't have the leisure to dawdle here in camp trying to worm these secret doubts out of Julie. This was the only way he could think of to buy himself some extra time with her before she met her suitors.

He wasn't sure if he was starting to spoil her by letting her have her way this time.

Jee scowled. "With all due respect, Sir, I—"

"That's an order, Lieutenant. I need Julie for this mission. End of discussion."

Julie's head shot up as she gave him a completely stunned look. "Zuko…you…_really?_ Why?"

Reluctantly, the Fire Prince let go of her hands and took a few steps away from her. Deep down, he knew the real reason he was bringing her along was because of his own weakness…and selfishness. He knew that if he was to make good on protecting her reputation, he would have to get used to the distance; but he didn't want to let go just yet. And he especially didn't want to share her with a bunch of strange men.

They didn't even know her. What right did they have to keep the girl all to themselves? Zuko couldn't imagine any of them would want her as badly as he did…or love her nearly as much as he did. And he would be damned if he would leave Julie alone with any of them.

_She can meet them when I'm around to keep an eye on her,_ he thought. _And if I find the Avatar on this mission, I won't have to share her at all. I'll have my honor back…and I'll have Julie. _

Zuko felt his inner flame start to grow as this feeling of possessiveness took over. It was like back on Kyoshi Island, when he had slipped and mentally referred to Julie as _his_ peasant. The looming threat of her being taken by another forced him to acknowledge what his heart had decided that day. She wasn't just his peasant or his friend. She was his _everything_. She was his and his alone.

For now, though, he would have to smother these feelings. For her sake he would be patient…and nothing, absolutely nothing would get in his way of capturing the Avatar.

"You have fifteen minutes to pack some essentials," he said, not meeting Julie's gaze. "Uncle and I will be waiting at the edge of camp. Don't be late."

And then, before anyone could question him further, he averted his gaze and ducked hastily out of the tent.

* * *

**A/N: Long. Ass. Chapter. Between this and all the video-games I've been playing, I won't be surprised if I wind up with Carpal Tunnel by the time I'm twenty-five. (God, I hope not. I can't stand handwriting my stuff; I don't write very fast and I end up losing words.)**

**So, I suppose I should probably start my incredibly verbose recap of the chapter now. And I think I ought to get to the Gaang first since they took up the first…um…quarter of the chapter (or about a fourth of it, I think). It's only fair.**

**This is still driven mostly through Katara's point of view as she steers Sokka through the early stages of their village liberation schemes. However, she is very reluctant to involve Aang in the nitty-gritty details because of what happened back in the valley. And it's only natural given all the canon evidence of Katara's protective, mothering nature and her desire to protect Aang from the horrors of the war.**

**In the show we see signs of her wanting to protect Aang's innocence and to nurture him in the face of all of life's rough edges. Even her teaching approach is gentle and encouraging, which is just fine for Waterbending; just not for Earthbending, if you catch my drift. And I think that Katara herself goes through a major development over the course of the show, evolving into someone fiercer (though no less loving and devoted to her "family") and a lot less naïve about the world she lives in. She's not a helpless little girl anymore.**

**Obviously, Katara and Aang are both going to develop into their roles more quickly to face the more dire challenges that lie ahead of them…though it won't be without consequences. In a way, they are facing the prospect of growing up too fast, a problem that is all too common for youngsters who live in a world engulfed in war. But for the most part, they will continue to fight and struggle for what they believe is right. Though they might lose the innocence they had in the original Book I of the show, they never lose that sense of idealism that carries them through everything.**

**Interestingly enough, their motives for doing good pretty much remain the same here. Aang is still desperate to make amends for abandoning the Air Nomads in their hour of need and he is fearful of letting the world (and his family) down. He is not driven out of revenge, but out of a need for redemption (kind of sounds like a certain Fire Prince, doesn't it?).**

**Katara on the other hand lets her past experiences influence her decisions. She never quite lets go of her mother's murder or her father's abrupt departure (at least not for a very, very long time in show-time), and absolutely refuses to forgive Yon-Rha (the man who killed her mother) even after she ends up sparing his life. And I think a lot of that anger comes out of the various instances of betrayal she experiences in the show; first, being "abandoned" by her father, who leaves to go fight in the war; then being deceived by Jet; then by placing false hope in a very shaky Zuko at Ba-Sing-Se, which immediately comes back to bite her; having the invasion plan turn out to be a bust and losing her father **_**again**_**; and don't get me started on the whole thing with Hama and the Bloodbending (which, in a way, is a betrayal of her own culture).**

**I'm just saying…Katara has a lot of reasons to be angry in the show. And she's going to have reasons to be angry in my fic. Not only was she deeply traumatized by what happened in the valley (both with the public burnings and Delun Energybending her), but hearing what happens to the children in Haru's village reminds her of how helpless she had been the day her mother died. **

**That's one of the reasons she is so desperate to protect Aang, who is very childlike early on in the show. She knows what it's like to have that innocence taken away. It's why meeting Aang is arguably the best thing that happens to her in the show; she was growing up too fast, and he reminds her that she is still young, still a kid. In a way, he keeps her from becoming completely hardened from the war.**

**As for Sokka (he's been so quiet lately, hasn't he?), all of his issues are the same as well. He wants to protect his family, and he doubts his own reliability after losing Suki to the Fire Nation. She is still missing, and for all he knows she could be dead. In a way, it's like a reversal of roles between her and Princess Yue. Though the outcome is still hanging in the air, my friends. You just have to wait and see what happens.**

**Their plan (in the early stages, at least) is also identical to the show. However, you can expect many, many things to go awry…especially considering the altered timeline. For instance, Haru **_**didn't**_** get arrested yet. Anyone want to guess how this will affect the plot?**

**Okay. I'm done with the Gaang. Now for Zuko…Julie…and the rest. Cue fan-service!**

**To start with, I realize that I've been neglecting poor Yoshi in the past couple of chapters. Why, I barely gave the little guy any lines at all! So, I decided to give him an entire scene all of his very own. We see another instance of the Unagi-incarnated eelhound trying to bond with his "mother's mate." In other words, Daddy.**

**Yeah, I'm evil. **

**Zuko is initially hasty to leave camp (and is very reluctant to even say goodbye to Julie, in spite of their mutual confession of feelings), mostly because spilling your guts to your crush is a very draining experience. He's a bit of a nervous wreck regarding the redhead since they still have to grow into their new relationship; and he's obviously edgy about crossing the invisible line in the sand. He doesn't want to take the risk of going too far and ruining things between them (which isn't quite so illogical since Julie very bluntly (though mistakenly) stated that she wasn't his girlfriend).**

**And that all blows up in his face, of course, once it sinks in that he has competition.**

**I know a lot of you are HATING Jee for this chapter. I know the poor guy is going to get a lot of hate-mail for being so mean to Zuko; but really, is what he did so wrong? Sure, he was blunt and didn't soften his words to avoid hurting Zuko's feelings; but that's in character for Jee. In the show, Jee says whatever the hell he wants, to hell with the consequences. He's like the honey-badger. He doesn't give a shit.**

**It's actually why I chose him over Iroh to be Julie's stand-in parent-figure in the fic. His blunt honesty is more in sync with Julie's personality; whereas Iroh's quirky attitude and calming anecdotes compliment Zuko and his tempestuous nature better.**

**Anyway, contrary to appearances, Jee does not hate Zuko. He doesn't approve of the relationship, but he doesn't really have any personal issues with the boy himself (except for his perception that he's a spoiled, angry little prick…I mean, prince). But even Jee has already admitted in earlier chapters that Zuko has become more bearable to be around after Julie entered their lives…though that doesn't mean he feels that their romance is in **_**her **_**best interests.**

**It all boils down to the fact that Zuko **_**knows**_** she has suitors and won't fight for her. Jee is a little biased by his own experiences; in my fanon, he wasn't able to marry the girl he loved, and he would have gladly given up an arm and a leg to be given the chance. And that wound is soured even more when he misses out on raising his daughter, Cheng.**

**Is he going to be a tad overprotective of Julie? Yes. And furthermore, he can only interpret Zuko's reluctance to push his boundaries as a sign that he doesn't take Julie seriously; in other words, that he's playing with her feelings. In a way, he is not just trying to protect Julie from being taken advantage of; he is also testing Zuko to see if he can be goaded into courting the girl he claims to love. Hence the emphasis on "you're not betrothed; you aren't courting her; hint, hint…"**

**So to be fair, Jee isn't trying to tear them apart. He was hoping that, best case scenario, Zuko would attempt to win Julie's troth for himself, thus proving his devotion to her. Worst case scenario, he thought Zuko would just back out and break things off with Julie; which, in Jee's opinion, would be preferable than having him lead her on for a longer amount of time and possibly risk having him "dishonor" her.**

**But what he definitely **_**doesn't**_** expect is for Zuko to pull the honor card (something that leaves him state of speechlessness and grudging respect for the Fire Prince…though that doesn't last when he decides to take Julie with him on his mission). Hell, the only person who is more surprised than Jee is Julie. Poor girl.**

**For those of you who think she is behaving unreasonably by getting so **_**mad **_**at Zuko, just look at it through her point of view. She just got screwed out of having her dream-boyfriend. I mean, damn, that just **_**sucks**_**. It's bad enough that she feels inadequate and unworthy of him…but to have him turn around and say that he has to prove himself to **_**her**_**? And by capturing the Avatar? Seriously, she's going to hell if she lets him go through with it.**

**Besides, technically Zuko never does "capture" Aang in the show. So his promise that they'll be together once he captures the Avatar is basically the kiss of death in Julie's eyes. Naturally, this leaves her very, very **_**angry**_**. And even though Zuko is desperately trying to make up for it at the last second by letting her come with him, you can definitely expect a lot of cold-shouldering during the trip.**

**But things might happen to shake things up for Team Zulie, light some sparks…just saying. And don't think they aren't going to get dragged into the happenings of Team Avatar. Shit is going **_**down**_** in the next couple of chapters. **

**And guess what? An old friend will be coming back before this episode arch is over. Take your guesses, people. The next chapter is being written as we speak, and I'm typing as fast as I can.**

**But you know what'll help my aching hands? REVIEW!**


	90. For Better or For Worse

**A/N: Okay, guys; I know I have some bullshittin…err…explaining to do regarding the length of this fic; as well as the timeline of my story, since I get the feeling like it's turning into a tangled ball of yarn and FAILURE.**

**O_O**

**Mostly yarn, though. I spin a pretty good one, after all. ^-^**

**Yes, I realize this is a **_**long-ass**_** story. When I first started writing this back in 2009, I was not planning on it taking **_**three years**_** just to get through five episodes. Sure, I was only able to update sporadically at first…but I never thought it would take me as long as it has just to get this far. I figured I could spend some chapters developing my OC's without getting so far off-track. Then one day I looked at my word count and realized just how freaking LONG my chapters were…not to mention how MANY chapters I had written.**

**My pace seems really sluggish if you look at it like that. That's why I threw in that Author's Note several, several chapters back. I knew that I would have to break this fic up into six books; because if there **_**is**_** such a thing as a word-count limit in a fanfic, I'm pretty sure mine has the potential of breaking it.**

**That being said, I feel I am a little justified in bringing up a few key things about the timeline of the Happy Endings-verse that really, **_**really **_**need explaining:**

**The fic starts out **_**pre-episodes**_**. So, yes, though I am aware that Aang and co.'s journey leading up to Sozin's Comet transpires over the course of eight months, Julie gets sucked into Avatarverse about two weeks before Aang gets freed from the iceberg. Since Sozin's Comet seems to happen during the Summer, I'm going on the hunch that the beginning of the story happens around mid-October. The current chapter takes place in the beginning of December.**

**Yes, I am only up to Episode Five…of the show's **_**original **_**scripted storyline. This is pretty much an AU at this point (though Jessie has bitched at me that an AU and an alternate-timeline are **_**two different things**_**…but whatever), and I am not…NOT doing all of the episodes. And some things happen in a different order. Remember how I got stupid Chin Village out of the way early (I really HATE that episode…)? **

**My point is that this fic has its own timeline, and if you read this with the expectation that all the episodes will be laid out in a neat little ribbon in the order they were aired in the original series, it's going to look like the story is going no-where.**

**Someone once said that "we are all a character in someone else's story." Julie is the one telling this story; and since this is **_**her**_** story to tell, Aang and the others crossing the Great Divide have little or nothing to do with it, and will therefore be omitted. And some episodes, such as "Imprisoned," (the current episode) take place later in the show's timeline (in this instance because the Gaang stopped at Jade Valley).**

**That being said, I stand by my promise that Book I will END with the Winter Solstice episode arch. Since you guys can't exactly rely on the order of the episodes remaining consistent, I ask that you remember that it is currently the beginning of December in fic-time. Which means that we are only two weeks away from the Book I finale (Winter Solstice being on December 21****st****). In other words, we are getting pretty damn close to the end. Actually, Imprisoned will be the last episode I will be covering before I get to Winter Solstice, so breathe easy, guys.**

**I know the pace seems stagnant, but in terms of plot there is a lot going on. We are about to learn a lot more about the Brotherhood in this "episode," Julie and Zuko are trying to flounder through their budding relationship, Aang is learning to deal with his internal crisis as a "failed Avatar" by helping others unconditionally, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I know that there are times when I fail to balance out internal and external conflicts…i.e., less talking, more ass-kicking. I **_**know**_**.**

**Well, actually, I like to lie to myself and say that I am **_**absolutely flawless**_** in my writing, even though it's not true. So I really need constructive reviews to keep me motivated to try harder, to make the best fucking story you guys ever read in your **_**lives**_**. O_O THE BEST! FUCKING! STORY! EVER!**

**Also, I am taking the very helpful advice of princess9903, who suggested I include a brief summary of the plot so far before each chapter; and given my sloppy updating schedule I couldn't agree more. This will (hopefully) stem off any confusion and keep the readers refreshed of the current storyline in between updates. You dig it? **

**Did I mention that Julie will be the one doing the summarizing? It might be a tad **_**biased**_**…**

_The Road Thus Far…_

**Julie: **"Just when I thought my life was about to take a turn for the better (I mean, after saving Zuko's life and helping the angered spirit Baihu in the process, I wake up and find Zuko himself waiting at my bedside; and it turns out we're in…love? Maybe? We're still trying to figure that one out) Zuko decides to fuck everything up by _dumping_ me in front of Jee. That JERK.

Oh, sure. He _says_ it's to protect my honor and my reputation. But we both know that he just doesn't want any distractions for when he goes after the Avatar…which really leaves me wondering why the hell he's insisting on dragging my ass along with him to Jade Valley all of a sudden. I know he thinks that he might be able to pick up Aang's trail while we're there…but why does he have to get _me_ involved? Doesn't he realize I'm MAD at him?

Meanwhile, Katara is about to get herself thrown in Fire Nation prison for Fakebending; all in a crazy scheme to save Haru's village. And Aang and Sokka are going to help, of course. But I'm not supposed to know any of this yet, so forget I said it!"

**And NOW…**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Three: For Better or Worse**

Haru hated the way he had to hide his Earthbending, hated it almost as much as he hated being separated from his father. His Earthbending was the only connection he had to the man now, and it was one he could only embrace in secret, away from the villagers and their prying eyes; away from the fiendish Brotherhood acolytes who were finishing what the Fire Nation started by taking away the remaining Earthbenders.

But he had to admit, all the caution and sneaking around had taught him to be wary and observant of other people. And it turned out to be a skill well-learned. Even before he had finished talking to the Waterbender, Katara, he knew she would be up to something. And common sense told him that her plan would be reckless, that he would be better to distance himself from her and her strange group of friends all together.

However, that same cautious voice in his head warned him that they _knew_ his secret. Like it or not, smart decision or no, he had to watch them carefully until they were well away from the village. And that meant eavesdropping as they struggled to push a large boulder up a hill, seemingly to no conclusion.

No one pushes boulders up a hill for no reason…except crazy people. Haru was still trying to figure out if Katara and her friends fell in the latter category.

"I thought you were crazy at first, Katara," the Waterbender's older brother grunted as they pushed their boulder across a large air grate. "…but this might work."

Huh. Well, at least Haru wasn't alone in his suspicions regarding the girl's sanity.

"There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines," Sokka continued. "All Aang has to do is send an air current from that vent to this one right here. The boulder levitates, and _tada!_ Fake Earthbending!"

From his hiding place behind a tree, Haru watched them set the large rock in place. Katara dusted off her hands and placed them on her hips, looking none too pleased with herself for having concocted the ambitious plan. The only question was…why would they want to make people believe she could Earthbend? What were they going to do?

This was only going to get them arrested.

Maybe they _were_ nuts after all.

"Aang, did you get all that?" Katara called down to the other air grate.

Haru realized with a start that the Airbender was not too far away from him. Though still sufficiently hidden, the Earthbender could see the determined gleam in the boy's grey eyes. Hell, he was close enough to tell that the kid's eyes were grey.

"Sure, I got it" the monk called up to her. He actually looked excited as he crouched down by the air grate. "I was a bit nervous before, but this actually sounds like fun."

Sokka looked incredulous. "By _this _do you mean intentionally getting captured by an army of ruthless Firebenders…?"

Intentionally captured?

The hell?

"Exactly!" Aang chirped with a grin. "That's fun stuff." He sent a practice gust of air through the shaft, and the boulder trembled slightly on top of the grate. His Cheshire smile grew wider, burgeoning with confidence. "I can't even remember the last time I got to play a good prank on someone. And if we do this right, we'll be able to save the village! Sounds pretty win-win to me."

"Just remember your cue," Sokka reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah. Relax. I've got this."

Haru had grave reservations. Apparently Katara was planning on getting herself arrested by the Fire Nation…and she believed that this would somehow _help_ his village. Now he was one hundred and ten percent sure that she had completely lost her mind. Not only was her plan insane, but the girl was resorting to faking Earthbending herself. And, hello? He was an Earthbender!

Not that he wanted anything to do with this crazy scheme, but it _did_ sting a little that they never even bothered to ask him for help. He knew his technique was sloppy without an Earthbending teacher. But surely he wasn't so bad that an Airbender and a few well-placed ventilation shafts could do a better job lifting a boulder than _he_ could.

Right?

Haru's keen ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps. The dents in his pride took an immediate backseat as his entire body went tense in dread.

"Here they come!" Sokka hissed out his warning. "Get in your places!"

The hidden Earthbender could already see three Fire Nation soldiers approaching down the path. The siblings waited on opposite sides of the dirt road until the count of three. Then, on Sokka's silent cue, the Waterbender came charging across the path towards her brother, who had just started stalking in her direction. They met in the middle of the road, right in front of the Firebenders.

It was like watching a landslide. Haru knew this could only end badly, but a morbid fascination kept his eyes riveted on the scene.

"Get out of my way, pipsqueak!" Sokka growled with an over-exaggerated swagger.

Katara puffed out her chest and actually managed to out-swagger her older brother as she visibly balked. "How _dare_ you call me _pipsqueak_, you giant-eared cretin!"

Well, they certainly weren't about to win any acting awards any time soon. The only problem was that the Fire Nation soldiers seemed to be buying the act. They had stopped to watch the budding argument with interest on their faces. Haru wanted to facepalm.

"What did you call me?"

Katara smirked. "A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things." She put up her hands to her ears and fanned out her fingers in imitation of huge ears. "Do herds of animals use them for shade?"

An expression of hurt crossed the Water Tribe boy's face for an instant before he got back into character. "You better back off!" he warned her. Then, he partially covered his mouth so that the Firebenders couldn't see what he was saying next. "_Seriously, _back off."

But his sister wasn't having any of it. Perhaps she was a little _too_ into her acting.

"I will _not_ back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

One of the Firebenders had to muffle a snort of laughter, which did not go unnoticed by an incensed Sokka. "That's it! You're going down!"

Katara thrust her fist in the air in what Haru could only assume was supposed to be an Earthbending stance. Only she butchered it horribly. "I'll show you who's boss! _Earthbending _Style!"

Spirits, anyone who'd fought against an Earthbender could tell that her bending was phony. Just his luck, though. These must have been new recruits. They stared transfixed as the boulder nearby started to tremble…

Aang had actually been listening for his cue, and was pushing as much air through the grate as he could. The only problem was that the boulder refused to budge.

Haru _might_ have been pressing it down with his Earthbending. After all, friends didn't let friends commit suicide. He supposed that he could only call them friends if they were going through so much trouble on his behalf…though really, this was just too insane. They were going to get themselves killed if he let them go through with this.

There was an awkward silence as Katara stood frozen on the spot, her fist hanging stupidly in the air.

"I _said_," she repeated through gritted teeth. "EARTHBENDING STYLE…!"

Aang sucked in his breath and sent a tremendous gust of wind through the grate. Haru's concentration slipped for that brief instant and the boulder was practically sucked into the air by an invisible thread. The Fire Nation soldiers all gave a start backwards, pointing in awe at the large floating rock.

"That lemur…!" one of the men gasped. "It's Earthbending!"

Oh. For the love of…_Spirits_. Haru thunked his head quietly against the bark of the tree. THESE were the people who took over his village? THESE were the people his father and his neighbors lost to all those years ago? Was this seriously what happened?

"No, you idiot!" Sokka cried, brandishing his hands at Katara. "It's the _girl!"_

The soldier blushed tremendously. "Oh. Of course…"

He was swiftly elbowed by his companions, and they started towards the Water Tribe girl. Sokka caught his sister's shoulders and held her firmly in place, yelling towards the guards in an exaggerated tone of voice. "I'll hold her!"

Then all of a sudden, the ground began to tremble. Aang sat up pin straight, his expression alarmed as a stray boulder went careening past him and plowed itself in the middle of the trio of Firebenders, sending a cloud of dirt into the air.

_Another Earthbender…?_

"Stay away from them!" a young boy's voice commanded.

The Firebenders managed to get to their feet, clumsily. They looked around in bewilderment, trying to understand who or what was attacking them.

"We're under attack…?!"

Their leader grabbed his companions. "It must be the Earth Kingdom resistance! They must have sent Earthbenders from other villages to retake the mines!" He jerked them down the path. "Come on, we have to warn Colonel Okabe! Now!"

Sokka and Katara were holding on to each other in bewilderment, the older sibling keeping his sister safe in one arm with the other limb wrapped around the trunk of a tree. Haru was doing the same, digging his own feet into the ground with his bending to keep himself standing.

Needless to say, none of them were in the position to stop the Fire Nation soldiers from escaping. Haru had jumped up and attempted to pursue them, but the air was thick with dirt and it was impossible to see. He could only hear their footsteps pounding in retreat; his own frantic heartbeat muffled the sound in his ears until he couldn't trust himself to remember which direction he heard them fading. They were gone in a minute flat.

The air eventually cleared out and the Haru could make out a little kid standing on top of a boulder, looking immensely pleased with himself.

"Yeah," he said cockily. "You better run!"

"K-Kuba…!" Katara gasped. "What…? How…?" She shook her head. "I thought you were still in Omashu!"

Sokka loosened his grip on the Waterbender and got to his feet. "Yeah," he said shakily. "I think I have to agree with Katara on this one." He turned to frown at the smaller boy. "There is no way you could have mastered Earthbending in one week. How on earth did you find us so quickly, anyway?"

Kuba glowered at the group. "Gee, thanks for saving our butts, Kuba. We totally would have gotten burned to ashes if you hadn't rushed in to save us, Kuba." He folded his arms. "And by the way, _you're welcome_."

Aang gusted out from his hiding place with an extremely worried expression on his face. "Are you guys all right?" Then, he frowned at the sight of the newcomer. "Kuba?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

The kid breathed a frustrated sigh. "You know, considering how close you guys were to getting arrested, I would think you'd be a bit happier to see me." He shifted his weight and dug his heel into the earth impatiently. "King Bumi sent me out on a…special training assignment. It's kind of a long story, but…"

Haru rushed out into the open, not bothering to let the kid finish his explanation. Didn't any of them realize what they just _did_…? They didn't even _try_ to stop the Firebenders from getting away. It didn't even occur to them just what would happen if they managed to get back to their commanding officers.

He groaned inwardly. Before sunset they would have the entire Fire Nation army camped out in his village, all because of this stupid ruse and some little kid who couldn't keep himself from slinging rocks at the enemy.

It didn't help that he would have done the exact same thing in Kuba's shoes. But his father, always patient and far-sighted, had told him to look after his mother. That was the only reason he hadn't tried sneaking off to help him fight off the invaders.

"Haru!" Katara finally noticed him, standing there and sweating in anxiety. She opened her mouth, but closed it when she saw the look in his eyes. "We were just…"

"I know," he said shortly. "I saw the whole thing." He was quiet for a few seconds, looking down at his boots and trying not to lose his temper. "Why?"

"What?"

"Why would you do this?" The questions came out harsher than he would have liked, and he hated how it made him sound…unhinged. He felt a little crazy, but that was besides the point. "Because of what you did, the Fire Nation is going to attack my village again! And there's no one left to defend it!"

The Waterbender looked abashed.

"We weren't going to attack them…I was trying to get them to show me where the prisons were. I wanted to see if I could find out where they were holding all the Earthbenders…" She looked at Kuba. "We were _trying_ to get arrested…or at least Iwas. We would break out the Earthbenders and then we would all work together to save the village from the Fire Nation and the Brotherhood."

Haru rubbed his forehead anxiously. So that had been what this was about…those kids who went missing, the ones that were taken by the Brotherhood for being Earthbenders. He silently berated himself for not understanding from the beginning.

"Why didn't you just ask _me_ to do it?" he demanded. "I'm an Earthbender! They wouldn't have had a problem arresting _me_!"

Katara frowned. "But your mother…she needs you." She looked down at her feet, her eyes growing soft. "Families need to stick together. Yours has already lost so much…too much. At least this way no one else has to get hurt."

Sokka looked sharply at his sister, his mouth drawn in a tight line. "Katara…"

"I didn't want to put anyone else at risk," she said. "And…that's exactly what I did. I'm sorry…"

Haru met her cerulean blue eyes. He saw the sincerity blazing in them and felt some of his anger wash away. She had only been trying to help him…and that was why she thought it was better not to get him involved.

_Just like Dad,_ he thought. His hands clenched into fists at this painful realization. _They're a lot alike._

And in that instant, he realized what he would have to do. It was what his father would have done in a situation like this. He had to protect his mother and this village. And this headstrong Water Tribe girl who traveled with the Avatar…that boy would need her at his side. She was the kind who never gave up, and that was a personality that would serve her well in a war that was not about to end any time soon.

So, he would go with her to the prison.

"If we hurry," he told Katara. "We can find the prison ourselves…before the Fire Nation has time to attack the village. I know part of the way there, at least…maybe if we work together we can figure out the rest. And then you, me, and the kid if he wants to come along," here he shot Kuba a token glance, which was returned with a stubborn nod and a determined scowl. "…we can blend in with the other prisoners and break them all out."

It was a reckless plan. It probably wouldn't work. But it was the only plan he had, and he would be damned if he would let what was left of his village go to hell in a handbasket.

No, Haru hadn't wanted to get involved in the crazy scheme…but then again, his father hadn't wanted to fight the Fire Nation, either. The man hated war, but saw the necessity in fighting to protect what you love. Haru did too, deep down inside. He had admired the bravery and leadership his father had shown during that battle and longed to emulate that in his own way.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Katara asked.

He looked at her and then at the Earthbender boy. "Shouldn't you be asking _him_?"

Kuba's expression darkened. "I can handle myself," he said stoutly. He looked troubled for the briefest of instants before it all dissolved into confidence. "King Bumi thinks I can, at least. Anyway, I heard the Brotherhood were camped out here, and I thought I would beat them up a bit until they told me where Julie went."

Now Haru was good and confused. "_Who_…?"

Aang was the one who rubbed the back of his neck and replied sheepishly. "It's a long story."

The older Earthbender frowned. "Well," he said. "It'll probably be a long way to the prison. You'll have plenty of time to tell me all about it."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"…"

The komodo rhino stared at me as Zuko adjusted its saddle so it can stay in place with more than one rider on its back. I had my rucksack of possessions over my shoulder (running away turned out to be a convenient move on my part since it meant that I was already packed, technically) and watched the animal with a feeling of unease running through my body. Zuko didn't notice the way I was keeping a careful distance from our mount.

It wasn't that I was scared of it. Not really. It's just…did they have to be so _big? _And _mean_-looking? Hell, it could probably chew me up and spit me back out if it wanted. I mean, I'll admit it if I have to…I'm kind of small…petite…um…fuck it. Short. The prospect of trying to climb up on the rhino's back was not very appealing at all.

"All right," said Zuko, turning to me. "Let's go."

I swallowed, my eyes locked with the rhino's. It was enough that I had forgotten I was supposed to be angry with the idiot for dumping me…but I just couldn't force my feet to move.

"What is it?"

I snapped out of my daze. "Can't I just ride an ostrich-horse or something? I…don't know how to ride one of those…and…" I stopped talking abruptly, having enough pride not to admit that I was even the teensiest bit apprehensive.

Zuko stared at me for a minute. "It isn't going to eat you, you know. Come here."

I scowled. "Screw this. I don't want to go, anymore. And…why do I have to share a rhino with you, anyway? I don't even want to _look _at you right now!"

The bastard ignored me. Or rather, he chose not to comment on my snub and decided to address the petulantly-asked question instead.

"You just said so yourself," he told me. "You've never ridden a rhino before."

I made a sound in the back of my throat that was half a growl, half a whine of despair. I didn't _want_ to ride the friggin' rhino. It was going to throw me off and crush me. It was going to bite my head off or something. Couldn't the moron see that it wasn't _safe_?

Iroh was already seated on his rhino and was watching the two of us with concern. He could tell that something was up between us, but since neither of us would acknowledge his questions, he could only sit back and piece it together on his own. But now his shrewd eyes were focused on me and my blatant aversion to the rhino. Something clicked in his expression.

"Julie," he said. "You are not, by any chance, afraid of the komodo-rhino….are you?"

I got flustered. "Wha? Hell, no! I'm not scared of it. What gave you a stupid idea like that?!" I breathed out through my flaring nostrils. "Me? Scared? Phsssh…!"

Zuko sighed. "It's not going to hurt you. Come on. We don't have time for this!"

I bit my lip. "I…I don't want to…!"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I could see him silently imploring the Spirits to bless him with patience as he struggled not to lose his temper with me. His impatience to leave camp was palpable; I was surprised he hadn't started yelling at me already.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and went over to me. I was immediately struck by our difference in heights. Zuko was obviously taller and broader in the shoulders. He was also a lot stronger than me. I knew how easy it would be for him to just pick me up and drag me wherever he needed me to go. I wasn't happy about this realization as if formed in the back of my mind.

His hands could swallow mine, and they did as he reached down and captured them from my sides.

"It's okay," he said in a low, frustrated tone of voice. "Spirits, do you think I'd let the stupid thing hurt you? Why do you think I'm letting you ride with me?"

I glared at his hands. It wasn't so much that I was little, right? Everyone else was just freakishly big. It wasn't _my_ fault. Stupid Zuko. Why did he have to make me feel so…safe? I didn't need protecting! I mean…I wasn't some helpless little girl, right? Having him this close and breathing in his fire-flake scent shouldn't be turning me into mush like this because…because I was just fine on my own!

Zuko narrowed his eyes at me. "Julie…"

"F-fine. Just…I'm not _scared_, okay? Quit looking at me like that!"

He closed his mouth and didn't argue with me. He probably thought it wasn't worth it. His hands gripped mine tighter as he pulled me around to the side of the rhino where the stirrups were. I didn't take my eyes off of the monster the entire time.

I might have been hovering a little too close to Zuko…but that was just an accident. I wasn't scared. I _wasn't_…!

"Climb up."

My gaze flickered to the saddle in confusion. "How?"

Zuko gestured at the stirrups and silently offered me a leg up. I hesitated and he breathed out another sigh. I felt him wrap his arm around my torso (causing me to go absolutely rigid) and grip me to his side as he placed his own foot in the stirrup and heaved himself up on to the saddle. Still scowling, he plopped me down in front of him on the rhino's back.

"There," he muttered. "Was that so difficult?"

For him, probably not. He made the whole thing look really easy…only to be able to hold me with one arm while climbing up on the rhino probably required a lot of strength and balance. I was suddenly very concerned, forced to wonder just how strong Zuko really was.

Meep.

"W-what the hell was that?!" I demanded. "I never gave you permission to—"

"Save it. Uncle, did you remember to…oh, for the love of Agni…"

I looked up and saw Shen-Long and Bo-Fen leading a pair of rhinos over to us (wait, where did they find _those_? I thought the other rhinos ran off…). Zuko looked like he had just chugged a bottle of vinegar. I felt his grip tighten around my waist, almost as if he thought someone was about to make him let go.

"Lieutenant Jee ordered us to accompany you," said Shen-Long. "Consider us to be extra muscle for your mission, your Highness."

"And unofficial babysitters for Julie," Bo-Fen quipped, shooting me a grin. I scowled at her. "Just in case we run into another ambush of sorts."

Zuko looked from one to the other, as though searching for ulterior motives. He seemed to consider the possibility of us being attacked and glanced down at me (I only blinked at him in response). His mouth pressed into a tighter line.

"Fine," he spat. "Just don't slow us down."

"Yes, Sir," Shen-Long replied. His blue eyes met mine for a brief moment, and I was worried that he'd be mad about how close I was to Zuko. But instead he just smiled at me. "You must be excited. This has to be better than being cooped up in the medical tent."

"Um…" I wasn't about to agree to that, but Zuko took my hands and placed them on the reins, sufficiently distracting me. "H-hey…! You can't seriously be letting _me_ steer this thing!"

"You may as well learn something from this. Quit complaining. I won't let you get off course."

I definitely didn't like this. Not one bit.

Iroh was smiling at us, like he thought we were _cute_ or something. "Shall we get going?"

Zuko didn't bother answering. He just nudged the rhino's sides with the toes of his boots, causing the creature to start lumbering forward (much to my surprise and chagrin). I squeaked in fright, holding the reins a little too tightly and frantically trying to make it stop.

The rhino let out a grumble and started to balk, sensing my discomfort. Zuko hastily took the reins from me and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "What was _that_? Are you trying to get us thrown off?"

I latched on to the arm he had wrapped around my torso and clung to it. "_You_ drive, then, if you're so freaking good at this! I can't do it!"

"Just relax, will you?" he pleaded with me. But he took note of my tense posture and relented. "Fine, then. I'll take over. Just…don't be scared. It's making the rhino nervous, and we don't need to start a stampede."

I took a breath. "I'm _not_ scared!"

"Then prove it."

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stop fidgeting. I peeked up at the others and saw them smirking at me, and that solidified my determination. Smug-ass bastards. I'd show them. I was _not_ scared. I wasn't! For fuck's sake, I could ride a rhino.

Shen-Long met my gaze and rolled his eyes, as if to say, _Typical_. For his sake, he had better have been looking at Zuko and not at me.

"Let's just go already," I grumbled, trying to be brave.

I loosened my death-grip on Zuko and let him urge the rhino forwards again. The others followed close behind, keeping together in a neat cluster; Iroh riding just to our left and the siblings taking up the rear. I took a few calming breaths and tried not to stare at the ground, which looked really far away from where I was sitting.

"You're something else," I heard Zuko mutter to himself. "Of all the things to be afraid of…"

"Shut up."

"Like I'd really let anything happen to you. You can be ridiculous sometimes, you know that?"

I blushed. "I'm still mad at you. Quit talking to me."

His face darkened and he fixed his gaze out at the forest ahead of us, falling into a resentful silence.

It was getting later in the day, though it hadn't warmed up much as we lumbered down the path. I could smell pine needles and that cold smell that hangs in the air when winter is coming. But I could also smell Zuko as I sat pressed up against his chest, and that fire-flake smell blended nicely with the scent of nature. It would have been relaxing if it weren't for the stupid rhino bumping me around and startling the crap out of me every couple of minutes.

It wasn't a very gentle gait, either. We had been riding for about half an hour now and I was already starting to feel sore. How the hell was Zuko handling it, anyway? If it was bad for me, how punishing would it be for a guy (you know, with all the junk to worry about)? Hell, I was suffering and I didn't even _have_ dangly parts.

Maybe I should have listened to Jee when he had offered the leather armor.

"Can we stop for a bit?"

Zuko didn't miss a beat. "No."

"But my butt hurts."

His scowl deepened. He seemed to be ignoring me.

I sighed dramatically and flopped back against his chest, looking up at the sky. One of Zuko's arms came around me unexpectedly, ensnaring me before I could even blink. He probably thought I was starting to fall off the saddle and was trying to help me keep my seat. My eyes darted to his face, and our gazes met before he turned slightly pink and averted his eyes back to the path. He continued to hold the reins with one hand and kept me still with the other.

"We're almost there," he said a little too casually, and I realized my suspicions were dead on. He _had_ been worried about me for a moment. "You can rest once we reach the valley."

I looked at him dubiously, wondering if he could feel my heartbeat speeding up under his touch. "What if the Avatar is there?" I felt the edges of suspicion poking my mind. "Hey, what was it that you needed me to do, anyway? You're not expecting me to fight Aang, are you?"

"Are you crazy?"

I bit my lip and sulked. "What's that supposed to mean? What else would you need an Energybender for?"

Zuko alternated between watching the path and shooting me a quick, incredulous look. "You don't know how to control your bending…and I don't even want to think about what would happen if you tried bending the Avatar Spirit. Don't even try it!"

"All right, all right! I don't want to fight him, anyway…! I was just making sure…"

The Fire Prince breathed out a sigh.

"I'll tell you why I brought you when we're alone, okay?"

Well. That wasn't suspicious or anything. But I decided to just go with it for now. I mean, it was Zuko for fuck's sake. It wasn't like he was secretly planning on…I dunno…knocking me out and harvesting my organs or anything psychotic like that. Probably he just wanted me to help look for clues. I figured my bending might help with stuff like that.

I mean, technically Avatar was a spirit, right? And I was supposed to be sensitive to all that spiritual bullshit. I was going to be the most sensitive motherfucker that ever…holymotherofwhathteactual_**fuck**__…!_

My mind suddenly imploded on itself, and all I could see was fire and ashes. Someone was screaming inside my head…or several voices all warping and cracking over the roar of the flames. I almost ended up biting off my own tongue.

_Make it stop…!_

I screwed my eyes shut and doubled over, gasping. Zuko pulled the reins abruptly, stopping his mount and signaling to the others. But I couldn't see or hear anything, and all I could smell now was something acrid and bitter like smoke…and something leathery burning. Everything was on fire. I felt the flames washing over me and I couldn't even scream. I had fallen mute.

"Julie, what is it?" Zuko's lips were at my ear. He must have known I had seen something. "Julie?"

"Give her some air," Shen-Long's voice pierced the air. "She needs space. You can't crowd her like that!"

No, he was wrong. I felt Zuko's hands on me and I caught the smell of fire flakes. Not fire anymore, just fire flakes. Nothing was burning. I was fine. I was safe. There was an anchor within arm's reach, and I snatched at it blindly; not caring that I was clinging to Zuko like a fucking koala.

I don't know how I managed to squirm all the way around on the saddle or how the jerk kept us from falling off while I had been senselessly flailing like that.

"L-let's go back," I stammered into his shirt. "We can't go this way! We shouldn't be here!"

Zuko let me hold on to him for a minute or two, giving me a chance to compose myself.

"Something _bad_ happened," I whispered. "Something really bad…! I…I don't want to go there! We can't go there, Zuko, we can't! It's burning…!"

The Fire Prince looked at his uncle doubtfully, but the older man just returned his stare with a grim look. Realizing that he would have to make a decision, he sighed. Then, he pulled me a little closer and tried to reassure me.

"You saw it again? More people being burned?"

I swallowed and nodded, resisting the urge to puke. "It felt…like just an echo, this time…but it was still so real. It'll happen again if we get any closer. And I don't want them to get us…!"

"Nothing is going to happen while I'm here," he told me. "And we need to find the Avatar. Remember?"

Iroh brought his rhino over to us so that he was close enough to reach over and touch my shoulder. I flinched at the older man's touch; but he was so unthreatening in his gesture that I quickly got over it and managed to look up at him. He also had that reassuring expression on his face.

"We will be cautious," he said to me. "And if the situation turns dangerous, we will turn back. You have my word, Julie."

With that promise in my ears and Zuko's hand on my back, how could I help but believe it? I looked around and saw Shen-Long's concerned expression and Bo-Fen's contemplative stare. They were both worried about me…and it was enough to remind me that they cared, too. They wouldn't let anything bad happen, right? Even Bo-Fen, who made a point of pushing me rigorously during our training sessions and who acted as unsympathetic as possible, considered me worth protecting.

I would just have to look out for all of them, too.

"I'm fine," I told them. "I just don't want any of _you_ wussing out…just because of a little fire…I mean…yeah. Just checking."

Zuko met my gaze, not fooled in the least. "Why would Firebenders be afraid of fire?"

He didn't have to say it like it was so strange. After all, I was an Energybender…and even though I hated to admit it…I starting to be downright terrified of spirits.

* * *

Can I just say right now that Jade Valley village is one of the creepiest places I have ever been in my entire friggin' life? And considering the fact that I've been in prison cells infested with elephant rats and _God knows_ what else…this is saying a lot.

It didn't take us very long to find it. Getting the rhinos to climb the hill proved to be a huge pain in the ass, but Bo-Fen found a hidden pass through two of the hills and into the village. After that it was smooth walking.

A little too smooth, actually. It was dead silent.

"We should be on our guard," Iroh reminded our group after ten minutes of unnatural hush. He could clearly sense the bad vibes just as well as I could.

I was kind of glad Zuko's arm was still wrapped around my torso. It made me feel a little better about where I was, and his body heat took away some of the chill from the air. Too bad it didn't keep me from jumping every time a twig snapped under a rhino's foot. I was getting really skittish. This whole set-up just reeked of a horror movie.

Any minute now, the zombies would show up to eat our tasty, tasty brains. And I didn't even have any grenades!

"Zuko," I said quietly so no one else could hear. "Um…this is kind of a stupid question, but…do zombies exist in your world?"

"What?"

"You know…the walking dead? Reanimated corpses? They feed on the living…and if they bite or scratch you, you turn into one of them. Any of that ringing a bell?"

I glanced up and saw Zuko giving me a very disturbed look. "You…need professional help. Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Just answer the question!"

His expression became deadpan. "How can a dead body start walking around on its own? The muscles are breaking down…so even if it _could_ come back to life, it wouldn't _get _very far because it's practically falling apart!"

I scowled. "Yeah, but what if it _bites_ something with fully-functioning muscles?"

"Oh, for the love of Agni…"

"I'm just saying, we should probably watch out for them. This is almost too perfect for zombies to just start crawling out of the ground and _eat_ us! And I'm probably delicious!"

Zuko sighed. "You're lucky you're cute. If you weren't, I'd turn this stupid rhino around and drag your crazy butt back to Lieutenant Jee."

Cute? That jerk! Who the hell said he was allowed to call me _cute?_ Besides, I wasn't some fluffy little bunny rabbit. I was formidable and cunning and…okay, who the fuck am I kidding? I'm obviously no Azula. I was about as intimidating as a cream puff.

But…but I _still_ wasn't cute! Screw cute!

I sniffed in disdain. "Just for that, I'm totally letting the zombies rip your face off. Moron."

"I think I'm willing to chance it." Regardless, he still glanced down at me, taking note of the genuine paranoia on my face and the tension in my body; as though my muscles had tightened in grim anticipation. "Why? Do they exist in _your_ world?"

Fuck. He had me there.

I fidgeted in my seat. "Well…no, but…but they're a really well-known legend! Practically everyone I know has a Zombie Plan for when civilization collapses and the dead retake the planet. It's downright practical."

"How is planning for something that could never happen _practical_?"

"Because, shut up."

"Spirits…"

I wanted to tear into him for being such a skeptical jerk-wagon, but then his arm tightened slightly around me. A warm feeling rushed through my body, chasing the chill and foreboding out of my stiff muscles. It was an involuntary reaction, but I ended up leaning back and snuggling a little deeper into his arm-lasso. He didn't say anything, but I know he noticed.

I glared up at him before he could get any ideas. "It's cold out, and you're a Firebender. Deal with it."

"Whatever…crazy little peasant."

Uggh!

The village came into view a few minutes later. The sight of it should have been comforting, a sign of civilization in the midst of all the trees and cold and _silence_. But if anything, looking at the sparse buildings only chilled my bones and made me shiver. From what I could tell there weren't any people around, but I could feel my skin prickling from pairs of eyes that I couldn't see.

Something was watching us.

"Zuko," I whined. "Let's go back…_please_."

The change in my tone, from indignant to downright fearful, made him pause. "I'll protect you."

I shook my head. "You should be worrying more about yourself…I mean, _you're _the one without a freaking zombie plan. You're just begging to be horror-bait." I took the opportunity to look around warily. "There's something _here_. Bad things…I can feel them. I…I know it sounds crazy, but I…I'm not lying! We shouldn't be here!"

Zuko's hand was the only thing keeping me from climbing off the rhino and bolting for the hills. "We won't stay for very long," he said. "If these people know anything…Julie, I _have_ to find him."

And that was that. Subject closed.

That stupid idiot…didn't he realize that this was how _all_ horror movies started? Because one person was too stubborn to realize when it was too dangerous? What if zombies _did_ exist here? What if the villagers turned out to be cannibals? Or hillbillies? Or both? Even worse…and I admit, this possibility intrigued me as much as it did frighten me…but what if the _Brotherhood_ was still here?

I didn't remember them except in dreams. It was always the same, being tied up to an alter and watching through Ayla's eyes as the men in cloaks lit the ropes on fire. Only lately, I hadn't been having those dreams…or if I did, I didn't remember it.

Thank God. If I had to dream about being burned alive every single night, I think I would never sleep again.

I knew from all accounts that the Brotherhood wanted me…wanted me for my bending. I was told they were evil and ruthless, that they had attacked the ship and almost killed everyone trying to take me away. I knew Shen-Long and Bo-Fen were especially wary of them, but never told me any more than was necessary. I knew all of these things and a few snippets from Ayla's admissions, that she had been involved with their organization back when she was still alive.

It was all just another piece of the puzzle in the huge mystery…and at the center of it, I knew I had a good chance of figuring out why _I_ was here. Why me? Why not some other person? Why was _I_ the one with Ayla trapped in her body? Why was _I_ an Energybender? Why me?

Yes, a reckless part of me wanted to know more about these evil people; it probably would push everything into place. All of the missing pieces would present themselves to me, and I could finally have this mystery solved. But instinct…intuition…something told me that I really, really didn't want to know the answer.

Maybe that was why I was so afraid to set foot in Jade Valley village…in spite of my nagging and morbid curiosity eating away at me, the probable answer was even more frightening than not knowing.

But what could I do? Zuko was determined to find Aang. He was determined not to let me out of his sight for some reason. And since there was no way I could defy him, I had no choice but to let the idiot steer our mount down the path leading into the village.

My desperate gaze flew to Shen-Long, and he nodded at me with a serious expression on his face. He knew and understood what I was feeling. At least someone in our group did…though that did little to console me as we ventured farther into town.

I reached down and found Zuko's hand, unconsciously curling my fingers around his. If the Fire Prince gave a slight start, but eventually chose not to comment on it. But I felt his hand snake around and capture mine, returning the pressure; and inexplicably, that was what helped me swallow my fear and put on a brave face.

Sure, we could have been facing anything in that village…anything at all. Even if Zuko was stupid enough to drag us into danger, I felt the warmth of his fingers and knew that we all had each other. None of us were alone. For better or worse, we would face this trial together.

Though it turned out that what was waiting for us in town was a hell of a lot stranger than I ever would have imagined. And before you ask, it wasn't zombies.

* * *

**A/N: So, quick reader poll—how many of you guys thought this chapter would have to do with marriage after looking at the title?**

**I kind of wanted to reinforce the theme of camaraderie and family as both sets of fellowships (both the Gaang and the Zu-Crew) set out to accomplish their own goals. In a way, the saying "for better or worse" can apply to both marriage and family…and arguably, those are both the same thing. The person you marry becomes a part of your family, and many people will argue that family stays with you whether you want them to or not…through thick and thin.**

**Granted, this isn't always a good thing. Julie's biological family obviously has its problems, and she still feels her father's influence on her even when he isn't around to terrorize her. In a way, you could say that Julie is married to Zuko and his crew; just as Aang joins Katara and Sokka's family, she joins Zuko's. Not his biological family, but the only one he's had in the past three years.**

**So, even though Julie is angry with Zuko for "dumping her," she willingly accompanies him into Jade Valley, even though chances are it's going to be dangerous. Even though Zuko's judgment is being clouded by his ambition and his subconscious fear of losing Julie, his only friend and love interest at this point (Mai isn't in the picture just yet), he isn't going to let anything happen to her and she knows it on some level. She trusts him that much at least, in spite of her own hurt feelings.**

**Shen-Long and Bo-Fen will play a significant role in the events to come. Not only will they be there for Julie when things get bad (and believe me, they **_**will**_** get bad), but their presence further solidifies the point in Julie's mind that she is no longer alone. They are all in this together.**

**Sorry for the soppy theme, but I couldn't help it. I'm trying to push as much plot as I can at once, but I don't really feel right not putting the **_**feels**_** into it. Call it a mental illness of mine. But I really am trying to get better with my pacing.**

**Don't expect next book of the story to be like this. You're getting a lot of character development in this part so I can crank out the rest of Book I of the show. If I manage to cut down on my verbosity, I might be able to cut this saga down to four books instead of six. Because you guys are right. I don't plan on writing this for the next fifteen years. I want to move on to bigger and better things…novels, even. **

**But if I quit now, Julie won't ever find a happy ending. And I refuse to be a quitter. I'll find a way to resolve the story, don't you worry.**

**Julie: "You damn well better. If you leave me on hiatus, I will break into your house, I will **_**kill **_**your pets, and I will **_**beat **_**you with your own laptop until you start bleeding out of your eyes!"**

**Um…yikes.**

**I mean…yay! Another incentive to keep writing! **

**P.S. As for Kuba, you'll find out exactly what the fuck Bumi was thinking sending a nine-year-old out to fend for himself during a war. This isn't a plot hole, sadly. It's me trying to keep Bumi in character by doing something insane, yet miraculously practical. Because Kuba is going to benefit greatly from his time outside of Omashu, if only so that he doesn't get hurt in the siege that eventually claims the city.**

**Anyway, did you guys like? REVIEW!**


	91. Village of the Damned

**A/N:I am totally having a day in the life of Abridged-Zuko.**

"**Today is going to be a **_**good**_** day because I'm a winner, and…" I trailed off as I noticed the mystery puddle soaking through my bathroom mat and the half-empty toilet bowl. "Aww…! Why do I even bother…?!"**

**Well, you can imagine the amount of bitching that my landlord had to hear that morning. But within an hour he had the plumber at my dingy little basement and finding the cause of my toilet issues. It turns out the upstairs neighbor was flushing fucking baby wipes down their own toilet, and they went and clogged the main pipe. I mean, come on. I don't know much, but even **_**I **_**know that "flushable moist wipes" really aren't meant to go down the drain. Just throw them out and chuck them for fuck's sake.**

**I wish I could have made **_**them**_** clean up my bathroom, which no longer smells like the inside of a septic tank thanks to the vigorous scrubbing I did. Clorox…thank GOD for Clorox. I have to go buy myself more paper towels and a better mop (because I learned that the one I have SUCKS), but it was worth it. I mean, that shit's important. I PEE in that room. I need it intact, thank you very much.**

**Just as a heads up, Aang and co. won't be appearing this chapter. So far switching back and forth between Team Avatar and Zu-crew has been working fine, but for this specific arc if I were to continuously switch perspectives like that, you guys would end up missing a lot of clues. And this chapter needs a lot of piecing together. I mean to say that it's kind of mysterious.**

**Since it's technically Julie's story, I'm going to let her and Zuko go first. ;) I'm trying to give this episode a creepy feel since Halloween is right around the corner (it IS almost October, right? That totally counts as practically Halloween in my opinion). However, I'm not sure if I really pulled this off. Could you guys maybe let me know where this chapter stands as far as creepiness goes?**

**Thanks a bunch!**

**And now, without further ado…**

_Last time on Happy Endings…_

**Julie: **"Disaster strikes when the Katara's plan unexpectedly backfires. Now the Gaang along with Haru and newly reunited Kuba race against time to track down the imprisoned Earthbenders before the Fire Nation can retaliate against the village. Personally, I hope they crack some skulls in the process. I don't even want to think about what will happen if they can't find the prison in time.

Zuko and I managed to reach Jade Valley without strangling each other, though I'm not sure how long that's going to last. The only reason I haven't kicked his ass by now is because everything is so creepy, and I'm a little bit freaked at the prospect of what we might find in the village. It seems abandoned, but is it really?"

**And NOW…**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Four: Village of the Damned**

It was dead quiet. Literally dead quiet.

We had dismounted our rhinos several yards back when it became apparent that no one was coming out to meet us. The silence pressed down on us like a weight. It was the kind of unnatural silence that made you reluctant to speak; as though any sound at all would be the harbinger of doom upon our shoulders. We filed past house after house without seeing any signs of life. The only sound at all was that of the cold wind streaking through the area with a faint wail.

Everything was eerily still, so much so that I felt no compulsion to disobey Zuko's muttered order for me to remain close to him. Actually, to tell you the truth I was sort of clinging to his arm…but not because I was _scared_ or anything! It was just practical to stay close to someone who knew what to do in a fight.

"Where _is _everyone?" I breathed only loud enough for Zuko to hear me.

His lips pressed together in thought. "Dunno. I don't like the looks of this, though."

"Maybe we should turn back…?"

He looked at me like I was insane, which kind of annoyed me to tell you the truth. "We're not leaving without the Avatar…or at the very least an idea of where he went."

"But…I really hate this place…I want to leave."

Zuko was quiet for a few seconds. "Me too," he admitted in a whisper. "But that still doesn't change anything."

My rising apprehension made me feel more and more frustrated with the Fire Prince. I just knew something really bad was going to happen here. I mean, it was obvious by the fact that there wasn't anyone here that something bad had _already_ happened. And he still wanted to push on like a total idiot. He was willing to put himself (not to mention the rest of us) at risk just so he could get his honor back...

…just so he could go back to being Daddy's-little-Prince and get himself a sexy noble chick for a girlfriend…and she'll probably end up being some bimbo with a c-cup. Or she'll be Mai, who I remember from the show as being snarky enough to make up for her modest bust size.

Hell, I don't know how to throw knives. How do you compete with something like that, anyway?

I kind of resented this…well not just this, but everything. And the thing I resent the most (even more than the thought of Zuko ditching me for some overly-endowed floozy…_maybeeven one that liked to wear tight leather clothing!_) was the fact that he was putting _himself_ at risk. Even though I knew he couldn't have foreseen the current state of the village, the fact that he wasn't doing the sensible thing and _leaving_ made me want to smack him. Seriously, after he had almost _died_ a couple of days ago, and he goes right back to doing these reckless things. What an inconsiderate jerk.

I glared at him without saying a word. I felt myself seething as I watched him go over to investigate at these mounds in the dirt in the ground. I don't know what he found so interesting about them (unless he thought that the Avatar was somehow buried underneath one of them). Hell, they were probably just giant garbage heaps that had been buried…because whatever was underground smelled god-awful. And after looking at them for a moment, he quietly took me by the arm and steered me away.

I was about to snap at him when I saw the sickened look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked, puzzled. "Are you okay?"

"Don't…don't worry about it," he muttered, looking a bit paler than usual. I noticed that the others had similar reactions, and I realized I was the only one out of the loop.

"No, seriously," I persisted, stopping dead in my tracks and looking at them all in turn. "What's the problem? Why does everyone look so…disturbed?" I frowned to myself. "Did I miss something?"

"Obviously," Bo-Fen muttered. When she saw me looking at her inquisitively, she just sighed. "Hon', you do realize what's buried under those little hills, don't you…?"

"Um…"

Zuko wheeled around and gave Bo-Fen an incensed look. "She doesn't need to know something like that. Just drop it."

I gave him a look. "No, I think I _do _need to know. Tell me."

Shen-Long glanced at his sister before going over to me. "His highness is right. It's not important. Let's just get this search over with as quickly as possible."

I scoffed. "Yeah, okay. Fine. Whatever. I don't know why you guys are getting so worked up over garbage heaps." Before anyone could stop me I went over to the nearest hill and nudged it with my toe. The earth was still soft, as though the mound had been made fairly recently. I frowned. "Wait a minute…" I knelt down and went to get a closer look at the soil. "I think this dirt is fresh."

I reached out to scoop some up and heard Shen-Long yell at me. "Julie, wait…! Don't…!"

But it was too late. My fingertips brushed against the soil and my reaction was instantaneous. _It's not a garbage heap_…I realized in that one instant before my mind completely shut down. I could almost taste rotten meat in the back of my throat as my body seized up, and for a moment I thought I was the one buried underground. I could feel the press of decomposing bodies surrounding me, crushing me, suffocating me as the smell of their rotting flesh invaded my mouth and nose. It was too cramped for me to even make a sound.

Someone grabbed my shoulders and dragged me away from the mound, which I had come to realize was a mass grave.

"Julie…" Zuko's voice was dragging me out of my stupor. I caught the scent of fire flakes and felt my consciousness stirring. I gagged and came within an inch of throwing up right there.

"They're all…dead…" I gasped. "All of them…they're…they just tossed them there and left them…they…oh, my God…"

There was an uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry."

I shuddered violently. "Please…can't we just leave? I hate it here! It's not safe! They'll kill us and throw us in the ground with the rest of those corpses and we'll rot there!" I squeezed my eyes shut. "They're going to get us…I just know it…!"

"Julie, I don't think there's anyone left," Shen-Long told me gently. "This place looks abandoned."

"I don't care! I want to go home! We never should have come here!"

It was embarrassing to say, but I think I might have been crying a little. Hey, you have a flash of empathy with a bunch of dead bodies and see what it does to _your_ sanity!

Zuko didn't let go of me, but I saw his expression harden. It made my stomach tighten in anxiety seeing that look on his face…like he just couldn't let this go. Didn't he even care about my feelings at all?

"Maybe if you didn't go around touching things, this wouldn't have happened," he grumbled. "Next time do as your told, peasant."

"Hey!" said Shen-Long angrily. "She didn't know! Maybe if we had told her…"

"She's a stubborn brat who does what she wants," Zuko cut him off. "I doubt telling her would have made any difference. And I'm not turning back until I find someone who can tell us what happened here and where the Avatar went." There was a sort of darkness in his eyes that left me speechless. "Besides, I don't intend to let this go unpunished."

Iroh frowned. "Nephew, there might not be anybody left to answer your questions."

"Then we keep searching until we do!" the Firebender replied sharply. "And if the villagers abandoned this place, then we look for the answers on our own! Now, let's go!"

No one dared to argue with him. I was privately horrified. This wasn't the same Zuko who had kissed me yesterday and told me he loved me. This wasn't even the same Zuko who talked about getting his honor back for my sake (even if it was a lie, he seemed to believe it was true) and doing the right thing. This Zuko didn't care what it took to get what he wanted.

I never wanted to go on one of his missions ever again. Not if I had to see him acting like this.

We were just looking for clues at this point, but everything we found only portended terrible things. That foul odor we smelled by the dirt mounds hovered in and around the buildings, and that made me really, really uneasy. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of what must have happened here. It was kind of annoying that no one was saying anything, not even acknowledging that they were as upset by this as I was. I could only guess what was passing through their minds as we passed house after empty house.

Finally, we came across the town square without encountering a single living soul.

"This place is a wreck."

Bo-Fen kicked a piece of rubble with the toe of her boot. It skittered down the dirt path and knocked into the blackened stake that stood in the center of the town square. Piles of ashes streaked the dirt surrounding it, and I felt my blood turn to ice when my eyes caught sight of something yellowish-white peeking out at me.

"Are…those bones…?" I whispered, pointing a shaking finger at the yellowish-white things poking through the rubbish.

No one answered me. I gagged and grabbed my knapsack, burying my face into it and trying to keep my stomach down. This was really, really fucked up. They had actually killed people here, right here where we were standing.

I almost dropped it, though, when I felt something _squirming_ inside my bag. I let out a tiny shriek of terror that made everyone jump out of their skins. Zuko and Shen-Long both took Firebending stances in my direction, eyes wide. Bo-Fen had her hand on the hilt of her sword and even Iroh regarded me with an alarmed expression.

Then, a reptilian head popped out of the top of the knapsack. It was Yoshi. My sweet little bad-ass must have smuggled his way inside my bag when I wasn't looking. Oh, God…I hope I didn't squash him on the way here. My poor baby!

_Surprise! It was ME! I was in the bag the WHOLE TIME!_

His tongue was out and I could tell that he was in a good mood, so I guess I hadn't hurt him by leaving him in there. But still…he shouldn't have been here. He was supposed to be with Jee right now.

"You…!" Zuko cried. "What the…JULIE!"

I flinched. "It wasn't _me_…! Shit, you think I wanted to bring him here?"

"As a matter of fact, yes! Yes, I do!"

Yoshi regarded us with an innocent tilt of his head. _I thought we were gonna go get the bad dog together. I am a master hunter and my skillz are most valuable! I know how to chew on things until they are made dead! I know how to run and catch things! I should be helping mother!_

Zuko's eyes were locked with my eelhound's. Then, a strange expression that was very similar to guilt appeared on his face…which was weird considering that he had been all set to blame me a moment ago. What could he possibly have to feel guilty about…unless he was somehow responsible for Yoshi getting in my bag…?

But no. That was impossible. I had packed it myself. Yoshi had just decided to crawl in there on his own. That obviously wasn't Zuko's fault, now was it?

"What?" I asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed. "Why are you looking at us like that?"

He shuffled uncomfortably. "Um…n-never mind. Just…keep an eye on him, okay? If he gets lost, we're leaving him behind." He didn't sound very convincing, and that relieved me. Considering the way he had been acting before, I wouldn't put him past him to sacrifice my puppy for the sake of his ambition.

But no, Zuko wasn't a monster. Deep down inside, even if he got carried away and acted like a selfish prick, he was still _Zuko_. Even he had his limits. And that was a good thing, too, because there was no way I was leaving my baby alone in this horrible, creepy little town. The thought was just too terrible to put into words. Hell, I didn't want to stay here past sun down; that was how creepy it was. The fact that I preferred the cold wilderness to this shambles of a civilization spoke volumes.

Zuko had his eyes on the buildings, scanning them for signs of life. I think he and I were on the same mental wavelength in regards to wasting time."We should start searching the huts…"

"And then what?"

He looked at me, that old stubbornness reflecting from his eyes. "It depends on what we find." He focused his attention on Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. "You two start with the houses on the left. Uncle," he said, glancing at the older man. "You, Julie, and I will search the ones over here."

"We shouldn't be splitting up," I said automatically, clinging tighter to Yoshi almost instinctively. I looped him against my chest with one arm, and with the other I reached out and latch on to Zuko's sleeve, glaring up at him. "This just makes it easier for the bad guys to pick us off one by one! Do _you_ want to end up a serial killer's dinner?"

Zuko's golden irises burned into mine before he reached down and impatiently ripped my hand away from his sleeve. "We don't have time to waste, _peasant_. Come on." Still trapping my hand in his own, he started towing me towards the nearest hut.

I caught a glimpse of Shen-Long narrowing his eyes on our interlocked hands before turning away and disappearing inside another hut, his sister right behind him. I felt a pang of guilt as Zuko pulled me up to the door of the house we were about to search. It hung on its hinges, but it fell backwards into the building as Iroh reached to touch it.

The inside was gloomy and depressing. Zuko let go of my hand and crossed the threshold, his eyes flicking over everything in the room.

"Looks like whoever lived here was in a hurry to leave," he commented, pointing at a half-eaten slice of bread on a chipped plate. There was butter, but it had long since cooled and congealed in the nooks of the bread. Yoshi hopped up on to the table and snatched the bread in his jaws, shaking it for a little bit before dropping it in disgust. He whined a little and I went to pick him up.

_I don't like it here. Can we go back outside? Everything here is dead already…it doesn't even run away or anything!_

I snuggled him. "It's okay, baby. I think it's creepy, too. We won't be in here for very long. Promise."

Zuko grimaced. "Do you have to call it your _baby_?"

Idiot. Don't tell me how to take care of _my _eelhound.

"He is, though," I snapped at him."I hatched him and everything, and I'm the one taking care of him and raising him…so that means he's my baby! Deal with it!"

He scowled. "I should have expected as much from a crazy little troublemaker like you. And just so you know, if your eelhound makes me lose the Avatar, I'm holding you responsible."

"And look at all the _fucks_ I give, Zuko."

Iroh watched us with upraised eyebrows, but I ignored him and went back to consoling my puppy. My poor baby didn't like all the yelling, and eventually I had to put him down on the floor because he kept squirming and whining. He scampered off and hid underneath the table, blinking at me.

_Why are mother and mother's mate fighting? _His tail drooped as his gaze went from me to Zuko. _I do not like this. We are of the same pack! No fighting!_

Zuko stared at Yoshi for a beat before sighing and moving his gaze back to me. He shook his head (clearly despairing of my lack of sanity) and went to look in the icebox by the sink. But then he jumped back as several flies flew out along with the thick _stink_ of rotten meat. He hastily covered his mouth and nose as he slammed the lid shut again, making a repulsed sound into his sleeve.

I wrinkled my nose and wanted to move on. There were still two other rooms to search in that house—the storage area and the bedroom; but Iroh were still looking around the kitchen/dining room. The former general had managed to find an old cookbook lying open on a shelf next to the old cast-iron stove and took a moment to flip through it. Zuko made an irritated sound and led me out by the arm, not even giving me a say in the matter. Yoshi trotted after us, keeping close to my heels and growling at dust mites in the air.

Meanwhile,_ I_ was growling at _Zuko_.

"Hey!" I cried. "Let go, will you? I can walk on my own…!"

His jaw tightened. "I'm just making sure you don't wander off…unless you're telling me you _want _to get lost in a place like this!"

Well, yeah. But this was a matter of principle.

"Well, you don't have to be so rough," I complained, pulling away and rubbing my arm. I dropped my gaze to the toes of my boots and shivered. "Believe me, I'm not going to go anywhere. I mean…I'm unbelievably pissed at you right now, but…that doesn't mean I want you leaving me in this godforsaken place. Okay?"

Zuko furrowed his brow. "I don't plan on _leaving_ you. If I did, I'd have just left you behind and let the suitors have you. Idiot."

I went still.

"You dumped me," I said slowly, not understanding. "Now you suddenly _care_ about me getting married off to someone else? Yeah, right. You probably just brought me along so I could sniff out Aang for you!"

He made an exasperated sound. "I brought you so that we could work this out, but you're being absolutely impossible right now! Don't you realize that I'm doing this for our sake?"

"For _your_ sake. I don't stand to gain anything by _your_ accomplishment."

"If I get my honor back, we can go back to the Fire Nation together. You wouldn't be wanting for anything ever again!"

"Or," I said through gritted teeth. "You'll end up finding some bored rich girl to play around with! And I'll be right back where I started…alone and pissed off at the entire male population!"

"What?" Zuko cried. "Are you serious? Julie, I don't…you're crazy!"

I laughed without an ounce of humor. "Sure, okay. _I'm_ crazy. You're the one risking our lives when we both know that Aang isn't even _in _this village. You're the one who would throw us all to the wolves just to get what you want!"

He looked infuriated with me. "Don't you _dare_ slander me like that! I would never betray you!" He shook his head, bewildered. "I told you already…capturing the Avatar won't restore my honor if I sink to any means to do it. _You_ taught me that!"

"Fuck honor," I snapped. "This isn't about honor! This is about you saying one thing and doing another! This is about you _saying_ you want to do the right thing and then turning into some stubborn, reckless idiot the moment my back is turned! This is about you _saying_ you care about me and then _dumping _me two seconds later! You have absolutely no integrity at all!"

Zuko made an angry sound under his breath. It sounded like he was growling.

"I don't even know why I bother trying to talk to you when you get like this," he snapped. "You're being difficult on purpose! You're not even _trying_ to understand!"

"Understand what? That you're a lying hypocrite?"

His hands were clenched into fists and I could see smoke started to pour from his nostrils. "Forget it! Just forget I ever said anything! You're so damn troublesome and annoying!"

I felt tears pooling in my eyes, deeply stung but too stubborn to admit it. "If that's the way you want it…then fine!"

"Fine!"

I wheeled around and yelled at him. "FINE!"

We glared at each other for a beat, practically snarling like a couple of angry dogs. Then, without a word, we turned our backs on each other and started searching opposite ends of the room. Seriously, I couldn't wait to get out of this place. It would be a cold day in hell before I ever gave Zuko the time of day again! Bastard! Who did he think he was, anyway?

I focused on my search, taking in details so that I was distracted from the ball of hurt in my chest. I took in every nook and cranny I examined, wishing the ache would go away.

The bedroom was simple, but had been left in a similar state of disorder. I ran my hand along the straw mattress and sighed; something that made Zuko glance up out of the corner of my eye and almost turn in my direction. But then he squared his shoulders and went back to ignoring me.

Everything felt so abandoned and empty. I could feel it deep in my bones. The people who lived here had just up and left everything to rot. It wasn't making me feel any better, that's for sure. I wasn't sure which was more depressing, the state of this room or the state of my love-life.

Don't answer that. I didn't want to know.

Yoshi was becoming increasingly edgy the longer we stayed inside. I don't know what he thought he was trying to scare away with the menacing snarls and the random barks. Zuko and I had just decided (silently since we were still doggedly giving each other the cold shoulder) to ignore it for now. We weren't in any immediate danger, that much was clear.

I felt tired and kind of depressed, and flopped down on the mattress (you know, since it was there and all, I figured why the fuck not?). But something poked into my back, and I shot up into a sitting position.

"What the hell…?" I pulled the blanket away and found a book.

Zuko looked up just as I plucked it off of the bed and carefully opened it. The pages were very old and cracked, and I was almost afraid to touch them. The cover felt fragile as well. Dust literally came flying out, but somehow I managed not to drop the delicate book as I coughed.

"What is it?" he asked, not moving from his spot on the other side of the room. I could tell he was still trying to make a point by distancing himself from me.

I gave him a cold, bland stare. "A book. Obviously."

"Well, what does it say?" he said impatiently. Then he scowled as he remembered something. "Oh, right…I forgot. You're illiterate."

My face flushed. "Hey, screw you! I can totally read this! I just…hey…" I trailed off as I frowned down at the words staring back at me. "I really _can_ read this."

The fuck?

Okay, so the fact that I found something I could actually read was kind of encouraging. Back home I kind of took for granted that I could read and write; I mean, my world was just flooded with information and data so literacy was almost a reflex for me. Suddenly finding myself in a place where I couldn't read anything made me feel stupid and inept.

I lost no time in scanning the pages, not even caring how I could understand the strange letters that certainly wasn't any language I had ever read before (and definitely wasn't English). My fingertips felt alive from turning the pages with a purpose…my pulse leapt and I lost no time in mentally translating what I read.

It was like some kind of cruel joke that the one book I could actually read here was filled cover to cover with gruesome, almost clinical descriptions of ancient rituals for summoning spirits…and I think I saw specks of blood on some of the pages. That should have deterred me, but against my better judgment I kept reading.

I wish I hadn't.

"It's talking about the ancient spirits…" I trailed off and continued to read. My eyes widened and I immediately shoved the book into Zuko's hands. "You know what? It's not important. Just chuck it."

He narrowed his eyes at me, but then opened the book himself and tried to read it. "This isn't a language I learned in the Fire Palace. I do recognize a few of the words, but…the closest I can compare this to is a very, very old dialect of Fire-Tongue." He looked at me again. "You're saying you can read _this_?How?"

I squared my shoulders and started to walk out the door. "Just forget it. It's…just garbage."

It actually wasn't. But I was having trouble shaking the chill out of my blood just from what I had read on human sacrifices. The book was talking about using the spirits of the recently departed to summon spirits into the physical plane…and then I just freaked and didn't want to know anymore. Was it wimpy of me? Sure. I'll admit it.

"Garbage?" Zuko repeated incredulously. "You aren't curious about why we found such a rare manuscript like _this_ in a peasant's hovel?"

"Nope."

"What did it say, then?"

"Boring stuff…about spirits…old legends…typical bullshit. It's just a storybook."

Lies. All lies.

Iroh almost ran into me in the doorway, and I immediately jumped back, letting him enter. I mumbled out a hasty apology that the older man waved off. He looked at Zuko. "Is everything all right in here?" he asked. "I thought I heard yelling before."

And you only decided to investigate now?

"We're fine," Zuko grumbled. "If we were in danger, you'd be seeing fire, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but I was still somewhat concerned when it got quiet," Iroh replied. He gave me an apologetic look. "No offense to either of you, but as long as I hear voices I know things are all right. It's when I _don't _hear anything when I start to become suspicious. You two are very…vocal people."

"Yeah, well _he _started it," I growled, folding my arms and turning away.

I saw a vein jump in Zuko's forehead. "We're not having this conversation again in front of Uncle. Quit acting like a child."

The former general looked from me to his nephew, visibly uncomfortable at the tension between us. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get our attention. "Did you find something, nephew?"

Golden eyes flashed in my direction. "We're still trying to figure that out." He handed the book to the former general, and the older man turned it over in his hands. "Julie found that under the blanket over there."

I shuffled uncomfortably. "It's nothing. Can we go now?"

Iroh had taken the book from Zuko and was turning the pages. His expression became serious and vaguely mystified as his gaze traced over the words staring back at him. Then, he closed it carefully, his expression troubled.

"This is written in a dead language…but one that gave roots to old Fire Tongue, for sure…and maybe even other dialects in the other nations, as well." He frowned. "What is this doing in a place like this?"

There was a noise from outside, the sound of rushing footsteps, and we all gave a start. Actually, Zuko and Iroh looked up, alert to the sudden noise; I had squeaked and bumped into Zuko. He gave me a look.

"Watch it."

I glared back at him. "I _tripped_, asshole." I glanced towards the door. "Maybe Shen-Long and Bo-Fen found something. Let's go see."

I wished they left that creepy book behind, but Iroh had it tucked under his arm. He caught me eying it was we left the room, and he regarded me with raised eyebrows. I averted my gaze and focused instead on what could be waiting outside…though I certainly wasn't about to go out there by myself. I'd let Zuko take the lead, instead.

The moment we stepped outside, my eyes had to adjust to the mid-afternoon sun. We got there in time to see Shen-Long peeking out of his hut.

"Was that you?" he called at us.

Zuko's jaw tightened. "The footsteps? No." He gave him the once-over. "What did you find?"

"Not much. No people, but we found a half-cooked meal on the stove…someone had to have been there a few days ago. They just got up and left in the middle of cooking."

"Maybe they were attacked and took shelter somewhere," I said doubtfully. "Don't they have mines around here…?"

Zuko frowned. I don't think he wanted to digging around in a mine just to get information…and honestly, I couldn't blame him. I mean, how many stories do you hear about cave-ins, anyway? And if one of the people we're chasing happens to be an Earthbender, then forget about it.

"We'll look in the rest of the houses. We might find something that can help us."

I immediately darted away from him and edged over to Shen-Long and latched on to his arm. He gave a mild start and looked down at me in surprise. "Dibs…!"

The soldier raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize I was up for auction."

"You're not Zuko. I'd pay money to be in a group away from him right now."

Zuko clenched his hands into fists. "You're impossible!" he fumed. "You know what? Fine! You want to hang around an ignorant colonial so badly? By all means, don't let _me_ stop you! You two can go off somewhere and be stupid by yourselves…!"

"You might not want to do that," Bo-Fen warned the Fire Prince teasingly. "You leave her alone with Shen and they'll end up eloping."

The scarred teen visibly flinched at the thought, but the words that came out of his mouth were, "Good riddance. Come on, Uncle."

I sucked in my breath. The nerve of that…that…jerkwad!

"At least _Shen-Long_ doesn't keep me on a fucking leash," I snapped at his back. "Good riddance to you, Mr. Overly-Controlling Jerkpants! Careful not to get a wedgie on your way out!"

Zuko snarled under his breath and disappeared into another house. Iroh sent me a questioning look before following him inside…not necessarily stern, but definitely not approving of my behavior either. No doubt he was wondering why I felt the need to constantly provoke his nephew; I knew full well I had started this argument, and I had no intention of ending it any time soon. Just because I had been…_mildly apprehensive_ earlier, that didn't mean I had forgiven him for any of the things he did or said to me before.

It's not like he didn't deserve it. The bastard _dumped_ me.

Right?

"I hate men," I grumbled.

Shen-Long was watching me. "Is everything all right?"

Bo-Fen had wandered over to us, a nonplussed expression on her face. "Honestly, Shen…use your damn head. Do things _look _all right to you?"

He gave her a look. "I wanted to see if Julie wanted to maybe _talk _about it, Bo-Fen."

"I don't."

I was still clinging to his arm like a child. I really hated how everyone was bigger than me. Hell, I had a hard enough time getting people to take me seriously without the height issue. And even though I had been training my butt off, the newly-developing muscles didn't make me look any less like…well…a little girl playing soldier.

I huffed into his sleeve. Shit, I was only as tall as his shoulder. He was even taller than Zuko.

"I don't like standing out here in the open," I told the siblings. "Let's go look in that house next…okay?"

Bo-Fen gave me an appraising look. "It's not like you can't fend for yourself. You're not completely useless in combat anymore, you know."

Which, you know, for her was actually a compliment.

However, we all agreed that more searching had to be done, if only to keep ourselves from standing around like sitting ducks. I just had the creepiest feeling like someone was watching us while we were outside, and I don't think I was the only one, either. We worked our way through a few more houses in the next twenty minutes, and I only occasionally caught glances of Zuko and Iroh through the windows of the houses across the street.

I didn't pay them any mind.

Shen-Long patiently let me tow him around like a dog on a leash and even let me boss him around a little. Just because I knew he would listen to me, I made him get things for me off of shelves so I could "investigate" them; but I quickly got bored of this and fell into a sulky silence. It wasn't like I didn't want to help out myself or anything, but Shen-Long wouldn't let me touch anything.

"The Winter Solstice," he reminded me. "Anything could be dangerous for you here…especially if the Brotherhood were camped out here."

I scowled. "Quit trying to take care of me. It's bad enough that Jee does it."

"Quit acting so childish, and maybe we won't have to babysit you, hon'," Bo-Fen replied calmly. She wasn't ruffled by my behavior in the least. If anything, she found it amusing. "You know, maybe if you'd grow up a little, you wouldn't be gettin' in so many fights with the Prince."

Flummoxed, I started to argue. "He was the one who went and _dumped_ me! It's _his _fault!" And then I turned a bright shade of red because I hadn't wanted to actually admit that to anyone.

Shen-Long looked at me with renewed interest. "You two broke up? Why?"

I bit my lip, trying not to let on how badly my feelings had been hurt. "I…I dunno…and anyway, it doesn't matter. It's not like I actually _liked_ him. I was just…just…bored. That's all."

The two were silent as they looked at me. Bo-Fen whistled to herself, nice and low. "Damn. And I thought no one lied worse than Mr. Cries-During-Sex over here," she said, gesturing at her brother.

The fuck?

Shen-Long went crimson. "B-Bo-Fen…! D-don't go saying things like that! You'll give Julie the wrong idea!"

"Oh? So you _don't _cry during sex? Because that's not what that hooker told me."

I found this to be a nice distraction from my own romantic problems, though Ayla wasn't too happy to hear about the hooker. I could feel her writhing in displeasure inside of me, but it had traces of despair, too. Clearly she was starting to realize the limitations of her feelings for Shen-Long.

"That prostitute was just asking for directions to the Boar's Head Tavern," he muttered quickly, shooting me furtive looks as I started grinning at him. "And…and I wasn't crying! I was twelve! And I'm pretty sure that one was a drag queen! I was reasonably distressed!"

I let out a laugh. "You got approached by a male hooker when you were a kid? That's fucking hilarious."

"She…he…whatever! They wanted directions! That's it!"

"That's not what you told mom when you ran home _crying_ about the scary man-lady offering you a nice lollipop straight from the candy store…!"

My eyes went wide. "Oh, my God! Seriously?"

Shen-Long glared at Bo-Fen. "Are you done?"

"Sure am. I still have to humiliate Julie while I'm here, don't I?"

Oh, fuck.

But to my relief (and ill fortune), Bo-Fen never got the chance to grill me on the details of my break-up with Zuko; even though technically we were only really "together" for all of ten seconds. One minute we were all lingering on the doorstep before moving on to the next house, the next I saw Bo-Fen tense up as she saw something behind me and Shen-Long. She drew her sword just as Shen-Long realized there had been people outside waiting for us to emerge.

Before either of them could do anything, though, I felt a blade touch the back of my -Long saw that I was in danger and _moved_. But as fast as he lunged towards me, the faster the stranger grabbed me roughly by the hair and dragged me backwards.

I got a cold feeling as the knife moved to rest lethally against my jugular.

_Oh…my fucking God…!_

"No one move," a man ordered gruffly. "Or I cut the little girl's neck."

I went very still. I sensed other gruff cut-throats coming out of their hiding places, drawing weapons or taking bending stances as they eyed Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. Not that I wasn't kind of _freaked_ before, but realizing how badly we were outnumbered was making me panic just a little bit. In any case, I definitely wasn't thinking about the words that were stumbling past my cold lips.

"H-hey…" I stammered. "I totally vote for you _not _slicing my throat open…"

Yes, I know. Pretty stupid suggestion, right? Like any of them gave two shits about what I wanted.

But no one else was willing to place a vote one way or another. You could hear a pin drop it was so quiet. Then, the silence was broken by the sound of my eelhound snarling under his breath. It was a low threatening growl; my gaze flickered to Yoshi as he got up on his haunches and his special dorsal fin emerged from his back.

"Call off your animal," the guy snapped.

I swallowed heavily. Like I had any say in the matter.

"Yoshi," I said. "Quiet down. Good dog…"

The young reptile looked confused and whimpered. Thankfully, he didn't do anything to provoke them further…because I really wasn't in the mood to get my throat cut. I also didn't want to take the chance of something happening to my puppy.

Whatever. I was a softie. Sue me.

I was becoming more and more aware of how bad the man smelled, how dirty his fingers were curled around the knife. I felt the urge to squirm when I thought of his other hand buried in my scalp. I squeezed my eyes shut (well, one of them, anyway, since the other one was still bandaged up) and tried to control my breathing.

All I could think about was the time Dad had ripped out a chunk of my hair once during summer vacation. I don't even remember why he had done it. It didn't matter, anyway. My scalp had never really healed right after that…and if you run your fingers along the top of my head, you can feel how uneven the skin is. I mean, sure, the hair grew back (I'm not sure how I'd have been able to show my face at school if it hadn't), but…well, I don't like people pawing at it.

I wanted very badly to slam my foot into the guy's crotch and run away. But, again, there was a knife kissing my throat, and I didn't want it to slip. Shit, this was happening to me a lot, wasn't it?

"Put down your sword," he barked at Bo-Fen. I saw her eye him in disgust before doing what he said. He nodded back at the others. "Okay…they're unarmed. Come and get them."

Shit. No, I did NOT want to be their freaking hostage! I had to get free somehow! Or better yet, I had to make sure my friends didn't do anything _stupid_ like hand themselves over trying to protect me.

"Run!" I cried, not really able to project my voice with the knife pressing into my neck (though not cutting the skin just yet). "G-get out of here…! I'll be…" I gasped as I felt the blade making a light cut, effectively shutting me up with a yelp.

That made the siblings freeze up like the bottom-most circle of hell.

"Hey, ease up on the blade!" Bo-Fen snapped. "She's bleeding!"

My head swam. I didn't _want _to bleed. I didn't _want _to be in danger like this. Where the hell was Zuko? Didn't he realize we were in trouble? I found myself starting to blink back tears, feeling scared and angry at my own weakness. I wanted Zuko because I wasn't strong enough to protect myself.

I hated this small, worthless body more than anything. I hated being a skinny teenage girl and wished that I had a larger form…hulking muscles and sharp fangs to tear through my enemies. Hell, I'd even let myself get possessed by the freaking Unagi again if it meant certain vindication.

"She'll live," the man growled next to my ear. "…which is more than I can say for you Fire Nation scum. Don't you know your kind isn't welcome around these parts?"

Shen-Long narrowed his eyes. "You talk as if you live in this village…but judging from the wear and tear in your clothing, I'd have to say you guys are nothing more than a pack of wandering, murderous thieves. What, did you see the place abandoned and decide to loot a few houses?"

"Hey, you're one to talk. Besides, even we have standards."

"Yeah," said another one of the knife-guy's cronies. "We ain't Fire Nation. Get it?"

I felt my breathing hitch. _Zuko…Zuko, please…_

My prayers were answered as I heard a shout from one of the houses across the way. We had been spotted by someone inside, and that someone sounded a lot like a very pissed off Firebending prince. My heart was hammering in my chest, elated and terrified at the same time.

But Zuko didn't get there in time. Something else happened first.

I felt it before I saw it. It was a feeling that made my ears start to ring, as though my ears were somehow picking up that shrill sound that only dogs could hear. My eyes fluttered closed and I got the overwhelming sensation of a crowd pressing down on me, the weight of so many spirits pushing the air out of my lungs. I could hear muttering from several voices that only I seemed to hear, words that made no sense to me in tones that could only make me feel uneasy and disturbed.

I went slack in the man's arms as the pressure became too much for me. That was when I heard a girl speak up from the vortex in my mind.

"Get out of our town."

My eyes opened, and I realized I was actually hearing the voice. It wasn't all in my head after all. I could suddenly see several people, villagers by the looks of them, coming out of wherever they had been hiding and moving into the town square with the rest of us. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen looked downright unnerved, but that was nothing compared to reaction of the thugs that had ambushed us.

Yoshi took one look at the villagers and started barking his head off.

"What the...?!" one of the cut-throats muttered. "But…this town was abandoned. There weren't any people here when we found it yesterday!"

There was a girl around twelve years old at the head of the group. She was staring down the man holding me in his savage grip, and did not seem at all concerned by Shen-Long or Bo-Fen…or even Zuko and Iroh as they came running out of the house they had been searching. Zuko was too impatient to waste time with pleasantries as he shoved his way through the crowd of villagers to reach me. But then he saw the knife at my throat and stopped dead in his tracks.

His eyes were wide as they locked with mine. "I can't leave you alone for five minutes!"

Zuko's exclamation went ignored by the townsfolk as they tightened their ring around the thugs. I felt the man digging his knife a little deeper out of desperation, and I let out a whimper of pain and fear. I could feel a thin bead of warm liquid trickle down my neck and I had a sickening feeling it was blood. It wasn't that much (at most it was just a cut in the skin), but it was enough to make my head swim.

"Wait a minute," Zuko snapped at the villagers. "He'll kill her! Just stop! All of you!"

The little girl at the head of the fray turned her head and regarded him with an apathetic stare.

"You people don't belong here," she said. Then she looked back at the thugs. "You _all_ need to leave…except for you," she added, pointing directly at me. "She stays. Alive."

The thug with the knife sneered. "Huh…I ain't afraid of a little brat and a village of fuckin' idiots."

The girl shook her head. "We outnumber you…and that girl in your arms, don't you know who she is?" She smiled. "She's more dangerous than any of you. You'd better let her go before she decides to show you her real power."

Who, me?

"Um, kid," I said in avoice strained by unshed tears and the pressing weight of my rising anxiety. "H-how about you don't provoke the mentally unstable man with the knife…'kay?"

The girl just blinked. "He can't hurt you. None of them can. We won't let them."

"Yeah?" the man spat. "What're you going to do?"

The creepy child just smiled. Then her eyes began to glow.

* * *

The refugees made slow progress through the mountain region, in part to accommodate the oldest and youngest members of their ragtag group. The elderly were having trouble navigating the hilly turf and had to be especially careful not to stumble. Some of the children were too young to understand why they were leaving, and there were more than a few tantrums in the beginning. After a while, though, they learned to suck it up and keep moving.

They certainly couldn't stay where they had been. It was a cursed place since the Avatar came and went. It was as though the spirits only tolerated them while the master of four elements was in their midst; and the moment he left with his Water Tribe companions, that was when _they_ showed up.

Samu felt himself shudder at the memory. It was like a dark cloud had descended on the mountains the day spirits arrived. And only a fool would think it was a coincidence that they were drawn to the place where countless public burnings had been held mere days ago. Frankly, the child Avatar and his friends were lucky to leave town when they did.

If only he knew what became of his sister. Lin had just disappeared the night Aang left. After frantically questioning his neighbors, he found out from old man Peng that the girl had taken her ostrich-pony Oatmeal to graze that night…but when morning came, both pony and rider were missing.

Some of the more cynical folks grumbled that the twelve-year-old had up and left, deciding that anywhere was better than their cursed domain. Or perhaps she'd been dragged into the Spirit World. However, they searched the woods and found absolutely nothing. And before they could take their search any further, the spirits came out and…well…it was best not to think about what happened to the people who were caught unawares by the vengeful ghosts. All that was heard of them again was the sound of their voices screaming and screaming…and then suddenly cutting off in an eerie silence.

Samu didn't want to leave with the rest of the villagers; he wanted to find his sister. But the compassionate side of him won out in the end. These people would only meet with a disastrous end if there wasn't some kind of doctor or healer among them, and given the current morale of his friends and neighbors it wouldn't take much to wipe them out.

He could only hope that Lin was still out there, alive. He prayed to whatever spirits that were left that didn't want to spit on their wretched heads that she had just run away from home. If that was the case he could find her and protect her, just like he always had.

It was only until they reached Omashu. Then the villagers could make preparations to make the rest of the trip to Ba-Sing-Se. Samu would bring them as far as Omashu before turning back and doing a more thorough search on his own.

_Lin…please, wherever you are…please be all right._

He tried to picture her face in his mind before realizing with a horrified start that he had no idea what she looked like. But that couldn't have been true. It must have just been the stress. His mind was just fumbling and drawing blanks because of stress.

How could he not remember his own sister?

_Lin…I'll find you. I will. I promise._

* * *

The little girl smiled cruelly as the man holding me suddenly went very still. His arms relaxed without rhyme or reason and I was able to slip out of the noose, collapsing at his feet. My legs felt wobbly and couldn't support me. I sat there and held my hands against my throat, feeling stunned, dizzy, and very confused.

The man was staring into the girl's eyes, as if he was in a trance. The other thugs were locked in gazes with the other villagers, motionless and silent. Weapons fell from slack fingers and hit the ground sporadically.

Zuko pushed his way forward and knocked the leader back, clearly worried that he'd come out of his stupor any second now and grab me again. But he didn't even try to stop himself from falling. He was so out of it that he hit the ground at an awkward angle and just lay there, not blinking. Zuko stared at him and his cronies before going over to them and knocking them all out, one by one. They didn't resist.

"Go get some rope from the saddle-bags," he said to Bo-Fen. "Quickly."

She nodded and did as he asked. Shen-Long was already kneeling beside me, trying to coax me into showing him my wound. I felt him trying to pry my hands away.

"Let me see it."

I shook my head back and forth, unable to make a sound. What if I was bleeding to death? What if they had sliced through my vocal chords? I was too frightened to find out.

"Julie, it's okay, now. I won't…you know I won't hurt you."

I bit my lip and gave in. Shen-Long took my hands and slowly pulled them away from my neck. I saw his expression tighten in anger as he let go of my wrists and tentatively pressed his fingers into the cut. I winced, but it didn't hurt that much. Maybe I wasn't going to die after all.

"It's not a very deep cut," he said. "I think it just looks worse than it actually is. If we get this bandaged up quickly, it probably won't even scar."

I nodded slowly and I heard him sigh in relief. Then, Yoshi suddenly scampered over and climbed into my lap, doing the typical puppy thing. He whined and tried to lick my face and sniffled at the gash in my neck. I quickly hushed him and pushed him off. "Down boy," I whispered.

Zuko was suddenly towering over us, his face unreadable. "Go help Bo-Fen tie them up. We'll figure out what to do with them later."

Shen-Long stared at him for a moment. "Julie needs—"

"I know. I can take care of it. Don't make me tell you again."

The soldier tensed and moved to stand. I tried to stop him from going, but he untangled himself from me and shook his head no. Before I could protest he was getting up and leaving me alone with Zuko—fucking Zuko! Dammit, he was the last person I wanted to talk to right now!

Didn't he realize I was still angry at him? Why was he even bothering?

Zuko took the bandages that Bo-Fen had handed him (she didn't need to be told to fetch them from the saddle-bags along with the rope) and knelt down beside me. I started scooting away from him, clutching my throat and glaring at him.

"Don't start with me," he said in a warning tone of voice. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again, so don't make things worse for yourself."

I sniffled. "Leave me alone…!"

"Do you want that to get infected? Then by all means, keep being difficult. I'm only trying to help."

I lowered my gaze and tried to keep my voice steady. "Why would you do that? I thought I was troublesome and annoying. Do you want me to keep being a burden on you? Then by all means, keep interfering. I don't _need _your help."

Zuko lifted my chin and probably noticed the tears that were starting to show in my eyes (fan-freaking-tastic). "I didn't mean that. You just…make me irrational sometimes. I shouldn't have left you all by yourself."

"I wasn't alone! I had Shen-Long and Bo-Fen!"

"And look at what a good job they did at protecting you," he said sarcastically. He didn't wait for my permission to push my hands away and start dabbing a healing salve against my cut. I jerked away from him, but he caught me with one hand and held me still. "I know it stings, but just sit still. I'm almost done."

I grimaced and sniffled again. "I don't _want _you to be nice to me if you're just going to be a jerk again later. And I…I'm still mad at you! You…you see why I don't want to be here? This place is a fucking nightmare!"

Zuko just met my gaze. "Well, lucky you. We found some villagers. We can leave as soon as we finish questioning them. Okay?"

I huffed. "W-whatever…just as long as no one pulls a knife on me again! Next time I'll go ninja on their sorry asses! I was just going easy on them, that's all!"

"Sure, you were."

None of the villagers spoke or moved as we had restrained the thugs and gotten my wounds treated. They just hovered, watching us with these cold expressions; their eyes had stopped glowing by now, so it was safe to look at them again. I had a bad feeling, though, and felt increasingly uncomfortable as the stares became pointed at me.

"Zuko…" I said, grabbing on to him and edging closer.

He knew. "It's fine. I won't let anything happen."

God, why was I such a wuss? I knew I was practically screaming damsel in distress and I was going to regret it later. But seriously, what could I do against these creepy, supernatural denizens of this dead village? They obviously weren't normal people.

Zuko got to his feet and pulled me up with him, keeping me steady. He handed me over to his uncle (what was I, a freaking poodle on a cushion?) before turning to face the villagers. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen had finished tying up the thugs and binding them to the stake…not to be creepy, but because it was just the most convenient place to hold them. Now that they were done with their unpleasant chore, they came back and took protective stances around us.

"We're looking for the Avatar," Zuko said. "We know he was here."

The little girl who had led the mob was the one who addressed him. I guess she was the leader, even though there were people bigger and older than she was.

"He was. And then he left. He and his friends drove away the humans responsible for the destruction of this village…and then he left. All of this happened about five days ago."

"Do you know where they went?"

The girl frowned. "I see no reason why we should tell you, Prince Zuko. Your people are no friends of ours. They are partly responsible for the unspeakable things that took place here…though they became victims too, in the end. The current imbalance of the world, the same imbalance that prevents us from resting…the Fire Nation was the catalyst for it."

Catalyst? That was a big word for a child to be using.

"When you say _rest_," said Shen-Long slowly. "Are you trying to say that you…can't sleep?"

I reached a sudden epiphany. "Wait a minute," I said, making every pair of eyes in the town square hone in on me. "You people…you're not…alive, are you?"

The girl smiled bitterly. "It depends on what you call _alive_." She glanced back at Zuko, regarding him with spiteful eyes that were full of disdain. "It was unfortunate…had the Avatar stayed a while longer, he might have been able to help us. But I suppose it is better that he left before his enemies could capture him. Anyway, _she _is here now. It makes no difference."

And then she looked me dead in the eyes. Everyone in our group gave me an unnerved look before turning back to the villagers, who we realized outnumbered us and had us surrounded.

"What do you want with Julie?"

The child sighed. "Isn't it obvious? She's an Energybender. She can put our Spirits to rest…by performing the ritual outlined in that book you found," she added, glancing at Iroh. "If she refuses, then we'll have no choice but to let you meet the same fate as those men who had the audacity to plunder our resting places."

She pointed at the stake, which suddenly erupted into flames.

"Stop it!" I cried. "Hey, no, don't!"

It wasn't a normal fire. It swept over the men in an instant and consumed them in a matter of seconds. Not once did they scream or yell for help. The light was so bright that we all had to shield our eyes. The flames had turned white, but the air felt unspeakably cold. And when the light had finally dimmed, there wasn't a trace of any of our attackers anywhere.

We were all shaken by the display.

"They weren't burned," said Iroh, who looked very displeased by what had just happened. "You simply pulled them into the Spirit World…didn't you?"

The girl met his gaze. "It's a simple matter what with the solstice approaching. Besides, the Energybender who brought his men here, he may have permanently distorted the fabric of the veil between the mortal world and the Spirit World…with his sacrifices." Her eyes bored into me. "All in your name."

I swallowed. "M-me…?" I shook my head, not wanting to believe it. "That can't be…all of you can't have been killed by the Brotherhood…not _all _of you…!"

"Actually, there are those among us who were merely disturbed when the guardian spirit of these mountains left us. He has stopped protecting our Spirits, and so we wander this place, unable to sleep…unable to rest."

Something clicked in my mind. "Baihu!"

Iroh looked at me. "One of the four great spirits…one that presides over the western corner of the Spirit World." His eyes widened. "That was the spirit that confronted us the other day?"

Huh. I guess Baihu was hot shit in the Spirit World.

"West?" said Zuko incredulously. "But this is the eastern Earth Kingdom…that doesn't make any sense."

I expected Iroh to explain, but to my surprise it was Bo-Fen who went and corrected him. "It's different in the Spirit World, your Highness. The mortal world and the Spirit World are like reflections of one another…so our East is West in the Spirit World…and our Earth is considered to be their sky."

"That's…really fucking weird…" I said to myself. Everyone looked at me. "What? It's true! It sounds completely topsy-turvy there."

"It is," Iroh assured me. "But it's not necessarily a bad place…though I wouldn't advise the living to go wandering there. It's not safe for humans."

Tell me about it. I remembered from watching the show that some of the creepiest shit came straight out of the Spirit World. I mean, there was Hei Bai, the laser-firing panda of DEATH…the fucking knowledge spirit that went around burying people in its library and looked like a deformed owl (of DEATH)…the giant motherfucking centipede that went around collecting faces…

See? Creepy shit.

"I'm out," I said immediately. "I don't want anything to do with spirits. Besides, that's more in Aang's job description, not mine. Nope. Not doing it."

The girl frowned. "Are you going to make us to coerce you?"

I looked up and saw that they suddenly had their death-glowy faces on. This made me rather concerned for our immediate welfare, and I decided that maybe I was being a little too hasty in saying no. I mean, who was I to turn down a person…um…people…erm…_dead _people in need?

"Did I say I was out?" I quickly amended, my voice cracking a little. "Um…what I _meant _to say was that…um…sure. I'll be glad to put you mo'fo's to rest. Sounds like…fun?"

Everyone was looking at me like I was insane, but the girl had an almost pleasant smile on her face.

"Wonderful," she chirped. She walked over to me and held out her hand. "I'm quite eager to work with you, Julie."

Yeah, right. Spirits. Psychopaths, every last one of them.

"You too," I lied through my teeth, letting her cold touch permeate my skin as I shook her hand.

_Oh, God, this is the creepiest feeling ever! _I felt a wave of nausea roll over me, much like I had felt back at the mass grave I had accidentally touched (though thankfully I didn't spiral into a mental chasm this time). But I decided to make nice in an attempt to mollify the creepy death child and to distract _me_ from the fact that she was probably dead. I say probably because she was very solid, though very cold…a troubling sign.

"Um…what am I supposed to call you, anyway?" I asked. "Do you have a name?"

The girl's eyes glittered as she beamed up at me. "You can call me…Lin."

* * *

**A/N: Hey, guys. Presenting the new Happy Endings Chapter Eighty-Four Drinking Game! Every time someone uses the word "creepy," take a sip!**

**I think I was trying too hard to paint the morbid picture of the dead village. But I don't think I was over embellishing for the sake of this chapter. I was already planning on Zuko and co. stumbling on the mass graves several chapters ago (remember when the Gaang first enter the village and finds those two guys digging?). I mean, something like that is not only disturbing, but sad as well. Imagine having your body thrown in a pit to rot, with no grave stone to identify you from the other people you were buried with.**

**It actually makes me feel a little sick to my stomach, so I am changing the subject now.**

**Zuko and Julie are obviously having some issues in this chapter. It took me a while to write them out in a way I thought was plausible to the situation (they are alone in a creepy, abandoned village, yet there is some hurt feelings between them because of Zuko's decision to end things). Circumstances like those create a lot of tension, and it's only natural that an argument would break out…inevitable, really.**

**I hope the argument wasn't too one-sided. I wanted it to seem like both Julie and Zuko have valid reasons of being frustrated with each other. I hate those contrived arguments you see in some fanfics where one person is clearly painted out to be "the bad guy." In most fights, both parties strongly feel that they are in the right, and there isn't one person twirling his (or her) metaphorical mustache a la The Dark Claw from the Perils of Penelope Pitstop.**

**Awww…I just realized. This is their first official "fight." Isn't that cute? :D**

**Julie is upset because (for starters) she feels like Zuko rejected her. She is feeling insecure about the future, especially one where Zuko finds himself in a position of power and luxury; and can't picture him staying with her when he could have almost anyone he wants. She also goes on a brief tangent about cup sizes, but that just ties into those deep-rooted feelings of self-doubt. And finally, she feels slighted when he doesn't take her fears seriously and insists on searching the village anyway. Such a risky endeavor is something that offends her after what she had to go through to save his life a few days ago.**

_**Zuko**_** is upset because he genuinely feels like he is doing the right thing. He knows that Julie is upset for breaking things off, but believes that the only way he could be with her without damaging her reputation is by restoring his honor. So, in a way, he is even more determined to capture Aang now than he was before; and he is extremely frustrated that Julie won't listen to his reasons for staying in the village. Not only that, but her accusations towards his sense of character (i.e. that he is a lying hypocrite) deeply anger him. He doesn't think Julie is being fair, especially since she won't give him a chance to prove himself to her. Nor does she seem to have any regard for his feelings or his plans for the future.**

**And let's face it, if someone else had told Zuko to take his honor and shove it, it wouldn't take him very long to set them on fire.**

**As for the village itself, the surviving inhabitants fled the area after Aang and co. left town. The reason is because within a matter of hours, the restless spirits of the people they killed (as well as some people who were buried in the mountains, since the spirit that watches over their graves suddenly stopped doing his job) descended upon them with a vengeance. So they are now refugees who will attempt to take temporary shelter in Omashu before continuing on to Ba-Sing-Se. Among them is Samu, the guy who tried to help Aang escape in the earlier chapters (and yes, for those of you who forgot, he is an OC). And he's really upset because he can't find his little sister, Lin (the girl who helped Katara and Sokka smuggle the wounded benders out of town…and…sigh…another OC). Even worse, he's having trouble remembering what she looks like. Oh, noes!**

**Isn't it strange that Lin goes missing, and then the spirits show up? Isn't it odd that Samu is losing his memories of her? (Evil grin) And just who is the creepy girl who coerces Julie into helping the spirits trapped in the town? (taps a finger on chin) Hmmm…what a coincidence.**_**Her **_**name is Lin, too. That's kind of weird, huh?**

**So, what do you guys think is going on, here? Is the girl dead? Is it the same Lin? And what happened to Samu's little sister? Any guesses? Any at all?**

**Okay, I've rambled long enough. We'll see some Team Avatar next chapter (since we all need to know if Haru can find the prison for the Gaang), but Julie will still make her appearance for a few scenes since I obviously can't leave this plot bunny to rest. I want to keep the mystery fresh in the minds of the readers, you know?**

**Nuff said. REVIEW!**


	92. Agoraphobia

**A/N: So, it turns out I don't officially have a life until October rolls around. Then, apparently, I don't get a single moment to really breathe because they're all these harvest-seasonal events…and festivals…and Halloween parties and haunted houses to go to. **

**This is the suckiest reason I could possibly give you for not updating sooner. Too bad it's the truth. Do you know how distracting **_**pumpkins**_** are? Not because of my own tastes, but because **_**Jessie**_** is an absolute fanatic for everything pumpkin. I forced her to come visit me during the Columbus Day festival weekend, and we didn't get much done besides emptying our wallets and eating deep-fried snickers from those carnival-food stands.**

**Oh, by the way, guys…I think I'm broke. Heh…yeah. I suck with money.**

**Julie: **"It's scary that _you're_ the one who controls my fate. Seriously, how do you _function_?"

**Magic. And jelly beans. They come in different colors and are available in plot-solving varieties. Coming to a fictional store near you.**

**Julie: **"…No comment. Zu, you do the summary today."

**Zuko: **"Wait, what? I can't do a summary! _You're_ the narrator, you should be the one to do i—"

_LAST TIME on Happy Endings!_

**Zuko: **"Wait, now? Crap! Um…so…what do I say to these people? Who am I even talking to?"

**Julie: **"Hurry up. We only have a certain amount of page space for these things, and if you fuck it up, Distant-Moon is going to replace you with Dev Patel. From that horrible excuse of a live-action film. The one you don't know about because that would be breaking the fourth wall."

**Zuko: **"Oh, you mean the movie directed my M. Night Schamulan?"

**Julie: **"…yes. That one."

**Zuko: **"You know, it had the potential to be a good movie. I mean, you can't blame the actors if the director can't even pronounce the Avatar's name right, right?"

**Julie: **"Tick. Tock."

**Zuko: **"SO, ANYWAY! Um…after arriving in Jade Valley Village, we split up into two teams to search the abandoned houses to find out what happened to all of the people who used to live there…because they were empty…and…um…did I mention the band of thieves that tried to kill Julie?"

**Julie: **"You're fucking it up, Zuko. No one wants to hear about people trying to kill me."

**Zuko: **(narrowing eyes) "Why? Because it's an almost _daily _occurrence with you?"

**Julie: **"Oh, screw you. Anyway, after that we were sort of rescued by these angry dead people that want to find peace. It turns out the Brotherhood went and fucked with their graves and the shrine of the Spirit that protects the dead people sleeping in the mountains…so now I have to find out how to put them back to sleep, or they're kind of going to kill us."

**Zuko: **"_Kind of?_"

**Julie: **"MEANWHILE, Haru is leading Aang and the others to the Fire Nation prison to rescue the Earthbenders. But I don't know this yet, so I probably won't remember saying this later. It's a weird time-space-paradoxical thingy."

**Zuko: **"Wait, WHAT? The Avatar is doing WHAT? WHERE?!"

**Julie: **"Excuse me?"

**Zuko: **"You just said that the Avatar and his friends were breaking into a prison somewhere…isn't that what you just said? I know you said it! I heard you!"

**Julie: **(shoots him strange look) "Um…I think you've been drinking a little too much of General Iroh's Special tea…the one he can only buy from vendors in the red lamp district."

**Zuko: **"BUT YOU JUST SAID—"

* * *

**NOTE: Just want to warn you guys that in spite of the lighthearted author's note, the tone of this chapter (especially Julie's narrative mid-way through) is very heavy. Just a warning, there is implied non-con, but nothing graphic or over-the-top. It's dealt with in the past tense. Still, just thought you guys should know.**

**Also, a warning for language and shitty ex-boyfriends. Read at your own discretion.**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Five: Agoraphobia**

During the night, anything could happen; things that are only possible under the cover of darkness. Great things…terrible things…all of these things happen where no stars dared to shine their inquisitive light. The deep shadows prove themselves to be fickle allies, providing cover and blindness to friend and foe respectively. And yet there is a sort of solace that could be found in it, in the night, a certain peace that comes with not knowing what lies ahead of you.

The night is a mystery. And just so you know, there is a valid reason why people fear the unknown. It's not just a sign of narrow-mindedness, to hate what you cannot understand; it is a deep-rooted survival instinct that humanity isn't quite ready to let go of. They say what you don't know can't hurt you, but most of the time it _can_. Quite frequently it _does_.

I'm only telling you this because I am a light sleeper, for starters. I would lay up some nights just curled up in my thin blanket and listening; just listening to the heavy footsteps, to the sounds of drawers opening and closing, to the clinking of beer cans missing the garbage…to the sound of glass breaking and the heavy breathing of my old man coming to wake me. I knew better than anyone what could happen at night, while you're sleeping and vulnerable…and usually alone. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to close my eyes unless I had shut myself in my closet and locked the door.

The thing was, I wasn't the only person in our group who couldn't fully sleep at night.

Zuko didn't realize I was watching him, but I noticed the look in his eyes and the tightening of his jaw as the sky turned red. Night was coming, and the look on his face told me that he also has had to rely on the shadows to protect himself; that he had seen things happen at night that most people shouldn't. Now, with danger surrounding us, the memories of those things came easier. The possibilities became painstakingly clear in his mind.

I know. I could tell. Trust me when I say that.

The fact that I saw this knowledge in Zuko's eyes shouldn't have surprised me, though; but it did. I know he doesn't live the easiest life on the planet, and with his royal bloodline to the most hated (and powerful) nation on the face of the planet, there were plenty of people who would be more than happy to see him dead. I also know that Zuko wasn't _born_ a fucking Blue Spirit. Ninjas are assassins, and they're made; never born.

Still, though. I was surprised. Deep down I only ever saw Zuko as this massive (inconveniently attractive) dork with anger-management issues who could breathe fire. I didn't even see him as a prince as much as I did a stubborn idiot brave (or stupid enough) to stand up for his ideals. Looking at his shadow made me pause, made me wonder if I really knew Zuko as well as I thought I did.

I was contemplating all of this when he suddenly glanced away from the window and into my eyes. Zuko caught the unguarded expression on my face, the dread that I couldn't smother quickly enough.

"Did you find anything?"

I was supposed to be finding that ritual in the book; the one that was supposed to put those angry spirits to rest. Only it was getting really hard to concentrate on what I was reading, especially with him staring at me like that. My mouth was dry. Not willing to speak, I just shook my head no.

Zuko growled something under his breath, but I doubt it was actually words. It sounded more like an angry grunt.

"Nephew," Iroh spoke up from the kitchen as he washed out the tea kettle he had used only an hour ago (calming chamomile, in case you were wondering, to help with our nerves). "Julie looks tired. Perhaps she should rest for now. We can pick up in the morning."

I shook my head again, feeling instantly guilty for getting distracted (I mean, it was kind of serious; if I fucked this up somehow, we'd all end up dead…or worse). "M'fine. I can keep looking. I'm almost done with this chapter."

"Well, finish it," Zuko replied in a bitingly short tone of voice, patience sapped away like the nutrients in the dead soil under our feet. "Finish it and go rest."

I stared at him. "The sooner I do this, the sooner we can leave. Isn't that what you want?"

"You think I want you collapsing out of exhaustion? Besides, Uncle's right. You can't be pushing yourself after what happened to your…I mean…" he breathed out a sigh and turned away from me. "…until your eye heals."

Yes, I still had the bandages on my eye. But they had been mussed up in the scuffle with those bandits and quite frankly, I wished I could rip them off and chuck them. At the very least I wanted to change them. Shen-Long had tried to make do with the bandages we had, but it wasn't very well done. He wasn't a healer. He was wary about causing me any discomfort at all, so the gauze was a bit loose.

"But…"

"Don't argue with me. We need you to be ready for anything tomorrow, so I want you to sleep."

"I…I don't want to…"

Zuko caught my gaze again and saw the anxiety. "We all agreed to take turns keeping watch. In case the spirits decide that we…aren't going to be of any use to them, or if they just decide to kill us…at least we'll be ready."

I flushed and stared at the pages, where the strange and familiar letters were starting to blur under my gaze. Surprisingly, it was Bo-Fen who took Zuko's side.

"Hon'," she said in her usual no-nonsense tone. "We don't have time or the energy to wheedle you into getting some shut-eye. Spirits know I want to myself, but I volunteered to take the first watch. You won't be alone, so quit your bitching and go…to…bed."

I tried to ignore her. I really did.

"We could always do this the hard way," she added. "One good clock across the skull and you'll be out like a light."

"Like you can risk giving me brain damage at a time like this," I shot back. Then I went back to reading.

She thought for a moment. Then her eyes glistened as an idea spawned in her devious, _evil_ mind.

"Hey, Your Highness," said Bo-Fen conversationally. "Did I ever tell you the time I caught Julie saying your name in her sleep?" My eyes popped open in shock as Zuko turned to her in poorly-masked curiosity and confusion. "She said a lot of other _interesting_ things, too…mostly about getting you alone in a secluded dungeon cell, and how she wants you to handcuff her to the wall and—"

I slammed the book shut before she could finish. "I'M GOING TO BED NOW."

She smirked. "There, now. Was that so hard?"

"Fuck you, Bo-Fen."

Zuko blinked at us both, a bit confused. He turned to me and frowned at my horrified expression; seriously, I could have _died_ from the humiliation alone. He acted puzzled at my reaction, but come on. This was _Zuko_. He wasn't _stupid. _I knew that deep down he knew what Bo-Fen was getting at and was _judging_ me. Uggh! This was why I didn't want the idiot to know how I felt about him!

Dammit! He has an unfair advantage! What dirt did _I _have on _Zuko_? None!

"Don't take it the wrong way," I muttered as I passed him out the door. He followed me with his eyes, bewildered as I slunk towards the door as indifferently as I could. "Like I'd ever dream about _you_."

There was a pause.

"Um…fine, then…" he said, confused. On second thought, maybe he didn't have any idea what was going on.

"Pleasant dreams," Bo-Fen added. Beyotch!

I was going to kill her one day, I really would…but I was too sleepy to form the claws with my fingers to scratch out her eyes. Whatever. At least I had some additional motivation to actually close my eyes and…well…rest. Maybe not sleep, but to rest my eyes a bit would be a godsend.

* * *

There was another reason why I was getting so philosophical about the night. Right now, while I was flipping through a dusty, older-than-dirt-on-the-freckle-of-Father-Time's-hairy-backside book with stale, crumbling pages…something very important was happening. I'm telling you all these things because night time is nobody's friend and everyone's worst nightmare. And it is the time when Aang and the others were finally arriving at the marina where the prison ferry was docked.

"You know," said Sokka to the others. "In a way, it's actually a good thing we caused such a panic back there. It looks like the Fire Nation is sending more guards to keep the prison secure during this "revolt" of ours."

Everyone watched silently as the Fire Nation soldiers climbed aboard the ferry and helped to load cargo down below, probably supplies. Haru had reached into his pocket and started bending a few pebbles in a motion that was similar to Aang's marble trick. The others had come to realize it was a nervous habit of his, and there was no question why he felt the need to do it now as they prepared to stow away.

"All we have to do is get our hands on some uniforms," the Water Tribe boy continued. "I think a few of us should pose as guards…and it would be more believable if we had an actual prisoner."

"I can do that," Haru volunteered immediately. "I'll be your prisoner. I'm an Earthbender and I know most of the people inside. I can get my people to help overthrow the guards. It'll be easier to get them to trust me than an outsider…no offense."

"It's fine," Katara replied. "It makes sense. I mean, Sokka didn't trust Aang at all when he first met him."

"It's true," Aang chimed in. "He really didn't."

Sokka had the decency to look ashamed of himself. "Hey, I already said I was sorry for the whole paranoid, I'm-banishing-you-from-my-village thing, remember? I admitted I was completely wrong about you being a Fire Nation spy. Can we just forget it ever happened?"

The monk smiled at him. "Of course."

Katara shook her head. "Lucky for you Aang isn't the type to hold a grudge. If it were me, I wouldn't let this go unless you promised to do the laundry for the next two weeks."

Sokka glowered at her. "Gee, thanks, Sis."

"Don't look at me like that. You don't know how bad your socks smell after you've had them on for three days straight. It takes forever to get them clean!"

"Ahem…um, anyway," said Aang awkwardly, trying to diffuse the tension between brother and sister. "We're going to need as much help as we can get, so…we should hurry up and free those prisoners. Okay?"

Sokka coughed into his sleeve. "R-right…of course." He met the Airbender's gaze for a few seconds. "Aang, you and Kuba are going to be watching us from the outside from a safe distance. If anything goes wrong, you guys can bust in and get us out in a hurry. All right?"

The monk's smile slipped in confusion. "Outside? Then…I'm not going with you guys?"

"It's nothing personal, buddy. It's just those tattoos…well…they kind of stand out. And the last thing we need is for the Fire Nation to get their grubby hands on you. It's safer if a few of us try to blend in unseen…okay?"

"I guess…" Aang replied, not too convincingly. "I mean…I guess it's better if no one gets hurt. But I just…I really wanted to _help_."

"You will," Sokka reassured him. "But later. Once we've riled up the prisoners, we can start a riot and overthrow the prison guards. When that happens, we're going to need our trump card rested and ready to lay some whoop-ass on the Fire Nation."

"Trump card?"

"That would be _you_, oh mighty Avatar."

"Ahem!" Kuba coughed, glaring daggers at the Water Tribe boy. "What about me?"

Haru and Katara exchanged looks while Sokka floundered under the young Earthbender's scrutiny. "You? Um…well…you…you need to protect Aang! Yeah, um…see, it's always better to work in pairs. It's the typical buddy system, you know? This way you'll always have someone watching your back."

Kuba folded his arms. "And I'm watching out for the Avatar?"

"Well, if you don't think you can _handle _it…"

"Oh, I can handle it all right," the boy snapped. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't just making an excuse to leave me out of this. I mean, I may have had some bad luck back on Kyoshi Island…but that was just a fluke."

"A fluke?" Katara repeated dubiously. "Kuba, you took a flaming boot to the stomach. You're lucky to be alive after that."

"I was distracted! If I wasn't already looking after Julie, I'd have kicked that Zhao guy's butt from here to Ba-Sing-Se!"

"Oh, really," said Sokka slowly, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "And I guess the reason you left Omashu is because King Bumi isn't working you to your full potential, huh? He just isn't challenging enough of a teacher for you and your exceptional Earthbending."

"Sokka!" Katara cried.

Kuba blushed. "It's all right. Actually, Sokka's kind of right…it _was_ kind of weird. King Bumi made me show him every bit of Earthbending I had learned on my own, and then he gave me this list…" he paused to reach into his pocket, pulling out a long, folded up piece of parchment. "…and told me that before I could even think of beginning my training, I had to bring back one of everything he had written down here."

The boy dropped it open, and the list billowed open…for about ten feet. Everyone stared at it for a long time, absolutely speechless. Then, curiosity got the better of Sokka, who picked up the list somewhere in the middle and began reading.

"These aren't so bad…a piece of sculpted jade…an empty turtle-crab shell…the tail feathers of an endangered bald vulture-hawk…" his voice turned incredulous. "…the egg sack of a venomous wolf-lion-spider...the claw of a bear…?"

"You mean platypus bear?" Aang asked.

"No," said Kuba. "It just says bear."

"Certainly you must mean the claw of a skunk bear," said Haru slowly, confusion on his face.

"Or an armadillo bear," Katara supplied.

Aang snapped his fingers. "Gopher bear!"

Sokka shook his head, staring at the parchment in disbelief. "Just…bear." He frowned for a minute before handing the list back to Kuba with a shrug. "Eh. Must be a typo. Still, that's some crazy scavenger hunt."

The kid looked glum. "_I know_."

The Water Tribe boy made a sympathetic noise under his breath. "Man, you got gypped. Bumi's got you on some crazy otter-goose chase. Maybe you should find a different Earthbending teacher."

Aang scowled. "There has to be a reason why Bumi sent Kuba out of Omashu. Remember what he told us when we met him? You have to consider all the possibilities…keep an open mind…and that nothing is ever what it seems to be."

"I know," Sokka replied. "And I'm considering the possibility that Bumi realized what a hassle teaching can be and used this as a roundabout way of saying, _thanks, but no thanks_."

Kuba's shoulders slumped as he tightened his grip on the piece of paper, not noticing when the edges became crumpled and creased. Haru watched the frustration and betrayal fill the boy's eyes before coming over and kneeling in front of him. The boy looked up with a start and met the older boy's understanding gaze.

"Hey," he said. "There are a lot of strong Earthbenders in the prison. Once we break them out, I'm sure we'll find someone who's willing to teach you…and Avatar Aang, too."

"No," said Kuba stubbornly. "I'm not giving up. I'm going to find everything on this list…and then I'm going to go up to Bumi and tell him I don't need to be an Earthbender to get stronger. I can be just as strong using my knife…or my brain."

"You shouldn't give up on Earthbending, though," Haru insisted. "No matter how hard it gets. Earth is a stubborn element, you know. You just can't back down from the challenge."

The boy nodded in determination.

"And speaking of challenges," Sokka said, getting their attention again. "We need to move quickly if we want to sneak into that ferry. Let's get our hands on some disguises and put our plan into motion."

"Right!" said Kuba.

Haru frowned, waiting until the younger Earthbender was distracted before letting his bravado melt away. The truth was he wasn't actually so sure that they could really do this. He rolled his shoulders and breathed a sigh, turning his back on the others so he could momentarily let his façade drop.

But as he looked up, he saw Katara watching him in concern. "Is everything okay?"

He gave her a tired smile. "Just wondering what our chances are of actually winning this battle…and this war. I mean, for all we know, all this risk could be for nothing."

"You can't think like that!" she said firmly. "I know things seem really bad, but…we have to try…!"

Haru just shook his head. "I never said I wasn't going to try. I'm just saying…we shouldn't get our hopes up. There's a reason we've been under Fire Nation control for all this time, you know."

"What do you mean?"

He hesitated. "It's just…I'm not sure how much good we can do here. I mean…my father was in prison for a long time…years, even. I mean…if he's still alive, he would have already done everything he could to break out, right? Unless he's given up…" He crushed the pebbles in his fist, turning them into dust. "Just like everyone else in my village. We have nothing to hope for but the mercy of the Fire Nation, so can you really blame my people for giving that up too?"

But Katara wouldn't budge. "Hope is the last thing you should be throwing away…especially now." She squared her shoulders, glaring at the distant ferry in determination. "I just know we can help these people. I can feel it…we're going to make a real difference around here."

Haru stared at her, surprised. Then, he smiled at her; a real smile.

"You know," he said with a bit of a chuckle. "I'm surprised that you were born a Waterbender and not an Earthbender. You sure don't know when to give up."

Her blue eyes flashed in the darkness. "No," she said. "I just found a reason not to give up. I found something to keep the hope alive inside of me."

Haru turned to follow her gaze and saw her staring at Aang. The Airbender didn't notice as he was so focused on his conversation with Sokka while Kuba interjected cocky remarks here and there. And he understood exactly what she meant.

Perhaps it wasn't too late for him to start hoping for something better.

"Let's do this," he said to her.

Katara smiled. "Best idea I've heard all day."

* * *

In spite of the fact that I was not a heavy sleeper (hell, I barely counted as a light sleeper), I tended to have very deep, very vivid dreams. I think the reason is because it takes so long for me to lose consciousness that by the time I actually manage to achieve the REM sleep that causes a person to have dreams, my body knows I should be waking up for school. And they say you only remember your dreams if you wake up in the middle of having one…

…which, you know, almost always happened to me. And it was more prone to happen when I had trouble sleeping, when my mind refused to shut off because of all the things I had to worry about.

I think you guys can guess where I was going with all of this. We were currently trapped in a village of dead people who probably wanted to kill us. It was solely up to me to save our asses. Zuko had broken up with me for reasons I could barely wrap my brain around; and all of this happened _without_ him finding out about Ramon. What would he do if he realized that I had a _history_ with the guy? I mean, I was keeping it a secret, lock and key, and there was no way in hell I'd ever tell what the bastard did to me.

Even if deep down I know that all of it was my fault…my fault for being so gullible and stupid. It was my fault for thinking I could actually trust someone. It was my fault because I put my feelings first and ignored all of the warning signs.

Reality can be a cold bitch-slap to the face. For me, it was so much worse than that.

_It was dark, the only light coming from the antique lava lamp plugged into the wall. The shadows twisted into weird shapes on the wall, shapes I could barely see because everything was blurry. My head was throbbing as I tried to pull my fuzzy thoughts into a solid ball so I could look at them. Where was I? I couldn't remember anything._

_I couldn't remember._

_It was the cold, naked panic sliding into my stomach that jolted me awake. That feeling of not knowing how you got where you found yourself…it was terrible. And the pieces of furniture that I started to recognize as parts of Ramon's bedroom did nothing to make the bad feeling go away. I couldn't even move, really. At first, all I could do was lay there blinking frantically at my surroundings, squinting and praying that my lungs would thaw out so I could breathe._

_The sheets were familiar…the smell of cigarettes and aftershave…I knew where I was. But I shouldn't have been here. I should have been at home…no…not yet. I still hadn't been able to face my Dad (he had been saying all along that it would never work out between me and Ramon, and the last thing I needed was to hear him gloating about it). But I know as clear as anything that the last place I should have been was in Ramon's bed, naked between his sheets._

_Naked. Oh, God. My hand fluttered to my forehead, my eyes squeezed shut, and I tried to push the ugly thoughts away. Oh, God, what the hell happened last night?_

"_The fuck…?"_

_It hit me that my entire body ached in ways that it shouldn't. I was naked and sore and I didn't know what happened last night. And the last thing I could remember was taking a drink from a shot Ramon had put in my hands. He said it would make me feel better. He said that all we needed was to talk, that we could work things out…that we could get past all the times I drove him to cheat by refusing to sleep with him._

_Oh, God. What the fuck was I thinking?_

"_Please…" I groaned into the pillow. "Please, no…no…not this…" _

_I should have been jumping up, scrambling to collect my clothes, and getting the fuck out of that room. But I was still too groggy from…whatever the hell had been in my drink. My movements were sluggish and my thoughts could barely keep up. I was a mess. I was scared and confused and my body wouldn't work right._

_Why the hell was my neck so sore? Christ, it felt like someone had sliced the back of it open. The bastard probably had me up against some broken glass when he…oh, God…I couldn't even think it. I didn't want it to be real._

_My ears caught the sound of him whistling from the next room, the slightly off-key melody to the song Handsome Devil. My entire body stiffened, but I forced myself into a sitting position. I could feel tears pressing against my eyes, both from the discomfort in my body and the nausea I felt coming off of the drugs. I was crashing hard against reality, and the monster in the next room didn't seem to know or care._

_Somehow, in the hazy few minutes that followed, I found my clothes and pulled them on. I didn't even want to touch them, but there was nothing else besides Ramon's clothes, and I would sooner set my own skin on fire than to wear something of his. Once I was dressed, I took a few deep breaths and forced myself to go into the kitchen._

_Ramon was smoking a cigarette and putting a muffin in the toaster by slicing it in half. In between drags he whistled a few more bars of the song while I stood, paralyzed in the doorway. Eventually he turned around and noticed me._

"_About time," he said, almost playfully; as if he hadn't just done something completely horrible and unforgivable. "You sleep like the dead, babe."_

_This was a lie. He and I both knew that I had issues with sleep. _

"_You drugged me."_

_Ramon shrugged. "You seemed a bit emotional. It was just to calm you down." He stamped out the half-gone cigarette into the ashtray and went to go pour a glass of orange juice. "Seriously, you were being such a crazy bitch last night…all that talk about wanting to break up." He offered the orange juice carton to me, as if there was nothing wrong. "Thirsty?"_

_I was shaking. "You…you drugged my drink…and then you…fuck! Why the holy hell was I naked in _your_ bed? What the fuck did you do to me?"_

_He sighed. "Are we really going to have this conversation now? It's not even ten thirty…"_

"_You asshole! Answer me!"_

_Ramon looked annoyed, as if I was the one being unreasonable. "Are you asking me if we had sex last night? So what if we did? You were begging for it and it was fucking sad. I guess the whole prude thing you've got going on is just an act, huh?" He took another sip of his orange juice, and the muffin popped out of the toaster. _

_I stood there, rooted to the spot. "I don't believe you. I think you…shit…why would I ever want to sleep with a loser like YOU?"_

_He gave me a look. "That didn't stop you the first time. Or the second."_

_That shut me up. Because it was true, this technically wouldn't have been the first time we had…you know…done stuff. _

"_You…I already told you, it was a mistake! I never wanted to—"_

"_But you still did," Ramon cut me off. "What, it's suddenly _my _fault that your reasons for doing it were completely and totally selfish?"_

_I closed my eyes, trying not to scream. "You were going to leave me. You said you wouldn't stop seeing those skanks unless I…unless we…dammit, quit turning this around on me! You were the one who…who…"_

"_Who, _what_, Red?"_

_I couldn't say it. I couldn't say it out loud. I couldn't even think it._

"_Yeah," he said coldly. "That's what I thought." He got up from his chair, ignoring the smoking muffin cooling in the toaster as he walked over to me. I trembled as he stared down into my eyes, feeling small and weak and disgusting. "Let me tell you something, babe. I put up with a lot of crap from you. I went out of my way for you, taught you everything you know today…taught you how to fight back against this shitty excuse of a city and your father…and all the pricks that work the system. I _made_ you, you bitch." His hand closed around my arm like a vice. "You're _mine_."_

_I couldn't breathe. I couldn't get away. I couldn't…deal with this anymore._

_I jerked out of his grip and sprinted into the next room, the den. It was the place where Ramon liked to keep all of his trophies, and I use the word "trophies" loosely. It was well furnished with an antique pool table that Ramon got after his father inherited from his grandfather. It had cigarette burns in the fabric, and flecks of dried blood here and there. The shelves on the wall were cluttered with a random assortment of knick-knacks and valuables…all "collected" from people who couldn't pay their debts to Ramon's family. I think there was even a silver box on one of the top shelves that held some guy's gold teeth and a few real ones too._

_You spend enough time with Ramon, and eventually you stop asking questions._

_I went straight for the liquor cabinet and started grabbing shot glasses. My hands were shaking, but I was utterly focused with the intent to destroy…to smash and tear through as much of this man as he had torn through me. I couldn't physically break him, but I could throw a glass. I could burn his fucking house down and trash his stupid car. I would break everything I could get my hands on._

_He didn't own me. I didn't belong to him. I wasn't just some stupid trophy…I was a person, goddammit! I was his freaking girlfriend!_

_Ramon appeared in the doorway right as the first glass shattered against the wall. My eyes were blurred with tears and I could barely see him, but once I noticed him I started aiming for him and his stupid face. I wanted to crack his skull open with one of his own trophies. I could really kill him for what he did to me. I wanted to hurt him._

_I could barely see him, but I saw this sadistic gleam in his eyes as his anger faded, replaced with an amused little smirk. He was looking at me like someone looks at a small dog attacking a stuffed animal. To him, my actions were cute and harmless to him. But that only told me that he could care less about his trophies, and I knew with sudden clarity that I was just another trophy to him._

_It wasn't the possessions but the idea of possessing them that turned him on. The act of taking something from another person…or the idea of owning a person so completely in spite of how hard they struggle and bite and cry to get free. It was the idea that he could force me to love him and then break me into pieces._

_He was a sick bastard…and he wasn't ever going to let me go._

"_Babe," he laughed. "You should see your face right now…just put the glass down, will you?"_

_I responded by throwing it at his face. He ducked it and came up, annoyance flickering like hot cinders in his chocolate eyes. He breathed out of his nose and took a step towards me._

"_I said, drop the fucking glass…Juliet."_

"_Don't call me that, you bastard!" SMASH. "Stay the fuck away from me! Don't you _touch_ me!"_

_One shot glass after another went sailing through the air, missing their mark every time. Ramon wove his way through the field of projectiles with frightening ease. My throat practically closed up in terror as he rose up to his full height, right in front of me. He seized my wrists in his hands, trapping them and me in his angry, almost lustful grip._

"_Babe…!" he growled._

"_Shut up!" I cried, wrenching to get free._

"_It wasn't what you thought it was. Just calm the fuck down and we'll talk."_

_Oh, like how you wanted to talk yesterday when I told you I was leaving you? And how could he even pretend like nothing happened last night? I woke up naked in his bed! I was hurting everywhere, my neck stung so bad I was afraid to even touch it, and he was stupid enough to say that he never touched me? Was he out of his mind?_

_I kicked at him, but he pushed me into the wall and knocked the breath out of me. I couldn't taste any clean air, all I could smell was the cigarettes and the orange-juice on his breath. _

"_You were begging for it," he hissed in my ear. "You said yes."_

_I was practically sobbing. "I…I don't believe you!"_

"_You were drunk. You don't remember it right." Ramon let out a breath that was also an excited, quiet gasp of laughter as he held me still. "You little skank…you were so fucking desperate, just like you were the first time, remember? How you were crying when you found out I went out and fucked that candy-ass girl in your math class? What the hell was her name, anyway?"_

"_Gonorrhea?" I snapped sarcastically._

"_No, I think it was Amand…no, Ashley? Fuck, she could have been a Lindsay or a Desiree…"_

_Something snapped inside of me. I was definitely crying now, not even struggling anymore…just letting him hold me against the wall while my world collapsed into pieces._

"_You're lying…" I whimpered as his grip tightened on me. I felt a tremor of fear as I realized that whatever he did last night, he could do it again right now. He could do it whenever he wanted so long as I was within arm's reach. So long as he could find me, he could catch me and drag me back into his car…_

_I could remember the backseat of his car. I remembered feeling his weight crushing me, like he was doing right now. I remembered the intense disorientation causing me to black out, the shapes blurring into shadows moments before I lost consciousness. I remembered a blinking light and the flashing of a knife…and nothing else._

_He could do it again. I couldn't do anything to stop him. He could do it again and leave me awake this time._

I screamed. I felt like I had been dunked back into the cold waters of the South Pole, I was so cold and shaking all over. I could still feel his hands on me, thinking that he was still holding me against my will…I could practically smell him in the delusional state I was in upon waking from that dream. Only it wasn't a dream because it had actually happened. My mind was just forcing me to remember.

"Let me go!" I howled, pushing and struggling and clawing at the person holding me. "Don't touch me! No! Let go! Fuck, not again!"

"Julie! It's me!" The hands wouldn't let go, but dragged me closer to a very warm, familiar shape.

Fire flakes. I could smell fire flakes.

I blinked up at the golden eyes boring into me. "Z-Zu…Zuko…"

_Not Ramon. Not Ramon. Zuko. Not Ramon._

The Fire Prince was perched on the side of the bed, still holding on to me tightly and looking as freaked as I felt. He looked disheveled, as though he had been forced abruptly out of his sleep. I looked around and saw Shen-Long on my other side. Iroh was standing in the doorway looking worried. Bo-Fen, I'm guessing was in the next room since someone had to keep watch in case the Spirits decided to play Slaughter-the-Mortals.

Oh, God. It was sinking in. I had just dreamed about Ramon, and I had woken up everyone else with my deranged screaming.

I was so boned.

"What the hell happened?" Zuko wanted to know, pulling me back towards him. I flinched and ducked; an involuntary jolt that I couldn't stifle in time. I was still shaking like a paint mixer and having trouble calming down.

He frowned at me, puzzled at my reaction. "Julie?"

"Fuck off," I said, biting out the words. "Just…get off me! I'm fine, all right? No one's trying to kill me or anything, so just…go away. All of you!" Shen-Long reached over and touched my shoulder and I jumped under his touch. "Get off!"

"You…you were having a nightmare," the soldier replied, taken aback at my behavior. "Julie…you were just thrashing around in your sleep, muttering about…I don't even know what."

I turned to ice. "What…what did you hear?"

They stared at me like I had completely lost my mind. My head was spinning and my thoughts were bouncing around like a freaking pinball machine and I couldn't make it stop. I groaned, holding my head in my hands and feeling a pounding headache pressing against my skull. I choked back the urge to vomit (since I already did enough of that in the last chapter) and dragged myself out of bed.

"Wait," Shen-Long said. "Where are you going?"

I shrugged him off and pushed my way into the next room. Iroh moved aside and let me past him, watching with a frown as I went straight for the canteen and took a long swig from it…or tried to. It was empty. I cursed and slammed it down again.

"I used it to make tea," the retired general explained. "It's brewing now…if you would like some, I would be more than happy to pour you a cup…"

I shook my head mutely. I didn't want any damn tea. Technically I didn't even want water. Straight up vodka was the only thing I could think of that would take the sting off of this.

Zuko had followed me over to the kitchen table and hesitated before tentatively reaching for my hand. I jumped about a foot away from him and almost knocked over the chair. At the last second a pair of hands caught the piece of furniture before it could trip me up, and I realized it was Bo-Fen standing behind me. She looked frazzled and grumpy.

"I had just gotten to sleep," she said. "And then you started screaming at the top of your lungs."

I alternated between glaring at the Fire Prince and shooting Bo-Fen apologetic looks. "It was just a…just a nightmare. That's all."

"What kind of nightmare?" Zuko asked quietly.

I could feel him watching me, more than alert to my erratic behavior. And it sucked because I _knew _I was acting crazy, but I honestly couldn't help myself. I was absolutely mortified and deeply shaken from the memories I had just relived, and part of me was still scared…scared to even sleep again.

How do you pretend to be okay in a situation like this? It's impossible.

"Zombies," I replied automatically, backing away from everyone and inching towards the door. "I really hate zombies, and damn…is it warm in here or is it just me? Well, I think I'd better go find the well and refill this anyway…" I had the canteen in my hands. "So…yeah. I'll be right back."

Before anyone could protest, I was ducking outside and walking as fast as I could in a random direction, not caring where I wound up so long as I could be alone.

I had enough nightmares as a kid and I had my own way of calming down. I knew I wouldn't really be able to sleep again unless I could make myself feel safe. And the thing was, having more people around me made me feel anything _but _safe. I needed absolute solitude. I needed a dark, stuffy closet that was just big enough for me to squeeze into. I needed a hiding place so snug I could hear my own heartbeat and nothing else.

That's what I would do. Whenever I was scared the boogey man or my Dad would try to get me while I was sleeping, I'd go in the closet and curl up in a ball and count backwards from one thousand. I'd keep losing track and have to start over, and eventually I'd fall asleep. It was the only thing that worked.

Well, obviously I didn't have a closet all to myself, and asking for one would just send off more warning bells to the others (especially that stupid Zuko). But if I walked around enough maybe I could put my thoughts in order and tire myself out so that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I could pace around and maybe that would make me feel a little better.

All I really needed was to calm myself down and fake the rest. So long as no one realized what was wrong with me, everything could stay normal. No one needed to know about this. I was fine.

_He could do it again. _

"_Ramon can't find you,_" said Ayla unexpectedly.

I was so surprised to hear her voice that I jumped up and let out a tiny shriek. I clutched at my heart and doubled over, collapsing on to my knees and gasping. I hadn't realized how off my breathing pattern was. Had I been walking or running?

"_He isn't going to hurt you anymore_," she said firmly. "_I won't let him hurt you, Julie. None of us will. He isn't here and he's never coming back._"

I shuddered and tasted bile in the back of my throat. Tears pressed against my eyes and I felt dirty and used and worthless. _He didn't even love me…he never really wanted me, he just…he just wanted to prove a fucking point, Ayla. He didn't want me…no one wants me, no one…_

"_That's not true. We all want you and care about you…and you're not worthless!"_

_I'm an angry, pathetic bitch. I can't fight…I can't be girly or pretty…and I can't save us. I can't help these spirits or even myself. I…I can't do anything._

"_Just because Ramon wanted you to feel helpless doesn't mean that you are. He was a lying, cheating, manipulative jerk-nozzle…and you're stronger than he is. You're better than he is._"

My breathing hitched and I felt my shoulders trembling. I couldn't cry. I couldn't let myself break down, not here in the middle of the street. What if someone saw me like this? What if…what if…

"Julie," I heard a familiar voice behind me.

No, it wasn't Zuko or Shen-Long, in case you were expecting one of those fluffy hurt-comfort romancey bits that you see in all sorts of cliché fanfics. Actually, it was the last person I ever expected to come looking for me…at least, not if there wasn't some sort of profit involved. But as I looked over my shoulder, there was Bo-Fen…

…a very uncomfortable-looking Bo-Fen frowning at me and waiting for me to say something.

"W-what the hell do _you _want?" I stammered, jumping to my feet, as though I had been electrified. "I…I don't need a bodyguard out here. Those Spirits need me alive to put them to rest…so I don't think they're going to drag me into hell anytime soon."

She lifted an eyebrow. "And I need a reason to be out here?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You always have a reason. You're…_you_."

Bo-Fen rolled her eyes. "Look, I know I can be a real hard-ass sometimes, but that doesn't mean I want something bad to happen to you. Hell, Shen-Long can barely function unless you're right in front of us where he can see you…and I happen to enjoy your company."

I stared at her. "You almost knocked me off of the mast once so you could win that bet with that stupid Chaang and his friends…hell, you'd throw your own brother overboard if it would make you enough money."

"Hon', you have to give me a little more credit than that. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't be betting on you surviving the fall. If I didn't care about Shen-Long I wouldn't have joined the Fire Navy with him…I'd have let him go on this stupid soul-searching journey all on his own. I'm not even a Firebender, you know."

"And Ayla?"

She gave me a blank look. "A thousand years and several lifetimes ago she was my best friend. She's one of the few people I can remember from that far back…and a long time ago I made a promise to her, the only one I ever intend to keep." She smirked. "But then, that was a long time ago, wasn't it?"

I winced as she gave me an elbow nudge that almost sent me face-planting into the dirt. I buckled and somehow managed to stay on my feet. "W-wait…you said _lifetimes?_"

"Yup. As in more than one."

I tried to measure that in my mind. "How long have you and Shen-Long been looking for Ayla?" I looked at her, startled. "All this time, you…"

"More times than I care to remember. And every time Shen and I were born siblings. Brother and sister…though once, just to fuck with us, the Spirits switched our genders around. Ever since then Shen-Long's been pitching his tent on _both sides_ of the camp…if you know what I mean."

Well, that was…interesting. When I first met Shen-Long, I actually kind of thought he was gay. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I just sort of suspected that he had a thing for Jee…who was way older and just…no.

And I am suppressing the memory…now.

"I thought he and Ayla were—"

Bo-Fen snorted. "What, you think he stayed a virgin for a thousand years? Come on, Julie. Yeah, he never got over Ayla…never married, never fell in love…but sex? Who ever said that love and sex were the same thing?"

I was instantly uncomfortable, but tried to hide it. "Well…um…whatever. It's not like I care or anything."

Bo-Fen stared at me for a beat. "You seem to have something on your mind, though," she said finally. She waited for me to say something, but when it became obvious that I wasn't giving her any information that she wanted, she huffed in annoyance. "Look, I could have just let the Prince come out and badger you, but I made him stay behind. I told him I'd look after you."

"I thought you said you only had one promise you needed to keep."

"I didn't have to promise. I'd have dragged your sorry butt back inside if you kept moping, one way or another. So spill."

I hugged my arms to my sides. "It's personal, okay? I just…" I breathed out a sigh. "I don't really like talking about this. I mean…no one is going to understand. If anyone finds out then they'll think that I…they won't _understand_."

"About Ramon?"

I almost tripped in astonishment…and horror. "Who…how…_why do you know that_…?"

Bo-Fen folded her arms. "Look, all I know is that you were saying that guy's name…it's a guy, right? Weird name…but you were saying it over and over again while you were sleeping…tossing and turning until you woke up screaming."

Oh, perfect.

"Ramon is…_was_ my boyfriend." I glared at the dirt. "He was a mistake…I…I honestly wish I never met the son of a bitch." I breathed out a sigh and ran my fingers through my bangs, closing my eyes. "Sometimes I just think about how bad things got and…I just need to be alone. I need to just…_get away_."

"You feel suffocated," I heard Bo-Fen say flatly. "You see him when you close your eyes…you feel him in the bed next to you, you can still feel him breathing…you could swear he was still in the room with you."

My eyes shot open. "Yeah…how did you…"

"Didn't I tell you? I used to be in an arranged marriage." She laughed humorlessly. "You think you're the only one with problems, Hon'? You're dead wrong. You think you're the only person in the world running from something…the only person who can't get away from your past?"

I didn't say anything. What could I say?

"His name was Dorian. That wasn't his original name, but it was the name he took on when he married me. And let me tell you, he was an absolute bastard…obsessed with living as long as he could, studying all sorts of texts about reincarnation and the Spirit World, trying to find his elixir of youth…hell, he only married me because I was so much younger than him. I couldn't have been older than you are now…and we were Earth Kingdom citizens, for fuck's sake. Even on the coast they were strict about finding a good match. I couldn't say no."

"How did you…you got away, didn't you? What happened?"

Bo-Fen shrugged her shoulders, as if trying to free a burdensome weight off of them. "Well, for the first couple of years I stayed in that house…this was before I met Ayla, you know, before I ever learned how to use a sword or anything. That old sack of shit wouldn't even let me contact my family…he kept me on a short leash, and he had more than enough power to make my life miserable if I put even a toe out of line. He wasn't just obsessed with his own youth, he wanted _me _to stay neat and thin and pretty…"

She closed her eyes, her face utterly calm. It was her poker face.

"He _owned _me. I was his young, happy, perfect wife…and if I did anything to shatter that illusion, he would lock me up…starve me…oh, he never hit me. That would have left bruises, and he couldn't leave any marks on my skin. I had to be perfect. But spirits, he knew how to make me suffer…and I let him do all those things because I didn't have anywhere else to go. I thought that maybe we could learn to love each other…heh…I know better now. I wasn't the same girl I am today. Back then I was naïve and innocent…I actually believed that it was possible to make it work. I _had _to make it work.

"But things got worse when that idiot found out about the Brotherhood. He got it in his head that he could earn himself the immortality he craved by learning about Energybending...and it was a goddamn cult, Julie. Those fuckers were completely out of their minds, hunting benders and killing them…they were fanatics!"

"Don't I know it," I said, gesturing at the village around me. "I mean, they did all of _this_."

"They did that and more. That and worse."

I felt a bubble of anger. I couldn't believe that so many people had to suffer for the Brotherhood, then and now, and no one was doing anything to stop them. And this wasn't just sick…these atrocities were on the level of pure evil. They drove Kuba into becoming a street kid, eating scraps from the garbage to survive…they instigated a village-wide massacre and violated an ancient shrine to a powerful, benevolent spirit…they had no limits. They didn't even spare the dead.

_They need to be stopped_.

"Anyway, just when I thought my life couldn't get any worse, my husband was…I dunno how to explain it…_chosen_. Certain spirits were drawn to the bloody rituals the Brotherhood did, but they were the kinds of spirits that fed off of the misery of mortals. And I guess they saw something in Dorian that they liked…which just proves how much of a dick he was."

Bo-Fen stopped and shuddered for a moment, something I found unsettling. The female soldier rarely got ruffled and it took a lot to faze her. She was completely unshakeable and remorseless and strong…hell, she was everything I wasn't. Seeing her perturbed as she was made me feel…well…nervous.

"I realized something was off when he started hanging mirrors all over the house…things that could show you a reflection," she said slowly. "He even had these creepy statues with mirror eyes…fuck, I hated those statues. And he told me that he hung them so that the spirits could see him all the time…so they could realize how devoted he was, and that they would reward him."

"Sounds…kind of messed up."

"I thought so, too. But you know, mirrors are said to be gateways into the Spirit World…for spirits, anyway. And I suppose the Avatar, too…since he's supposedly the bridge between the worlds, and all."

I frowned. Her words made my mind jolt back to the night I was on the bridge, the night all of this started…when I was mugged and almost killed and sent into the Avatar world. Only that was stupid…there hadn't been any mirrors around me, so why was I even thinking about it?

"Shen-Long…his name was Len back then…he came and got me one night, just showed up and whisked me away. Our father had been dead for a few years now, so it was just the two of us. I mean, I was upset when I found out, but I was more happy to finally be free…I almost felt like myself again."

"What went wrong?" I asked, because it was obvious that it wouldn't be so simple for Bo-Fen to just run for the hills with her brother. Nothing was ever simple anymore. "Did you get away?"

Bo-Fen stared at the ground for a long time. "The very first place we ran to was a little harbor town where some distant cousins lived. It was a bit farther north, and it was nice place. We had planned to make a new life for ourselves, pose as a fisherman's family, that sort of thing. And I always liked sailing. I wanted to make boats." Her face darkened. "But he was waiting there for us. It was almost as if he knew we were going to be there. We…barely escaped…he had these trained bodyguards chase us down, and the mayor had warrants for our arrest…as criminals."

"But how?"

"Dorian was a very powerful man back then, Julie. He still is."

What?

"No matter where we traveled, my husband followed. He was determined to capture me…to make an example of me. I had humiliated him by walking out, and that man cared about his pride as much as he did about his quest for eternal youth. He was…ruthless."

She had drawn her sword from its sheath and was tossing it carelessly from one hand to another, half focusing on the path of her blade. But she didn't need the extra concentration to handle her weapon. She was just blowing off some excess steam…perhaps some pent up anxiety, though her face was like stone. There wasn't an ounce of emotion in her eyes.

"Remember what I told you about the mirrors?" she asked suddenly, turning to look at me. She had stopped playing with her sword to give me a piercing look. "What's the biggest mirror in the entire world? Can you tell me that?"

A riddle? "Um…I…I really suck at things like this. Can I have a hint?"

Bo-Fen didn't blink. "The ocean. Water. It's everywhere, in wells, rivers, streams…and it turns out that my husband…my _dear_ husband had made contact with a spirit, an ancient one…a bad one. I don't know it's name, even to this day…but that spirit was able to find me wherever there was a reflective surface. Mirrors…metal…but especially water. I would see it looking out at me from puddles with a taunting smile. And my husband would always follow."

Bo-Fen blinked a few times, and I wondered if she was blinking back tears. Her eyes were glittering a bit too brightly now.

"No matter how bad things got, Shen-Long never left my side," she said quietly. "That idiot brother of mine could have cut and run any time he wanted. My husband only wanted me. But…he kept trying, kept fighting for my freedom." She looked at me. "He's a dork, yes…but my brother is one of the most loyal, trustworthy people in the world. You can depend on him…even if he is a bit stuck in the past."

I averted my gaze. "It's hard for me to trust anyone…but I'll keep that in mind. So far Ayla hasn't contradicted any of your story, so you must be telling the truth."

She gave me a shark-like grin. All signs of tears dissolved into her old, cocky expression. "Like I could come up with such a soap opera on the spot. Please."

I managed a smile, even though it was half-hearted. "Does this story have a happy ending at least? I mean, you must have gotten away from that dickweed somehow. You guys are here now. And you met Ayla, right?"

She shrugged. "Kind of. Eventually, we managed to find somewhere Dorian couldn't find us…a land-locked village in the central Earth Kingdom. It's not there anymore; it got burned to the ground a long time ago."

"The Fire Nation?" I asked.

"No," Bo-Fen replied smoothly. "Ayla. Well, sort of. It's a long story…too complicated. I don't really feel like telling it now."

She folded her arms behind her head and started heading back towards the hut. I hesitated, feeling incredibly awkward as I realized that the unbreakable titan that was my combat instructor had just willingly opened up to me. And I couldn't think of a single thing to say.

"Bo-Fen," I said quickly. "Wait…why…?" I swallowed. "Why did you tell me this?"

She didn't turn. She just stared ahead of her at some invisible point in the distance.

"You know," she said. "When you're always running from your past, always looking over your shoulder…that's not really living. The past has a funny way of catching up to you. It always finds you…no matter how hard you try to ignore it or hide it, it's waiting for you around the next corner. There's no escaping something that's a part of who you are."

I felt stripped bare from her words. Without my second skin the cold night breeze made my exposed insides sting and bleed. I shivered and hugged my arms to my sides, feeling all kinds of emotions that didn't make sense when they were piled up on top of each other. I felt sick with regret and fear, angry at her implications (perhaps more so because deep down I knew she struck too close to home) and absolutely confused all at the same time.

"My past is in another world," I told her through clenched teeth. "Even if I was running from something…anything at all…it can't _touch _me! Things are different here! And…I think I know how I'm feeling better than _you _do…I'm _not _afraid!"

From my angle, I could faintly see the ironic smile on her face, even with her back turned to me. "Whatever you say, Hon'. Whatever you say."

I stood there, trembling as she walked away from me. It was so cold now that I could feel the goose bumps on my arms turning numb. But what I didn't realize was that the cold wasn't just from the changing season; but was largely due to the presence of a number of spirits roaming through the village, unseen.

"He can't find me here," I whispered to myself. "So…there's no reason for me to think about this anymore. I just…need to get past this. That's all."

And with that decided, I started back towards the house where the others were undoubtedly waiting for me. I tried not to think of the questions they would ask me, but instead tried to reassure myself that what Ayla was telling me was true…that they only pestered me because they cared about me. I could almost believe that. I almost felt guilty for worrying them.

Little did I know that I was being watched. The silhouette of a twelve-year-old girl materialized mere feet from where I had been standing, a curious expression on her face.

"So," said Lin to herself. "That's what her weakness is." A wicked little smile crossed her face for a moment before she turned away. "I'll have to remember that…for later."

And then she vanished back into the night.

* * *

**A/N: There is so much I want to say about this chapter, and I don't really know where to start. I'll just pick something out of a hat…hmmm…okay. Theme. I'll start with the overall theme of the chapter. Sounds good, right?**

**The title, Agoraphobia, is also the title of the song (by Incubus) I had on loop while writing this chapter. You know, I had at least five different versions of this chapter written out, and I hated every one of them because they didn't really carry the story in the direction I wanted it to. I wanted this episode arch to deal with the topic of fear…and about the weight of a person's past. I felt the song finally jumpstart the inspiration machine, so there you have it. Plus, it matches up really well with the tone of the chapter.**

**Julie, as you all know, has very deep trust issues and can be quite paranoid of the people around her. However, we learn here that her feelings are somewhat justified. And unfortunately, the progress she made up until now seems to have taken a backwards tilt in light of the hiccups in her budding relationship with Zuko.**

**Their "break-up" reminded her of just how problematic a romantic connection really is, how risky and fruitless and thankless it can be. Plus, Julie is just plain unwilling to open up to him (or anyone) about her ex-boyfriend and the details of their toxic relationship. Not only does it deeply scar her mentally and emotionally, a part of her blames herself for the way she was taken advantage of. Naturally, she thinks that if Zuko (or anyone else) were to find out about what Ramon did to her, he would blame her, too.**

**But secrets weigh heavily on a person's mind, and it is in our dreams that all of our pent up fears come to the surface. So Julie ends up dreaming about Ramon. And when she wakes up from her nightmare, she leaves the hut without giving her worried friends any explanations. She just cuts and runs from them.**

**I know a lot of you were expecting Zuko and/or Shen-Long to come running to Julie's rescue, but I realize that to do this would be shaping Julie into someone who is emotionally dependent on her love interest. In reality, the only person who can save Julie from herself is Julie. And the truth is, being solely dependent on your significant other to remain happy and stable is just as big of a warning sign that a relationship is toxic.**

**Besides, Bo-Fen is a character that few readers can relate to since she rarely talks about herself. I know she seems to be a self-serving, opportunistic character that likes to beat up Julie during practice sessions…but the truth is that there is a lot more to the female soldier than meets the eye. And she actually cares more for Julie and Shen-Long than she cares to admit, as is evidenced by her coming to find Julie when she runs out so suddenly.**

**This scene actually turned out better than I expected. Bo-Fen can actually relate to Julie better than Zuko or Shen-Long in this instance as she does have a past that she can't seem to escape from. The name Dorian (the name of her husband…and the mysterious spirit that comes to visit Bo-Fen in an earlier chapter) was shamelessly taken from the story, The Portrait of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde. I think it's a stupid name too, but it matches up with the man's fixation with immortality. Besides, I suck at coming up with names. Sue me.**

**Bo-Fen advises Julie that it's pointless to run from your past, but she balks. She still holds on to the notion that she can continue to keep everything a secret and not have to deal with her problems. But there's a good chance that she'll be forced to face her fears sooner than she thinks. Lin (a.k.a. creepy little ghost girl) obviously has something underhanded in mind.**

**For the Gaang, fear takes on a different form. It's much more subtle in the form of doubt, both for Kuba (who is struggling with the denial that Bumi conned him out of Earthbending training but refuses to give up on getting stronger) and Haru (who is starting to succumb with the rest of his people, and wonders if there is really any point in fighting back after all). **

**I had a bit of a block writing Haru at first because I originally portrayed him as being a lot more confident and determined to save his village…but then I realized that he isn't nearly as strong-willed in the show. It takes a lot of encouragement from Katara before he is willing to use his Earthbending, even to save a life. And Katara is the one who rallies the prisoners and gives them their hope back.**

**So, even if the timeline is different, I wanted to keep Haru in character. But I also wanted to point out a parallel between Katara and Haru. Before she met Aang, Katara was just waiting for her father to come home from the war, tired and anxious and forgetting what it was like to have fun. Aang's rebirth from the iceberg rejuvenates her hopeful spirit and her determination to master Waterbending. Aang inspires her to help others in any way she can, and that doesn't change in this AU. It's essential to her character (at least in Book I of the show). I wanted to get it right.**

**I'm not sure if you guys realized it, but Kuba's little scavenger hunt is more than just a crazy otter-goose chase concocted by a demented old king. Bumi always has a reason for everything, so just sit tight. All will become clear in time.**

**That's really all I have to say, besides a massive apology for the incredibly late update. Next chapter will come quicker. I promise you guys that.**

**Um…REVIEW?**


	93. Awkward, Messy Business

**A/N: Hello, my wonderful, fantastic readers! Let me just start out by saying how pleased I was by the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the last chapter. I have said this about a thousand and a half times already, but I will reiterate that hearing from all of you heavily drives me and inspires me in my writing. Sometimes you guys give me great ideas; sometimes you point out things that I can improve on. All of your reviews and PM's help me improve as a writer, and that is not something I plan to take for granted.**

**I just wish I had more time to write and update and respond to everyone. I'm feeling a lot of love right now, so I'll do my best to update as often as possible; but please understand that there's only so much I can accomplish in a week, and I don't want to give you guys crap to read. In order for me to produce quality work, I need time to edit and put thought into what I'm writing. Plus, I've got a job to hold down and bills to pay. It's not easy being on your own and (shudders) **_**responsible**_** at twenty-two.**

**For those of you who are waiting for me to update Wonkafic (i.e. Avatar Aang and the Chocolate Factory) or Bloodlines, I am working diligently on them. They will be updated. As for Deleted Scenes…well…I might just take out the exhibitionist-drunk Katara and save that bit for a future chapter in mainfic. Because I keep tossing around ideas for the next DS (Deleted Scene), it has taken me **_**way **_**too long to update that. Again, I apologize.**

**Now that I've address that, let me take up some time and space to respond to some of the guest reviewers who don't have accounts to send PM's to. **

**To C-C-X: **You have an eye for detail, I can definitely tell you that. :D I will admit, I never took track or cross-country (so I don't quite know what training would entail). When I chose that after-school activity for Julie _way back _in the prologue, I was trying to set up future chapters where she would learn how to fight, relying on her light frame and speediness to build her technique on. But it's good that you caught that. I can't just pepper my fic with inaccuracies, and I definitely should have researched the sport more before idly putting it in. Thanks for the heads up.

Fortunately, I don't think there's any need for me to change that part of Julie's background. Julie participated _briefly_ in track as a _freshman_. So the stats you provided for a runner in the senior girl's category, while helpful, wouldn't apply to Julie specifically. And you're right, she wouldn't have been able to show up for practice much given her home life, which was why she gave it up pretty quickly. Also, you're right about her being more of a sprinter; but her training with Bo-Fen and Shen-Long should help her build up her endurance so she can, as they say, "go the distance."

As for Zuko and Iroh potential to be able to see the villagers' spirits before they grabbed those bandits, all I can say is that they definitely _sensed _something was wrong with the town. But then again, it was so obvious it was like a hammer to the skull. Plus, the Spirits had the intention of ambushing the Zu-crew the moment they entered the town because of the Energybender in their midst, so knowing that they would have been trying hard to mask their presence for as long as possible. All these things were hindering Zuko and Iroh from realizing just what they were messing with until it was too late to leave (and maybe longer given how stubborn Zuko was being about staying). Granted, you're right, they probably would have figured it out eventually, but they aren't ectoplasm-detectors…and now I'm picturing a Happy Endings/Ghost Busters crossover I could write.

Yeah. I should stop before I hurt myself. Lol.

**To The Persona: **Inconceivable!

Ni'itsu Kakunoshin, a.k.a. Hiko was lifted shamelessly from Rurouni Kenshin at the request of the real-life Jessie, who is a shameless Kenshin fangirl. She is shamelessly writing fics for the fandom on a shameless website dedicated to fanfiction right at this shameless moment. I could be really evil and give everyone her fanfic pen-name, but Jessie has informed me that if I should happen to disclose that information, she will draw and quarter me with a pen-knife. However, she also wants me to praise you for having seen The Princess Bride. Good movie. I haven't seen all of it myself yet (well, no more than the first half, since every time they played it in school, I'd only get one class-period's worth of the film; so I'd end up seeing the first forty mjnutes over and over again), but I liked the parts that I _did _see.

I'm glad you find my writing so awesome. Just so you know, my awesomeness is rising at an astounding rate, even for one as awesome as myself. Have another chapter! And another! Woo!

**To 1-Fan (who reviewed Bloodlines): **Omigosh, I can't believe that someone likes this pairing SO MUCH that they'd reference them in their reviews for my other fics! Shameless Zulie addict, you say? Well, wait no longer. I will also drop an apology for not updating sooner; I actually worked my butt off to finish the chapter as soon as I saw your review, and I had everything ready to post, but then Hurricane Sandy kind of fucked around with my internet a bit. That's some crazy Frankenstorm, huh?

Hope the fluff satisfies your fix. ;) Enjoy.

**To Quoted: **I don't plan on stopping here. Don't worry, this fic will chug on to the finish line. It would really suck of me to just abandon it, right? Nothing short of an untimely death will stop me (so if I'm offline for, like, two years chances are I'm either suffering from amnesia or rigor-mortis).

**And I'm going to cut it off there. I still want some space to post the actual chapter; but first, since they did such a good job last time doing the summary, I'm going to switch over to Julie and Zuko. Right now they're hard at work going over their scripts for the next chapter and…guys? GUYS?! What the holy hell do you think you're doing?!**

**Julie: **"Showing Zuko what the Internet is. He's kind of having one of those existential crisis's you get when you find out you're a fictional character on a popular fandom…which is kind of _your _fault for making him do the summary for your fic, Distant-Moon."

**So, what you're telling me is that I BROKE your fanon love interest?**

**Julie: **"Don't worry. I'm fixing him."

**Zuko:** (staring at computer screen and unable to hide his frustration and confusion) "You didn't _fix _anything! I still have no idea what you mean by fanfics or this Internet thing! All you've done is shown me a bunch of pictures of baby animals wearing funny hats!"

**Julie: **"…yeah."

**Zuko: **"That's it? Yeah? I just find out that I'm living through several endless realities that are shaped to the whims of a bunch of fangirls, and all you can say is "Yeah?"?!"

**Julie: **(sighs and clicks the mouse, opening an image file of a basket of kittens napping in the sun)

**Zuko: **"And just what was _that _supposed to do?"

**Julie: **"No matter what is happening in your life, you look at enough baby animal pictures on the Internet and you'll just forget about all of your problems. It works every time…just you wait and see."

**Zuko: **"…"

**Julie: **"…"

**Zuko: **"…life is meaningless."

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**Julie: **"So, um…yeah. Last chapter…it was…um…complicated, to say the least. I'm sure you guys remember how Team Avatar was breaking into that prison to free the Earthbenders, right? Well, now they have a game plan. Haru and Katara are going to be fake prisoners, Sokka is going to pose as a prison guard, and Aang and Kuba will provide back-up outside in case anything goes awry. They're going to destroy the prison from the inside out, so they have to be super-sneaky and careful.

And…um…well, nothing new on our end. We're still trapped in that village, and I'm just sitting around reading a book. Totally boring stuff, right?"

**Zuko: **"Bullshit."

**Julie: **"What was that?"

**Zuko: **"You're having some sort of personal drama that you don't want to talk about. You had a nightmare and woke up screaming like your skin was on fire."

**Julie: **"…no I didn't?"

**Zuko: **"And from what I could hear, it sounded like you were saying your ex-boyfriend's name a lot." (narrows eyes suspiciously at her) "We're going to have to have a talk about that, you know. I don't know what's going on with you, but I'm going to find out."

**Julie: **"Not if I can help it." (glares at the camera) "Well? What are you freaks looking at?! Nothing to see here! Get on with the next chapter!"

**Zuko: **"Dammit, Julie! You can't keep running from your problems! I refuse to let you just—"

(END TRANSMISSION)

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Six: Awkward, Messy Business**

Could I ask the universe a question? Did I have the word _victim_ painted on my back or something? Because that is the only reason I can imagine why everyone was suddenly walking on eggshells around me…as though they were abruptly aware of how (apparently) fragile I really was.

I had come back to the house, and everyone was being all fake and nice. Common sense dictated they should have been at least a little bit annoyed with me for waking up practically the whole Earth Kingdom with my screaming…but no one even mentioned it. Zuko looked like he _definitely _had something to say to me, but Iroh kept hushing him and shaking his head quickly.

As if to say, _bad idea_.

I know I should probably have been grateful that no one was interrogating me about my nightmare. But the fact that everyone was so _quiet _about it leads me to believe that I had said a lot more in my sleep than they were letting on. I couldn't even look at them in the eyes…none of them. The thought of any of them knowing what Ramon did made me go hot and cold at the same time…

Thinking about it was worse. It made my insides freeze up and gave me the feeling like something icy and disgusting was crawling under my skin. No amount of locked closets would make me feel better because the feeling was _inside _of me…just like _he _had been. He was practically a part of me now and he was never going away. There are some things you can never, ever take back. There was no way to turn back time and make me whole and _myself_ again.

I barely knew how to pick up the pieces after it had happened. No wonder I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. I just laid in bed and pretended to sleep so that Zuko and the others wouldn't use insomnia as a symptom of this huge thing that was wrong with me.

Because I knew there was something wrong with me. I mean, I wasn't kidding myself here. They all knew it, too; they just weren't bringing it up for some reason.

Well, fine. I could pretend to be normal…and maybe after a while I could make myself believe it again. Just like last time I had to relive this. I could make this go away. I just had to act natural. Just go with the motherfucking flow.

Don't think about it, hope that no one forces the issue, and everything will be fine.

Right?

* * *

Breakfast was especially awkward today. Seriously, I haven't felt so uncomfortable since that mandatory assembly on sexually transmitted diseases, and they made us look at all these slides of stuff you _don't _want to see being excreted out of a dick.

You _all _know the assembly I'm talking about. Practically every health class in the country gives a little "presentation" like this, just to mentally scar people my age out of doing the nasty without…um…as our guidance counselor put it, "bagging up Mr. Happy."

Yeah, I know. Ew.

There was this painful silence as we all picked at our food…and I am using the word _food_ lightly since all we had was the stuff we had packed in our saddlebags and what little supplies we managed to salvage from the abandoned iceboxes (which wasn't much, to say the least). Though it was kind of interesting when Iroh found some hand-churned butter that was still good, and we melted about half of the stick over our hard-tac rolls and ate that with some jerky.

Well, it turns out that homemade butter has a lot more flavor and calories in it than the supermarket crap (which made me a little happier, in spite of the tense atmosphere) and our jerky was pretty good compared to the stuff you typically found in a 7-Eleven; though I would have killed for a breakfast burrito.

Actually, the butter was the only thing keeping me awake at this point. After a whole night of no sleep, I was _shot. _

I didn't even notice Yoshi until he came scrambling into the room and literally _threw_ himself onto my lap. This was only slightly a problem since the little guy had undergone a ridiculous growth spurt over night, leaving him about as big as a young pit bull. I think he found something radioactive last night and accidentally ingested it. Maybe he was turning into Godzilla.

Zuko didn't bat an eye as I lay flattened under the weight of my eelhound. He was too busy being aghast at what lows he had to sink to for a meal (and if he thought this was bad, he was in for a nasty surprise come season two). To be fair, Prince Tightwad was used to fully-cooked meals cooked by a professional chef. He kept making faces, occasionally shooting me incredulous looks when he saw how much I was enjoying the butter…well, once I had managed to pry myself off the floor, that is.

"It's not even good quality butter," he muttered. "This is just cheap peasant stuff…"

My brain was sort of lagging due to sleep deprivation, so it took me a while to articulate a response. It was harder to do this while balancing a huge, squirming eelhound puppy on my lap, especially while he tried to swipe the jerky from my fingers with his sharp teeth.

I love Yoshi, but sometimes…good lord. What was I going to do with him when he got _bigger?_

"Beats the hell out of the stuff you find in my world," I told him, forcing my short-circuiting brain to focus on the topic at hand.

I thought some more, trying to come up with a witty follow-up, but my mind was shooting off these little mental sparks that usually meant a stroke was about to happen. So I gave up and took a giant bite out of my roll.

Yoshi was pawing at my chest, trying to get my attention by whining. But I knew better than to make eye contact. This was just his way of begging for food, and he was clearly eating just fine…unlike the rest of us.

Zuko scowled, watching me chew. "I worry about what you eat in your country, peasant."

I bit back the nasty remark I had saved for just such an occasion since I was grateful the topic of conversation was so normal. Everyone else seemed to be avoiding the subject of last night, though I'm not sure whether it was because we had a flock of homicidal spirits to worry about or because they just couldn't think of anything to say.

Honestly, I'm surprised. I'm used to so much more interference from these people, and I don't know what to make of their (respectful?) distance. I was starting to suspect Bo-Fen put Shen-Long off of questioning me about my dream, but that still didn't explain why Zuko wasn't butting into my personal business like he normally did. It wasn't like he was oblivious to everything that had happened, and I know he had to have heard me screaming my ex-boyfriend's name in my sleep.

Bo-Fen had said that she had told him not to pester me last night, but what if he just didn't care? Even worse, what if he was mad at me? I mean, I'm pretty sure it wasn't socially acceptable behavior to bring up your ex to your current love-interest. Even if Zuko was the one who broke up with me, I don't think he appreciated hearing about Ramon.

He must have been mad at me. That was the only explanation. I mean, wasn't he _always_ mad at me?

Normally, when he suspected I was having some sort of issue (or just that I was keeping something from him), he would barge right into my business and force me to tell him everything, because he was Prince Zuko, and blah-blah-blah-authority, blah-blah-stick-up-his-ass. Today, though, he was just sitting there across the table giving me these _looks_. I had no idea what it meant.

He looked like a fucking ax-murderer the way he was staring at me.

Everyone else was behaving at least _somewhat_ normally, in an awkward kind of way. Iroh couldn't help but drift over every now and then and push more tea and extra rations on me, like I was a cute little kid recovering from the flu. Shen-Long kept me occupied with small talk as I chewed listlessly on my bread and jerky. Only I didn't respond to him the way I had to Zuko because, honestly, small talk bored the hell out of me. Plus, I was dead exhausted.

It was all I could focus on to just eat as quickly as possible so I could escape from the table and maybe get wrapped up in research. It was a good enough excuse not to talk to anyone, and if I was lucky the ritual would be engaging enough where my mind wouldn't drift back to my nightmare…or to Ramon.

"So, what's the plan?" Bo-Fen asked the group as we finished the remains of our meal. "I mean, do we just sit around waiting for Julie to find the ritual in that musty old book? I mean, we have no idea how long we'll be here."

_I think we should go find the bad dog and eat his FACE. _Yoshi was absolutely hyper, wagging his tail and digging his little puppy talons into my pants. He looked like someone had fed him crack when I wasn't looking. _Also, I demand a tummy rub from one of the mortals! Do it now or I will jump on you and…ooh! I found momma! LOVE ME!_

"Oh, God!" I screamed, sliding out of the chair and falling on to the floor. "Get off! I can't…move…!"

Yoshi had his forepaws on my chest and was licking the holy fuck out of my face. I squirmed and struggled, unable to breathe under the thick membrane of drool that was rapidly coating my face. Thank GOD Shen-Long reached over and caught Yoshi by the back of his collar, dragging him off of me.

"No," he said firmly. "You don't jump on people!"

The eelhound stared at Shen-Long before growling. _You're not momma! You can't tell me what to do! I only listen to momma and momma's mate! So fuck off!_

"Yoshi," Zuko snapped. "Stop barking. And leave your mother alone. She's trying to eat."

We all stared at him in confusion. But to our surprise, Yoshi immediately went quiet. As cool as a cucumber, my not-so-little bad-ass walked over to where I was still sprawled on the floor and curled up at my feet, as if to say, _See? I'm a good dog._

"What the fuck?" I muttered. "Why does he listen to you?"

"You spoil him," Zuko replied. "So he thinks he can get whatever he wants from you. I don't do that, so he knows when I tell him something, he has to do it."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "And why doesn't he listen to Shen-Long?"

"Shen-Long isn't the one who trained him."

I gasped in horror. "You _brainwashed _my puppy?" I cried, wrapping my arms around Yoshi and hugging him tightly. "How could you? What the hell is wrong with you? He's just a baby!"

Iroh was grinning over his cup of tea. "It is true he is a puppy now," he pointed out. "But he won't be for much longer. Fortunately, he seems to be under the distinct impression that Prince Zuko is his daddy."

Zuko looked aghast. "_Uncle! _Don't…tell her that!"

I just stared at the two of them, then looked at my eelhound. No way. There was no way that Yoshi actually got suckered into thinking that Zuko was his father. I mean…hell, he practically saw me as his mother, so that would mean that…oh God. Did Yoshi think Zuko and I were…um…married?

"Now, nephew," Iroh replied disarmingly. "I was just suggesting that the two of you work together to train Yoshi as he continues to grow. We clearly cannot have him jumping on people once he reaches his full size. He could seriously injure someone."

"That's fine, but don't go implying that we…that I…uggh! You know what I mean!"

I shook my head and reached up to wipe the drool off of my forehead. Suddenly, there was a dish cloth in my field of vision being held out to me by Shen-Long. Before I could take it and do it myself, he was dutifully wiping the slobber off of me. I gave him a grateful look.

"Thanks."

"It's fine," he said, helping me back into my chair. Then, he turned to face the two royal family members as they continued to bicker. "Can we get back on topic? As in, what we're going to do while Julie is doing her research?"

Zuko gave him a look, not liking how the soldier was addressing him. I saw his golden eyes flicker to the way Shen-Long's hands were lingering on my shoulders and his expression grew stormy and hateful.

"Do you really need me to tell you what to do," the Fire Prince fumed at him. "I would think it would be obvious that we should be guarding Julie…and looking to replenish our supplies. Our rations won't last forever, you know."

"All I'm saying is that _some_ display of leadership would be nice," Shen-Long commented, pulling away from me. I looked at him in surprise, then back at Zuko to see what he would do.

"Fine," Zuko growled, going over to him and staring him in the face. They locked gazes for a tense moment, as if they were having an Agni Kai with just their eyes. "Then I _order _you to replenish our supplies. Go look for food or something. Make yourself useful."

The soldier narrowed his eyes. "Of course…_sir_."

I didn't like the way they were looking at each other. In most fandoms, a look like that either meant that they were about to beat each other's faces in…or they were about to have really angry make-out session. Since I had a vested romantic interest in one of them (and Ayla in the other), I decided I should nip this little spark in the bud before it turned into a wildfire. The last thing any of us needed was to have to watch Zuko and Shen-Long having a frustrated quickie on the kitchen table.

As weirdly sexy as it would have been, that is to say. It just wasn't a good idea.

"Can't we just escape or something?" I asked. "Leave town?"

That little remark earned me a group face-palm, though I honestly couldn't see why that was such a stupid plan (but then again, I was also sleep deprived; most things seem like a good idea when you're completely stupid from insomnia). Running away always has its benefits. Haven't these people ever heard the saying, "She who runs away lives to fight another day?"

Maybe it was the whole honor thing, but these Fire Nation types took everything so seriously. They probably thought it was dishonorable to retreat, even strategically.

"You want us to run…from a group of spirits?" said Zuko slowly. "Spirits who are watching our every move and are ready to damn us to an eternity of torment in the Spirit World should we fail or double-cross them?"

"I haven't seen any spirits since yesterday," I pointed out.

He sighed. "You can't see them, and you're the Energybender…I can't even fathom the irony in that." He shook his head at me. "They're there, Julie. Uncle can see Spirits and so can I. They keep circling the house…and they were following you when you went for your little walk last night."

That sent a chill through my body. Suddenly I was very awake. "They followed me?" Then I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously. "Wait…how would you even know that? Unless…"

Unless he had been there himself to see it.

Zuko brushed off the question. "Escaping isn't an option for us," he said impatiently. "So you need to read that book cover to cover. As long as you do that, we should be fine."

I squirmed. "You don't know that…I mean…I don't even know what I'm doing."

He paused to meet my gaze. "You've come through for me in a lot worse situations than this. And you've performed miracles right in front of me. I know you can do it."

"Zuko…"

"You _will _do this," he cut me off. "So no more arguments."

Uggh. I hated how such a simple, bossy remark could make my entire body heat up like a metal rod left on a furnace. Because I was much more at home with antagonism, hearing Zuko praise me (even in a roundabout way like that) was enough to derail me and leave me feeling ridiculously incoherent and shy.

"I…I'll try…" I stammered. "But don't get your hopes up…okay?"

Bo-Fen smirked at me from across the table. Shen-Long, on the other hand, chose to ignore us. He had gone back to eating his breakfast in silence. But I hardly noticed that. My pulse quickened as I lowered my gaze to my lap, and I was too flustered to even look up and see if Zuko was still watching. With no other alternatives, I snatched up the book up off the table and fled from the room like a love-sick fool.

Like? I _was _a fool. You'd think getting my heart completely stomped on once in my life would be enough for me, but apparently not. Either that, or my heart had been suckered into thinking that Zuko was worth the risk of being broken a second time.

As if. Nothing was worth that kind of pain. The funny thing was, though, I didn't really feel so much like I was hurting anymore. Just really, really sleepy and embarrassed.

In fact, I almost felt normal. Almost.

* * *

It was a well-known fact among his soldiers that Warden Takei was not the most capable of men. It was true he did not have the stomach to lead on the front lines, and was often one of the first to flee at the first sign of trouble. It was why, when the drafters came to calling around his village, he had immediately signed on as a prison guard. He could wear a Fire Nation uniform without ever having to go into battle (if he was lucky), and the pay was pretty good, too.

To put it simply, the man was a coward. He was used to brown-nosing the right people and acting condescending towards people he felt were _below _him. And while he was more cunning than most people in his profession, his own delusions of self-importance made him act foolishly at times—and he was so used to _acting_ competent that it left him with little time to build up any actual skill in handling prisoners, let alone hostile ones.

So, really, he had found his calling when he had suddenly and inexplicably been given command of the small, off-shore prison rig full of broken-in rebels. The fact that they were Earthbenders were of no consequence on an all-metal rig full of trained Firebenders. Hell, it wouldn't matter if there was solid ground under their feet. Those prisoners were too broken to lift so much as a pebble against them.

That was just the way Warden Takei liked it. It was an easy job with a delicious pay raise. Plus, there would be plenty of underlings to boss around and grubby dirt people to take amusement from should things get too quiet. How could he not relish in his gain?

He stood on the deck of his rig and watched the approaching ferry that would be bringing more supplies and more Earthbenders. It would be his first shipment of new prisoners in his time as warden, and he definitely wanted to make an impression. He would make it clear to those filthy savages that they stood no chance in defying them. He would snuff out any spark of rebellion before it lived to become a living flame.

If anything went wrong, the prospect of an easy paycheck went out the window. If things got especially bad, he could be transferred to the battlefield, which was the last place he wanted to be. Takei wanted to survive this war and retire to a life of relative comfort. That was why he could _not _fail as warden.

The little boat anchored beside the rig, and a gangplank was lowered to connect the two vessels. Takei watched with careful, squinted eyes as the Earthbenders were being unloaded. He felt his muscles unknot in relief when he realized that these newcomers were mostly elderly people…though there were two teenagers among them that caught his eye. Just two among thirteen, but there was something about that girl that made him look again.

_My, _he thought to himself with a smirk. _She's quite lovely for a mud girl. I could really amuse myself with her if I get bored._

The prisoners were forced to wear rucksacks over their clothing, but he didn't miss the bright blue garments she had on underneath or the way it brought out her defiant eyes. The warden may have been a coward, but he wasn't a fool…the blue was obviously some symbol of Water Tribe ancestry. Though that wasn't so strange given the fact that they were on the coast, but still…he would keep an eye on this one. She looked like trouble, anyway.

Even if she wasn't trouble, he didn't mind the excuse to watch the girl. She really was a comely creature.

The boy she was with looked more nervous and unsure of himself. No surprise there. He was in a war prison, for Spirit's sake; he had to have enough sense to know that this wasn't some fun park. Takei noticed how he seemed to stick close to the blue-eyed girl, too. The boy seemed to be a protective presence at her side, but his eyes were scanning the guards for trouble.

Takei's smirk deepened. _Smart kid. I wonder why he's so jumpy, though_.

In spite of his curiosity for the two teens, the warden's sense of duty kicked in. It was past time for him to address the newcomers, and he would be damn sure to strike some sense of fear and respect into those rocky heads of theirs. After all, he was a very important man, here.

He took a deep breath and felt his inner fire stir along with his sense of manhood. Power was everything in this world. It always has been and it always would be. But sometimes you didn't have to be strong to wield power; if you were clever enough, it was simply a matter of smoke and mirrors; of making other people _believe_ that you were the strongest or the most capable. These Earthbenders, for example, were powerful warriors, but clever Fire Nation men were smart enough to separate them from their element. And now they are helpless and rot in their despair.

No earth meant no resistance. In that case, the warden was the most powerful person there. He controlled these men's fates. He would decide who would get fed, who would starve, and who would freeze in the coming winter. Like a host providing for his guests, the privileges he extended to these mud people could be retracted at any time. Being host to these prisoners was practically like playing god.

One of the easiest jobs in the Fire Nation (in Takei's opinion) also had a lot of perks. He turned this thought over smugly in his mind as his men forced the new prisoners to stand in a line in front of him. Then, slowly, he strode to the center of the line and addressed them.

"Earthbenders," he said in a loud, clear voice. "It is my pleasure to welcome you aboard my modest shipyard. I am your warden." He glanced down the line at each of them in turn, careful to keep his tone courteous, yet condescending enough to remind them just who was in control here. "I prefer to think of you not as prisoners, but as honored guests, and I hope you come to think of me as your humble and caring host."

A few of the guards smirked and nudged each other at this. They knew just how humble and caring Warden Takei actually was to his prisoners. That is to say, not at all.

"You will succeed here if you simply abide—"

Takei was distracted by a wet, hacking cough from one of the prisoners. His face hardened instantly as he swiveled to face the man, bending a huge gout of flame at his feet. The wheezing Earthbender stumbled back and fell flat on his ass, gasping and pale.

"What kind of guest dishonors his host by interrupting him?!" the warden snarled. "Take him below!"

A pair of guards seized the unfortunate man and dragged him away from the others and down a flight of stairs leading down into the bowels of the ship. The other prisoners had gone very still during this blow up, and many were too afraid to even breathe after what had just transpired in front of them. Warden Takei felt a rush of satisfaction at having proven his superiority. He happened to catch the gaze of the blue-eyed girl as she stared at him in anger.

She wasn't afraid of him like the others were. But he could fix that in time. There was always more time.

"One week in solitary will improve his manners," he said, but it was like he was speaking just to her. My, how defiant she looked as she boldly met his gaze. "Simply treat me with the courtesy that I give you and we'll get along famously." He paused to glance pointedly around the ship, letting his gaze steer the prisoner's lines of sight in the direction he wanted. "You will notice, Earthbenders, that this rig is made entirely of _metal_. You are miles away from any rock or earth, so if you have any illusions about employing that brutish savagery that passes for bending among you people, forget them. It is impossible."

He let that word, impossible, slam into them like a massive lock being bolted shut. Then, he turned away from them, smiling nastily.

"Good day."

* * *

Katara was roughly led deeper into the rig alongside the other prisoners, her heart pounding as she contemplated how far she had gotten and how much there was still left to do. She was sure that the warden had caught on to her disguise as he stared at her in the line-up. He had his eyes on her a lot longer than he should have. Did that mean he suspected something?

She swallowed nervously, silently glad that she wasn't infiltrating this prison rig alone. Haru was with her, and Sokka too (though unseen, blending in with the other guards and garbed in a full helmet and mask). Outside, Aang and Kuba were waiting for nightfall so they could bust in and liberate the prisoners. All she had to do was help Haru spread the word that help was on the way.

She told herself to be brave, even though the last time she had been this close to Fire Nation soldiers had been on Kyoshi Island, when Zhao had burned everything to the ground; and the time before that when Prince Zuko had attacked her village. She didn't like them grabbing her, snapping orders at her like she was a piece of trash. She wanted to stand up for herself, to water-slap those knuckleheads something fierce.

Haru's hand ghosted to her shoulder, warning her, _not yet_.

Katara sighed and held back. She didn't like feeling so helpless, though, and she would be sure to make up for it when the time came to rally the prisoners.

The door opened in front of her, and the soldiers behind her thrust her forwards, into the open area where all the other Earthbenders were being kept. Haru caught a hold of her to keep her from falling, and she shot him a grateful look. The two teens took a moment to look around them, speechless and intimidated by the hulking metal monster of a ship they were being kept on. Katara pushed back her doubts and started scanning the guards, trying to spot her brother.

Haru, on the other hand, was looking for someone else.

"What if he isn't here?" he asked the Waterbender. "What if he's being held on a different ship? What if he isn't even…" he trailed off as he spotted someone familiar in the crowd. His breath caught in his throat, his brown eyes wide in surprise. "D-Dad…?"

The man, hearing the young Earthbender's voice, froze in mid-motion and started to turn. Haru got a better look at his profile and gasped elatedly. _It is him! He's here! I can't believe it, I…_

"Haru?"

Katara jolted to attention as she saw the older man striding towards them, his arms open and wide. Haru jumped and stepped into his father's embrace, hugging him tightly. She watched them for a moment, feeling pleased at their reunion, but also a bit jealous. She hadn't seen her own father in so long, she had forgotten what his hugs felt like. There was an ache in her chest as she wondered, for the umpteenth time, where her father was and what he was doing. Did he miss her as much as she missed him?

"What are you doing here? Did the Fire Nation capture you?"

Haru pulled away, doubt and hesitation on his face. "Not…exactly. It's kind of a long story, Dad…but first, there's someone I really want you to meet." He started pulling his father over to where Katara was standing, watching them. She quickly put a smile on her face, looking up at the taller Earthbender and meeting his gaze. "Katara, this is my father, Tyro. Dad, this is Katara."

The Waterbender bowed politely. "It's an honor to meet you."

He looked from one teen to the other. He offered the girl a smile and a bowl of some kind of thin gruel. "Have some dinner, Katara. You too, son. I remember it's a long journey over from the village, and I bet they didn't give you much to eat on the way here."

Katara looked down into her bowl. "Eruhh…!"

Tyro gave her a sympathetic look. "I know the feeling. But it isn't as bad as it looks."

Haru had already taken a spoonful of the gruel and choked on it. "Erahh!" he gasped. "Gah…! Spirits…! I think something was wriggling around in there!"

"Those will be maggots, Haru. Sometimes they lay eggs in the bags of rice that goes into the gruel. The guards don't really think about quality when it comes to feeding us. And come winter, we'll be lucky if we even get that much."

Katara looked shocked. "But that's horrible. What if people starve to death?"

Tyro looked her in the eyes. "To the Fire Nation, we're not people. We're threats. If we die off, it isn't their problem. Right now all we can do is take care of our elderly and our sick…to survive the best we can, and hope that one day some of us can get back home and forget any of this ever happened."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What about escaping?" she persisted incredulously. "What about fighting back? If we lay down and do nothing, the Fire Nation won't just stop with your villages…they'll go for the rest of the Earth Kingdom. They'll go for the rest of the _world_."

"Katara," said Haru, taking her by the arm. "That's not the only reason we're here…remember?"

Tyro folded his arms across his chest. "Now, that's something I was wondering about. Just why are you kids here? Somehow, I'm starting to doubt it was a coincidence you two were arrested and brought here at the same time a bunch of Earth Kingdom rebels were rumored to have attacked the Fire Nation soldiers occupying our village." He lifted an eyebrow. "Hm?"

They looked at each other and felt a bit awkward. "Um," said Haru nervously. "Actually, Dad…that was us…sort of. There weren't any rebels."

"So you attacked a squadron of trained soldiers with no plan? No back-up? Just the two of you?"

"There are others," Katara chimed in quickly. "My brother Sokka and another Earthbender named Kuba…and Aang. He's the—"

"Tyro," another prisoner spoke up, wandering over and getting the older man's attention. "The prisoners are complaining that there aren't enough blankets to go around. What should we do?"

Haru's father sighed heavily, exhaustion prominent on his face. "I'll talk to the guards. In the mean time, make sure that the elderly are taken care of. The rest of us will simply have to hope for warmer weather." He turned back to the two teens. "Son, that was extremely reckless. I told you before I was taken away…I begged you to look after your mother. Now what is she going to do with both of us here in prison?"

Haru lowered his eyes. "At least I'm doing something. Yes, it was reckless…and stupid…and caused a lot of problems, I know, Dad. But at least we're still trying! At least we're still fighting! The way you're talking right now, you sound like you've already given up. Did you even try to find a way back to Mom and me? Or did you just sit there and hope for better days?"

Tyro's face darkened. "Haru…"

"Answer me! What have you been doing all this time? Nothing!"

"Sometimes doing nothing is the only option!" his father shouted back. "You've only been in here one day, but me? I've been here for years, son. Here, if you take a step out of line, it doesn't just affect you…it affects _everyone_. People's _lives _are at stake. And what's worse, the Warden is a ruthless man…he won't stand for any rebellion."

He looked from Haru to Katara, both of whom were looking hurt and angry. Tyro sighed again and turned away, unable to withstand the feeling that he was betraying them somehow.

"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it. "But we're powerless."

Haru just shook his head. "Then that's it, then. It doesn't matter what we do because you won't even try to help yourself." He sat down on the ground, feeling defeated. "No wonder the Fire Nation is winning this war. Why even bother fighting the Brotherhood if we can't even drive out the Fire Nation?"

Katara stared at him for a moment, her blue eyes thoughtful. After a moment, she looked grim and determined.

"They haven't won yet."

* * *

I wished I could say that I was being as productive as Katara. Unfortunately, the sad, sad truth of the matter was that…well…I had spent most of the day sitting at a desk and fighting off the onslaught of the sleepy-fairies distracting me from my research. And could you really blame me when the subject matter was, and I quote…

"Chakras. Chakras are metaphysical vortices of energy originating in the ancient system of healing," I read to myself. "They are positioned in seven major centers down the body, and they control the flow of subtle energies that make up our world and our bodies. They symbolize the connection between the spiritual and the physical, and in maintaining this connection a true bender can find balance and inner stability; without which he or she cannot safely bend the energies that…God, this is so fucking _boring_."

I put the book down and massaged my eyes. I had barely gotten into this chapter and it was so _dry_. Seriously, I knew this would be hard to learn, but come on. The material was about as dense as pre-calculus (and just about as exciting). How was I supposed to focus long enough to find that stupid ritual Lin was telling me about?

I had my face literally buried in the spine of the open book, having taken a face-plant mere moments ago out of frustration and mental exhaustion. It didn't help that I got almost no sleep last night, or that the words kept blurring every time I paused to blink. What I would have given to just take a long power-nap.

Only I couldn't sleep. I couldn't let myself close my eyes. If I had another nightmare…well, that would blow any chances of things returning to normal for me. That is to say, as normal as things could ever get when you're stranded in another dimension and almost-dating a cartoon heartthrob. But, you know what I meant. Normal for _us_.

I groaned. I did _not _want to do any more studying today.

Too bad I had no say in the matter.

"Julie?" I heard the sound of Zuko's familiar rasp as he pulled the flimsy bedroom door open. I didn't bother moving. He probably already saw me slumped over and using the ancient tomb like a pillow. "What the hell are you doing?"

I let out a low whine. "I hate this book. I hate Energybending. I hate spirits. And I hate your stupid face, Zuko. Go away."

It was a simple request. But were things ever simple for Prince of the Firebreathing Dickheads? No. Of course they weren't. Stupid, bossy princes had to get in the middle of _everything_ and make life difficult for me. They had to barge in and make demands and rob me of my mini-nap.

My body tensed up automatically as he grasped my shoulders from behind. "Come on," he growled. "Get up. You shouldn't be sleeping now. What's the matter with you?"

"…tired…" I mumbled, trying to shrug him off. "…and this book is boring. I can't focus."

Zuko pulled me out of the book and scrutinized me with narrowed eyes. "You've got bags under your eyes," he stated flatly. "You didn't sleep at all, last night…did you?"

I grimaced. Stupid, bossy, _overly-observant_ prince and his idiot royal head.

"I can't believe you!" he exclaimed, correctly interpreting my silence for what it was; a guilt-ridden pause. "Spirits, I should have known…but you're always so wretched in the morning, it's impossible to talk to you. How was I supposed to notice any difference?"

I flipped him the bird and slumped over the desk again. Zuko sighed in frustration, massaging the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He looked like he was about to blow his top…so in other words, he seemed like his normal self.

"You're not even trying," he complained.

Slowly, I lifted my head up and gave him a look. "I _am_ trying, all right? I just feel like I'm missing something. Something obvious…"

Zuko went and found a chair, moving it next to me and sitting down without my permission. Seriously, since when did I invite him to join me?

"Well, _that's _not so surprising…" Asshole. "…except, I have that feeling too," he said. "It's still bothering me…the fact that we found this book here of all places. I was listening to you reading before, and it sounds to me like some kind of Energybending manual." He reached across me and took a page in his fingers, turning it over and looking at it. "It's a little too perfect, don't you think? That an untrained Energybender happens to come to this village and happens to find this book?"

I scowled. "Maybe…maybe not. I mean, the Brotherhood was here."

"Exactly. It was like they knew we'd come here…they knew _you _would come here."

Oh, fuck. I did not need to hear this now. I was already having nightmares about Ramon. I didn't want to go back to having those excruciating flashbacks of being burned alive at the stake by those creepy fuckers in the cloaks. And I wasn't about to puzzle over which form of torture I preferred, rape or burning.

I shuddered. "Could we _not _talk about those freaks anymore? At least not until we're back on the ship…and safe?"

Zuko gave me a look. "You were the one who asked. I'm just telling you what I think."

Whatever. I turned back to the book and waited for Zuko to leave. Part of me that was perpetually irritated with the Fire Prince wanted to throw him out. But the rest of me, the side that was feeling alone and confused, wanted someone with me; and that side of me wasn't especially picky right now about who it was.

_I can always kick him out later if he annoys me, _I told myself.

"Um…do you think…I mean…I can read this, but I'm having trouble _understanding_ what I'm reading." I fidgeted a little. "And, you know, I figure that you're used to reading old junk, what with all those scrolls you collected…maybe you could…um…help me?"

Zuko blinked at me. "You want _my _help? How am I supposed to understand this better than you?"

I shrugged hopelessly. "Dunno…but I…please?"

He frowned for a moment, looking down quietly. He looked like he was thinking about something, but whatever it was he obviously wasn't going to tell me. After a pause he nodded reluctantly.

"I don't mind," he told me. "Um…you're sure you want my help, though? Not one of the others?"

I gave him a flat look. "Aren't _you _the Avatar scholar, here? Your knowledge might come in handy…I mean, don't you think so?"

All right, so I grabbed that excuse out of thin air, but it seemed to convince Zuko. He scooted his chair a little closer and peered down at the book. I jumped as his knee accidentally brushed against mine—actually, _flinched _was a better word to describe what I did. Zuko saw the look on my face and muttered out a quick apology.

I told him it was fine, but my heart was beating a little too quickly. I couldn't tell if it was because I liked having him so close or because I wanted frantically to push him away. My emotions were so twisted up right now it was no use trying to make any sense of them.

"Um…anyway," I said quickly, covering up my mortification. "The book starts out by going into a very lengthy explanation of chakras in the human body…you know, how important they are for bending. Apparently cosmic energy enters our bodies through each of the chakras, starting at the base of the spine and ending in the crown chakra."

Zuko nodded. "Okay…we already knew that Energybenders bend chakra energy. That's how they attack people. What we need to know is how they use their power in these other rituals…the ones that those spirits were talking about."

"Right." I stared for a moment at the diagram in the book of the human figure, with these colorful splotches representing the seven major chakras. "It's a two-way connection. The bender reaches out to other sources of energy by opening themselves up to the universe. So…it says here that you have to have absolute control over your own chakras. If you don't, that outside energy can seep in and corrupt you…"

I trailed off, thinking about the lion-turtle that taught Aang how to Energybend in the series finale. He had warned Aang that his spirit had to be _unbendable_ or he would be corrupted and destroyed. What would happen to me if I tried opening up to the Spirit World and I wasn't in control of myself?

Especially so close to the solstice…

"I could really fuck this up," I said quietly. "If I try this ritual, and I can't keep control, then I could…I could end up dead…or worse."

This declaration sat heavily on the air. Zuko looked especially troubled and couldn't meet my gaze. His brow furrowed and the marred half of his face was cast in shadow as he turned a little away from me. I pretended not to notice his reaction. I didn't need any reminder of how hopeless this was. I mean, when it came to Energybending, I had no control at all whatsoever.

"I'm sorry," he said in a thick voice. "I was the one who brought you here."

I looked up at him. "Wait a minute, Zu, how is this _your _fault? You didn't know these creepy fuckers would be here. If anything, this is my fault. If I wasn't an Energybender, they wouldn't be holding all of us hostage right now."

He looked at me, his golden eyes glittering. "If you weren't an Energybender, they would have killed us all, without hesitation. Without you, they have no reason to spare our lives." He broke eye-contact suddenly, looking almost ill. "You saved me again, peasant."

"Not yet, I didn't."

"But you will," he said. "I don't doubt that." He sat there in a brooding silence while I fidgeted in my seat, not knowing what I was supposed to say to that. He took a deep breath. "Lately I get the feeling like you can do anything. Since we found you in the water, so much has happened…so much has gotten better for me…for everyone."

"That's…" I swallowed, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "I think you're exaggerating. All I've done is cause trouble for you. I'm surprised you put up with me, to be honest."

"Are you kidding? Julie, I had been searching for the Avatar for three years without finding a trace of him. One day, you show up, and about a week or so later we find the Avatar hatching out of the iceberg and running for that Water Tribe village. Since then you've helped a lot of people on my ship…something I never bothered to do. Until I met you, I didn't even know the names of the people serving under my command. I barely knew my own Lieutenant. You changed that."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" I asked him. "Because I always got the impression that you didn't like those guys very much. You're always bitching at Shen-Long even though he doesn't do anything to you. And I've heard you say how disrespectful Jee is and how you wish you could fire his ass."

Zuko didn't answer me right away. "I don't hate them, any of them…not really. Not even Shen-Long. I just…I don't understand them. They all live relatively normal lives…but I can never have that. Not until I get my honor back. No one understands how much I've _lost_." He met my gaze again. "No one except for you. You're the only one who knows how I'm feeling…wanting to go home so desperately that you'd do anything to do it."

I felt something stir inside of me, a chord of genuine kinship echoing in my heart. But I also felt pangs of grief…because I still wanted to go home. I wanted my new family and my place on Zuko's ship more and more each day, and it was just starting to feel right; like I was exactly where I belonged. But that didn't erase the longing I felt. It didn't make me feel any less homesick.

"Was that why you were being such a stubborn jack-ass?" I asked. "Because you were desperate?"

"I'm always desperate. That's the problem." He sighed. "But…I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. You didn't deserve it after everything you've done for me lately. Especially that thing you did for...you know…_this._" He gestured at the bad side of his face.

I wasn't sure what exactly he meant by that. Blacking out someone's eye was not typically something that earns you praise. Why was Zuko getting so choked up about it?

I felt torn as I took in every detail of his face, from the golden irises to the proud, arching brow; down to the fine, soft lips that were frowning at me. I saw the black eye I had given him, looking not as dark and blotchy as yesterday…the dark patches of fuzz poking its way through his scalp as his hair started to grow in…the faint outline of pinkish-red where his scar used to be…

Wait…used to be?

I cried out, causing Zuko to jump. "Oh, my GOD! What happened to your scar?"

He blinked at me in the awkward silence that followed, like there just weren't any words left in the world left for him to use. He breathed out an angry sigh and turned his face away. "You're observant," he stated in a tone that said that he didn't think I was very observant at all.

"No, really," I said, standing up to get a better look. "It looks like it's healing and everything! I didn't even see it because of the bruise I gave…err…I mean…because of the black eye." I shifted from one foot to the other. "When did this happen?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You need to seek professional help for whatever it is that's wrong with you." I folded my arms and stared at him until he surrendered the answer to my question. It didn't take long, either. "It was a side effect of you healing me," he said finally. "Remember? When you Energybent the sickness out of my body? Well, it freed up some negative energy trapped in my scar. It's healing more, now."

I slumped back down into my chair. "Oh," I said, feeling a bit deflated. "You mean…_I _did that?"

"You seriously didn't _notice_?"

I shook my head, feeling a bit mystified. "I remember driving that crusty old bitch's spirit away, but…I thought scars couldn't heal. That's impossible."

"Apparently not as impossible as you would think. You're just full of miracles. It's one reason why I still think I stand a chance at capturing the Avatar." Zuko looked determined as he said this. "Nothing is impossible for you…and together, think of what we could do."

I didn't want to think about what he had in mind. Capturing Aang was not high on my list of priorities at the moment. Fortunately, Zuko had already flat out forbade me to fight Aang, worried that I'd lose control and kill him by accident. Gee, that was a pleasant thought.

I probably should have felt worse about taking Zuko's side in all of this (since technically I was betraying the universe for helping the season one bad guy), but it seemed to make him happy to think that I believed in him and his mission. And as dorky and shameful as it was, I liked it when Zuko was happy.

It didn't happen often, but it was nice.

"If you keep talking like that," I said slowly, keeping my gaze on the book and away from his face. "I'm going to think you're more in love with my powers than you are with me."

Which, you know, was kind of risky for me to say. Technically, Zuko only said that he loved me once…just once. And that had been when he had been provoked by Jee. For all I knew, it wasn't even true. I mean, he said that moments before he _dumped _me.

And just to set the record straight, I wasn't flirting with him. I was merely stating facts. According to him I was some kind of miracle-worker. I was just making sure that wasn't _all _he saw in me.

Zuko stared at me and I felt my heart beating a little faster. "That's not true at all. I…why would you think that?"

Gee, I dunno. Maybe it's because I'm still single after pouring out my feelings to you.

I waited for him to say something, anything to convince me that he was sincerely in love with me. But the seconds passed and the silence felt increasingly awkward. He looked troubled as he avoided my eyes, something that definitely wasn't a good sign.

"Zuko…"

"I'm not good at this," he said quickly. "I know girls like that kind of thing…talking about feelings, but I…I'm not good at that."

"You were doing just fine before."

"That was different! We were talking about _you_, not me…"

I shrugged, hugging my arms to my sides. "Well…I'm not so good at it either. Screw it. I guess I'll have to live with not knowing what I mean to you."

Zuko looked exasperated. "I already told you!"

"Once."

He shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you that I love you?!" he blurted out.

We both froze, staring at each other in surprise (and in Zuko's case, embarrassment). He had been so loud that his unintentional declaration had most definitely echoed into the next room. He turned red and scooted his chair back, so flustered that he was just going to leave without another word. But at the last second I caught his arm and held him back.

He stiffened. "What?"

I hesitated, feeling nervous. "Um…I think I…I mean…" I swallowed. "…me too."

Zuko was dead quiet. He reached down and took my hand, the one that was clinging to him, and pried my fingers away from his sleeve. But he didn't move to flee right away like I thought he would. I held my breath as he held my hand trapped in his bigger one, and I could feel the heat of his chi and the rough calluses from years of training and hard work. It was also glaringly obvious which one of us would win in an arm wrestling match.

I blushed. "Um…don't feel bad. About those spirits, I mean. I'll do whatever I can to fix everything. And…um…thanks…for listening to me."

He hesitated. "You won't be alone. I'll protect you. We all will."

I felt warm inside. "That's what you think," I told him. "This time, I'm going to be the one who protects all of you. I'm going to start practicing until I can figure out this stupid chakra thing."

All of this talk about us protecting each other was sweet as punch, but it also nagged at me. I frowned for a moment as Zuko nodded and pulled away from me. I watched him go, trying to figure out what it was I was trying to remember. It felt important.

"We're always protecting each other," I murmured. "Just like before when Baihu helped me find him, and…and…"

My eyes widened. You know that magnificent moment when it all _clicks_ and everything suddenly shifts into focus? That just happened to me.

"Fuck! That's right! Baihu is the spirit that protects this whole area! And the Brotherhood…didn't Lin say they were trying to summon something?"

I wracked my brain, my moment of inspiration causing the gears to turn overtime in my head.

"They desecrated Baihu's shrine…they were sacrificing people who lived in this town that _he _protected…they must have been trying to summon him…but why?"

I sat there, alone in the room, waiting for the answer to just fall into place. But apparently that was the only epiphany I was going to have for today. Still, I wasn't too disappointed. Actually, for the first time since I had that god-awful nightmare last night, I felt excited. My blood thrummed in my veins as I realized what I had to do.

"I have to talk to Baihu."

No wonder I couldn't find the damn thing in the book. It was a book about keeping your natural energies balanced, internally and externally…and about how chakras were a bender's connection to the universe. Connecting…that was what I needed to learn to do.

I didn't need a summoning ritual…I needed something that will help me contact something or someone in the Spirit World. I had been looking for the wrong ritual.

"Well, at least now I'm getting somewhere," I said to myself. "Thanks, Zuko."

Of course, the stubborn idiot wasn't around to hear me say it. But that suited me just fine. Nothing good ever came out of talking about feelings. It was messy and awkward…kind of like sex.

I'm going to leave you guys to puzzle that comparison out for yourselves. I had more important things to do.

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter done. Man, I'm exhausted. I actually had to scrap the original scene with Zuko and Julie because it was way over the top. Like, you know how this was fluffy? The original chapter had a tongue-kiss and everything. But I realized that given what was going on in Julie's personal life, and given the fact that Zuko is such a ball of awkward, it would be a bit OOC for them to be sucking face every other chapter.**

**Besides, if they're making out, they aren't pushing the plot. I'm ninety-something chapters in, and I really need to get a move on. So instead, they're having a study-date. Isn't that cute? **

**As for the definition of chakras that Julie read to us, I did not rip that off of Guru Pathik. Instead, I happened to find a book about chakras and meditation called "The Book of Chakra Healing," by Liz Simpson. It turns out Mike and Bryan did their research on chakras before writing that episode; there are seven chakras, and they are the same seven described to us by Guru Pathik. But this book also pointed out that chakras themselves can become unbalanced in specific ways, giving more detail than the Guru episode. And since balance was such an Avatar concept, I decided to go with it.**

**A lot of Julie's Energybending is going to be inspired by what I pulled out of this book. But we'll see in time that the real meaning of Energybending has been corrupted by the Brotherhood, who are corrupt people in and of themselves. More on that later, though.**

**Lately it's been hard to write for the Gaang. I don't want to just copy and paste the episode transcript from the Avatar website (if you guys wanted the old episode, you would watch it in HD, not read it in a fanfic). So I fleshed out Warden Takei, who is unnamed in the show. But I decided to name him after the man who voiced him in the episode…George Takei! Can you believe it? I didn't even recognize him until I read the Avatar Extras and watched the episode again. **

**I'm turning into a bit of a VA nerd. Deal with it.**

**My favorite part to write was obviously that scene with Yoshi. I just love coming up with things for the eelhound to get into; especially as he grows up into a fully-grown eelhound. I kind of got inspired by J.K Rowling's Norbert (or Norberta, as it turned out) and decided that a creature like Yoshi would probably grow in spurts from the time they hatch. Since the eggs are so small and eelhounds get so big (I had almost written myself into a corner there), it only makes sense that they would have growth spurts.**

**Plus, it's hilarious watching Yoshi trying to get away with stuff he could do when he was little. Like climbing on Julie's lap and giving her tongue baths. Also, I think you guys already guessed this, but I find the whole daddy-Zuko thing to be adorable and funny. Too bad Julie doesn't think so…or Zuko himself, for that matter.**

**So, next time we get to see Katara being an activist, Julie will attempt to hold a séance (yeah, I know…this should be interesting), and things are going to go hideously awry. I'm actually looking forward to writing it.**

**In the meantime, REVIEW!**


	94. Murphy's Law

**A/N: Hi, guys! I'm back with another chapter! Hurray!**

**Okay, not hurray. I'm actually having something of a shit week if I'm being perfectly honest. I just have a crap-ton of unwanted baggage to deal with at the moment, a few bridges to burn…but nothing I can't bounce back from, thank God. **

**Plus, I just got over a wicked migraine last night. That obviously didn't help me feel better. Whatever, though. I still tried, and I got this chapter done sort of on time…maybe. I mean, it's **_**hard **_**cranking out eight to ten thousand word chapters every other week.**

**But I'm not going to waste your time boring you with a monologue of self-pity. Because as much as I like to bitch about it, I love writing. I know I'm not fooling anybody. So I'm just going to cut to the chase and give you guys what we all know you want. The next chapter!**

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**I'll just do the summary since I'm short on time.**

After an enlightening conversation with Zuko, Julie realizes that the secret to putting the angry spirits to rest lies in contacting Baihu, a major spirit who once protected the Jade Mountains. But will she be able to handle the risk? If her spirit isn't completely unbendable, she might just end up destroying herself and the people she's trying to save.

Meanwhile, Haru has confronted his father about his lack-luster efforts in his attempts to escape and reunite with his family. Neither he nor Katara can understand how these people could abandon hope so easily. Katara, frustrated by the hopeless attitude of the Earthbenders, decides to take matters into her own hands.

**And now for the chapter:**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Seven: Murphy's Law**

It had been way too easy to sneak into this place.

Sokka was dressed head to toe in full Fire Nation regalia, complete with a helmet and mask that he lifted straight out of the armory next door. Granted, he wasn't a Firebender, but it wasn't as if the commanding officers were making everyone do a demonstration of their abilities—they weren't nearly so paranoid as that. Not yet. He would have no problem blending in with _this _crowd.

Even better, because of the alleged "Earthbender rebellion" brewing in the nearby villages, the men working the armory were rushing to give the new recruits their armor so they could go and suppress it. Some were being shipped to the rig, others were being sent out to the occupied towns and the mines, and everything was getting mixed up largely due to the incompetence of whoever was in charge.

They had practically handed him the armor themselves.

_Sokka poked his head inside the armory shed. He frowned in consternation when he saw how crowded it was. The building was practically crawling with Firebenders all waving their order tickets and making a fuss over their uniforms. The small-ish man behind the counter was getting very flustered as he tried frantically to organize the crush of new recruits into two lines. No such luck._

_He was about to scurry away to rethink his plan when he realized that no one was actually paying any attention to him. In fact, he could probably just walk right in there and grab his own uniform off the shelf and no one would be any wiser. He scrutinized the Fire Nation faces quickly, but everyone was grumbling and trying to get the shopkeeper's attention._

"_Please!" the man cried. "Two lines! That's all I ask of you! New recruits on the left, armor repairs on the right, and…no, no, NO! You mustn't touch those bows! They were custom ordered for Colonel Shinu! Excuse me…"_

_Sokka crept in and started examining the shelves. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone noticed the blatantly Water Tribe boy standing in their midst. Weirdly enough, it was like he was invisible._

_Well, whatever. He certainly wasn't going to complain about it. Now if only he knew what sizes these were…hmmmm…._

"_Hey," he said to the shopkeeper, who was attempting to herd the impatient soldiers into something resembling a line. "Your assistant said my order was somewhere on this shelf. I'm a new recruit…"_

_The man didn't even turn around. "Just take any of them. They should fit."_

_Sokka frowned. "You don't want to know my size or anything?"_

"_All new recruits are on the scrawny size. If they don't fit just bring them back." The shopkeeper was struggling with a burly man, attempting to corral him in with the other men in the room. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to line up behind the others! If you would just…"_

_By then, Sokka had randomly snatched one of the wrapped parcels and made a beeline for the exit. _

No one had noticed when, ten minutes later, Sokka had casually inserted himself among the ranks of new recruits being shipped off to the prison rig. He had listened to a speech about the wonderful, boundless opportunities in store for him as a prison guard (though he couldn't tell if his commander was being sarcastic or not), given a good-faith stipend (holy _crap_, the Fire Nation was actually paying him to sneak into their prison?!), and sent on board the ferry.

The only person that had spoken to him was another new recruit, and he had just wanted to tell him his bootlace had come untied. Getting in had been a piece of cake.

The Warden had been a different matter all together (which was surprising given all the clipped rumors Sokka had heard about him being an incompetent suck-up). At first, he was definitely inclined to believe those rumors as he noticed how the man was more focused on the new prisoners than anything else. Sokka had stood behind them in the line-up, watching as the man in charge went down the row, scrutinizing each "Earthbender" in turn. But his gaze had lingered on Katara for far too long.

His stomach had churned for every second that passed while that man had his eyes on his baby sister. She stared obstinately back at him, even as the Warden's tongue glided along his lower lip thoughtfully. His eyes were narrowed in what was unmistakably suspicion.

However, a moment later his flint-like eyes flicked away and Sokka barely suppressed the sigh of relief. He was barely listening as the Warden continued his speech—only to be interrupted by the one obviously sick man in the group. He had been dragged below just for coughing into his sleeve…and he realized just how lucky he was that Katara hadn't so much as put a toe out of line during that entire exchange.

If she had, he didn't want to think about what would happen…besides the fact that they'd probably find out she was a Waterbender. And that was one thing that absolutely must _not _happen under any circumstances.

Sokka was nudged in the side by the guard next to him. "Didn't you hear the Warden? He just said to get the prisoners below."

He jumped. "Oh, right! Sorry…"

Things would have been fine if it had ended there, but the other guard just _had _to clasp him on the shoulder. "It's against the rules to fraternize with the prisoners, kid. Figure I'd let you know before you find out the hard way from the Warden…not that _he _follows the rules himself, but…well, it doesn't change the fact that he'll flay you alive if he catches you and that cute little Earthbender girl fooling around."

Sokka cringed in his helmet. _Eeeeeeewwwwww….! That's my SISTER he's talking about! He's talking about ME fooling around with my SISTER…!_

"Though I can't blame you," he added, stroking the chin of his mask contemplatively as he eyed Katara's figure from behind. "She's pretty for a dirt girl. If she was older and I weren't married, I'd probably be drooling over her, too. What a shame…"

The Water Tribe boy took a deep breath to steady his nerves (and keep himself from decking the guy for making eyes at his _baby sister_). Anyway, he was in disguise for a reason. Not only was he there to keep an eye on Katara (which was turning out to be a far more horrendous task than he had originally thought), but he was also there to find some information.

He hadn't exactly clued the others in on this part of the plan. But to be fair, it hadn't occurred to _him _either until he was entering the ship with the other recruits. And now that he had thought about it, the idea just wouldn't leave him alone.

_This prison could have records on their prisoners…and maps…and coordinates of other prisons, _he thought with a frown. _And if the Kyoshi Warriors were taken prisoners, I could find out where they're being kept. I can find Suki._

The auburn-haired girl smiled tauntingly at him in his memories and he felt a pang of loss. She had proven herself to be more of a warrior than he ever was. She had stayed behind to fight the Fire Nation while he had turned and run…

_It was to protect Aang and Katara. There was nothing I could do back there._

But there was something he could do now. This was his chance to make things right.

"Yeah, she is pretty…um…_pretty_," said Sokka slowly, careful to choose words that wouldn't haunt him in his sleep later that night. He just couldn't bring himself to comment any further on his _baby sister's_ attractiveness and hoped that light compliment would suffice. "But I…um…heard some rumors that some of the new recruits were getting transferred to another prison. Any idea which one?"

"What?" the other guard replied in confusion. "Really? You sure?"

"Hey, I'm confused, too," he replied, holding out his hands as if to say _not my problem_. "…especially since I just got here. I'm just telling you what I heard some of the others talking about. But I suppose I could have misunderstood…"

"Somehow I doubt that. Actually, come to think of it, I heard Warden Takei was personally requesting some female guards to transfer to this outpost…but the women are usually reserved for the home guard. He probably is trying to swap out some of his newbies…" the man grumbled.

Sokka frowned. "Women, huh?"

"Well, yeah," said the guard. "I mean, you can't expect men to guard female prisoners. Bad things tend to happen, you know? It's why I feel kind of bad for the pretty little dirt girl. She won't last long in prison, that's for sure."

Something clicked in his brain. "You mean there are other women here?"

"Not that many…not enough to request special guards. Even so, they wouldn't send us any from the homeland. Maybe some from the colonies…and that new outpost on Kyoshi. I heard we got a bunch of female recruits fresh out of that place…and they can't even bend. Isn't that crazy?"

Sokka felt his heart skip a beat. _Suki._

"Wait," he said slowly. "What do you mean…recruits? Like…_volunteers?"_

The guard just shrugged. "Do any of us actually _volunteer _to be prison guards, kid? You know how it goes. Either you join the Fire Nation army and pray you don't get sent to the front lines…or pay out the butt to cover the _Fair-Share Tax_."

"What?"

"Oh, you must be a colonist. That's basically a nice way of saying _protection money_. As our current Fire Lord sees it, every citizen is entitled to do their fair share in winning this war…either by fighting it or by personally funding it. Only most people can't afford the tax and just enlist to keep from going bankrupt." He sighed heavily. "It's a rich man's war, but the poor men are the ones fighting it. Some equality."

Sokka barely processed that bit of information. His brain was still struggling with the idea that Suki…that _any _of the Kyoshi Warriors would willingly help the Fire Nation. No, it was probably just a rumor. More than likely they were being coerced into whatever it was they were doing now. Perhaps they were holding the Kyoshi Islanders hostage to ensure their compliance.

That had to have been it.

"Oh, crap," the guy was cursing and pulling Sokka along. "We were supposed to be inside already. Come on, newbie."

Sokka realized that the prisoners had long since descended into the rig. He mentally berated himself for letting himself get distracted. If something happened to Katara because he couldn't be bothered to pay attention, he wouldn't forgive himself. Though at least she had Haru to keep an eye on her whenever he himself couldn't. It was a small consolation.

He was led through the door, down several winding corridors, and out again into the yard where the prisoners were being kept. Sokka found himself on some sort of catwalk above the Earthbenders along with five other soldiers and the Warden himself. The Water Tribe boy felt his companion tense as they stepped out, clearly expecting to be chewed out by the Warden for his tardiness—but as Sokka looked at the man apprehensively he realized that his attention was very deeply occupied at something happening down in the yard.

His gaze trailed down and locked on the only thing that could have arrested the Warden's gaze for so long. Katara was standing on some kind of platform banging a spoon against a pot, clamoring loudly for everyone's attention. Sokka felt his stomach clench tight in anxiety.

_Katara, no! Not out here in the open!_

Too bad his sister wasn't a mind reader…though he doubted she'd be inclined to listen to him even if she were. Sometimes that girl could get pretty stubborn, especially when it came to helping other people in need. Like that time when they were kids and she had brought home an injured penguin-seal and kept it in _his _bed—and then cried about it when Sokka tried to chase it back outside.

Katara just got like that sometimes.

"Earthbenders!" she yelled, lowering the spoon and pot and looking at the crowd assembled around her. "You don't know me, but I know of you. Every child of my Water Tribe village was rocked to sleep with stories of the brave Earth Kingdom and the courageous Earthbenders who guard its borders."

"Water Tribe…huh?" the Warden muttered, not taking his eyes off the girl. Sokka locked his muscles tight and forced himself not to react. What was she _thinking? _She was blowing their cover…and for what reason?

He swallowed his tongue for the moment and watched his sister with rising trepidation. For now, he just had to trust in Katara's judgment.

"Some of you may think that the Fire Nation has made you powerless," she went on, encouraged by the several pairs of eyes now watching her, mostly Earth Kingdom eyes. "Yes, they have taken away your ability to bend, but they can't take away your courage and it is your courage they should truly fear! Because it runs deeper than any mine you've been forced to dig, any ocean that keeps you far from home! It is the strength of your hearts that make you who you are, hearts that will remain unbroken when all rock and stone has eroded away."

She looked imploringly at each face in turn, her voice taking a higher-pitched, distinctly impassioned tone. Sokka couldn't tell if she was getting through to the Earthbenders or not. All he could tell was that the Warden was just standing there, letting her finish her speech, his eyes calculating and intrigued by what he was seeing. And that in itself was unusual; if he had been in the man's shoes he would have already been having Katara interrogated about her Water Tribe connections.

But instead of looking angry, the Warden had a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.

"Interesting," he said to himself. "And let us see how the girl crumbles when she realizes how hopeless her little speeches are."

Sokka was pretty sure that whatever the outcome of this would be, the Warden would be the one who would be surprised. Katara had a tendency to bitch-slap people with hope. Again, she just _got _like that sometimes. It was kind of a thing for her.

"The time to fight back is now!" she cried to the Earthbenders. "I can tell you that the Avatar has returned! So remember your courage, Earthbenders! Let us fight for our freedom!"

There was a heavy silence, during which the Waterbender looked absolutely determined. Her blue eyes swiveled from face to face, and Sokka saw her entire face fall when the Earthbenders turned away from her and went back to their conversations. The Warden's smirk deepened.

"She'll learn," he commented to the other men lined up on the catwalk. "They _all _learn. There is no hope for these people."

And on that smug note, he turned and walked back inside the rig. Sokka watched him leave and felt a seething dislike for the man. Not only was he stupid and overconfident (not even bothering to separate Katara from the other prisoners after that rebellious outburst), he was also a sadist. He just loved the idea of making a girl cry, the creep.

All the more reason he was now watching his sister, her expression hurt and angry and mutinous. He felt a spark of pride (and chagrin) as that old stubborn streak rose to the surface. He knew with certainty that she would not let this go. Katara never gave up when the going got tough. And when she finally did manage to get through to these people, it would be the Warden who would be sorry.

It wasn't a matter of how. It was a matter of _when_.

* * *

It was a bland, chilly, overcast night. I could definitely feel the biting cold of the approaching winter as I slipped outside without telling anyone. This was something I couldn't do with anyone else around. I would only get distracted with an audience.

"_Julie,_" said Ayla. I had been hearing her less and less often these days, and every time she spoke she sounded faint and distant. "_Are you really going to talk to Baihu?_"

My breath misted in the air as I tried to breathe some warmth into my hands. Too bad I wasn't a Firebender, or else I'd have used that uber-convenient breath of fire thing.

_Got any better ideas?_

"_It's not that I don't want you to,_" she said quickly. "_But…Julie, Baihu is a major spirit. He's one of the four direction spirits…and he's a powerful presence to connect with. Are you sure you can handle it?_"

_Well, _I thought to her slowly. _Actually…I'm not too sure I can. But still…I have to try something. What's the worst that could happen if it doesn't work?_

Ayla was quiet for a moment. "_A spirit's vibration can be overwhelming for a human. It would be like…oh, um…what do you call those lightning-powered lamp thingies that you can plug into a ceiling?_"

She must have pulled that from one of my memories. _You mean a light bulb?_

"_Yes! Your body is the light bulb, Julie! And whatever spirit you try to contact will be the current of electricity powering it! So…for a spirit as powerful as Baihu, the energy could be too much for the light bulb to handle and it'll EXPLODE!_"

I frowned at the mental image of my body swelling up like a swollen grape and exploding all over the place. Yikes. This ritual was looking less appealing by the second. I wondered what would happen if I tried this when no one was looking, and the next morning they went looking for me and found a heap of tussled body parts.

"Hold on," I said out loud. "If that's true, then how come I was able to talk to him before? That didn't bother me at all."

"_Julie, that wasn't actually Baihu. He was projecting a vision into your mind from far away. He would never actually try connecting to your body directly. He knows better than to try._"

Well, shit. Ayla had an answer for just about anything, didn't she? She acted pretty carefree when she wasn't acting so fixated on Shen-Long, but in spite of her airiness she was still the spirit of a powerful Energybender. She knew things I was only learning now. There was just no fighting something like that.

"Teach me how to get stronger, then," I told her. "I want to get stronger. I need to be strong enough to protect everyone…to save them. I can't save anyone the way I am now…"

Okay, so deep down I wasn't exactly thrilled about doing this. I wasn't too keen on getting started. So many things could go wrong, not just with my chakras, apparently (which was bad enough), but also with my body. Why the hell had I been born an Energybender, anyway?

My eyes closed, and my thoughts drifted back to my old life—the one I had lived in my old world. I wondered if Jessie was worrying about me right now. I wished I could tell her that I was still alive. I wanted her with me right now, even if it was just for a few minutes…I wanted my best friend. I was cold and shivering and scared of what I was about to do.

If I had more time, I could have asked Jessie what to do about Zuko…and about Ramon. I would ask her what she thought about Jee trying to make me his daughter. I'd see if she thought I could trust Shen-Long and Bo-Fen, if she believed that they were as much my friend as they were Ayla's.

Jessie always knew what to do…what to say. She was the one who people liked. I was just that girl from the wrong part of the neighborhood, the one she was nice enough to talk to. She would have been a better Energybender than I would. She was the type of person who could connect to anyone, no matter who they were.

If it were Jessie who ended up in the Avatar world and not me, would Zuko and the others even _be _in this mess right now? She always had so much more sense than I did. Maybe she would have found the answer before it came to this.

God…I felt so sick.

"_Julie…maybe you should practice first._"

Ayla's voice jolted me back into awareness. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped the trail of snot from under my nose with the back of my wrist.

"What do you mean?" I asked gruffly, as if I hadn't been feeling sorry for myself just now. "How do I practice summoning Baihu? It's an all-or-nothing thing!"

"_Well…there are plenty of spirits here you can try connecting to. Try it out on some of them first before you go trying to reach out to a major spirit all the way out in the Spirit World._" I felt a bubbling warmth inside of me that I knew to be Ayla's spirit giving me courage. "_It won't hurt them…and if you can't handle their vibrations, you should be able to survive and try again another day._"

That was actually a pretty good idea. I may have been a sucky Energybender, and I sure as hell wasn't Jessie, but I should be able to handle a dinky spirit or two. I mean, wasn't I the one who singlehandedly drove away that spirit that was making Zuko sick? How hard could this be?

"_Do you remember what to do? You read it in the book…_" Ayla was prompting me for the answer.

"Um…yeah. I need to find a quiet place, preferably some place with a deep spiritual connecting…and I have to go into a meditative state."

"_Not quite so deep as that. You need to be exactly in between the state of awareness and the trance state. If you neglect either your body or your spirit, then you won't be able to tap into your own energy. And this is the energy you need to reach out to other living things. Okay?_"

I nodded. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. But whatever; I would just take this one step at a time. First things first…finding a spiritual place to settle down. It should be someplace private…someplace no one in their right minds would follow me.

My eyes ended up resting on the lone outhouse. _A toilet?_

"_That's fine. A lot of people get super relaxed in there. And wasn't there some singer in your world who died on the chamberpot? Elvo!_"

I sighed. "That's Elvis. And I'm not meditating in there. I've had enough weird shit happen to me in a restroom, thank you very much. I still have flashbacks from the first time I met _Bob_." Then again, it was really hard to forget a one-eyed man who had been covered head to toe in fecal matter and tried to grab Zuko in a death-hug.

It's a long story. Don't even ask.

Ayla giggled. "_Sorry, Julie. It's going to have to be the outhouse. The only other suitable place is…um…" _she trailed off, her voice losing some of its mirth. "_...the town square._"

I blinked. "Oh."

Yeah. I don't think anything good would have come from me trying to meditate by the stake where they burned a bunch of people alive. That place gave off some major evil vibes. It also gave me the creeps.

The outhouse it was.

I crept over to the little shack, noting its ramshackle appearance. It looked dark and smelled funny, even from the outside. I wasn't normally the kind of person to throw up much of a stink about public restrooms, but still…I really didn't want to go in there.

I gulped, hugging the book against my chest. Come on, Julie. It was just a shitter. There was nothing to be afraid of. Just a creepy, possibly haunted toilet.

"What are you doing?"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH…!" I screamed, throwing the ancient book at whatever was behind me. It bounced off of the speaker's face and landed at their feet with a heavy thunk. "RAPE! MURDER! GET AWAY!"

I heard Bo-Fen laughing and I opened my eyes. Shen-Long had a red imprint from where the book had smacked him, leaving an angry rectangle print on his face. He had the most flat, unamused expression I had ever seen. I should probably count myself lucky that it was Shen-Long I had hit and not Zuko; given how ticked off he looked, Zuko probably would have been shooting fire at me had he been in his shoes.

"Julie," he said slowly. "Why did you just hit me with a book?"

"What book?" I shot back automatically.

Shen-Long just lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh!" I said loudly. "You mean…_that _book! The book I was…oh, um…yeah…sorry." I fidgeted for a moment, wishing the siblings would stop looking at me like I was a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Um…so, what do you want? I was kind of busy…"

I glanced pointedly at the outhouse.

"Hon', we were just checkin' on you," Bo-Fen explained. "You just left without telling anyone. How were we supposed to know you needed to piss?"

"It's not safe out here by yourself," Shen-Long reminded me sternly. "How many times do we have to tell you before it sinks in?"

"Whatever," I snapped. "I think I can pee on my own, thanks. What's it to you?"

They both looked at each other, as if I had just blurted out a joke they had heard too many times. Okay, so obviously I had issues whenever I snuck off on my own…usually. But this time was different! I needed to be alone to _focus _better! Focusing is important!

"Julie," Shen-Long spoke up. "Why were you bringing that book with you?"

I looked down at the book, the lone detail betraying my alibi. "Um…reading material?"

"In a pitch black outhouse?"

My shoulders slumped. "Um…well…I guess I feel pretty stupid now. So much for that plan."

He folded his arms and gave me a look that was some kind of cross between stern and amused. I looked up at him (sheesh, was that guy tall or what?) and gave him a sheepish grimace, and that was enough to make him smile. Okay, so apparently he wasn't suspecting me of foul play. He just thought I was endearingly foolish and short-sighted.

I mean, come on. Me? Short-sighted?

"So, um…could I maybe get some privacy?" I asked. "I can't really pee with people sitting outside listening. It kind of weirds me out."

Shen-Long frowned. "I don't know…I mean, it's really not safe…"

"Oh, come on, Shen," Bo-Fen snapped. "I doubt the spirits are going to snatch her off the damn pot. Quit having kittens already."

He looked at her, then he looked at me trying to look as innocent and unassuming as possible. He sighed, his hand on his forehead. "Fine. I'll probably regret this later, but…_fine_. Just don't do anything stupid or…fall in…or…I dunno…_anything_."

I scowled. "I'm going to pee. What's the worst that could possibly happen?"

Shen-Long's face darkened. "_Bob _can happen."

"I already apologized for that! Sheesh! It wasn't my fault the guy got trapped down there and no one noticed! Hell, you should be thanking me on bended knee for finding him before he got some kind of disease!"

(**A/N: It's a Deleted Scene reference. Yeah, I know. I'll update that soon-ish. Insert convincing excuse for procrastination here.**)

"You thought he was a shit monster and made him extort money from people you gave the runs with your laxative-laced food!"

I stood my ground. "And I _apologized_. It was a tiny mishap! It won't happen again!"

"It took me three weeks to get the smell out of my hair!"

Bo-Fen smiled. "That was a good prank, that. I feel all nostalgic now." She grinned at me. "Thanks for that, hon'."

See? At least _someone_ was being supportive. Too bad Shen-Long didn't have much of a sense of humor. Well, at least it wasn't as bad as Zuko's. That wasn't saying much, but it was _something_.

"I'm giving you five minutes," Shen-Long told me. "That's it. If you're not back at the house in five minutes, I'm coming to find you. And if it turns out you're doing something you shouldn't be, then I'm telling Zuko. He's way more strict than I am."

I bit my lip. "I know…"

"So?"

I huffed. "Fine. I'll be good. Now _go away_ already! I have a tiny bladder and I really, really have to go!"

Bo-Fen took her brother by the arm and started steering him away before he could protest any further. I picked up the book and ducked inside the outhouse, leaving the door open a crack so I had some light. I peeked through the gap and waited until the siblings were safely inside.

"Finally," I muttered.

I held the door open just a crack so I could have some light to read by. Then, I flipped open the book until I found the ritual for going into meditative trances. I studied the instructions for a few minutes before dropping down the lid to the toilet seat and (after some reasonable hesitation) sitting down.

Then I closed my eyes and attempted to clear my mind.

_Just relax, _I coached myself. _Don't think about anything except connecting with those spirits…just connect with the dead people…_

…_only the dead people…_

I soon felt my body relaxing in spite of the bad smell that lingered in the outhouse. My mind was utterly calm. My heartbeat became slow and measured to match my breaths. Without thinking about it, I reached out with my chi until I could feel many, many pulsations of disembodied energy floating around me. I could sense them drifting in and through the houses like phantoms.

I could feel their restlessness…their need for vindication…their anger. I felt the pain of their various losses, their thirst to have justice carried out in any means possible. It almost broke me out of my trance, this crushing assault of emotions that not only moved me, but almost brought me to my knees.

I was struggling to control my breathing. This was getting a little too intense for me. I wanted to stop but I didn't know how. I was locked into my bending, a slave to the unwanted connection between me and those spirits.

And then I felt the tug on my consciousness that told me that they had finally noticed me trying to bend them. After that the pressing weight of their combined chi went out of its way to try to crush me. I gasped and dropped the book.

They swarmed me.

"No!" I cried. "Stay away! Get back! All of you!"

Their energy attempted to constrict me and consume me—I pushed back with everything I had. Maybe I pushed a little too hard. That might have been the reason why the next thing I felt were these small tremors in the earth (once I had come to my senses and found myself on the floor of the outhouse). The sound of garbled, dirt clogged voices rose into a murderous chorus of guttural moans.

_Oh, fuck._

* * *

By now, Iroh had managed to get a decent-sized fire going in the fireplace, large enough to warm the entire house and leave everything in a nice, rosy glow. If it weren't for their dire situation and the fact that Julie hadn't come back from the bathroom yet, Zuko might have felt cozy. Still, it was a nice enough change from the desolate chill of the crisp autumn air.

Shen-Long was by the door, tapping his foot impatiently. "She said she'd only be a few minutes. Maybe I should go check on her."

Bo-Fen snorted as she dangled a piece of jerky over Yoshi's head. The puppy snapped playfully at it, but she kept pulling it out of his reach. She was going to make him work for it.

"What, you want to peek through the door or something?"

"Wha…NO! I just…I'm _worried_, okay?"

"Your face is turning red. Just what were you picturing in your mind just now, pervert?"

Zuko really didn't like it when they talked like this. He had enough reasons not to like Shen-Long as it was without his crass sister chiming in unsettling remarks like that. Really, he didn't need to hear about the man's sexual habits. But it was impossible to tune them out whenever Bo-Fen was making fun of her brother's supposed crush on Julie. Just hearing them mention her made him pay closer attention, against his will.

"I really wish you wouldn't say things like that!" Shen-Long snapped. "I would never do something so disgusting and rude and…illegal," he added in a low mumble.

She smirked gleefully. "Oh, so you'd do it if she weren't a minor, then?"

"Fuck you! I mean it…! Cut it out!"

"I'm just making sure. Julie's got enough issues with the male population as it is."

The teasing expression faded as Yoshi jumped for the jerky in her hand again, and she pulled it sharply out of reach. The eelhound whined impatiently, but Bo-Fen ignored him. She had a thoughtful look on her face now as she played with the strip of jerky absentmindedly.

Zuko glared at her. "Did she tell you something?"

She looked up and met the prince's gaze, looking at him as though to say _cut the crap already_. "Why don't you tell me, Sir? I could have sworn I heard you followin' me when I went after her last night. You were being awful quiet…"

He tensed as everyone's eyes went on him. Iroh in particular settled back in his chair and gave his nephew an evaluating look, but didn't look surprised. Quite frankly it irritated Zuko.

"I wasn't talking about last night…I meant later. Maybe this morning, or…I dunno…when you were with her just now." He tried not to sound too suspicious as he folded his arms, pausing to glare at Shen-Long's narrow-eyed expression. "I have every right to worry about her. She's practically my…" he trailed off, looking mutinous. "_You know_…my girlfriend."

There was an awkward pause.

"You know how it is," Bo-Fen replied with a shrug. "And you know as much as I do, Sir. Ex-boyfriend stuff on her mind. She's probably got some leftover baggage she can't let out to dry with everyone breathing down her neck."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "I don't _breathe down her neck!_"

Iroh gave his nephew a concerned look as he turned in his chair to face him. "Now, Prince Zuko…there's no need to shout…" he hesitated. "…or to _lie_."

"WHAT?"

His uncle winced. "Well…you _do _tend to be a tad bit…overbearing at times. Not that this is a bad thing," he added quickly, noticing how the scarred teen's mood was rapidly souring. "You are a very dedicated young man, and it is perfectly understandable behavior for someone with an obsessive personality to—"

"I am _not _obsessive! I'm _focused! _My honor hinges on being able to find and capture the Avatar! My future depends on whether or not I can keep the girl I care about _alive _long enough for me to do it! I can't forget that!"

Shen-Long scowled. "Just what kind of future did _you _have in mind, your highness? Lieutenant Jee is trying to find her a husband as we speak. She's going to be dating other guys whether you like it or not."

Zuko snarled, moving to lunge for the soldier. Iroh caught him by the shoulders and held him back.

"Nephew, please! This is a wooden house! You cannot use your bending in such a frivolous…wait. Do you hear something?"

Everyone froze as a string of low groaning sounds echoed from outside. It was interrupted by the sound of frantic footsteps as someone came running towards the house. Then, the door exploded open. A very distressed Julie staggered inside, her hair askew and her eyes wide. She threw the door shut behind her and pressed her back against it, splaying her arms out on either side to keep it shut.

Slowly, she brought her gaze up to meet the incredulous ones of her fellow party members.

"H-hey," she said, taking shallow breaths. "Just finished. Um…I wouldn't use that toilet for a while. Bad stuff floating around….um…"

There was a thump sound as something outside threw itself against the other side of the door. Julie's eyes bulged and she visibly gulped.

"Well, I'm going to bed now! Good night! Don't look out the window!"

And then she bolted past them into the bedroom and locked herself in.

No one said anything. No one moved; not even Yoshi, who was usually a bouncing ball of hyperactive eelhound on steroids. For a moment there was total silence, only broken by the crackling of the fireplace. Then, the decomposing arm thrust itself through the door, splintering the wood and letting in a terrible draft. And that just about ruined Zuko's evening.

"Zombies?" he snarled, jumping to his feet. "ZOMBIES? Are you kidding me?" He went over to the bedroom door and started pounding on it. "Of all the things that had to follow you home, it had to be zombies?!"

There was no response from the bedroom. Julie was very resolutely staying put.

"So, I suppose you expect us to clean up after you," Zuko continued, still ranting at the closed door. "You miserable little peasant! Get out here before I kick down the door and drag you out myself!"

Finally, there were signs of life from within. "Go away!"

Two more arms shot through the front door, showering wooden splinters on to the floor. The entire wall groaned as several bodies pressed up against it from outside. Zuko heard Julie yelp on the other side of the door. She must have heard them trying to break in.

"Holy fuckmuffins," Bo-Fen muttered in dismay. "We left her alone for five minutes…_five minutes_…and somehow she manages to summon a horde of living dead! Seriously, we left her in a freaking outhouse!"

Shen-Long gave her a look. "Of course we did." He rolled his eyes heavenward. "You would think we'd learn by now. Apparently not."

Yoshi was standing in front of the door, barking and barking at the squirming arms reaching through the gaping holes in the wood. He growled and bared his fangs. _This is MY territory, fucktards! MY warm snuggy place! You chased momma! I'm gonna EAT you!_

But no one was paying the eelhound any attention; not even the zombies.

"Zuko," said Iroh urgently. "We should leave…_now_."

"One second, Uncle."

Zuko turned back to the door and sent a roundhouse kick directly into it, snapping the lock and almost knocking the wood clean off its hinges. He narrowed his eyes at the redhead, who was clutching the sword that that Hiko person gave her in trembling hands. She looked absolutely _freaked_.

"I swear to GOD it was an accident!"

"Right," said Zuko sarcastically. "Of course it was. Now get out here and _fix _it."

Julie whimpered in fear.

"But…but I hate zombies! I've always hated them ever since my Dad made me sit through Night of the Living Dead when I was four! Shit, I can't handle zombies! Anything but zombies!"

He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from blowing a blood vessel in his brain.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he told her. "All I know is that we can't stay _here_. They're going to tear the house apart! And if we're still inside it when that happens, we're going to _die_. I can't Firebend in a wooden house!"

That got results. Julie squeaked and scurried out of the bedroom, dropping her sword and latching on to Zuko's arm in a death grip. He blinked at her in shock. Under normal circumstances she had way too much pride to willingly play the damsel in distress. If she were in her right mind she would be pretending like she was invincible and scared of nothing—that typical I-am-Julie-hear-me-rawr bullshit.

"You're really scared of them," he stated flatly, almost in disbelief.

She was trembling. "Hate zombies…! Hate zombies…! Z-zombies are bad…very, very bad…! Definitely do not want…!" Spirits, she was barely even coherent.

"Um…"

Zuko wasn't really sure what to do. It wasn't every day that he had a girl his own age clinging to his arm in fear. It was an unsettling experience considering the fact that they were being hunted down by a relentless crowd of walking corpses.

"Julie," Iroh said, picking up the sword she had dropped. "You should take this back. I think you're going to need it very soon."

Her nails were digging into his shirt and cutting into his arm. "I…I can't fight the zombies! Someone else has to! I can't! I can't take it! We're going to die!" she wailed. "They'll eat us!"

"No one is getting eaten," Shen-Long spoke up, pushing his way over. Zuko felt a wave of resentment sweep over him as the soldier took Julie by the shoulders and pulled her aside, looking her firmly in the eyes. "It's going to be okay. We're all going to be okay. Take deep breaths…and don't panic. We can fix this. I know we can."

Her face was creased with anxiety. "How the hell can you be so sure? How do you know nothing is going to happen to us?"

He took a breath. "I don't know. But I will do everything in my power not to let anything hurt you. Okay? I promised I would protect you, didn't I? Back when I saved you from those bounty hunters?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes at him. "What bounty hunters?"

But Shen-Long brushed off the question, probably because he knew it would absolutely piss him off (and drive him nuts wondering what had happened). "It was before Julie and I came to find you; long story. Anyway, we need to get out of this house before it collapses."

As if answering the soldier, several zombies threw themselves into the wall outside, sending tremors rippling through the earth. Zuko cursed and grabbed on to something to keep from falling over. He looked around and was relieved to see Julie hadn't been hurt in that unexpected attack, though he was chagrined to find her being supported by Shen-Long. Bo-Fen had caught a firm hold of Yoshi and was keeping the near-berserk animal still.

"They can Earthbend," Iroh commented. "That is highly unusual."

"Oh, that's just fucking great!" Julie cried. "Fan-fucking-tastic! They can Earthbend! And they're zombies! Hey, wouldn't it be great if some of them were Firebenders, too? That would _really _fuck us over!"

"Don't talk like that," Zuko snapped. "We can handle them. Just don't do anything stupid. What you need to worry about is undoing whatever you did to…_cause _this."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, during which the redhead's expression became abruptly panic-stricken (even more so than when she first came in after summoning the zombies in the first place). This sent warning bells off in his head. She was practically radiating guilt from her pores, the sneaky little peasant. Just perfect.

"Julie," he said slowly. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

She fidgeted, squirming with an answer she didn't want to give him. "_Maybe_…?"

Even Shen-Long had to look at her. "What is it now?"

The girl winced. "Well…see, I'd _like _to fix this…I really would. I mean, come on, you think I _like_ having these dead-heads just crawling around?"

"But?" Zuko growled, not liking where this was going.

Julie took a deep breath. "I…I think I might have dropped the book somewhere…out _there_. I was kind of scared and I…I didn't realize I had left it behind. Soooooo…yeah. I lost it."

"You WHAT?!"

She flinched away from his anger and ended up turning her back on everybody in the room. She pressed her knuckles against her eyes, as if she was trying to shut out the entire world. Her shoulders were definitely shaking, probably from fear and exhaustion as well (since Zuko was pretty sure she still hadn't caught up on her sleep). To put it simply, she was a wreck.

"Don't yell at me!" she said in a hard voice. "I didn't…I was trying to do the job, okay? I was just trying to see if I could bend the spirits' energy! I just…I was trying to _help, _goddammit!"

Her breathing was getting shallow and frantic—she was starting to hyperventilate. Obviously the stress and insomnia was getting to her.

"Dammit," she muttered. "I…I can't do anything right. I'm sorry…"

Zuko scowled at her back. The others were left in an uncomfortable silence—even his uncle didn't seem to have anything to say right then and there. No tea-time wisdom seemed to spring to mind in the wake of an impending zombie attack. However, the older man didn't stay silent for very long.

"Julie," he said slowly. "Why didn't you tell anyone what you were doing? Why did you try to hide it from us?"

She didn't say anything. And then Zuko remembered with a jolt what she had read to him earlier that day. _You have to have absolute control over your own chakras. If you don't, that outside energy can seep in and corrupt you. _

And then…

…_if I try this ritual, and I can't keep control, then I could…I could end up dead…or worse._

"You idiot!" he exploded, causing everyone in the room to jump. "You…you knew what could have happened to you! And you tried to do this alone?! You're lucky that we only have the zombies to worry about! What's _wrong _with you?!"

Julie's back tensed. "What difference would it have made? I didn't want anyone there!"

Zuko stalked over to her and caught her by the shoulders. She flinched under his touch, but she kept herself from looking at him. She was making a point by not turning around and definitely not meeting his eyes. It only made him angrier…and more frustrated and bewildered. Before he met this girl he never thought it could be possible to feel so many conflicting emotions at the same time—rage and fear and sadness and affection…

"Julie," he said in a low voice, one that commanded the most authority he could muster. "You don't get to decide that. You don't get to hide things from me…_especially_ not from me. Especially not something like _this! _This could have _killed _you! Do you even _care?_"

She was so quiet he almost didn't hear her. "I…I care…" she whispered. "I just…I knew I had to do this sooner or later…and it wouldn't have been any easier with people around." Her head drooped lower and he couldn't see her eyes. "I wasn't trying to _hide_. I just…needed to be alone."

There was a pointed silence. Zuko wasn't surprised by any of this, nor was anyone else in the room. Every time something went wrong, Julie always kept to herself. She refused to open up to other people…wouldn't let herself connect to anyone. Everything she did, she did to keep herself closed off from the world out of fear of being betrayed by it.

It was why he wasn't surprised she still wasn't talking about what had haunted her in her sleep last night. He could probably force it out of her, and part of him really wanted to. It bothered him that she had this huge weight inside of her that she wouldn't let go of. Something about her ex-boyfriend…

Something about Ramon.

If Zuko was being honest with himself, he was letting Julie keep her secrets for the very same reason he craved the knowledge in the first place. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know the truth; because he had some idea in his mind of what the answer might be. It was a horrible thought, but he couldn't help it.

_What if she isn't over him? _The dread nagged at him. _What if she misses him? What if she still…what if that's the reason she wants to go back?_

He shook his head, forcing the thought back, just like he had been forced to do all day. Now wasn't the time to worry about this. There were zombies outside. They were obviously hostile. The house was going to pieces in a matter of minutes. He had to act.

"We'll talk about this later," he snapped. "Just pick up your sword and stay close to me."

Julie wheeled around in surprise. "Wait…what?"

He lit up a flame in his fist. "Didn't you hear me?" he said. "We've got some zombies to kill. And your book isn't going to find itself. So let's go, already."

She stared at him for a moment. She still looked scared (though not as much as she had been before), but she obviously didn't relish the idea of staying in here and waiting for the undead horde to find her. Looking absolutely miserable, she bent down and grabbed her sword, drawing it from its sheath and taking a deep breath.

"Okay," she said in a shaky voice. "Let's…go zombie hunting."

Bo-Fen cracked her knuckles in anticipation. "Fuckin' A'," she said.

* * *

**A/N: So…I couldn't resist. The zombies are random, I know…but it's the sheer randomness of it that makes this chapter so funny (to me, at least). To be honest, when the idea struck me, I just sat back and thought, "Damn…that is definitely a worst-case scenario about what could happen if you leave Julie alone, unsupervised."**

**Her trouble magnet is turning into a running gag, one that I don't mind using since it's very good for kicking the plot forward. Because now obviously the Zu-crew have to find the book Julie lost, and the task of contacting Baihu just got THAT much more complicated. Now Julie not only has to correctly perform the ritual, she has to do it while everyone else is killing zombies. Not the ideal situation for an Energybender, that's for sure.**

**I have mixed feelings about the Gaang scene at the beginning of the chapter. On one hand, I'm very happy with Sokka taking the initiative to find Suki, and his little detour to get the uniform. I thought it had a nice balance of humor and plot. I just wish I could have done more with Katara. Because I originally had it so that this chapter was from Katara's point of view…and then it became, literally, a clone of the episode.**

**Yeah, boring. Though Katara is normally a great character to narrate from, I didn't know what I could do with her speech (and I couldn't say for sure that I WANTED to change anything; if she's going to be an activist and have a speech, that's obviously what she's going to say, word for word). So I decided to give her a break this chapter and pick up with Sokka, who we haven't seen in a while.**

**Still wondering what happened to Suki? Don't worry. I didn't forget about her. (evil grin) You guys just have to wait and see.**

**Not much else to say. Um…REVIEW!**


	95. Attachments

**A/N: Yes, I know how long it has been since my last update. Yes, I am sorry. I really got caught up in looking into getting some financial aid so I could go back to school. My boss dropped the hint that my job pays for tuition assistance, and that with financial aid could get me well on my way to getting a degree in business or law.**

**Not my dream career, but a marketable one. I have come to the conclusion that if you love doing something and then turn it into "work," you stop wanting to do it before long. I figure that I'll get the degree, see where that takes me down the corporate ladder so I can pay my rent…and then write for fun like I've been doing all along.**

**Anyway, I've been busy finding out if I'm eligible for stuff. Finding out who to call, what's required of me, where to apply, blah, blah, blah. To cope with all the extra responsibility I got myself a copy of Pokémon White 2, and that helped eat up the rest of my time. **

**I am horrible and going to bad writer hell forever and ever. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. Hopefully!**

**Ahem. Anyway, as I was saying—**

(At that moment, the writer is interrupted as Avatar Aang happens to gust into the room on an air scooter. He is chasing a very frantic Momo, who hisses and snarls as he is forced to dodge the poke balls being thrown at him. Seeing Distant-Moon, the lemur makes a beeline for her leg and claws his way up it. The young woman shrieks in surprise and discomfort, only to be silenced as a stray poke ball hits her in the face. It falls to the floor with an ominous thunk.)

**Aang: **"…oops…"

(Lightning flashes in the sky, the earth trembles, it starts raining doughnuts.)

**AANG! What the holy hell do you think you're doing?!**

**Aang: **"Um…well, I heard you were busy playing Pokémon instead of writing, and I figured since it might be a while since my next appearance I'd play, too."

**What's that supposed to mean? I'll have you know I was very hard at work, mister! Anyway, you're in this episode. What gave you the idea that you wouldn't be?**

**Aang: **"Well…I…I probably shouldn't mention this, but it's been a while since you've updated your other stories. And I happen to like the one about the Chocolate Factory. I actually feel like a main character in that one. I guess what I'm trying to say is that…" (takes a deep breath) "…Distant-Moon, I want more lines in the story."

**You have plenty of lines. It's just that I sort of have to deal with the zombies, first. And right now it's Sokka's turn to have character development. You'll get your turn, soon.**

**Aang: **"How soon is soon?"

**Dunno. Give it a few chapters. I'll see what I can do."**

**Aang: **"That's what you _always_ say. And it's not fair! This is my show! I'm the title character! I'm sick and tired of all the authors on this website bumping me off into a minor character slot just because they think I'm not shipping material! I'm the Avatar! I'm ship-tastic! I'm the most shippable guy there is!"

**Do you not see that half of the fics are Kataang? And Mike and Bryan totally gave you the girl at the end of the series. What are you even complaining about?**

**Aang: **"Nothing. You wouldn't understand. You have no idea how I feel at all…and I don't even think you care." (A look of determination appears on his face) "I've been underappreciated in this fandom for too long…and I know what I have to do. Not just for me, but for the other unpopular characters in the series! I'm _their _Avatar, too!"

**Wait a minute! What are you doing? Where are you GOING? The chapter is about to start!**

**Aang: **(disdainfully) "Do the chapter yourself! I'm going on strike!"

**Strike? STRIKE?! YOU CAN'T DO THAT! I…I can't let you do that! This fic needs you, Aang! The WORLD needs you! **_**I **_**need you!**

**Aang?**

**AANG?!**

**Julie: **"I don't think he's coming back. He looked kind of ticked off for a pacifist. He was muttering something about trade unions and stuff."

**Oh, God…I think I have to go fix this. Um…could you do the summary, Julie?**

**Julie: **"Again? Sheesh, can't you find someone else to…"

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**Julie: **"…fuck." (Quickly gets a hold of herself) "All right, so in a desperate bid to rescue my friends, I sort of accidentally summoned a horde of zombies with my Energybending. I realize now that it was a bad idea to try something so dangerous on my own…and Zuko should really stop lecturing me about it. I said I was sorry five hundred _fucking _times already!"

(From off-camera)

**Zuko: **"I'm not listening until you say it a _thousand_ times, you troublesome little peasant!"

**Julie: **"Well, screw you, too! By the way, did you know that Aang just went on strike?!"

(Slight pause from off-camera)

**Zuko: **"Are you serious? How am I supposed to capture him if he refuses to be in the story?"

**Julie: **"Distant-Moon's trying to negotiate with him as we speak. Hey, come here and help me with the summary. I promise not to anger the living dead anymore."

(Zuko emerges from a convenient rift in the space-time continuum and grudgingly goes over to co-host the summary with Julie)

**Zuko: **"You are such a liar."

**Julie: **"You're hurting my feelings, you ugly bastard."

**Zuko: **"…"

**Julie: **"What? I was kidding."

**Zuko: **"You're lucky you're cute. Um…did the Avatar and his friends actually accomplish anything in the last chapter? Anything important?"

**Julie: **"Well, Sokka got his first paycheck as a Fire Nation security guard. And I think he's trying to find his girlfriend. That's kind of sweet of him, isn't it? I mean, he has this uber-important mission and is probably under a crap ton of stress…but he's still trying to find the girl he cares about. It's so sweet it kind of makes me queasy."

**Zuko: **"Loves."

**Julie: **"…huh?"

**Zuko: **"You said _cares about_, but I think he's making it more than clear that he…" (clears throat and trails off awkwardly) "…he wouldn't do that stuff if he didn't…you know…_love _her."

**Julie: **"…"

**Zuko: **"…;;;"

(The transmission to the pre-chapter show is abruptly cut off and turns into TV static)

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Eight: Attachments**

Okay. This was clearly one of those moments when the universe was trying to teach me something. I remember someone saying once that the universe will knock softly the first couple of times to get your attention before it starts lobbing bricks at your face…or maybe I'm paraphrasing. Either way, the gist of what I'm saying is that the zombie outbreak was _my _brick to the face.

I probably should have just sat my ass down and contemplated just what the hell I was supposed to be learning from this…besides the obvious: don't Energybend in a haunted toilet.

Perhaps the universe was trying to teach me how to put things into perspective. Okay, so yeah, we're being attacked by a slobbering horde of undead. Yes, I have an "irrational" fear of zombies (or so the skeptics like to call it). But if you sit down to think about it, zombies are a woefully inept enemy to have. They're slow, they're stupid, and they tend to react like a pack of carnivorous sheep—which means they should be relatively easy to trap and kill.

There was also the fact that I wasn't fighting them all by myself. I was mercifully surrounded by people who were quite capable in hand-to-hand combat and Firebending (except for Bo-Fen, who was happily carving her name in a zombie's ass with her sword). Even better, they were willing to protect me. Granted, none of them were very _happy _with me at the moment (probably because I was the one who summoned the stupid zombies in the first place), but they still cared.

Hell, even Zuko still cared and he was the angriest out of all of them. I could tell he was taking out his feelings for me on whatever unfortunate dead-head happened to cross his path. He was just a blur of flaming kicks and fire blasts, and it was a bit frightening to watch. Only I didn't really have the leisure to sit here in a horrified stupor since I was supposed to be finding the stupid book.

And, you know, defending myself. There should be a law against zombies that can bend.

"Shit!" I squeaked, unconsciously dodging the swipe of a zombie's arm and swinging down with my sword.

The limb didn't slice off like I thought it would (apparently that Hiko moron thought it would be funny to give me a sword with a blade on the wrong side). Instead, it detached at the shoulder and fell to the ground with a thump. It twitched for a few seconds before starting to crawl at my foot.

"Sonofa…!" I stabbed the hand repeatedly until it stopped moving. I took several deep, calming breaths as my friends continued the casual slaughter of the undead—and of course it did nothing to help the fraying ends of my sanity. I was seriously about to have a breakdown.

Truth be told, if it was one thing that scared the holy bejeezus out of me, without fail it was zombies. They tickled my overall aversion to death and the human race, most likely because they were a sickening combination of both. And I hated how screen writers kept finding new ways to make them scary. It was bad enough to have them limping towards you at a slow pace; at least you could outrun them so long as you didn't do anything stupid…but then they came up with the Twenty-Eight Days Later zombies (and honestly I don't care if zombie-philes consider them to be real zombies or not) and those rage monsters and that about did it for me.

_These _zombies happened to be limpers. But it hardly mattered how fast they were because they could still Earthbend. That was how they managed to drag themselves out of that mass grave on the edge of town. And occasionally I would get thrown on my ass by a well-timed tremor and the fuckers would try to converge on me at once.

Shen-Long was suddenly at my side, stopping a zombie from sinking its teeth into the back of my ankle (how the fuck did it sneak up on me?) with a fire-blast to the face. He took me by my shoulders and dragged me away from the carnage.

"Why the hell are they all attacking _me!?" _I cried.

Bo-Fen had a devilish smirk on her face as she cut a zombie in half, pausing to watch as the upper half of its torso slid off of the bottom half and collapsed in a messy heap of intestines on the ground. She stomped down on the zombie's skull, and the brain splattered on to the dirt right in front of me. I had to choke back my urge to vomit.

"You're easy prey," she stated, matter-of-factly. "Seriously, it's damn embarrassing to have you fall to pieces after all the training I gave you. I _know _you can do better than this, hon'."

I glared at her. "They're zombies!"

"Yeah. You have a sword and they have teeth. Do the math."

I huffed indignantly. "They can Earthbend!"

"They make the ground shake a little…but that's all they seem to be able to do. Quit makin' excuses for your lack of talent…or else go out there and prove me wrong."

"Fine!" I snapped. "God, fine! I'll kill a freaking zombie!"

I jerked roughly out of Shen-Long's grip, stomping over to a zombie that happened to be dragging itself over to us. I took a moment to look it over, noting the skin falling off of the bones, the exposed muscle and protrusions of bone. The man (it had been a man once) looked so pitiable, so human-like that it made me pause for a moment.

Then I let out a scream and chopped its stupid head off. I kept stabbing it even after it had fallen to the ground and stopped moving.

"Die!" I screamed. "Die! Die! Die! Die! DIE!"

Zuko was suddenly right there with the rest of us. I only noticed him when he grabbed me by the back of the shirt and dragged me off of my dismembered opponent. I struggled against his grip for a moment, but eventually I went slack in his arms and leaned against him, breathing heavily.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze up to meet his and saw the most disturbed look on his face.

"I…I really don't like zombies…" I explained weakly.

Zuko's expression became unreadable. "Leave the fighting to us. Look for the book."

"Sorry…I got carried away…"

He sighed. "I can't tell which is worse…you or the eelhound."

About ten yards away, Yoshi had his fangs out and was tearing a zombie apart. He had his little puppy head buried in its stomach, ripping out organs and tearing them into shreds. It was weirdly transfixing in a really gross way. Needless to say, my little badass was about as happy as could be.

_Livers and fishes and livers that squish! Fishy heads! Fishy heads! Rolly polly fishes are dead! I squish the livers and eats the fish! _Yoshi rolled around in the body fluids and yawned. _I am sleepy now._

Zuko facepalmed.

"You don't think he'll turn into one of _them, _do you?" I asked anxiously.

Iroh came over to us, calmly side-stepping a pair of attacking zombies and lighting them both on fire. He took the time to bow respectfully to them before turning to face me.

"What makes you so certain that Yoshi will become a zombie?" he asked.

I frowned. "He's got his face buried in their vital organs. I'm pretty sure that's a good way to get infected with the zombie virus."

"Julie, _you _summoned those zombies," Shen-Long pointed out. "There was no virus. Just a touch of bad Energybending."

I hugged my arms to my sides and shuddered. "Fine…then…whatever." I wasn't going to keep up this line of discussion while my puppy was still gnawing on what was left of a severed arm. "Yoshi! Come!"

My eelhound's head snapped up. _I obey! _

As he was running towards me, another zombie crawled up stealthily (for a zombie) up to him. My little baby was in danger, and he didn't even notice. I gasped and cried out, "Yoshi! Dodge it!"

Without skipping a beat, the eelhound hopped over the corpse's outstretched hand and landed on his feet. He growled a little, turning to face the zombie with bared fangs. He kind of reminded me of a Pokémon, the way he followed my orders like that.

Maybe that was why I yelled, "Yoshi! Use quick attack!"

Zuko gave me a WTF look, which I decided to ignore. He didn't understand the fandom. He had no right to lecture me on my training techniques.

Yoshi barreled into the zombie and knocked him back several feet, moving like a blur. He wound up right back where he had been standing, his tail all wags and waiting for me to give him another command. I thought for a moment, trying to think of a good one.

"Um…pursuit!"

Yoshi pounced on the zombie and started mauling the fuck out of it. I was impressed. Zuko looked absolutely horrified. I don't think he had any idea what was going on.

"Use flamethrower!" I cried, stabbing a finger at the severely weakened zombie.

"Julie," Zuko interrupted me. "What are you talking about? An eelhound can't possibly…" Yoshi opened his mouth and spewed forth a crap-ton of fire, which consumed the undead foe and sent him crumpling to the dirt, twitching spasmodically. That shut him up pretty quick.

"Aw, hell yeah!" I cried, fist-pumping. "Yoshi's a Pokémon!"

My baby looked pleased with himself as he came trotting over to us. _I do ANYTHING momma wants me to. I'm a good dog! Praises now! And a fish!_

Zuko's jaw was hanging open like a busted gate. "What…I don't…what the _fuck?_"

Naturally, anything that could leave the ass-hat utterly speechless was something that deserved recognition in my book. So, I opened my arms out to the eelhound and told him to come get a hug.

Needless to say, Yoshi completely abandoned the Fire Prince and came peeling towards me at a (literally) break neck pace. I say "break neck" because that was what almost happened to me when Yoshi threw himself on top of me, pinned me to the ground, and tried to lick my face. He was so heavy he took all the wind out of me. I squirmed underneath him for a moment, prying my arms loose and pushing his muzzle away before he could get zombie guts on me.

"Easy, boy," I choked. "Come on…stop crushing mommy's lungs…_please_…"

Yoshi blinked and yawned. _I am happy on momma's belly. I shall nap now!_

And then he flopped against me and fell asleep. He _fell asleep! _Good lord, we were in the middle of what looked like a major zombie outbreak, and my baby eelhound was just sleeping in the road…on top of _me!_

My eyes happened to lock with Zuko's. "Help?"

By now, he had recovered from the shock of seeing an eelhound breathing fire. He just folded his arms and gave me the once over, something I definitely didn't appreciate. Seriously, the least he could do was help me up before a zombie wandered over and decided to eat my face.

"I'm considering leaving you there so you can't run off and cause any more trouble," he replied flatly. "But considering that we're on a tight schedule…" he grumbled something else under his breath that sounded suspiciously like _troublesome_.

But he reached over and dragged Yoshi off of me. The eelhound didn't snap at him like he had at Shen-Long, I noticed. It was just so unfair. I mean, sure, Yoshi loved me (enough so that he could actually _crush _me with it); but Zuko he respected as an authority figure. And dammit to hell, no one should take Zuko _that _seriously. He's Zuko! The angry ass-hat, Zuko!

I hated him sometimes. I really did.

I looked around at the assortment of huts and the lone outhouse in the distance. Anywhere in between points A and B were undoubtedly crawling with zombies. Some of them could be waiting in any one of those structures to ambush me. I gulped.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Bo-Fen asked with a note of flippancy in her voice. "Or are you going to put these suckers to rest?"

I gave her a look and took off running for my destination. I knew exactly where to look first, and I wasn't happy about it…but whatever. It was my own stupid fault for losing the book in the first place, right?

It should have been in the freaking outhouse. I know that was the most obvious place to look since I'm pretty sure that was where I dropped it. But, of course, that was also where a lot of the zombies were. They were ambling around, practically crawling over each other in a massive cluster-fuck, and I swear I just wanted to bolt in the opposite direction.

As awesome as it had been to watch Yoshi maiming zombies, they still scared the hell out of me. Besides, _he _may have been a Pokémon, but I sure as hell wasn't. I was a vulnerable, delicious human.

Obviously, though, running wasn't an option for me. Especially as another couple of zombies lumbered up to me, eyes glowing with unholy rage for having their eternal rest disturbed. I swallowed the undignified whimper in the back of my throat and tried to buoy myself through the storm on sheer bravado. I whipped my sword out of its sheath and took the stance Bo-Fen had taught me a week ago, back when the world was still semi-sane.

"Okay, fucker…let's dance!"

They grinned. Fuck. Zombies could _grin_?

Well, whatever. It wasn't like I would have been able to sleep at night after this, anyway.

They both came for me at once. I took a step forward and felt myself sliding from the mud. Normally, in a dire situation like this I would have taken a massive face-plant; but today it was different. Today, I felt a kernel of instinct erupt in my brain the moment I felt my foot start to slip. Instead of flailing and struggling, I pushed myself into the slide and went with the momentum.

I ducked low and lashed out with my sword, whacking off one zombie's arm and dodging the swipe of the other. Instinct flared again and, still kneeling in the mud, I brought my sword back around in a full arc and shattered the other zombie's knee with the blunt edge of my weapon. It buckled and collapsed on the ground, and it was having trouble getting back up.

My sword was such a joke of a weapon. It was obvious I'd never be able to take a life with it. Seriously, what gives? Why would stupid Hiko give this piece of crap to me in the first place?

The zombie I _hadn't _floored just snarled and reached for me. I tensed and moved to stab it in the face—but Zuko was quicker and sent a wave of fire to blanket the sonofabitch.

"Go!" he yelled.

He didn't need to tell _me _twice.

I saw that the rest of the zombies by the outhouse were being torn to pieces and set on fire by Bo-Fen and Shen-Long respectively. Iroh appeared at my side and offered me a hand up, which I accepted. The retired general gave me an appraising look.

"You have improved," he said. "That was a good use of your surroundings."

I shrugged. "It was mostly an accident."

"Well, I expect I will see more of what you are capable of soon enough." Iroh's eyes flashed at the undead enemies still dragging themselves out of the mass grave and limping over to join the melee. "And I don't just mean in regards to your swordsmanship, either."

"Huh?"

"You are clearly a powerful bender if you were able to disturb this many spirits at once. Just what were you attempting to do, exactly? Force them back into the Spirit World?"

I was surprised to see him still shadowing me. Iroh typically gave me a wider berth than the others. He was always warm, friendly, and hospitable to me, regardless of whether or not he felt I was a threat. He thought I was hot shit after rescuing Zuko from that Water Tribe ambush…and I guess he also thought I was a good influence on Zuko (thought don't ask me how he got THAT idea).

Other than that, I had no idea if Iroh actually liked me as a person. I never gave it much thought until now since he had never given me much of a reason to.

I decided to just fess up since I didn't want to get on his bad side by lying.

"I was practicing. There's this spirit that used to protect the dead people in this area, but the Brotherhood fucked up his mojo and now he isn't here. I was Energybending on some of the spirits in town so that I could see if I could try connecting to him."

Iroh frowned. "The spirit that took the shape of a tiger…the one that appeared before us after we had been ambushed by the Water Tribe…was that the spirit?"

"Yeah. His name is Baihu. Ayla says he's a big deal and that I should get stronger before I try opening myself up to him. But obviously it didn't work out so well."

We had cleared our path to the outhouse and the conversation ended there. But I could have sworn I saw Iroh looking very troubled by what I had just told him. I think he realized just how big and powerful of a spirit Baihu was, or maybe in all of his years spent wandering the world he's heard of him. Either way, I could feel his eyes on my back as I forced open the door of the outhouse and peered inside.

Dark, cramped, and very smelly. Just the way I had left it. But where was the stupid book?

"Looking for something?"

The disembodied voice made me jump, and I wheeled around with my sword drawn. I only saw Iroh, who was wearing as confused of an expression as I probably had on my face. Then, I felt the ghostly hand on my shoulder, and Lin's voice whispering in my ear.

"I can help you find the book," she said as my whole body stiffened. Seeing the look on my face made her giggle. "What? Don't want my help? It's not like you were ever strong enough to do anything on your own, you know."

I clenched my hands into fists around the hilt of my sword, hating how I couldn't hurt her with it. "Call off the zombies. They're dead, _you're _dead…DO something, or I'm not helping you sons of bitches into the afterlife."

Lin reappeared in front of me, separating me from Iroh and the others.

"As if you could ever accomplish something like that," she replied nastily. "I thought you might be able to do it, but you're just a novice. How can you ever open up the Spirit World with such a weak spirit?"

My nostrils flared indignantly. "What?!"

"You're weak." Lin folded her arms and gave me an incriminating stare. "The reason we were all able to resist you so easily…it's because your spirit is weak. It's weakened by your fear."

I went absolutely still, my breathing shallow and my breaths misting in the air. She drifted closer to me, her eyes fixed on me like laser beams, as if she were gazing deep inside of me. It was clear that whatever it was she _could _see didn't impress her at all. The little brat was making me feel like a bug she was about to squash; though I don't know what she was talking about. I wasn't afraid of _her_.

In fact, I was ready to give her an Energybending _bitch-slap_ across the face.

"Just because I don't like zombies doesn't mean I'm _weak_," I spat. The word weak left a disgusting taste in my mouth. "I'll carve a piece out of every last one of them to prove it! And then I'll kick your dead ass so hard you'll be feeling it for the rest of your sorry afterlife, half-pint!"

The threat went completely ignored.

"I wasn't talking about the zombies," she said flatly. She rolled her eyes as if I were a hopeless case. "Yes, it _is _kind of sad that you're afraid of them, but I was referring to your cowardly, half-hearted attempts at bending."

I stared at her, my jaw falling open in confusion. Lin looked absolutely disdainful.

"You dare try to connect to _our _spirits, while your own is crying, "_I don't want to! I don't want to be a monster! Stay away from me! Don't hurt me! Please, don't hurt me again!" _It's not just hypocritical…it's pathetic."

I wasn't breathing. My lungs felt icy, and every little intake of air sent cold splinters into my chest. The words hit me a little too close to home. My grip tightened on my sword as I swallowed the rising fire in my throat, bit back my anger.

_She's wrong…she's wrong…_

"The truth of the matter is simple." Lin took a seat in the air and perched comfortably on nothing. "You're body is capable of bending…_physically_ you can get stronger. But inside? You're sad and broken and messed up, and you're scared that if you get too close to someone they'll see it, too. Poor baby. They're going to hate you if they see who you really are. They'll spit on you and leave you all alone…just like in your last life."

"What? I…I don't understand…" I was blinking rapidly, and my paranoia had me especially on edge. "Who…who _are _you?"

She smirked. "I already told you. I'm Lin."

"Like hell! Who the hell are you?!"

Who did she think she was? She didn't know me. She didn't know me! I felt my heart pounding adrenaline-fueled anger through my veins; it felt so exhilarating and toxic, a strange mixture of the two. I was starting to tremble, but I had long since descending over the brink of fear and into a chasm of blind aggression. I was shaking with the promise of a fight.

It was the kind of feeling I used to get as a kid right before I jumped one of my classmates during recess; the kind of rush I felt even as they dropped pointed comments about my Dad. The next thing I knew, I would be pinning them to the ground and making them eat dirt. Sometimes I'd even manage to knock out a tooth before the teachers could break it up.

It was reckless, stupid rage. It ate me up inside until my stomach felt raw and tender.

"Aw," she clicked her tongue. "Did I make you mad? That doesn't make you any less afraid, you know. Masking your fear with anger doesn't make it go away. And it doesn't make you any stronger than you were before."

"Screw you!"

"Just accept my help, already. Can't you see I'm trying to do you a favor? It's not like you'd ever be able to find the book on your own. You're completely _useless_ on your own."

I was so focused on Lin now that I lost my sense of surroundings. I could distantly hear the sound of combat still raging around me. I could see the flashes of fire out of the corner of my eyes; I could smell the stench of the crawling dead. I could feel the sweat beading on my skin even in this cold. But none of those senses were connecting to my brain.

Iroh said something, but it sounded jumbled and I didn't pay any attention to it. If anyone else tried to get through to me, I wasn't aware of it. In my mind, it was just me and this condescending little girl.

"You think I'm weak, huh?" I growled, holding the hilt of my sword awkwardly in one hand as I paused to crack my knuckles. "Well, guess what. I'm still strong enough to beat _you_."

She laughed. "What are you going to do? Cut me in half?"

I wasn't a swordsman, so I put the worthless thing back in its sheath. Lin continued laughing even as I lunged for her stupid grinning face. I saw her rapidly turning translucent as she prepared to phase out like a winking candle. She was just going to let me run right through her to prove a point.

And then my glowing fist collided with her jaw.

(**A/N: Julie used Sucker-Punch! It's Super Effective!**)

I saw her eyes widen in astonishment as her small body was sent sprawling back and into the outhouse. She didn't make contact with that for some reason. She just plunged straight through the wall and didn't emerge right away.

I skidded to a halt and bent into a crouch, searching for the little brat with my chi. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, snarling as I exhaled. As soon as I got a sense of where she was hiding I took off running in that general direction. I heard Iroh call after me, and I barely noticed Zuko looking up sharply as I raced by him, intent on the hunt.

"Julie?"

I left the others behind me to deal with the rest of the zombies. I could care less about zombies right now. The unfortunate fuckers that strayed in my path were kicked aside and trampled…not as gracefully as I would have liked, but whatever. I never claimed to be dainty in a fight. My artless techniques got the job done, and that was all that mattered to me.

Not that I was really aware of what I was doing. I was actually seeing red I was so mad.

"Where the hell did she go…?"

I found myself alone in the town square. I looked around me, feeling around with my chi in case Lin was hiding somewhere. It's funny how I used to struggle doing that before; it's much easier when I don't think so much about it. The sense had become a reflex.

Suited me just fine.

"You know," I called into the silence. "It's really hypocritical to call someone a coward and then hide from them a minute later!"

Abruptly, I felt a presence behind me.

"You're so predictable," she said dryly. "It's way too easy to manipulate you. You have tunnel-vision the moment you get provoked. I just poke you with a stick and lead you by the horns…idiot."

"We'll see who the stupid one is once I'm done with you," I threatened, turning around. "And believe me, it won't take long."

Lin sighed. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Behind her was the blackened stake where the Brotherhood had done the sacrificial burnings. As angry as I was, I still noticed the vast evil aura it gave off. It was strong enough to distract me, to make me choke involuntarily. But I swallowed the impulse at the last second and tried to sound as if I was clearing my throat.

"Get _what?"_

"I brought you here for a reason. Obviously. Why don't you open your eyes and see if you notice anything…important."

I blinked. I looked from her, to the stake, back to her, back to the stake…until my eyes drifted to the object lying at the base of the wooden pillar. My heart skipped a beat in surprise.

It was the book.

"How…?"

"You must have realized that this wasn't the place you dropped your book," Lin commented. "Clearly it has been moved to this spot. Just as you have been herded to this spot. And if you notice, this is also the spot the Brotherhood chose for their…_ceremonies_."

I frowned. My skin prickled and itched, as though the air itself was charged with static electricity. It took me a minute to realize that this feeling wasn't just a feeling. And clearly these things weren't coincidences. As I focused on it, I felt the raw power coming out of the ground.

Lin watched as understanding blossomed in my expression. "This place is a natural vein of energy. This world is made up of these unseen currents…held together by a hidden network of spiritual energy. Body and spirit work in harmony, just as matter and energy do. This is one of the few spots where everything aligns in total balance."

"That sounds kind of like Feng Shui," I observed.

She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing to confirm or deny this. "An Energybender can draw upon immeasurable power on this spot. Even someone with poor control and sloppy technique can achieve something…spectacular. Perhaps they can even split open a path through the Spirit World…maybe even into _other _worlds."

I went dead still.

"The choice is yours, of course. I'm just pointing out the possibilities."

I didn't say anything. My mind was racing over what she had just said. I could get into the Spirit World? I could go all the way through? I could go…_home?_

"_Julie, no!" _Ayla cried. "_You can't…! You mustn't! Something like that…you don't know what the consequences would be! It's not worth it!"_

"Not worth it?" my voice caught.

"So you're saying that never seeing your friends and family again…that's _worth it_?" Lin said, a note of disbelief in her voice. "You're saying you'd rather stay in a strange world where you're all alone…than to go back to where you belong?" She shook her head. "I wish I had the opportunity you have right now. I'd do anything to be able to see my family again. You have _no idea…_"

She stopped talking abruptly as an unwanted emotion flickered across her face. Grief. She quickly reigned herself in, but I had seen the crack in the armor. I had seen, just for a moment, what this girl craved.

She may have been a little shit, but deep down she and I just wanted the same things. We both just wanted to go home.

"I can't, though," I said, more to myself. "What about the others? Won't they worry, or…they'll be upset if I just disappeared. Jee would never see me again…and Shen-Long would never get to talk to Ayla anymore...and the others would feel kind of bad, I guess…and who will look after Yoshi?"

"You're more worried about a stupid animal than your own family."

I shook my head frantically. "They _are _my family! They…they care about me…! And I can't just abandon them like that! I can't just leave without…without saying anything at all. It wouldn't be right."

Lin's face hardened. "You said you would help me. I'll _make _you help me."

Before I could say anything, her form changed again. She twisted and morphed into someone very tall and somewhat muscular. It was a very familiar body…and a face I never wanted to see again. It was the face that smirked at me from my nightmares.

It was Ramon.

The scream caught in my throat and I felt the sheathed sword drop out of my limp hand, landing softly in a pile of leaves. I didn't bend to pick it up. I couldn't move at all. Like a rabbit staring into the eyes of a wolf, I watched his eyes rake over me from head to toe and the corners of his mouth curl upwards into a frightening smile.

He was a devil wearing a man's skin. That was what Ramon was, and it showed whenever he smiled at me like that. He looked so wicked that I could swear in a heartbeat that he wasn't human.

"Babe," he purred. "Miss me?"

Oh, God. Oh, God…oh, my God…oh, dear God, no.

I was paralyzed as I struggled with various shades of pleasure and pain. Although I feel ashamed to even admit that when I look back on that night. But I can't lie. It was how I felt.

The pleasure came from the sick, sad little part of me that still missed Ramon…or the person I thought Ramon was. But I knew that person didn't exist and that hurt every time I laid eyes on the fucker. When we were together, I used to look at him and see someone strong and protective of me…someone who took charge and could lead others…someone brave and maybe a little reckless at times…someone who _loved _me in spite of what a huge screw-up I was.

He used to say that no one would love me but him, and I believed him. And until I met Zuko I was sure I would never love anyone but him, either. Until I met Zuko…well, everything was different then.

I felt a lump rising in my throat as he took a few steps closer. I could make out the finer details of his face, the threads of his outfit, the color of his shoelaces. Soon he was close enough to breathe on me and I couldn't make a sound come out of me. I couldn't breathe and I was shaking so hard that a single touch could shatter me into pieces.

_Don't…don't…don't…_

"Surprise," he said in his deep voice. "Come on, admit it. You missed me."

I drew a rattling breath and shook my head in a frantic spasm.

"You did. No, don't say anything, babe. I get it. You're too overcome with joy to put it into words. I completely understand." His expression turned a shade more sinister as he stared down at me. "I imagine you're just weak in the knees just thinking about what a good time I gave you that night. Hm?"

A single noise collapsed into the open air, a sound very similar to a balloon wheezing out a painful sigh. I felt as though he punched me in the stomach. How could he…? How could he say something so awful while wearing such a disarming smile? How could he? Didn't he _care _what he did to me?

Ramon gave me a stern look, now. "Red, don't you think it's time to go home already? Aren't you done playing soldier in this shit-heap, yet? Hell, working the red-eye shift at the Wolves Den beats the hell out of what _you've _been doing."

I shook my head again. It was all I could do.

"I know we've had some bad times…I admit it, okay? We could do better…but you don't even give me half a chance to do better. You just walk out, tell me you're leaving me like it's such an easy thing to do…like you can just burn your bridges and run from everything." Ramon glared at me. "Life don't work like that, babe. You don't run from me. I swear to God I'll find you and make you sorry you left."

I sank to my knees and plugged my hands over my ears. I didn't want to listen to him anymore; I wanted to get away but I couldn't bring myself to try running for it. I knelt at his feet and took these shallow breaths and tried to pretend that this was all just a bad dream.

Ramon crouched down over me and kept breathing into my ear. "What do you think you'll do here once they don't need you anymore? Do you really think they want you? Do you?" He laughed softly and my bangs fluttered under his lips. "I'm the only one who gets you, Red. I'm the only one that wants you. Why won't you just make things simple for both of us and come home? Things can be different…"

His hands on my arms, moving up and down slowly, kneading the goose-bumps rising on my skin. His touch felt as cold as ice and I curled up inside myself like a pillow-bug.

"Give me another chance, babe. Come on, who else is going to take care of you? You're just wasting time here…yours and theirs. They don't want or need you. Look at the trouble you caused them. Do you think they'll just forget about it? Do you think they'll forgive you?"

"Stop…" I whispered. "…just stop…you're wrong…I…"

"You never stopped loving me, Julie. And I always loved you. I was good to you…I just wanted to be close to you, is all. You were the one holding back, not me. I gave you all of my love and you kept holding back from me…"

_That was a lie…you just wanted sex. If you wanted me you wouldn't have slept with those other girls. You wouldn't have completely destroyed me that night. _

"Just come home," he murmured. "Come on, now…open the door, and we can be together again. Just you and me, this time, babe. No one else. Just us."

"No."

"What?"

"No," I said more forcefully. "No!"

"Babe…"

"No, no, no! NO!"

"But…just listen to me..."

"NO! I told you, no! NO! Get AWAY from me!"

I struggled and screamed and fought like hell to get free. It was like he had lit a fire under my feet just now. All I could think about was getting away; as much as I missed being with him, the thought of me being his girlfriend again…after what he did…scared me so badly that I wanted to die. I would have snapped my own neck before I went back with him.

Ramon knocked me to the ground and held me there. "Fine. You don't want me to be nice then I won't be. But you _will _open that door, _Juliet_…and you will come home with me."

I sucked in my breath and pushed all the air out of my lungs in a loud, jarring shriek that pierced the night. I screamed until my throat was raw and my ex was pressing his palm against my face, trying to silence me. I bit at his hand, but he just grunted and forced me back against the dirt.

I saw stars and a huge plume of fire sweeping over us. Ramon rolled off of me and I found myself blinking up at my savior.

Zuko's face was like iron as he stared down the other boy. "Don't. You. _Touch _her!"

* * *

The night was cold; not just for me, but for the occupants of the prison rig docked just off the shore not a few miles away from Jade Valley. Sokka tried not to notice the chill in the air as he went through the motions of finishing his shift guarding the deck. The hours leading up until the evening were spent keeping a sharp watch for Aang and Kuba (just in case they showed up early for their prison riot) and brooding over Suki. He wanted the sun to go down just so he could have a chance to peek at the warden's records.

Someone on this ship had to know something about the Kyoshi Warriors…something that wasn't circumstantial evidence or a ridiculous rumor.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He turned to the other guard assigned on his watch and made a show of squirming in discomfort.

"Ooh…aahhhh…!"

The taller man jumped, startled by Sokka's antics. "Whoa! Hey…what's your problem?"

"It's that gruel we had for our midday meal," the disguised Water Tribe boy said, holding himself as if in great pain. "Ugggh…I don't know what they put in that stuff, but…I…I think it's going straight through me! I need a bathroom…now!"

"But…you were fine just a minute ago!"

"I know!" Sokka cried, as if agreeing with him. "There must have been something wrong with it!"

He hopped around in place while the other guard stood there, hesitating and looking nervous. It was obvious that he didn't want any accidents while he was still on the clock. If the only other guard was held up in sick bay for some sort of food-borne illness, _he'd _be left to swab up the mess. After a brief (yet distinctly troubled) silence, he finally gave in.

"All right! Just…make it quick!" he said, holding up his hands to pacify Sokka. "And don't let the Warden catch you off your watch! I don't want to catch hell for this…"

The phony guard didn't waste any time in darting for the door leading below. He practically left a dust cloud behind him in his wake. The other man stared at where he had been standing for a moment, and as the seconds passed his foreboding grew.

"Aw, man…_I _had the gruel for lunch, too…"

Meanwhile, Sokka kept close the walls and ducked around corners in his haste to reach the Warden's quarters. He had made sure to scout it out earlier during his lunch break, as well as the general layout of the rig itself, so he knew exactly where everything was. The only thing he wasn't sure about was Warden Takei's current whereabouts, which could pose a problem.

He couldn't _not _check, though. Who knew how long they'd even _be _here? If he wasn't quick about finding his coveted information, it could very well slip through his fingers. The ship could sink in the conflict that would inevitably follow, taking the records with it.

Okay, that was a worst case scenario, but it was still something that Sokka couldn't overlook. Time was of the essence, here.

He'd just have to be careful.

At some point it had occurred to Sokka that it would look suspicious if someone happened upon him visibly sneaking down the hallway in a very restricted section of the rig. He paused to take a deep breath and calm down before allowing himself to sink into a more comfortable stride. If he acted like he was supposed to be there, no one would ask too many questions…hopefully.

He was rewarded with the sight of the unlocked study door. Sokka looked both ways over his shoulder before knocking on the door, just in case someone was inside.

When he got no response, he quietly turned the knob and slipped inside.

"Jackpot," he whispered upon seeing the rows of shelves burdened with countless archived scrolls. He went straight to the nearest shelf and started poking around.

The first few scrolls held financial records, payroll, expenses, all sorts of things that were of no interest to him at the moment. He skipped the rest of those scrolls and moved on to the next set of shelves, which contained engineer's notes on the structural design of the rig, where repairs were being made, how much _those _would cost (apparently Warden Takei was very meticulous with his finances, and from what Sokka noticed preferred to cut corners to reduce costs). He pocketed that scroll, thinking it might be useful in planning out their riot.

Further on was a list of all the prisoners being held on the ship. He scrutinized it for a few moments, reading through the notes the Warden had scribbled in about the Earthbenders he had listed as "high risk offenders." Haru's father was one of them.

Next to his name was written, "Is popular among the prisoners," and "inspires hope." Underneath that was the annotation, "Must be dealt with quietly."

That certainly didn't sound good.

The Warden obviously wasn't a stupid man; short-sighted, perhaps…but not stupid. He was being very careful to keep any sort of rebellion from breaking out. And even though Tyro was being very cooperative and docile during his time of incarceration, the fact that he was a leader-figure among the other prisoners was something that sent off red flags. The Warden didn't want _anyone _giving the Earthbenders the courage to fight back.

Sokka realized with a sickening jolt that Takei meant to have Tyro eliminated. He would do it quietly, out of sight of the other prisoners. Then, the next morning when news spread amongst the Earthbenders that their leader had died mysteriously during the night…it would kill any seed of rebellion in their minds. They would become frightened and disheartened.

A nagging feeling told Sokka to check to see if there was anything written about Katara or Haru.

There was.

Next to Haru's name was the note, "Son of Tyro. The weakest link? Watch carefully."

And next to Katara's: "Earthbender from the Water Tribe?"

So obviously their disguises weren't full-proof. The Warden was definitely suspicious of them. Fortunately there was nothing written down about a suspicious prison guard from the Water Tribe, so Sokka figured he was safe.

Small comfort. His baby sister was in the line of fire. Tyro was being targeted…but when would the Warden strike?

Just where _was _the Warden, anyway?

Sokka had a bad feeling in his stomach. Suddenly, he realized why the study was empty at this time of night. It meant that Warden Takei was busy with _other _matters. Which probably meant that he was planning to…oh, Spirits!

There wasn't any time left to lose.

"I'm sorry, Suki," he whispered to the scroll. "But…I have to watch out for Katara. I promised Dad I would protect her. But I swear to you…I'll find out what happened to you."

He pocketed the incriminating scroll just as he heard footsteps in the hallway. Sokka jumped and ended up knocking another random scroll off the top shelf. He moved to catch it quickly, but it kept bouncing off the tips of his fingers. He cursed as it rebounded in a fine arc and landed on the desk, unrolling just as the other guard appeared in the doorway.

"There you are," he said. "Seriously, you were taking forever. What are you doing in here, anyway? Don't you know this place is off limits?"

"Um…I was…I mean…"

Before Sokka could explain himself, the guard happened to glance down at the unrolled scroll. He cleared his throat and said, "Oh. So _you _heard about the Warden's private stash, too, huh?"

"What?"

The Water Tribe boy looked down and found himself staring at a portrait of a buxom Fire Nation girl falling out of a lush red kimono. It was a very provocative pose, and all the parts that should have been covered up weren't. The girl looked like she was moaning up at the ceiling.

His face went beet red within seconds.

"Hey, you could have said something," the guard commented, a smirk in his voice. "Hell, we all have to take care of business now and then…but you don't have to risk your _job _to do it. Just ask me next time, kid. I've got just the thing for you…uncensored, too."

Sokka couldn't say a word. He was mortified.

"Let's just put this back, and I won't tell anyone I caught you in here, newbie. You certainly have a pair to sneak all the way down here for a peek…and I respect that. But seriously, you could get in some serious trouble next time. Am I clear?"

"Y-yeah…sorry." His eyes flickered down to the scroll one last time as the other guard rolled it up…or tried to. The paper was a bit stiff for some reason. "I didn't know it was off limits, though. One of the other guards just said it was a library."

It was a lie, but one that should pass since he was new. The other guard made a noise of disapproval.

"They're just messing with you 'cause you're new. They probably thought it'd be funny if you got caught. Well, don't worry. Our shift is over, anyway. Let's get something to eat."

Sokka declined quickly.

"I…I have to, um…go somewhere…"

The guard glanced at the scroll, which had been put back on the shelf, and muttered, "I bet you do, kid." But thankfully he didn't ask any questions.

Seriously, he almost wished he could have told the man the truth; but the mission was much more important than his dignity. Katara's safety was much more important than his dignity. He would have to bear it for now.

He waited until the guard left for the mess hall before dashing off towards the area where the prisoners slept. He had to warn the others before the Warden got to them.

He hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

**A/N: This is a shorter chapter than usual, but I'm already late on the deadline (by two weeks?!) and I'm planning on hitting up my friend's dorm for the weekend. And probably we're going to be too busy being silly fangirls and watching Michael Fassbender movies to be of any use to any fandom. **

**We might get to looking up student aid. I figure my friend, having gone through the educational wringer, might have some decent tips for how to get what I need. But probably we're just going to get distracted and waste a crap-ton of time.**

**For those of you **_**still **_**waiting for Wonkafic and Bloodlines to be updated, I apologize profusely. Both are half-way done and should be ready hopefully by next weekend. I feel really bad for procrastinating on them (they're some of my best works, in my opinion). I will update them as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.**

**ALSO! As the holidays are drawing closer, I decided to make the next Deleted Scene holiday themed. I've been stalling on updating that since I suck at writing song lyrics for a drunk Katara to sing. So, I decided that my original DS idea is going to go back into the mainfic, and to have a Happy Endings Nondenominational Winter Holiday special instead! Yay!**

**Feeling curious? Let's just say that a homesick Julie is going to attempt to "do the holiday thing" to make herself feel better. As the others learn more about it, they're going to attempt a Secret Santa to cheer her up…and that leads to a crap ton of shenanigans. Who will get who's name out of the hat of doom? Will Santa himself make an appearance? What vital organ will Yoshi get for his precious mother to feast upon for Christmas dinner?**

**This is not a possibility. I will definitely have that ready for you guys before the holiday season is over. I hope you find it entertaining. **

**Anyway, got to go. My train for the dorms leaves in an hour, and I still have some packing to do.**

**You know what to do! REVIEW!**


	96. Faces in the Dark

**A/N: Hey, y'all! First update of the New Year! Isn't it great?**

**I'm going to cut right to the chase; this is going to be an intense chapter to kick off the new year. This is partially due to my tendency to end off most of my chapters with a cliff-hanger, especially during an action sequence such as this. I am not sorry. Not in the least.**

**In other news, I'm sure you guys remember how Aang went on strike during the last opening Author's Note. He was upset because he wasn't getting enough screen time…isn't that right, Aang?**

**Aang: **"Guilty as charged."

**Now, now…this isn't a trial. This is a simple negotiation table. We're here to work out some sort of…understanding.**

**Aang: **"Um…then why is _that _there?"

(Points up at the ceiling, where an axe is locked into some sort of pendulum hovering over his head. Distant-Moon laughs sheepishly)

**Oh, that. No, don't get the wrong idea…that's just to keep you from going into the Avatar State while we're having this little talk. If you go glowy, chances are you'll break the beam holding the axe, and it'll drop right down on your little noggin. So I don't recommend you lose your temper…okay?**

**Aang: **(unnerved) "Okay…but, I was going to tell you that I'm quitting the strike. As of right now."

**Really? Wow. I didn't even have to bribe or threaten you. This is a first.**

**Aang: **"Well, I wasn't going to back down at first…but then I remembered your other story that I'm starring in, _Bloodlines_. I realized that it wasn't fair for me to accuse you of excluding me when you gave me such a key role. I'm sorry for accusing you…"

**Um…well, it's fine. I wasn't really that mad. It's just hard to fit in so many characters and not go overboard on the word-count. Even the main characters take up a crap-ton of space…no offense.**

**Aang: **"Yeah. I know. It's a big story…and people are noticing how long it is."

**(Sigh) Yeah. I know.**

**Aang: **"Hey, would you let me do the summary today? Since I was being kind of a jerk earlier…it's the least I can do to make up for it."

**Now don't be so hard on yourself. Of course you can. Go crazy, kid.**

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**Aang: **(clearing his throat and reading from a piece of paper) "While killing zombies and fighting for their lives, Julie and Zuko are separated from the others and run into the last person either of them want or expect to see; Julie's ex-boyfriend, Ramon. It seems that Julie's attempt to hide her complicated romantic history is about to blow up in her face…unless Zuko kills Ramon first." (looks up) "Julie had a boyfriend?"

**Keep reading, Aang. We're running out of time.**

**Aang: **"OH! Right, sorry…!" (continues reading) "Meanwhile, Sokka, having recently uncovered the Warden's plot to eliminate Tyro, Haru, and Katara before they can incite a rebellion, had to choose between saving his sister and finding out the truth about what happened to Suki. It was a tough decision, but in the end he left the Warden's private library and went to go help Katara. Will he make it in time? Or will the spark of rebellion be extinguished by the flames of the ruthless Fire Nation prison guards?"

**Well? You guys have to read to find out for yourselves. Go ahead. I won't keep you any longer. Have fun and enjoy the chapter!**

**.. .. ..**

**P.S. BEFORE YOU READ! (Yeah, I lied…this will only take a moment and it's kind of important) This chapter is going to be rated a T+ (i.e. a T borderline M) due to Ramon. He's a creepy mo'fo', and he says some pretty messed up things. However, there isn't anything particularly graphic happening, just some implied situations that have a mature theme. **

**However, I have managed to allude to "two girls one cup" (or two Earthbenders one clay pot) in an earlier chapter, and no one called me out on it. Therefore, I highly doubt anything you see here will be considered offensive. And judging from the reviews you guys left, I seem to be doing okay at addressing these kind of subjects…but still. **

**For your sanity, do NOT Google ANYTHING you read in the last paragraph. Nuff said.**

**.. .. ..**

* * *

**Chapter Eighty-Nine: Faces in the Dark**

Zuko was livid with anger as he stared down Ramon. He flexed his knuckles, letting fire ripple over his fingers without burning them. Intense heat, the blistering surge of his chi made his muscles crave movement, and at that moment he wanted nothing better than to slam a flaming fist into that bastard's face until he dropped and didn't get back up again. He wanted to melt the cocky expression off Ramon's face if it was the last thing he did.

Who the hell did he think he was, forcing Julie to the ground with brute strength, trying to smother the sound of her screams? What would have happened if Zuko hadn't showed up right at that moment to put a stop to it?

His golden eyes flickered to Julie. She was perched on one knee, her other foot planted on the ground as she tried to push herself up. She wobbled, coughing as she staggered back to grab the charred pillar that stood in the absolute center of the village. The moment her hand made contact with the blackened wood her entire body lurched in a spasm that sent her to her knees again. After that, she curled in on herself, hands over her ears; as if she were trying to block out the sound of someone screaming directly into her ear drums.

Zuko realized that it was her bending that was forcing her to relive the sacrifices. He couldn't think of worse timing than right here and now.

"Babe," said Ramon in mock concern. "You don't look so good."

"Stay away from her," he snarled, making his flame bigger to emphasize the unspoken threat. As he made eye contact with the son of a bitch, he moved to stand in between him and Julie. Wordlessly, he held out his free hand behind him, waiting for her to take it so he could help her up.

There was a pause. Zuko allowed himself to break his gaze to give her a questioning look. Julie stared up at him, her eyes angry and almost defiant. Instead of taking his offered hand, she pressed her palms to the earth and shoved herself roughly on to her feet again.

She glared off to her left to avoid looking at him as she hugged her arms to her sides. "I don't need your help," she said in a low, flat voice.

Ramon laughed, causing both Julie and Zuko to focus on him again. His voice was deep and slightly gravelly, and there was something chilling in his tone that portended malevolent intentions. "She's cute, isn't she?"

The question was obviously directed at the Fire Prince, whose expression turned to stone. He was unmoving and unnervingly silent. Beside him, out of the corner of his eye, Zuko saw Julie's body tense up in dread.

"You haven't changed at all, Babe. You're just as stubborn and selfish as the day I fucked you."

Julie flinched at the words. The flame in Zuko's fist sputtered and shock flitted on his face, breaking through the unyielding façade. His heart dropped into his stomach at the implication Ramon was making before his pulse (and the temperature of the air surrounding him) skyrocketed.

"Slip of the tongue," Ramon spat. His face turned bitter. "I meant to say _met_ you…but I suppose the original statement stands too, doesn't it?"

Julie was frozen except for the way her hands shook. Her grip tightened on her arms, leaving her knuckles a bloodless white. Zuko's gaze flickered to her for a brief moment and he saw how stark white her face was. She looked like she was going to either pass out or be violently ill.

"You…don't get to talk to me like that…" she stammered, but the anger came out loud and clear. "And you don't get to come here…_saying _things that are…that are…"

"One hundred percent true?" Ramon interjected with the arch of an eyebrow. "Please. I know every inch of your small, soft body. I could give him _details _if I wanted to. I could tell him all about how you look wearing nothing but my shirt…about how you'd let me tear it off of you with my _teeth…_how I made you _beg _like a dog—"

There was a sudden explosion of fire that sent Zuko barreling towards Ramon. The other male barely had time to jump back and dodge the burning hand grabbing at his throat. Snarling as he missed, Zuko followed up with a sweeping arc of intense flames that left scorch marks on the ground where his opponent had been standing.

"I'll fucking _kill _you…!"

Ramon didn't respond, but he did look pleased to have finally gotten a rise out of Zuko. Meanwhile, Julie's face split wide open in alarm. "_Zuko!"_

The Fire Prince's gaze cut to her. "You're going to let him talk about you like that?" he snapped. "You of all people are just going to sit there and _take _that?"

She blinked rapidly, her eyes filling up with tears. She looked furious.

"Julie," he said firmly. "I don't know why you two broke up…and I don't know how the hell he found you…but that doesn't matter. I won't let him dishonor you like that…and you shouldn't either! Stand up for yourself!"

For some reason this made her look even more pained than before. "It's too late for that, okay? Just…just mind your own business, Zuko! This has nothing to do with you!"

He shook his head, confused and angry. "You expect me to just sit here and do nothing?"

Julie lost it. "I said _stay out of it!" _she screamed. "Don't tell me what to do or how to handle my problems! I'm not a child! And I'm not some innocent, sweet girl that needs saving!" Her hands balled up into fists during her tirade, her face red and screwed up like she was about to burst into tears. "Just fuck off!"

Zuko almost couldn't speak, but his mind was racing to piece together her cryptic statement. "What are you trying to say?"

Because it was obvious that she was desperately trying to tell him something. It was a warning; don't dig any deeper than this. Just walk away now. But from what? What was it that Julie didn't want him to know?

And all at once it clicked into place.

"It's true?"

Disbelief etched his voice into something low and rough. Julie forced herself not to look away, but cringed at the look of betrayal on his face. She took a defensive step back, doubt creeping into her expression.

"It's none of your business what I do," she said quietly, her voice wavering as she fought off tears. "Anyway…it was a long time ago. We were dating, okay? He…it was complicated."

"_Complicated? _What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I…" Julie hesitated, squeezing her eyes shut. "…that I made a mistake." There was a very pregnant pause as she dropped her gaze to her shoes. "That I was young and stupid and thought I was in love with him. And I was supposed to be his _girlfriend_, for crying out loud! He would have broken up with me if I didn't…" she bit off the end of that sentence, grimacing.

Zuko just stared at her. "You still slept with him, though." It wasn't a question. "You stayed with him even after he gave you that ultimatum."

Her eyes flashed with anger. "Yeah," she spat. "I…I did. Happy? Was that what you wanted to hear?"

He felt like she had just punched him in the stomach. For a few seconds it was hard for him to breathe, his heart sputtering out of rhythm as he seethed with…not jealousy. He was _not _jealous of that slime-ball. He just wanted to rip him limb from limb. He wanted to set him on fire and watch him _burn_.

"It was before I even met you," she muttered as an afterthought. "And I…I can't change what I did. But whatever. It probably doesn't matter to someone like you. Honor is everything, right?"

The sarcasm in her voice completely pushed him over the edge.

"What would you know about honor?" Zuko rounded on her. "You didn't even _love _him, you were desperate!"

He didn't mean for his words to sound as callous as they did. Hearing them out in the open air made him freeze up, but he couldn't take them back now. And the effect was instantaneous. Julie went stark white and looked ill again. Her hand flew over her mouth, the other curving around her torso in an attempt to steady herself.

Zuko ignored the prickle of guilt in his stomach. It was still churning from anger and the additional discomfort didn't put him in a merciful or forgiving mood. He took his eyes off of her, unable to look at her anymore. All he could picture in his head now was her wearing another man's shirt.

"Well?" he said quietly. "Am I wrong?"

Julie didn't answer him.

"This is better than reality TV," Ramon said with a smirk. He bent down and picked up a lone sword on the ground. Zuko recognized it as Julie's sword. She must have dropped it. "Babe, come on. Give it up. He's as good as gone."

She shook her head, unable to speak.

"Seriously? He doesn't want anything to do with you! There's no where left for you to go except with me."

Zuko glared at him. "Who the hell said I was letting her go with you?" He shook his head in disgust. "This doesn't change anything. You may have been her boyfriend once, but she isn't your property! You don't get to make decisions for her!"

He glared at her pointedly, meeting her startled gaze.

"Do you want to go with him?" he asked sharply.

Julie blinked in astonishment. Swallowing heavily, she jerked her head, no.

"Thought not," Zuko muttered. He turned back to Ramon. "She's staying," he told him bluntly. "If you want to take her back, you'll have to come through me first." His golden eyes flashed dangerously.

Julie's eyes went round in shock. "Zuko…why?"

Did she seriously just ask him that? He thought his reasons would be obvious after everything they had gone through for each other. His stomach churned as he was brought back to the Agni Kai arena in his nightmare, how she had jumped in between him and his father and taken the blow meant for him. He remembered her voice begging him not to leave her…remembered what her lips felt like against his.

How could she not _know _how much he cared about her? He stiffened and turned away from her.

"We'll talk about this later," Zuko said darkly. "Right now, all that matters is keeping him away from you…and we'll figure the rest out when this is over. Do you understand?"

Julie fell silent. There was a tense moment as she stood there, rooted with indecision. But as he turned to narrow his eyes at her she started and gave him a frantic jerk of the head. It was a nod.

Ramon looked from one to the other before sighing. He drew the sword from its sheath, testing its weight. He frowned at the blade, noticing that it was on the wrong side. But after a few seconds he shrugged and wielded the weapon in Zuko's direction.

"One thing you need to learn and learn fast," he said, his brown eyes suddenly void of humor. "I don't care who the hell you are. You touch what's mine and you're a dead man."

Zuko took a bending stance. "Guess I've got a long life ahead of me, then," he said with lethal promise. "Julie, get back. This is going to get ugly."

Her mouth opened, perhaps to argue. But she quickly snapped it shut and jerked her head from side to side, as if trying to shake water out of her ears. Eventually she seemed to decide not to make any more trouble; she moved back a safe distance, her gaze flickering uncertainly between him and Ramon.

Zuko gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to stalk over to her and push her out of the town square himself. But he took a deep breath and kept his temper. He had a better target to take his frustration out on, anyway. He tensed up in grim anticipation.

If there was anyone who deserved to have their smirking face burned beyond recognition, it was Ramon.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

It was late, well past midnight Haru figured judging by the moon's position in the sky. Most of the prisoners were asleep by now, including Katara. They had camped underneath the catwalk, which would keep them mostly dry if it rained. Fortunately the sky was clear and they didn't have to worry about anything except the cold.

If this was how it felt during the fall, he hated to think about how unbearable things would be during the winter. And if it _snowed_…

_All the more reason to break out of this place, _he thought. _All the more reason to fight back._

Because that was the only way for it to stop. You had to stand up for yourself, show that you wouldn't just take all this abuse lying down. Because if there was one thing Haru had learned by now, it was that staying quiet and minding your own business wasn't enough to guarantee safety. All it did was enable the aggressors to get away with whatever they were doing.

And they wouldn't stop. First they took your home…then your family…then your neighbors, the best and brightest of your village…and then the scavengers would settle in and pick off the rest. Scavengers like the Brotherhood.

Thinking about the cloak-wearing fanatics made Haru's blood run cold. He didn't want to believe Katara's stories about the human sacrifices, the public burnings…but he was having a lot of trouble convincing himself that the young Earthbenders they had taken were still alive.

All he knew was that it had to stop. And he would be the one to make sure it happened. One way or another, he couldn't live in the same world with a bunch of monsters. But it was hard to feel even an ounce of confidence. Right now they were sitting here doing nothing while the Fire Nation was sending reinforcements to his village, trying to snuff out a nonexistent Earthbending rebellion.

If his father had been the same man he had been before the Fire Nation took him…there was no way he'd ever let something like this happen. Not to children. Not in his village.

And speaking of the old man…

"Can't sleep?" Tyro's voice spoke out of the darkness.

Haru looked up at his father with a tired expression, not wanting to talk…but wanting to say so much at the same time. His head was still buzzing from their confrontation earlier. He wasn't really sure he had gotten his thoughts entirely straight, even now, hours later.

"I don't know how anyone can sleep in a place like this."

Tyro looked like he understood. "You get used to it. Or you drop from sleep deprivation. One or the other, it happens whether you want it to or not."

"Yeah," he said in a low voice. "Just like everything else, there isn't a choice."

Tyro winced and Haru felt guilty. He wasn't sure why, but he felt a pang of remorse for making his father feel bad; even if part of him wanted to believe he deserved it.

"Son…"

"No, don't…" he cut the older man off. "I didn't mean that. I just…I'm so confused right now. Everything is just so wrong right now, and I can't even…figure out how to make it stop."

Tyro sighed. "This war has done so much to you…to all of us. It must have been hard…trying to be strong for your mother." He smiled ruefully. "You've grown a lot, you know."

"Thanks. I wish I could say the same for you."

"At this point in my life there's only one way for me to grow." The older Earthbender took a seat beside his son. "_Old_. I feel like I've aged twenty years since I've come to this place…and that's just me. I can only imagine how the elderly feel, being trapped here for so long. They're just waiting to die."

Haru winced.

"I'm sorry, son. I've let you down." Tyro clenched his hands into fists. "I've let _everyone _down…you, your mother…the whole village. They trusted me to lead them…and now, the best I can do is try to keep as many people alive as I can until the war ends."

"Until we lose."

His father didn't say anything. He didn't have to.

"It's not your fault, Dad…" Haru said slowly. "I know that. Deep down I've always known…I just…I can't lay down and die with the rest of the village. Katara is right. We need to fight back." He clutched Tyro's arm fervently, looking him in the eyes. "It's not too late. We can overwhelm the guards…get everyone out of here. We don't need our bending! We can fight without it!"

"Haru…" Tyro shook his head. "Very few of us are in fighting condition. Most of us have only been trained in Earthbending for our entire lives, you know that. Besides…do you really think the Warden keeps his prisoners in tip-top shape?"

"You would do well to listen to your father, boy," a voice spoke from the darkness. "Resistance is futile."

They both jumped.

"Who's there?" Tyro snapped, pushing Haru behind him.

His hostile expression changed when the Fire Nation guards emerged and surrounded the trio. Katara stirred at the sound of stomping boots against the metal, and she was awake by the time Warden Takei appeared on the catwalk above them. He made a clucking noise with his tongue, shaking his head slowly.

"My, my," he said. "What have we here, Tyro? Plotting a revolt under my very nose?"

The Earthbender took a deep breath. "We were just…talking. My son was having trouble sleeping, and I…this isn't what it looks like."

"What's going on?" Katara asked, scowling at the Warden.

"You want to know what's going on, little girl?" The uniformed officer sneered. "I just caught these two planning a prison riot. I suggest that all of you surrender quietly before you make things worse for yourselves."

"What are you going to do to us?" Haru demanded.

"The same thing I do to _all _threats on my ship." Takei's face hardened. "I _eliminate _them. But not you, little girl," he added, glancing at Katara. "I have a few questions for you first. Once I've learned everything I need to know…like why a Water Tribe girl would try to sneak on to an Earthbender prison rig…then I'll dispose of you like the others."

She tensed up as her cover was blown wide open. There was no point in pretending anymore.

"And what if I don't talk?" she said petulantly, standing up and taking a defiant stance. "Do you really think I'll tell you slime-balls anything?"

"Oh, believe me…I know how to make you talk. It's only a matter of time." The Warden smiled cruelly. "Men, seize them!"

The guards took a few paces towards them, but froze as they stared up at something in the sky. And that was when Katara heard Appa bellowing as his shadow covered them. Her heart leapt in relief.

"Aang!" she cried, elated. "You're here!"

The Warden looked completely bewildered as the monk jumped off of Appa's back and touched down on the floor of the rig, using his Airbending to soften his landing. Without hesitating he whipped his staff in a sweeping arc, sending a harsh gale crashing into the enemy soldiers and sending them sprawling backwards.

"What are you doing?" Takei cried. "Get up, all of you! You're going to let a little kid beat you?"

"I'm not just a kid," said Aang seriously, standing protectively in front of Katara. "I'm the Avatar…and I'm not letting you hurt my friends."

"Tch…"

But Tyro was looking at the boy with a newfound understanding. He glanced at the beaming Waterbender and smiled. "I take it this was the Avatar you were boasting about earlier in front of all the guards."

She met his gaze. "I wasn't lying."

"I can see that now. It's nice to meet you, young man."

"Aang," said the monk. "My name is Aang." At that moment a flying lemur glided down from the sky and perched on his shoulder. "This lemur is Momo, the sky-bison up there is my buddy Appa…and the other kid on his back is Kuba. He's an Earthbender too."

He said this last part with a grin, expecting Tyro to be pleased.

"But how did you know we were in trouble?" the older man asked, not understanding.

Aang's smiled grew wider. "Oh, you can thank Sokka for that. He was the one who sent us the signal."

"Signal?"

There was a sharp cry from the catwalk as someone grabbed the Warden and forced him to his knees. Everyone looked up and saw the random guard pin him in a complicated hold that Takei couldn't break out of; and while the prison-keeper struggled fruitlessly, his captor removed his face mask.

It was Sokka.

"Surprised?" he said gloatingly to the Warden, whose face was turning red in anger. "I disguised myself as a prison guard so I would know right away if something went wrong and get help. Before I slipped in with the rest of the new recruits, my friends and I agreed on a signal that we would use to communicate with each other."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of crumbled up powder, which he shoved under the Warden's nose.

"These used to be spark rocks. My little Earthbending buddy crushed them for me…and if I sprinkle the powder over a lit torch, it makes it spark and flicker for a long time. It's subtle enough not to be detected by the other guards, but for Aang and Kuba it's visible enough to draw their attention." He forced the Warden's head so that he was staring at the adjacent wall. "What you're looking at is my distress signal."

Takei narrowed his eyes. "Clever. I'll admit it…no one pays much attention to a flickering torch. But you overlooked one thing, boy."

"Oh yeah?" Sokka taunted. "What's that?"

"You are trying to pin down a Firebender…someone who can heat up his body at will." He smirked. "I hope you don't mind some serious burns on your hands…!"

There was a sizzle and the Water Tribe boy cried out in alarm. He jolted away from the Warden, who took the opportunity to seize him and push him over the side of the railing. Katara gasped.

"Sokka, no!"

Tyro and Haru tensed up, eyes wide while the Warden made a break for the door. He slipped inside and slammed it shut as Aang started forwards. The young Avatar ran underneath Sokka and swept his arms up, buoying the other boy with air until he collapsed on the ground. Katara ran over to him, anxious. "Are you all right? Speak to me!"

"It's fine…" he grunted. "Just a little singed, that's all…" he held up his hands palms up, revealing the angry red color to his skin from the fresh burns. "I let go pretty quick…sorry."

Her blue eyes flooded with anger.

"You saved us…you don't have anything to apologize for." She looked up at Haru and met his gaze. "Now it's our turn. We need to fight back _now_ or the Warden will come back with more guards to arrest all of us. It's now or never."

Tyro looked torn. "But…there isn't any earth for us to bend. We have nothing to fight with. This entire place is made of metal."

"No, it's not," said Aang. He pointed at the smokestacks. "Look at the smoke. I bet they're burning coal. In other words, _earth_."

Everyone exchanged glances.

At that moment a dark shadow covered them. They all jumped, but realized it was only Appa making another circuit around the rig. He flew low enough for a small figure to jump off the saddle and land nimbly on the catwalk. Before anyone could blink, he slipped under the bars and crawled down, letting himself drop among the others.

Kuba smirked. "So? What did I miss?"

Haru blinked. "I thought you were supposed to be watching Appa."

The younger boy scowled defiantly at him. "I'm not a pet-sitter. Anyway, how do you expect me to sit up in the sky for all this time…? It's too big and spacey…" He shuddered, and at once the Gaang remembered the boy's fear of wide, open spaces. "No way. I'm coming with you guys, wherever you go. Besides, Appa's smart for a big fluffy monster. He can handle himself."

Aang nodded. "That's true. Appa's clever. He can stay out of trouble."

Kuba looked appeased. "So, are we fighting or not?"

They all looked at Tyro, waiting.

He looked at them all in turn, but his gaze lingered the longest on his son. Haru seemed to be pleading with his father silently, using only his eyes. Something in that gaze seemed to strengthen Tyro's resolve. He took a deep breath and nodded.

"If we can find a way to get at that coal," he said slowly, "…then I'll do what I can to help you all escape."

"Not just us," said Katara. "All of you. We're going to free every last Earthbender on this rig."

The older man smiled sadly. "You assume that every single Earthbender has the will to fight back, Katara. I'm sorry, but…I might be willing to help…but I can't guarantee that the other prisoners will join us."

"Then go talk to them," Haru told him squarely. "We'll get the coal. You wake the prisoners and tell them what's going on. See if they'll join us in the revolt."

"And if they won't?"

There was a troubled pause.

"Then we fight anyway," Haru answered, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. "Peace isn't an option anymore."

Tyro nodded grimly. "So be it."

* * *

I couldn't understand what was happening.

It wasn't just the fact that Lin had freaking turned into Ramon—turned into my dirt bag ex-boyfriend, Ramon. Oh, believe me; that had me reeling. The idea of him finding me here was something out of my nightmares. I couldn't help but wonder in the back of my mind if any of this was even real. But the possibility of this being another bad dream was just too good to be true.

If you factor that in with the fact that he and Zuko were now dueling over me…even after Ramon had been bragging about the sex…I couldn't wrap my brain around the fact that it was even happening. Why would Zuko bother? He couldn't still have feelings for me, not after he had looked at me with those disdainful eyes and called me _desperate_.

My body shivered. _Desperate_.

Zuko had been right to warn me to get back. The moment the fight started, fire seemed to erupt from his body. It made me freeze up in terror, watching blast after blast sail towards Ramon. I expected my ex-boyfriend to be incinerated on the spot, but to my alarm he was having no trouble avoiding the fire. Not that Zuko was aiming very carefully. I watched as he missed Ramon by about a foot and setting one of the houses ablaze.

It was like he was using the carnage to work out some of his frustration and anger. Holy crap…if he was this upset, what the hell would he do to _me _after this fight was over?

Maybe I should get the hell out of here while I still had legs to walk on.

If you're wondering if I was worried about Zuko, the answer was no. Honestly, he was scaring the holy hell out of me right now. He could clearly take care of himself, and left no doubt in my mind who would win this fight. Even if he was too emotional to aim straight, his attacks were fueled with so much hate that it was only a matter of time before he _killed_ someone.

Okay, yeah. I was _so _going to haul ass. I'd have to be crazy to stick around.

I turned to run away and found myself face to face with a zombie. The stench hit me at full tilt and I doubled back, choking. It was so bad you would think I'd have noticed it a long time ago; but I guess there's no accounting for what senses get switched off in the heat of a fight. Also, the left side of my face was still bandaged up (and were hanging loosely, given all the running around I was doing), making it easy for the walking corpse to sneak up on me.

You would also think that, being a seasoned zombie-slayer, I would have had the wits about me to kick its ass.

But no. To do that, I would have had to have a weapon…or even an ounce of competence. Let's face it. In our group, I was the weakest link. Yeah, I talk a big game, but everyone knows that my bark is way worse than my bite. The only thing I knew how to do was taunt things that wanted to kill me…which obviously tended not to end well.

Even if Bo-Fen and Iroh said I was improving, I'd be hard-pressed to actually believe it. Instead of putting my foot through its face or something _awesome _like that, I froze up. It was because, of course, _I_ was the one with the zombie phobia. Of course my blood turned to ice as it reached for me, making me forget all about the zombies I had already killed.

I was totally deer-in-the-headlights for a few seconds before my fight-or-flight response kicked in and I began to retreat to my original hiding spot…only to find that more zombies had showed up while I was trying to sneak away. And with no weapon, there was no way I'd be taking out so many of the deadheads on my own.

Yeah. I was surrounded by zombies. Fucking zombies. I think I had reached the appropriate moment to freak the ever-loving fuck out.

Zuko stopped fighting when he heard me scream. Ramon actually did, too. They both stared at me as the walking corpses dragged me back to the town square. The bastards were surprisingly strong, but I think they might have been Earthbending the ground under my feet to force me to move. They pushed me to the ground in front of the two combatants, staring expectantly at Ramon.

He just laughed at my expression. "What? You think I was going to let you leave, Red? I told you already…you're not going anywhere except through that door with me."

Zuko stared at him. "The zombies…_you're _the one controlling them?" He shook his head. "But…I thought Julie was the one who brought them here."

Ramon's expression was flat. "She only invigorated their restless spirits…she made them rise, but she has no control over them. Her spirit is too weak to bend them to her will." For a moment he shifted back into Lin's petite shape. "Your fear makes you an easy target…you're too vulnerable."

I felt a stab of anger, and suddenly I was struggling against the zombies that had me pinned to the ground. I let out a scream of frustration. "You…! You're _dead! _Just wait until I get my hands on you!"

Lin shook her head. "After the way you fell to pieces just from seeing your old lover's face? Don't make me laugh. Just sit still while I finish wearing down the ash-maker prince."

Before I could reply, she turned back into Ramon. Zuko snarled under his breath, a frustrated noise. It was clear this fight was exhausting him, both physically and emotionally, while Ramon didn't seem to break a sweat—probably because he was just a spirit. And while this was extremely worrying, I was freaking out for a different reason.

"You're not a little girl," I said through gritted teeth. "And you're not my ex-boyfriend…I think that much is obvious by now. You keep switching back and forth between them, but I don't think either of them is your real face."

Ramon smiled. "What makes you think I'm not real?"

I refused to give in to the mind games. Not again. The little brat had already conned me into revealing my less-than-flattering sexual history to Zuko. There was no way in hell I'd let her manipulate me into…um…actually, I had no idea what Lin (if that is even her real name) was trying to accomplish. Besides getting me to open a gate to the Spirit World with my bending, that is.

I mean, did she really think I'd do that for _Ramon? _How the hell did she even know what he _looked _like, anyway? Unless there was a chance that this…thing…really was my ex-boyfriend.

But that's impossible. It couldn't be real. I didn't _want _it to be real.

"For starters," I said snidely. "Ramon is from _my _world. Okay? Normal people don't just show up in the Avatar world for no friggin' reason! And if you're trying to tell me my lousy ex-boyfriend was a _special snowflake, _I will bite off my own tongue _right now_ and drown in blood so I don't have to open any stupid doors for your dead ass!"

"You always were one for the extreme response, Babe."

"Given the choice between running away with you and drowning in bodily fluids, I think I'm making the right decision."

Zuko face-palmed.

"What?" I demanded angrily. "What are you mentally bitching about this time, Zu?"

"You have no idea what you just said, do you?"

I blinked. "Um…that I'd rather drown in…" I trailed off as the unintended innuendo hit me in the face. "Oh, fucknuts…you know what I meant!" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Calm down, already. You look like you're ready to have a stroke."

"I haven't entirely ruled that out, yet, Julie…"

Abruptly, Zuko shot a fireball the size of a baseball and threw it in my direction. I flinched, but it wasn't aimed for me. Instead, it burned a hold through one of the zombie's foreheads, right between the eyes. I felt the heat from the flames and heard a nasty sizzle, followed by a thud as the corpse fell forward and hit the dirt. Before I could blink the other two zombies holding me dropped to the ground, and I could see where Zuko had gotten them with his Firebending.

I sat there in the dirt, paralyzed. Slowly, I brought my eyes up to meet Zuko's and saw the fury that burned in them. I made a noise like mouse would make as it stared up into the eyes of a hawk.

"Don't tell me to calm down," he replied through gritted teeth. "I'm warning you…don't push me any more than you already have tonight. It won't end well for either of us."

Okay, I could sort of understand why he was so speechlessly angry with me. First I had snuck off to perform a potentially life-threatening Enerybending ritual, summoned a horde of zombies while I was supposed to be in the bathroom, and taught my eelhound to be a Pokémon (well, okay, he probably wasn't so pissed about this one since it helped keep us alive so far). On top of all of that, he got to listen to Ramon talk about how much he enjoyed fucking me. I'm sure he was _thrilled_.

One thing I knew for certain: Zuko was not in a listening mood. There was no point in trying to explain that I hadn't been ready, that I had only given into Ramon that first time because I was scared of losing him, or that I felt so sick with myself every time I thought about it. I couldn't tell him about that other night, either; the night my drink had been spiked with something…the night Ramon claimed I had been desperate enough to beg for him.

Technically, I couldn't even prove that he was lying. I couldn't remember saying no. I couldn't remember anything except not liking what happened next. I could only call back flashes of images from that night, and most of them were unwanted and painful memories.

So, no. I was not going to explain anything to Zuko. Trying would only give him more details about things he didn't want to hear, and that would only make him angrier.

"Sorry," I said with as much remorse as I could muster without sounding insincere.

The Fire Prince just grunted. He wasn't looking at me anymore, but Ramon. I think that display of zombie-killing had been more for his benefit than it had been for mine. Or at least, that was what I _hoped_.

Either way, it wasn't a very good sign.

While Zuko glared Ramon just laughed. "What? You're going to kill me in front of _her? _Do you honestly think she'll _let _you?" He took a step towards us, a threatening one. "I _own _her. She's mine. Always has been…always will be. You have no idea what you're really fighting."

"I think I do," he answered. "You're a monster. And the world will be so much better off without you…Julie's included."

"How nice of you to decide that for her. By the time this is over, she's going to hate you as much as she claims to hate me. She'll _despise _you…with every ounce of her being. She'll call you her enemy…she'll take up arms against you…try to kill you with the sword I'm holding. I guarantee it."

Ramon must have been extremely confident to be boasting like that. It made my blood boil.

"Like hell," I snapped. "You don't know me as well as you think you do, _bastard_. I wouldn't do that to Zuko! He's not my enemy! You are!"

My ex-boyfriend's eyes turned cold, his expression very un-Ramon-like. It was unsettling. It was like a completely different person was looking at me, using his face as a mask. Like the person in front of me was just a mouthpiece for something far more sinister.

"He might not be your enemy," he said. "But I know for a fact that you're _his_. You just haven't admitted it to yourself or to him. You've already betrayed him too many times…or have you forgotten that night the Avatar escaped from his dungeons?"

Zuko went rigid. I felt a stab of panic.

_How did he know about that? _My thoughts were racing. _How the hell did he…he can't have known! There's just no way…unless he can see into my mind. But Ramon can't…_

"You're just trying to rile us up," I said, my voice weak and brittle. "You want to turn us against each other. You're not Ramon. Zuko's right…you're a monster."

"No, Julie," said Ramon, voice feather-soft and full of menace. "I'm not the monster. You are. It's there, lurking in your veins…something bad, something wicked and fragile at the same time. I've always seen it in you, even when we were kids. The things I could get you to do…the _horrible _things you've done…"

I wasn't moving. I wasn't breathing. I was _remembering_.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Red. There was always something wrong with you. Something that makes you hurt the people you're supposed to protect. And now it's all coming out, with this bending of yours. You can't control it because you don't _want _to. It's a part of you…a part of you that wants the world to _burn_."

I clasped my hands over my ears. I shook my head back and forth, trying to shake his voice out of my mind. It scared me…because something in his words rang true. I was always an angry person…always spiteful, vindictive…mean. If I weren't so weak, how far would I go to hurt someone?

It was like Aang had said back on Kyoshi Island. I was letting my anger control me. I was turning into my Dad. And part of me, a very deep and cold part of me, didn't care.

Ramon looked at Zuko. "You don't believe me then ask her. Ask her what she was doing the night the Avatar slipped away from you. Go on."

I waited, tensely, as he slowly brought his golden eyes to meet my gaze. He was pale and furious and _hurt_, I could see that in his face. He didn't bother asking me; I'm sure he could read me as well as I could read him. The answer, the _truth_, spoke loud and clear.

Seeing the betrayed expression on Zuko's face made me snap. Like a bone in a crushing grip, I snapped. And I went straight for Ramon.

A scream tore out of my throat as I lunged for him, my vision turning red as my hands clawed for him. I wanted to feel his skin under my nails and watch him bleed. I wanted to pull out his eyes, break his nose, rip his throat out with my teeth. I was so enraged I was like an animal, a snarling, uncontrollable beast desperate to kill.

He ruined my life. Ramon _ruined _my life. And he would keep ruining it until I ended him.

Instead of letting me get my hands on him, my ex-boyfriend sidestepped and caught my wrists. He took a step down and _tugged, _jerking me off my feet. The momentum of my lunge threw me to my knees at his feet, dangling by my wrists in a cruel grip. But I didn't have time to struggle before he whirled and knocked me into the wooden pillar, pressing my face against the charred, blackened wood.

I gasped and felt the burning of flames. I felt my skin melting away even though I was actually perfectly fine (except for what splinters I might have gotten from the impact). But the vision I got felt so real it was as if I was being burned alive. I screamed and cried and struggled against his grip. I was losing my mind.

"Let her go!"

I saw fire coming towards us—and a part of my brain that was still working told me that it must have been Zuko, fighting to get Ramon away from me. But the rest of me was touching that pillar, being burned alive. Seeing the new flames only reinforced the vision, made the pain more real, more imminent.

_He's going to kill me. Zuko's going to kill me._

I heard something, then; the sound of rocks cracking. The ground shook a little as something came lurching out of the ground. I heard Zuko cry out in alarm and the flames abruptly died. A cold fear gripped me, cold enough to pierce through the phantom heat.

Ramon, his hand buried in my hair, dragged my face away from the pillar and forced me to look. My vision was hazy, but the moment things were clear enough I stopped struggling. My eyes went wide.

Zuko was on the ground, being held there by several pairs of undead hands that had literally exploded out of the earth. The zombies, I realized. They must have ambushed him as he was going to attack Ramon. And something was wrong. He couldn't break out of their grip. I saw his face turning redder and redder as he tried to get loose; heating himself up so that it would be unbearable to touch him.

It was just how desperate he was.

Ramon laughed. "You'll burn yourself out before they let go. They're dead. They don't feel the pain. Even if you burn their hands they'll keep holding you…unless you manage to get a headshot while they're _underground…_which, I'm sure you can see, is impossible." He shook me and I yelped from the jarring pain. "How would that be, Babe? You already got a preview when you touched the pillar…how would you like to see this fucker get burned alive, just like the others? Because that's what'll happen if he lights those hands on fire. He'll catch it, too."

I screamed. It was a frightened, angry sound. It made him laugh again.

"I love that sound," he breathed in my ear. "I love it when you scream…it's so sexy. I want to hear it over and over again until the end of time. And now I'll finally get the chance." His face went cold, but his eyes were full of glee. "I ought to take you right here against the pillar and make him _watch_. I want you to _scream_ for me, bitch…"

"No…!" Zuko snarled, lurching violently against the hands holding him there. "Sonofa…!"

Suddenly, I felt Ramon's body twisting and morphing. I was dropped to the ground as he turned back into Lin…but it was so sudden, so lurching and awkward that I realize that Ramon hadn't intended for that to happen at all.

"What are you _doing?_" she snapped. "You're not supposed to do that! We were told not to kill her! We need her _alive_!"

She twisted and Ramon was standing there again, looking angry and gasping for breath.

"Who said I was going to kill her, you little brat?" He pulled himself upright and glared at Zuko. "I'll kill the others, but not her. No, I want her to live just to hear her scream. How is that going too far?"

Another transformation. I couldn't watch anymore. It all kept happening in a blur and made me want to throw up. But I listened to their voices switching back and forth, _arguing_. Arguing over _me_.

"That's sick," Lin's voice told him. "_You're _sick. I'm not letting you have your way with her. I'm in this body too, you know. I don't want to have to watch…" she trailed off before she could finish her sentence, but there was no misunderstanding the unspoken implication. "I'm not _part _of this! And anyway, we're only supposed to rile her up…get her in a fighting mood. How is she supposed to be of any use to us if I let you fuck her up?"

Ramon's voice answered. "Well, maybe it's time we _changed _the plan. She's mine, not his."

A pause. Then Lin's voice took over. "He gave you this chance…and he can take it away. You don't double-cross the face-stealer and live."

The face-stealer…? She couldn't have meant…_the _face-stealer…could she?

Oh, my God. What the actual hell was going on?

"Julie!"

A new voice pierced the sound of the argument, Shen-Long's voice. I looked up so sharply I could feel the joints in my neck cracking. As I saw him and Bo-Fen running towards us, I broke out in a cold sweat. I don't know why, but I was suddenly very afraid for them. I should have been relieved that help was on the way, but instead all I could think of was that I had just gotten them into trouble.

"Get back!" I screamed. "It's too dangerous!"

That made them stop, if only for a moment. That split second of hesitation turned out to be a mistake because a second later we could hear the moaning of the dead approaching the town square. Apparently they hadn't defeated all of the zombies; they had simply evaded them.

Shen-Long's eyes darted to Zuko, who was pinned by the zombies. He cursed.

"Where's my uncle?" the Fire Prince choked out, still struggling against the zombies.

"Fine, he's just cleaning up back there," the soldier replied.

In the distance, we could see flashes of some very intense Firebending, and we knew that Iroh was still fighting. Just how many people had been buried in that mass grave, anyway? A hell of a lot, that's for sure. It was obscene how many dead people were attacking us that night.

Shen-Long nodded at his sister, who drew her sword and ran over to where Zuko was being held. But before she could get very far more hands erupted from the soil. She stumbled, caught off guard, managing to slice off a few groping fingers before another hand emerged behind her, snagging her ankle. Bo-Fen was thrown off balance as she moved to stab the hand, and as she fell we all heard a sickening _crack_.

"Bo!" Shen-Long ran to her aid, grabbing her sword and severing the hand that had broken her ankle. His sister was down, clutching her leg and looking extremely pissed off.

"Oh, these fuckers are going down…" she growled. "Sons of bitches…!"

"Stay still," he snapped. "You're hurt."

"And we're outnumbered as it is, idiot. Give me my sword."

But before Shen-Long could reply, Lin turned sharply towards him, eyes glowing with the intent of death. I could feel her dark intentions from far away and I panicked. I could remember all too well what had happened to the bandits we had encountered yesterday and I didn't want the same thing to happen to Shen-Long. He was probably one of the only friends I had left, and besides…Ayla would never forgive me if I let him die.

I dragged myself to my feet and took off running, overwhelmed by my fear and anger.

"Leave them alone!"

I shoved her back with both hands, which I belatedly noticed were glowing with an intense red energy. Lin went rigid, her eyes wide in surprise. I could feel some very vital chakras tightening up, almost as a reflex to my touch. Gritting my teeth, I forced the floodgates open and _made _her yield.

Energybending is really a contest of wills. It's your spirit against the other guy's, and if you lack the resolve or decisiveness to bend you have no chance in hell at winning the spiritual tug of war. At that moment, I was so fueled by adrenaline and _hate _that I felt no compulsion to hold back. I wanted to _break _her…to break Ramon…to break everything that stood in my way.

"But I…I…" she was gasping as the remaining pieces of her consciousness crumbled away. "I…I was on _your _side…" Her eyes locked with mine, like a child who couldn't understand what was happening. "Why?"

Before I could make any sense of that, she was gone. Well, the presence that belonged to her, at least. There was still a person kneeling in front of me, only it wasn't Lin anymore. I had made Lin go away. Now there was an old man I didn't recognize right away…but he was definitely familiar. As he slowly lifted his wrinkled visage to meet my gaze, I remembered who he was.

"You?" I gasped. "But…I don't understand…"

Koichi the mask-seller smiled bitterly at me. "Hello, Anju. Long time no see."

His gaze darted to something behind me and I half-glanced in the direction he was staring. Bo-Fen and Shen-Long were absolutely still, both of them staring at the old man as if they were seeing a ghost. After a moment of confusion I realized why. The memory of them introducing him to me a month or so ago hit me like a ton of bricks. I took a step back, shaking my head in denial. No, no, this couldn't be right. First he was Lin, then he was Ramon…and now he was a guy I had bought a mask from?

"Koichi…" Bo-Fen said slowly. "What the hell is going on? What are you doing here?"

Shen-Long put his hand on her shoulder. "That's not Koichi…at least, not the Koichi we used to know."

I heard a bark and saw Yoshi bounding over to us, snarling at the enemy. He darted past Shen-Long and Bo-Fen, ignored Zuko and went straight for me. Yellow eyes alert and teeth bared, he took his place in front of me and started growling at the mask-seller.

_Momma, watch out…! He's a bad man! _

Bark, bark, bark…you get the picture. Yoshi could smell the evil on this guy, plain as day.

Bo-Fen was still furrowing her brow, not understanding. But I did. It suddenly made sense, everything that had happened tonight…the freaky shape-shifting, Lin's cryptic statement about the merciless "face-stealer," all of it. I knew the real person…the real _monster _behind all of this, and knowing made me sick with fear.

"Koichi…" I said slowly, taking another step backwards. "In other words…_Koh_…"

Yoshi let out another bark, baring his fangs at the old man.

At a glance he seemed like a normal person, completely ordinary except for how ancient he looked. But if you looked him in the eyes, there was something chilling and inhuman in them…something intimidating and _bad_. Looking into his eyes destroyed any remaining shreds of doubt I might have had (or, in this case, hope since I was desperately hoping I was wrong).

Instead of putting my fears at ease, Koichi confirmed them with a malevolent smile. "Close…very close. You are a lot more shrewd than I gave you credit for, little girl. Have you forgotten what I told you, already? A mask is a very useful thing to wear when one needs an extra face."

Sadly, the irony of that statement was loud and clear and continued to echo in my ears long after his voice had faded away. To him, all of this was a dark joke…and I was waiting for the punch line.

"And what is a face," he concluded. "…but yet another mask for Lord Koh?"

* * *

**A/N: Kung-fu action cliffhanger powers…aaaaaactivate!**

**Okay, this chapter probably has a lot of you guys going, "Wait…wait…WHAT?" I tried to put as many clues as possible leading up to this moment so that I wouldn't have someone crying "Deus ex screwing over the main characters." I had actually been planning for Koh to take the spotlight for quite some time now. However, his motives have yet to be revealed.**

**I know you guys have a lot of questions about Koh. I expect that. However, I simply ask that you hold them and try to draw your own theories until the next chapter. Koichi is going to explain a lot more about what he means about Koh's "masks." As to what Koh wants or what he has planned, you'll have to find out later on in the story. Some of it gets explained next chapter, though; so hopefully that will help. At this point in the story you guys aren't going to see the full picture until certain events come to pass.**

**However, if you're patient, I promise you one hell of a story. ;)**

**I will say this: Lin and Koichi, even Ramon…they are all real. But so is Koh. That's the only clue I'm going to give you until next time. I don't like giving away spoilers.**

**Was this too confusing? You can tell me if you're so confused you can't even think straight. Sometimes I take for granted that even though **_**I **_**know what's going on doesn't mean the readers will. That's the problem when writing such a multi-layered, multi-faceted fic. Plus, you guys will soon see that time itself is a paradox in Happy Endings-verse.**

**Now let me backtrack a little bit and address the Zulie tension in this chapter.**

**This was a difficult scene for me to write (not just for Ramon's part in it, which is pretty f'ing disturbing to say the least). First of all, sexual assault is and always will be a touchy subject. It has to be handled carefully, like a live grenade. Second of all, it was really difficult to put myself into Zuko's head as he finds out about Julie and Ramon. It's hard to gauge what the "appropriate" response would be to something like that.**

**And as we all know, Zuko is terrible at saying the right thing. Nor is he especially inclined to when he misreads the entire situation (since Julie refuses to come right out and say that it was rape, since she can't even admit it to herself yet). She, along with a lot of people, fall prey to the misconception that rape only happens at the hand of a stranger; but usually the victim actually **_**knows **_**their attacker.**

**However, since they **_**know **_**their attacker, they usually are reluctant to go to the authorities about it. That's why many incidents of rape are left unreported. In Julie's case, her attacker was her boyfriend and that in and of itself casts a shadow of doubt as to what actually happened. She rationalizes that since Ramon was her boyfriend at the time, and since she consented on previous occasions, it justifies his behavior.**

**Which, I hope many of you agree with me on this, is total bullshit.**

**Zuko is not intentionally being cruel to Julie. He's just had a very stressful evening; the kind with fire and zombies and his girlfriend sneaking off to perform life-threatening Energybending rituals behind his back. He was already mad at her, and then he ends up having to listen to her **_**ex **_**boasting about their sex life on top of it all. He is not in a very patient or understanding mood.**

**The way it looks, he thinks that Julie just went and had sex with some guy she didn't even love. So, yes, he's upset. Very, very upset. However, he still chooses to defend Julie in the long-run. Because when it comes right down to it, he still cares about her; and even if he didn't, Zuko is not the kind of guy to leave a girl to get assaulted by a guy she used to date. Remember that at the end of the last chapter he stumbled upon Ramon trying to force Julie to the ground?**

**Nuff said.**

**I realize it must be irksome for some of you to have me explaining everything. I promise I will try to do less of that in the future. The only reason I'm wasting so much word-space here is that the subject matter is so heavy and I don't want to offend anyone. Plus, with Koh thrown in the mix, this is a confusing chapter. It needs some explanation.**

**Anyway…I hope you found this to be an action-packed update. I'll have the next chapter up soon, but in the mean time…REVIEW!**


	97. Masquerade, Part I

**A/N: Sooooooo…hi, guys. (sheepish grin) Long time no see, huh?**

**(crickets chirpring)**

**Okay, okay. It's been a month. I assure you that I was not slacking off in any way, shape, or form. Well, okay…I did **_**a little **_**bit of slacking on my birthday. See, I reached the horrifying revelation that I am now twenty-three and will soon be descending into the abyss known as old age. Pretty soon someone's going to come by with a freaking net to drag me off to the nearest old folks home. **

**It's actually pretty depressing. I mean, I should be grateful that I have so many friends, an awesome boyfriend, and a well-intentioned family to celebrate my existence with. I love them all to pieces…but, you know, I'd rather they celebrate without me having to become a responsible functioning member of society. The bud of my youth is rapidly disintegrating into ash…oh, woe is me!**

**Julie: **"Drama queen. Tell them the real reason why you didn't update for a whole damn month."

**Oh…that. Ahem. Yes, well…you see, I should have expected something like this would happen at some point. When you're writing a story with so many subplots, it's only a matter of time before you **_**trip**_** and end up tangled in the web of crisscrossing storylines. **

**To put it simply, I tried to push too much into this chapter at once. I stared at it, wondered why I felt like I had just typed the word CRAP over and over again into my computer. And it occurred to me that in trying to cram so many plots into one chapter, I completely lost sight of the main point of the episode arc. It's like writing a term paper with several sub-topics and losing sight of your main thesis.**

**Plus, I realized I had to carefully re-evaluate how I'm going to develop my characters in the story. Specifically, I mean Julie. See, in all ninety chapters of this story, we don't see so much of an improvement in her personality. She doesn't really learn too many skills, still can't control her bending, blah, blah, blah. **

**Long story short, it hit me suddenly that there was a really simple way to solve both problems at once. All at once I realized exactly how I could redefine my "Episode Thesis" while developing Julie into a more well-rounded person. It was a wonderful idea…and an awful idea.**

**See, I had a wonderful, **_**awful **_**idea! :D**

**Julie: **"Please stop smiling like that. I can't actually see your face, so the only thing I see is the emoticon grinning out of thin air. It's really, really creepy."

**:DDDD**

**Julie: **"I had to open my big mouth."

**Oh, calm down and do the summary before we start today's chapter. The quicker you do this, the quicker I can get back to making taquitos and watching my Hetalia box-set. I have to do **_**something **_**until Season Five comes out on DVD.**

**Julie: **"Oh, come on…I always get stuck doing it."

**You're the main character. Take responsibility.**

**Julie: **"Yeah? Well you can take your _responsibility _and shove it up your fucking—"

_**LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!**_

**Julie: **(senseless stream of censored beeping) "…so that you have to pee _sideways!_"

…**ahem. The story recap, if you please.**

**Julie: **"Crap…uggh, fine." (Takes a moment to calm down). "Okay, so last time I found myself cornered by my ex-boyfriend Ramon, who is somehow inexplicably in the Avatar universe with me. Zuko tried to defend my honor, but then Ramon had to go and tell him all sorts of things I didn't want him to know. He told Zuko that we had slept together…that I couldn't be trusted…hell, he even told him that I was the one who had let Aang out of his cell back when we were in the South Pole. I have no idea how he even knew that, but…"

**Um…Jules? You okay?**

**Julie: **"Just shut up. I'm not having a good day, all right? It was bad enough that Lin kept turning into Ramon and reminding me about the worst moment in my entire life. But no, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, I tried to Energybend on that shape-shifting little bitch …only to have her turn into that mask-seller, Koichi. You might not remember him, but he was the guy who sold me a mask way back during my first supply run with Shen-Long and Bo-Fen. Only now, it turns out that he, Lin, and Ramon are all in cahoots with fucking Koh the Face-Stealer."

**And what does that mean? **

**Julie: **"Simply put? We're all going to die."

…**riiiiiight. So, on that cheerful note, I hope you guys enjoy the action-packed update to this epic saga. Presenting the ninetieth chapter! Hell, if this story gets any longer, I might just reach the fabled word-count limit on ! Wouldn't that be something?**

**Anyway, see you guys later! Taquitos are done!**

* * *

**Chapter Ninety: Masquerade, Part I**

"_Koichi…" I said slowly, taking another step backwards. "In other words…Koh…"_

_Instead of putting my fears at ease, Koichi confirmed them with a malevolent smile. "Close…very close. You are a lot more shrewd than I gave you credit for, little girl. Have you forgotten what I told you, already? A mask is a very useful thing to wear when one needs an extra face…_

…_And what is a face," he concluded. "…but yet another mask for Lord Koh?"_

* * *

Koh, huh?

Okay, so I definitely wasn't going to move. My body had turned into a proverbial statue as a single thought shot through my brain like a flashing neon sign hanging over Time's Square: _Show no fear! _Though technically "show no emotions" would have been a more useful direction, the only thing I was really feeling was fear. It was the one thing most likely to show on my face.

I wasn't sure how well I was succeeding at being stoic (though I must have been acceptable if I still had my face), because inside I was (surprise, surprise) completely freaking out.

So was Ayla.

"_Julie,_" she whispered to me. "_You can't trust anything that man says to you. He'll do anything he can to deceive you…! Be careful!"_

I swallowed. _Yeah. Easy for YOU to say. You're not the one who has to worry about losing a FACE._

Even Bo-Fen looked like she had been sucker-punched (which pretty much said it all; we were boned and but good). Her complexion went ten shades paler, paler than I've ever seen it. Her eyes were wide and her poker face was nowhere to be seen. It was such a deer-caught-in-a-set-of-headlights expression that I was left completely unnerved. Seriously, _nothing _caught Bo-Fen by surprise. _Nothing_.

Whatever can of worms lay hidden here, I was going to have to leave it…preferably when we _weren't _in the company of a shape-shifting maniac working for a giant monster centipede that collected _faces_. I tore my gaze away from them and looked back to the old man, who was smirking at me. Whatever happened, I had to be calm and completely in control of my emotions.

I know. I was totally screwed.

"Masks?" I choked, before wincing internally. I couldn't even trust my own voice not to give away how scared I was.

Quickly, before Koichi could morph into a giant fucking centipede of DEATH, I tried to pull myself together. I steeled my resolve (even though I was practically quaking in my shoes out of fear) and forced my face and expression flat as a frying pan. If Koh was involved in this, there was no way I was giving him a face to steal. He laughed at my attempts at remaining stoic.

"_His _Masks. We are merely extensions of our master…for he cannot leave the Spirit World except on the night of the Winter Solstice, when he collects another face for his collection…just as he took ours in years past." He gave me a significant look. "You need not hide your feelings from me, Anju. We cannot steal faces…"

"Well, excuse me if I don't feel like taking any chances," I snapped. "Anyway, if you can't steal faces, why does Koh even _need _you? What do you people _do_ for him?"

_And why do you keep calling me Anju? _I wanted to ask him. But I decided that question wasn't as urgent as the other ones were. If it was important, I'd probably find out later.

Koichi attempted to appear benign, but that only made Yoshi stand up on his haunches and extend his dorsal-fin in the _hostile _position.

"Lord Koh's responsibilities go beyond stealing faces. I am not at liberty to speak of them to you, unfortunately. However, I _can _say that Lord Koh cannot traverse into the physical plane without certain conditions being met." Koichi looked very pointedly at me. "Instead, he relies on us, his Masks, to interact with the humans…particularly humans who are of great interest to the Spirit World, such as yourself."

I shivered a little. Koh had always unsettled me, even seeing him on a TV screen safe and sound back in my world. I wasn't sorry to see the back of him in Book One, either. He was dangerous, creepy, and possessed a cunning that made Voldemort look tame. In other words, he was a seriously bad dude.

I suddenly felt extremely grateful for Aang. The fact that he existed, the fact that _any _Avatar existed meant that humans were at least a little safer from these nasty fuckers.

"I can see you're unnerved," said Koichi in a pleasant tone of voice that was great for conversation. "Although this isn't very surprising. I figured that if there was anything you learned from all this, it's that humans are remarkably vulnerable to deception. After all, there's always that one person…that one face you just can't say no to."

And just like that, he turned back into Ramon. Obviously he was driving his point home and the final nail in my coffin at the same time. Because he was right…there was absolutely no way I could look Ramon in the eyes and actually fight him. I felt my throat constricting and it was hard to swallow; actually, it was hard to move at all since my whole body seemed to freeze up on sight. The bastard smiled at me and it took every ounce of my willpower not to scream or throw something at him. There was no way my face was _expressionless _at this point; not now.

"And there are people who you just can't afford to lose, either," he said in his deep, familiar voice. "That's why I let the centipede have my face, Babe. You were gone…and this was the only way I could get you back."

Oh, God. This couldn't seriously be happening.

Ramon beckoned towards where Zuko was wrestling with the half-buried zombies. At his silent command, they all reached their rotting hands towards his throat. Zuko's yell was cut off as the pressure tightened around his windpipe, the grip of so many fingers cutting off his flow of air.

"Let him go!" I cried.

"I got him," Shen-Long yelled, scrambling towards the Fire Prince to help him. I tried to follow, but Ramon snatched my wrist before I could go more than two paces towards Zuko. His touch was cold, very strong, and hard to comprehend since I was under the impression that spirits weren't solid. Yoshi lunged and clamped down hard on my ex-boyfriend's leg. Amazingly, this didn't even make the bastard flinch.

Instead, Ramon's eyes pulsed with a yellow glow, and suddenly there was a flickering image of a girl in front of Shen-Long. She opened her eyes, her long red hair caught in the icy night wind as she stared forlornly at him. "_Len…_"

I felt Ayla gasp inside of me. "_It's…me? But I'm right here. That's not the real me…_"

Shen-Long didn't move. His eyes were wide. "Ayla…"

Zuko wrenched and gasped, managing to steal a mouthful of air. But he was starting to turn purple, and not just because he was getting beyond pissed. Firebending comes from the breath, and if Zuko couldn't breathe, not only could he not bend…he would suffocate.

"Zuko!" I yelled. "Shen-Long, Zuko's going to die!"

But he didn't answer me. He just stood there and stared, as though he had fallen into a trance. "Ayla…is that really you?"

Oh, my God. OH, MY GOD.

"_Help me, Len," _the fake Ayla pleaded with him."_I need you. They're going to kill me, Len!_"

"Shen, snap out of it!" Bo-Fen screamed. She looked angry and scared…and on the uncharacteristic brink of tears. "Ayla's dead, Shen…she's dead! You know that! We have to protect Julie now! You promised you would protect her!"

The soldier shook his head, his expression caught between hope and pain. "But…she needs me, Rena."

"That's not my name anymore! I'm Bo-Fen, now…your sister, Bo-Fen! And you're Shen-Long! And Julie is…our friend, Shen. And she's absolutely crap at fighting in spite of all that training we gave her…so you need to pull yourself together! She isn't going to get to the prince in time, and then who's going to pay us?"

"_Don't leave me, Len…_"

Ramon smirked. "They're going to die, babe, all because of you."

_No! No, no, NO!_

Zuko was running out of time. I pulled against Ramon's grip frantically, but he held me back with no problem. The longer I watched this, the more afraid I was that my friends were going to die, that I wouldn't be able to save them. And my terror only grew as Ayla clawed away at me inside, trying to get free…screaming to be heard.

"_Len, I'm right here! I'm right here! Can't you hear me?_"

Her cries were loud, grating on my nerves and sanity. But I didn't know how to get her to stop. It was all I could do not to completely lose it from the onslaught of phantom emotions I got from Ayla's meltdown.

Ramon laughed in my ear, tightening his grip on me.

"That's right, babe. Be afraid. You know how I love to hear you scream…"

"_Len! Len!_"

"Snap out of it, Shen!"

I heard a yelp, and I looked down in time to see Ramon fling out his leg hard enough to send Yoshi flying. The pit-bull-sized eelhound hit the ground hard and whimpered, his reptilian tail twitching. My poor baby looked bewildered and tried to get to his feet, but he was having trouble.

"Maybe I should have the zombies tear your pet into pieces. I'll keep him alive as long as possible so he can feel everything…as they rip open his belly and pull out his organs with their teeth…!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to watch anymore. This was too much. "Please, just stop it! You can't do this! Please!"

"And then I'll move on to the others!" Ramon snarled. "I'll start with the lovesick bastard…he's not waking up any time soon, and believe me, he won't even notice he's being killed. Then I'll move on to his sister. She's injured and she can't run…and she's completely outnumbered. Do the math, Red."

I was shaking and I couldn't stop. "You're…a monster…"

He smirked. "You won't enjoy this," he hissed. "This won't be over quickly. I'm not your _prince_…!" He jerked me like a dog on a leash, making me open my eyes. My gaze locked on Zuko, who was about to pass out. His golden eyes met mine and I wanted to scream. "I'll save him for last…I'll make him suffer in so many ways he'll be begging me to cut his throat! And I'll do it…but not before I have my way with you and make him _watch_…!"

Fire erupted out of no-where. The zombie hands holding Zuko crumbled into ashes, letting him roll to the side (where it was relatively safer). The Fire Prince gasped and pressed his fingers tentatively against his throat, where I could see fresh bruises forming. It was really bad news; apparently some of the zombies (the ones holding Zuko, at least) hadn't been dead long enough to really decompose, and had all the muscle they needed to effectively strangle him.

He looked up at his unexpected savior and looked relieved. "U-uncle…!"

Iroh's expression was very flat. But I recognized that look from the show. It was the one he wore whenever Zhao or Azula were around and he didn't want them to catch on as to what he was thinking. I'm guessing he realized just what we were dealing with, because even I could tell that underneath the blank façade was a very pissed off Dragon of the West. His eyes were smoldering while the rest of him remained seemingly cold and unmoved.

"Release her."

Ramon's face twitched. "Back off, old man. The centipede told me to kill you specifically if you tried to interfere with him again. And honest to God, I could care less about having the zombies rip you to pieces."

Wait…what? Koh was targeting Iroh now?

"You attempted to murder my nephew," Iroh stated. "If anything, you're the one who will not be leaving this village alive. The fact that you are under allegiance to Koh the face-stealer is of no consequence. I told him the last time that I would not sit idly by and let him take my loved ones from me. No one is going to hurt Prince Zuko while I am alive." He glanced at me. "Or any other member of this crew, for that matter."

Ramon was unimpressed. "I doubt the centipede wants such an ugly mug in his collection, anyway. But Julie's _mine_. And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

Iroh took a casual fighting stance. He glanced to his left as Zuko rose to his feet. The Fire Prince just nodded grimly at the older man before taking a stance of his own. They set their sights on Ramon, Zuko's just a trifle hateful as he glared at my ex-boyfriend. His gaze flickered to me for a moment and his expression hardened even more.

_He hasn't forgotten, _I told myself. _He knows that I let Aang go that night. He might save me from Ramon, but only so he can arrest me and send me to the Boiling Rock. Or worse._

And could I really blame him?

I shouldn't have felt guilty about it. Saving Aang and the others, that had been the right thing to do. If I had let Zuko carry them back to the Fire Nation, the world would burn…there would be no hope, and Ozai would take the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes for his own. I had no choice _but _to free Aang.

That didn't change the fact that Zuko had given me a place on his ship, and I had repaid him with treachery. It didn't matter that Iroh was the one who persuaded him to keep me, that he was grudging and angry about the whole thing. It didn't matter that he would join the Avatar later on, and might even understand why I did what I did that night. None of that mattered.

Zuko didn't have to keep me…let alone all the other things he had done to help me over the past couple of months. Looking back, I wondered why it had taken me so long to understand that he was not this angry, evil person I had tried to make him out to be in my head. And even then, I hadn't entirely trusted him. I had been wary of his friendship, wary of the things he made me feel, wary of getting too cozy with this place, with these people.

He had helped me, and I had destroyed his chance at going home again. It was so ironic. He was the one person who could really understand what I was going through, being stranded in another world with no hope of ever getting back. We both were homesick and angry enough about it to fight for what we had lost. I had a real friend in Zuko, and I had completely ruined that by letting Aang go.

But how could I have done anything else? I knew how this story was supposed to go. Aang was supposed to be free to help end the war. Zuko was supposed to embark on this long journey of self-discovery before realizing his destiny and helping Aang master Firebending. And I was never supposed to interfere in any of it.

The right thing to do would have been to just keep my mouth shut, to be quiet and blend into the background; to leave the main characters alone so they could find their own way to the end of the story. I should have been grateful for what kindness Iroh and Jee had shown me instead of bitching endlessly and drawing attention to myself. I caused a lot of problems…mostly for Zuko and his uncle.

I deserved whatever Ramon decided to do to me. Zuko should not have been fighting for me; he should be leaving me to get what I had coming to me. The fact that he was still here proved that he was a better person than I would ever hope to be.

_I wish I had never come to this stupid place._

There was a tremendous roar that swept through the village. Everyone, and I mean everyone, jumped as a tremendous gale pierced the forests surrounding the valley and descended towards us. It was unnatural; there shouldn't have been any wind in the bowl-shaped crevice; the mountains should have prevented it. And yet it felt like a hurricane had erupted right in front of us.

Ramon's grip tightened on me, and that was the only reason why I hadn't been blown away. The others also managed to keep their feet, and I realized that the wind wasn't affecting them. It was like it moved _through _them. It was absolutely surreal.

The image of the fake Ayla flickered and died. Shen-Long blinked, his trance shattered by the tiger-shaped being that appeared in front of Iroh and Zuko. Everyone in my group gaped at the spirit, watching and waiting with baited breath to see what it would do.

Oh, God. It was _Baihu._

"Shit," Ramon cursed. He seemed to know what the tiger was…and that if it came down to a fight between them he would lose. My knees went weak with relief and gratitude at the sight of the massive animal stalking towards us.

"Baihu," I breathed. "You're here…but…I thought you were gone."

_**The other day when you prayed for the power to protect your loved ones, **_Baihu communicated to me. _**I should have been more specific. The time has come for me to answer your prayer, daughter of man.**_

"The Brotherhood destroyed your shrine," I said, not understanding.

_**I no longer have a need for it. Let us merely say that I have found another vessel to connect me to the mortal world…a more reliable one.**_

Ramon glared at him. "You think so, huh? We'll see how reliable you think she is once I'm done with her!"

There was no time for me to process his words before I felt something pushing its way inside of me; a cold, hostile something invading my chakras. It felt painful and wrong. It was like someone had sharpened icicles into daggers and shoved them into each vital spot in my body. And then, faster than I could have imagined, the ice turned to fire.

My vision went red. _No…!_

My head felt like it was splitting open as a current of energy pierced its way through me. Ramon, or rather, Koh's mask was battling against my consciousness and winning. It was like playing tug of war with my soul, each tug threatening to tear it in half. It was agonizing and frightening.

_No! Get away! Get out of my body!_

I might have screamed. Or maybe it was someone else. It could have been Ayla keening in misery as we were consumed by the rising tide of power. None of the sounds reaching my ears made any sense; it was all garbled and unclear. My mind switched off from the sensory overload and for a long time all I could see was red.

There was nothing but crimson in my eyes for what felt like an eternity. For all I knew I had been spirited far away from Jade Valley and dropped down in a sea of red, but more than likely I had just lost awareness of my surroundings. It hadn't felt like I moved at all. I was extremely disoriented and nauseous.

I was scared. I was confused. And then I was _angry_.

"_Ju…ie…!_" Ayla's voice sputtered and died.

A lightning bolt of clarity hit me. It was like waking up, having water thrown in your face, someone switching on a lamp or throwing open the shades. I could feel someone grab me by the wrists, someone whose hands felt different from Ramon's. Warm, calloused fingers gripped me and pulled me down, and I saw gold piercing the sea of red in my mind.

Golden eyes.

"Get a hold of yourself!" he yelled at me. Zuko looked angry, but also scared. "You're being possessed! Fight back!"

My mind snapped back to a memory I had pushed to the back of my mind.

_Ramon rose up to his full height, right in front of me. His grip tightened around my wrists and dragged me closer to him. I couldn't taste any clean air; all I could smell was the cigarettes and the orange-juice on his breath. _

But that was wrong. I didn't smell cigarettes. I only smelled fire flakes. The hands were strong and angry, for sure…but my senses couldn't agree on what was happening. Part of me was trapped inside my head, stuck in the past. I could see Zuko's face flickering in and out of focus, but it was Ramon's voice hissing in my ear.

"_You were begging for it. You said yes."_

"_I…I don't believe you!"_

"_You were drunk. You don't remember it right."_

"Let me go!" I screamed, wrenching against Zuko's grip. "You bastard, you're lying! It was a mistake! I never wanted to…you made me!"

"Julie, focus!"

"Stay away from me! Don't touch me!"

Zuko grunted and struggled to hold me still. I must have been running on pure adrenaline-fueled strength, because there was no way I should have been able to out-wrestle him the way I was close to doing. Shen-Long and Iroh took me by both arms and helped to hold me down while Zuko moved his hands up to my face, trying to get through to me.

"Listen to me," he snarled. "If you don't stay in control, Ramon will use your bending to kill us all! Is that what you want?"

Fear flooded me. "Don't lose control…!" I gasped, squeezing my eyes shut. I was pleading with myself, struggling to hold on to what little bit of myself I could hold together. "Don't lose control…_don't…!_"

I heard a dark voice laughing inside of me. _Babe, _Ramon whispered. _You can't lose what you never had._

My eyes snapped open. I jerked in a spasm so fierce that it actually threw Shen-Long and Iroh off of me—two men trained rigorously in combat, both of whom should have been much stronger than I was…and a single lurch of my body was all it took to toss them aside. But I hadn't done it. My body didn't belong to me anymore.

Zuko was the only one who had managed to hold on, but only by wrapping his arms around me at the last second. He clung to me in a bear-like grip as the last of my sanity crumbled away. The last thing I saw was Zuko's face vanishing in the crimson light…and then nothing at all.

I was gone.

* * *

_Don't let go…!_

Zuko gritted his teeth and trapped the struggling girl in his arms, ignoring the pain he felt shooting through his chi paths from the direct contact. It took all of his strength of will not to unclench his fingers and lose Julie to the tide of energy that spilled forth. He could feel her heart pounding like meadow-lop's, a frantic pitter-patter against her ribcage that was unnaturally fast.

It was uncomfortably familiar with her possession on Kyoshi Island…and how her heart had stopped from being overtaxed during her fight with Zhao.

_Can't…let her go…can't…_

_**Be calm, **_said a deep, powerful, rumbling voice in his mind. Zuko felt the tiger Baihu's strength flowing into his body as he tightened his grip on Julie. _**You must not allow the girl to leave. She is in great danger as we speak, and you might be the only one who can bring her back.**_

It burned in a way that fire never could. The pain was excruciating, and he could only imagine what Julie was feeling as she wrestled with the invisible demon attempting to seize control over her body. The bandage that had been covering her left eye was gone, having been loosened from sweat and tears and blown away with the impact of her possession. Her eyes were wide open and pulsing with a crimson light that made her appear almost inhuman. Her hair, which was long enough to tie back in a wolf-tail, was streaming around her in a cosmic dance.

_I don't think I can keep this up…_

Baihu's answer was matter-of-fact. _**Then you will lose Julie.**_

"Please…" Zuko grunted through clenched teeth. "Just…help me…help me save her…"

The great tiger closed his eyes solemnly. _**Help is already on the way, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.**_

Suddenly, as if on cue, Julie's jerked roughly, as though she had been stung by a wasp. All at once, the tension drained out of her body as she slumped forward and buried her face in his shoulder, exhausted. For one blood-chilling moment Zuko thought that she had gone into cardiac arrest…but he a quick search for her pulse dispelled that fear.

Had she won? Had Julie managed to stop Ramon from taking over?

Zuko searched her body and noticed a dart sticking out of the back of Julie's shoulder, the fleshy part in between her collar bone and her neck. Alarmed, he ripped it out of her body and tossed it aside. He felt a little sick when he saw how long the needle was, clearly made for a precise target.

_What the hell…?!_

"You don't have to worry," said a voice that made Zuko's stomach turn over in absolute confusion. He looked up and saw Shim smiling at him, discreetly pulling the blow-dart gun back into the sleeve of his robes. "That sedative will only last a couple of hours."

He blinked at the healer, not understanding. "You…you…how are you _here_?!"

Shim made a vague gesture. "Oh, well…you know. I just happened to be in the area, and I thought I would check in on my favorite patient. And just in time, too, it seems. Poor Julie…she must be having quite a bad day…losing control of her bending like that."

Zuko glared at him. "How long were you watching?"

"Now, your Highness…I am a healer, not a warrior. My place is not on the battlefield with the rest of you. I was simply hired to treat any sick or injured parties in your crew. That's hardly notorious."

The Fire Prince made a sound of disgust under his breath. He glanced around, wondering where Baihu had gone, and was surprised to find the giant spirit tiger missing. It was as if the beast had simply vanished into thin air.

Iroh was already on his feet and at his nephew's side, looking from Shim to Julie. His gaze drifted to the blow dart lying in the dirt, trailing a little bit of fluid from the tip of the needle.

"Chi suppressants?"

"Indeed," said Shim. "Enough to stall whatever it was that triggered such an explosion of energy. However, we should get Julie someplace to rest…and perhaps restrain her as well. We don't know what state of mind she'll be in when she wakes."

The healer looked over at Shen-Long, who had peeled himself off the ground and was helping his sister to her feet. She grimaced as she tried to avoid leaning on her ankle, which was swollen and tender. His eyes raked over the two for a moment before he nodded again.

"And, of course, I'll be happy to see to the rest of your injuries. Hopefully it isn't anything too serious."

"I've had worse," Bo-Fen snapped. The pain in her leg was putting her in a foul mood. "I just need something cold to put on it."

"Well, either way," Shim replied. "I'll take a look for myself and decide what needs to be done with it. Just to be safe."

"You're the doctor. Just fix me up good as new, okay?"

The man bowed. He moved to stand on Shen-Long's other side, draping Bo-Fen's arm around his own shoulders. Together, they helped the female soldier limp into the nearest hut. There was a moment of rustling around inside before someone found a lantern and lit it up in the window.

Meanwhile, Zuko continued to hold Julie in his arms, not saying a word as the snow continued to fall from above. Yoshi let out a whine and staggered over to them, his dorsal fin slowly retracting into his back as he took unsteady steps towards the two teens. Zuko had to repress the urge to lash out at the baby reptile, uncomfortably reminded of Kyoshi Island and the Unagi. He took a deep breath and tuned out the eelhound as he started nudging the unconscious girl in the side with his snout.

Yoshi was making frustrated puppy sounds the longer he tried and failed to rouse Julie from her slumber. When she still wouldn't stir after a whole minute, he looked up at the Fire Prince with large, confused eyes. It was Yoshi, not the Unagi…and it was much easier for Zuko to remember this now that the little beast had gone back to resembling a young eelhound in between growth spurts.

_Why isn't momma moving? _

"She's sleeping," he told the eelhound. "She needs her rest."

Yoshi's tail drooped. _But…momma isn't moving at all. I am sad._

Zuko sighed. "Do we have any way of sending a message back to Lieutenant Jee?" he asked his uncle. "Some means of letting him know what happened here?"

"We would have to send a messenger," Iroh replied. "However, it would have to be either Shen-Long or myself since Bo-Fen is injured. Shim is needed here to look after the girls. And I assume you wish to remain with Julie until she is awake."

Zuko didn't answer him. His golden eyes were smoldering as he stared down at the girl sleeping in his arms. Her skin was pale and damp with cold sweat. Without the bandage covering her eye, he could see the remaining traces of the rash she had gotten from Energybending his scar a few days ago. Combined with the dark circles under her eyes, she looked awful.

"We'll send Shen-Long, then," said Iroh softly, guessing as to the direction of Zuko's thoughts.

"Thank you, Uncle."

The older man nodded. "Let's bring her inside. Perhaps I can prepare a nice pot of tea to calm our nerves after this ordeal. It has certainly been a long night."

Zuko didn't answer right away. He pulled Julie a little closer, if only to reassure himself that this time her heart was still beating. It was too much like last time, too much like Kyoshi Island, when he had almost lost her to the Unagi and to Zhao.

"I should be furious with her," he said quietly.

Iroh put his hand on his shoulder. "I don't believe Julie realized what she was doing when she summoned the dead from their graves. She had good intentions, though, that much is certain."

"That's not what I mean."

His uncle raised an eyebrow, waiting patiently for the Fire Prince to finish his thought out loud. The older man watched his nephew carefully as he moved Julie's bangs away from her eyes and stared into her face. Iroh got a bad feeling, all of a sudden, for there was no mistaking that expression on Zuko's face…like that of a man who felt utterly betrayed.

"We never did find out who let the Avatar out of his cell," he said quietly. "Did we?"

Zuko waited, but his uncle remained silent. Nothing more was said as the snow continued to fall around them, covering them in pristine white abandonment that left them feeling cold and empty.

* * *

Okay…now where the fuck was I?

I had gone from being incinerated in red light to lying in pitch darkness. I was lying on something that felt solid, but too hard and flat to be actual earth. I felt bruised and battered all over as I curled into a ball, moving slowly just like I had just gotten my ass beaten by my dad. My movements were cautious and deliberate, testing to make sure nothing was broken. I could curl and uncurl my fingers and I could wiggle my toes. My limbs felt sore, but intact. I gradually pulled myself into a sitting position and breathed a sigh of relief at not having any broken ribs.

So, this hopefully ruled out the possibility that I had been beaten up. Obviously I had been knocked out somehow, but whoever was responsible hadn't been overly cruel about it. I mean, I was _fine_; confused, but almost completely uninjured…which was weird, because I'm pretty sure that the enemy was my sadistic ex-boyfriend.

I was sitting in the dark. It was kind of cold and I was beyond afraid; but my mind must have reached its maximum capacity for fear since I could only be analytical about the experience. This must have been one of those defense mechanisms we learned about in my health class last year. I must have been so freaked out that my emotions were shutting down.

I couldn't scream and cry like I wanted to do (and believe me, I tried; I could feel the tickle in the back of my throat that should have given way to tears, but nothing would come out). So, instead I sat on my ass for, like, five minutes and tried to figure out what the hell had just happened to me.

_Huh_, I thought. _Maybe I'm dead. _

I found myself clenching my hands into fists and then stopped like a dime. I stopped because it was pitch dark and I shouldn't have been able to see my own hands, or anything else. Frowning, I took a closer look. A soft blue light hovered around my body, and as I stared down at myself I noticed I was kind of see-through, and—OH, MY GOD.

Crap. How do I turn the panic button back off? I was hyperventilating.

"Wow. It's like you get lamer every time I see you," said Lin's dry voice behind me. "What, are you seriously crying right now? Again?"

I know I should have been grateful to have another person in this place with me…but did it seriously have to be that snarky little brat who tried to kill us earlier? Was my karma really that shitty that I had to sit around in God knows where being lectured by a half-pint bitch? Come on!

"Well, excuse the hell out of me," I snapped. "I don't know if you noticed, but I…I'm pretty sure I just _died_, so you can just—"

She gave me a look. That was when I remembered that _she _was dead, too.

"Oh, right," I grumbled. "I forgot. It's really hard to remember that you're dead when you came so close to killing me and my friends back there."

Lin blinked. "You're an idiot. I wasn't trying to kill you. And you're not dead. We're just trapped inside your body for the time being…until whoever is in control finds a way to use your bending to summon Lord Koh into the mortal plane." She gave me a flat look. "And I don't think you need me to tell you that this wouldn't be a good thing."

My eyes popped open in alarm. "Oh, thanks! I feel so much better now…!" The sarcasm turned my voice ragged and almost shrill. I was definitely on the verge of tears.

She scowled. "Oh, quit bitching already. I'm starting to think that's all you're good at."

Ooh, she was going to _get _it. I snarled under my breath and started dragging myself to my feet. Only as I pushed off the ground I actually _floated_ a few feet up into the friggin' air, and I might have squeaked in…um…manly fright. Yeah.

The damn brat started laughing at me. _Goddammit…!_

"Hey!" I yelled at her. "Quit it! I seriously can't get down! I'm not used to being a fucking ghost! How do I fly this thing?!"

Lin just shook her head at me. "Well, it's not really a surprise that you're so hopeless in spirit form…though I guess it isn't entirely your fault. Most humans can't transcend the barrier into the Spirit World. Only the Avatar and a few select others have ever made the journey."

"Less back-story, more _helping_, please!"

She sniffed. "With that kind of attitude, it's no wonder you're so crap at bending. I don't have to help you, you know. Try asking me again…only this time, with less whiny bitch in your voice."

I was starting to drift higher and higher. I wasn't sure what lay above me, but since it was so dark and scary-looking I was taking an educated guess that it wasn't anything I wanted to see for myself.

"All right! I'm sorry!" I cried. "Just…please, Lin!"

She sighed heavily. "_Fine_."

She kicked off the ground and rose up to where I was flailing like a drunken fish. At this point I had managed to flip myself upside down, and for a moment she just stared at me like I was the biggest embarrassment on the face of the earth. She sighed and caught me by the shoulders.

"Come on, then," she grumbled. "Let's get this over with."

I was pulled down with her, and soon we were both hugging what felt like pavement under my fingertips. I could have kissed the ground I was so happy.

"Oh, sweet, sweet gravity…I missed you!" I murmured, caressing the flat surface and silently vowing that I'd never take to the skies without at least one Airbender present. Lin coughed pointedly into her sleeve, making me look up at her. "What?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Do you ever thank _anyone_ who helps you?" she asked.

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

Lin gave me another roll of the eyes. "Forget it. Anyway, your lack of basic social skills is the least of our problems right now, in case you haven't noticed." She gave me the once over again. "I take the fact that you're here to mean that you were defeated by Ramon or Mr. Koichi."

I glared at her. "Um, _yeah_. I didn't realize you guys were friends."

Her face changed for a moment. She looked more vulnerable, more like a child than she did in the entire time that I knew her. I saw her eyes turn soft and sad.

"We're not," she told me. "Not really. I don't like Ramon at all. He's frightening and…not right in the head. I seriously can't believe you _loved _that guy…I mean, there's having a poor sense of character, and then there's _you_."

I sighed. "Thanks…" _Bitch_, I thought. "What about Koichi?"

"The mask-seller?" Lin perked up a little. "He isn't so bad. He's always smiling and likes to cheer me up when I start missing my family too much…" she trailed off, looking glum again. "They're dead, too, you know."

I hesitated. "Your parents?"

"And my big brother." She looked at me with a start, her face turning hard again. "I had to come to this village, like, two weeks ago and pretend to be a little girl that was still…alive. It hurt…I even had to pretend to have a brother again…and he _believed _I was his sister, too. That's the power we Masks have. We can make people believe we're someone else."

I shook my head. "But…why? Why did you come here at all?" I asked. "That would have meant that you were here _before _the Brotherhood started burning all those people." I frowned as the meaning of my words sunk in. "That stuff you told me about putting those villagers to rest was a lie, then."

Lin shook her head. "It was supposed to be practice for you. And those villagers really did need help…which, you really screwed up, by the way. Anyway, Lord Koh ordered me to come here and I had to listen…I just _had _to. But…when I heard about you, I thought that maybe you'd be able to…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "I mean, it's happened before. If one Mask could escape and be born into a new body, why couldn't I?"

Well, this was definitely getting weird. "You thought I would help you escape and get reborn."

"You already did that to the Unagi," she pointed out. "And…look, it's not impossible. One other Mask got away, too. But…you're just too weak to help…or to fight…or to do _anything_. You just cry and latch onto other people, and then you bitch at them like some shrew after they help you. I mean, someone like you could never learn to Energybend. I don't know who _I _was kidding…maybe I was just desperate."

That hit me like a punch in the face. "WHAT?" I crowed. "What the hell are you talking about?! I'm not weak or…bitchy…or any of those things!"

Lin didn't look very impressed by my outburst. Oh, right…I was screaming at her. I apparently wasn't making a very convincing case for myself here. I took a deep breath and tried not to completely tell her to where to go…even though she obviously deserved it.

"…and if I lose my cool every now and then," I continued, lowering my voice several notches. "Then it might be because my entire life has been turned inside out, and pretty much everyone wants me _dead!_ And everything's going completely _wrong_ because I'm here, and…and I _know _I've ruined everything for Zuko and the others, I _know_…and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it." I gave her a scathing look. "You have no idea what it's like being me, okay? So quit acting like you know everything about me!"

She scrutinized me for a moment. "So, it's okay for you to do the same thing to me?"

That sidetracked me. "What?"

"From the moment you met me, you've called me a runt and a brat. It's not like _you _ever bothered to try to get to know me…or any of the other spirits that were wandering around. Instead, you tried to push us into the afterlife like we were dumb animals being herded. You tried to _force _us."

I felt annoyed. "You _asked _me for help!"

"Yeah, and that was my first mistake," she shot back. "I assumed you would be competent enough to know _how _to help us! I didn't realize how stubborn and easily provoked you are…and I thought maybe if I steered you in the right direction, you might stop and figure out what was preventing you from controlling your bending! I thought you might look at that blackened stake and genuinely want to help us…"

Okay, that hurt a little. "You know, maybe I would have been more willing to help if _you _guys didn't threaten to kill us."

Lin rolled her eyes. "The Firebending Prince wouldn't have let you stay to help us, otherwise. That was necessary. Besides, I had my orders from Lord Koh. He would think that you're helping the villagers was a pretense to lure you into his clutches…but really, I wanted you to get strong enough so we could stand up to him."

Bitter disappointment burned in her gaze. I felt my cheeks flushing in shame.

"Okay, fine," I said sheepishly. "I suck. I get it…but dammit, you made me think you were my enemy! Why didn't you just tell me from the beginning what you wanted? It would have saved us so much grief! I could have tried harder…or something." I winced, realizing just how lame that sounded.

She chose not to comment on it, though. She had done that enough times already.

"You forget, I had Mr. Koichi and Ramon traveling with me as well. We are Lord Koh's Masks…and we exist as one. If they found out what I was planning, then…" she trailed off, wincing. "It wouldn't end well. So, I had to pretend, really _pretend_ that I wanted to bring you to the face-stealer."

I frowned, thinking about what she had told me. It was funny because I kind of knew what it was like to carry around an extra person inside of my body. One was hard enough…but two? "That sounds really crowded. How many of you are there, anyway?"

Lin looked at me solemnly. "Four," she said. "There are four of us in all…each one representing the elements of the human spirit."

"Wait…there are elements in a spirit?" I asked, surprised. This sounded very Avatar-ish to me. "Wait, so you're saying that the soul has its own Water, Earth, Fire, and Air?"

She sighed. "_No_. The elements are Joy, Pleasure, Sorrow, and…and Love."

Her voice caught on the last one, and it made me pause. I also noticed that I had only met _three _Masks so far (and that was assuming Ramon was a Mask). So that meant there was one more person I had to be worried about…unless this last Mask was the one that got away, like Lin mentioned earlier. God, this was getting more complicated by the minute.

"So…I'm guessing the Mr. Happy Mask-Seller is supposed to be Joy," I prompted, watching her carefully. "Am I right?"

She nodded. "And Ramon...he represents Pleasure."

I winced. Okay, I would not let my mind go down that spiraling dark path I knew it would stumble down. I knew that if I let my thoughts get carried away, I would think about all the horrible things he did to me in the name of _pleasure_.

My skin felt like it was crawling. "Which one are you, then? Snarky?"

Lin didn't bother rising to the bait. She just drooped. "You seriously can't tell?"

I felt it then. The sense of loss that had been hanging around her, the aura of grief that lingered even while she was sneering at me…it was like she had been holding it back all this time, but had just let go. Sorrow. Pure, unadulterated sorrow struck me like a blow to the gut. My heart curled in on itself and felt like it was about to break.

Tears flooded my eyes as my knees buckled. "Oh, my God…" my voice shook. "Is…is that _you? _Are you the one making me feel this?"

Lin sighed again. Immediately, I felt some warmth returning to my spirit. I could push through the sadness that wasn't quite my own so much as it was _everyone's_. Suddenly it was much easier to focus on her and the strange look on her face as she watched me.

"So, you _are _capable of feeling sorry for someone other than yourself," she commented lightly, but I could tell that there wasn't any real bite behind the remark. She seemed surprised by it, actually.

"Well, yeah," I said, almost breathlessly. I was still sort of affected by the sorrow. "I mean, I'm not totally heartless, you know! I care about people!"

She just shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "You don't act like it," she told me. "In fact, a lot of the times you treat people pretty badly. I was watching you with your friends while you were searching the huts…and I heard some of the things you said. So, what else was I supposed to think about you?"

I sniffled. Okay, this really wasn't something I wanted to hear. I mean, who wants to have a spirit tell them that they don't treat people right and that they're essentially scum of the earth? Even though I should have been used to it, you know, hearing it all my life from my dad…it still _hurt_.

I wanted to shrug her off. I wanted to tell her that she didn't have any idea what she was talking about. But a little voice in the back of my mind reminded me that I was always an angry person, even as a little kid. Maybe there was a reason I was always arguing with somebody…always fighting. Maybe I wasn't so justified as I thought I was.

But then again, it wasn't like this girl _knew _me. She could be dead wrong for all I knew.

Whatever. I couldn't deal with this now. If I had some kind of personality disorder or something, it could wait until _after _I had gotten my body back and found a way to escape from Koh's minions. Hell, maybe I didn't even have to worry about it at all. I mean, it wasn't entirely sure Lin even knew what she was talking about.

So, I ignored it for now. "You said there were four Masks…but I only heard you mention three. What…or, _who_ is the last element?"

Lin's face turned to stone. She didn't look at me. Well, damn. _This _couldn't have been a good sign. I wondered if I had somehow managed to piss her off again; maybe she wasn't speaking to me in a sudden fit of childish pique.

"Love," she told me bluntly, before I could open my mouth to ask again. "The last element is love. And…_she _got away from Lord Koh."

I blinked. "Okay…_who _did?"

"You wouldn't know her. It was a girl named Anju. She kind of looked like you…well…she had red hair like you, but…she always wore a mask. It was a red mask…the kind you would use to drive away evil spirits during a festival."

My mind itched. "Um…did you say _Anju?_"

As in, the person that Koichi guy kept mistaking me for? That Anju?

Lin nodded. "She used to be the Mask of Love. But it's really hard for Love to keep feeding people to Koh…even if they deserved it. Lord Koh was created to act as a being of justice…much like the Avatar, although Koh was born long before the first Avatar drew breath. He only targets the humans…and spirits, too…the ones who have earned his wrath through evil acts."

I frowned. I was thinking back to the episodes that featured Koh. Didn't he steal Avatar Kuruk's girlfriend's face because _he _was the one not doing his duty as the Avatar? What the hell did _she _ever do to deserve that, anyway?

Whatever. Who ever said that spirits were fair? Maybe Koh just say Ummi as an accessory to Kuruk's crime and decided to punish her, too. Or maybe he was just being a massive dick. I wasn't a spirit, so I had no way of knowing. Understanding the weird ways of spirits was the Avatar's job, not mine.

"So, Anju got tired of luring people into Koh's lair and just peaced?" I asked. "How did she manage that?"

Lin frowned. "Well…it wasn't that long ago. Apparently she had help from a human who was wandering in the Spirit World. Not the Avatar…he was still frozen in the iceberg…nor any of his past lives. It was a normal human…though I'm not sure who."

A human wandering the Spirit World? God, I hoped it wasn't someone in the Brotherhood. That would really suck if this was a special Energybender thing, and one of them had liberated one of Koh's old Masks in a crazy bid for power. Seriously, I didn't want to have to fight this Anju person later.

"I do remember, though…the human was grieving," Lin said suddenly, her eyes getting soft. "I could feel the raw sorrow that had pulled his spirit here, looking for a loved one that had recently been killed. I never saw him, though…Anju was the one who was supposed to bring him to Lord Koh. But instead, she vanished. It was all so strange."

I pursed my lips together and tried to think about this. "Is this person…still alive? How long ago did this happen, anyway?"

Lin hugged her arms to her sides. "The Spirit World isn't like the mortal plane. Time doesn't function in a linear pattern like it does here. In the Spirit World, there is no past…and there is no future. There are only a collection of moments that all occur in the now. So when you ask me _when _something happened in the Spirit World, I have no way to answer you."

I tried to wrap my brain around this. "I don't think I understand."

She sighed. "Well…how do I explain…okay, well, it's the reason why the Avatar is able to communicate with his past lives in the Spirit World. They are all present in some form…each and every one of them, all at once. It's even possible to encounter the form of an Avatar who hasn't been born yet."

And that made me wonder what would happen if Aang met Korra before he even defeated Ozai. That would certainly make for an interesting fanfic. I imagine there would be spoilers aplenty, and much cheatery would ensue. But then again, I was living evidence that having access to spoilers didn't automatically solve your problems. In fact, more often than not they created more.

"But what if something changes and that Avatar ends up not being born?"

What could I say? I was kind of curious about what would happen if the future got changed. It was especially relevant considering how badly I had already fucked up the Avatar-verse timeline. Seriously, for all I knew I was creating these unfixable paradoxes that would result in the universe imploding on itself. I kind of wanted to make sure that I wasn't screwing over mankind by accident.

Lin shook her head. "What you consider to be time actually exists as a collection of possibilities. That Avatar would always exist somewhere, at some point. Maybe not in this timeline, but certainly in another one."

I blinked. "You're saying there are parallel worlds?!"

She nodded. "Pretty mind-blowing, huh?"

Yes, yes it was. And I sort of felt less guilty about whatever I was doing in this world. I mean, in a way I was still responsible for what happened to people as a result of the changed future…but at least I knew that there was a version of Zuko out there who got the happy ending he wanted, the one I had seen in the actual show. Maybe it wasn't too impossible for me to stay, after all. Maybe in this timeline, Zuko and I could…

…wait, no. What was I thinking? Zuko _hates _me now. I betrayed him…and he _knows _that I did. There's no way he's going to want anything to do with me after this is over. I'll be lucky if he doesn't save me from Koh just so he can send me to the Boiling Rock.

My insides felt like they were being twisted around by a fork. "It's interesting…" I said in a low voice, trying not to sound as depressed as I felt. "But it doesn't change the fact that we're still trapped in here…and that someone else is controlling my body. What's happening outside while we're sitting here, chatting?"

Lin's expression turned dark. "It depends on who's controlling you. If it's your ex-boyfriend, then I can imagine that he's doing something vile to your friends…maybe even killing them slowly. If it's Mr. Koichi, then they'll probably be all right so long as they don't interfere with the mission Lord Koh assigned to us."

"Oh," I said. Because what else was I supposed to say?

She looked at me. "That's not necessarily a good thing. If Mr. Koichi manages to escape with your body…and if he finds a way to bring Lord Koh into the mortal plane, a lot of people will be in danger. And you'll be…" she stopped abruptly. "He'll have four Masks again. Just like before."

My blood went cold. "W-what do you mean? I thought Koh wanted to eat my face or something."

Lin shook her head slowly. "No, Julie…he doesn't want to kill you. Lord Koh needs four Masks. And as hard as it is to believe…and believe me, I am having a lot of trouble believing this…" she added, giving me a look that said that she absolutely despaired of me. "…anyway, as skeptical as it sounds, the face-stealer says that you were destined to fulfill this role in Anju's place."

There was a beat of silence as she let me digest this. However, after a while it became obvious that my mind, for reasons unknown to Lin, refused to compute this bit of information. I just kept staring at her blankly, my thoughts skipping like the damaged MP3 on a scratched CD.

So she just sighed. "It's _you_, Julie. _You_ were meant to be the Mask of Love."

* * *

**A/N: Hey, guys. So, hopefully you got a lot out of this chapter. If I weighed it down with too much exposition, I apologize. I'm still learning how to balance out plot-action and character development, so I definitely need the practice. Hopefully the plot bubbles were as interesting as the fight scenes were.**

**I know that I didn't fit in the Gaang, here. I want to finish setting up Koh's real intentions in ensnaring Julie before I go rushing off into what will definitely be the big boss fight with Team Avatar. And no, the big boss isn't the Warden, in case you were wondering. There are still other battles that need to be fought on their front. **

**So, looking back at earlier chapters, I realized that all the other characters got to develop into real people with redeeming qualities, but I took for granted that Julie's flaws would automatically be accepted since she's the main character of this fic. Usually the problem with OC's in fanfiction these days is that they don't have enough flaws, and when I started the story I wanted to make sure that Julie was a realistic person with concrete flaws. **

**In short, I think I might have been trying a little **_**too **_**hard.**

**Not to say that I **_**never **_**intended her to overcome her flaws. It's just that this fic started getting so long that I started pushing plot over character development for my main OC, so Julie really didn't grow very much as a person. Hence, I gave her a long overdue reality check from Lin, who I decided was the only one would be able to given her status as an outside observer looking in on the group with an objective eye.**

**Lin isn't biased like the other characters are. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen tolerated Julie because a) they felt kind of bad for her, b) she looked so much like Ayla, and c) she is carrying around some remnant of Ayla's spirit inside of her body. In a way, Julie gets away with taking out her frustrations on them (mostly Shen-Long, though) because of it; which isn't right or fair, I know. But that's hopefully going to change in the near future.**

**As for Jee, he was initially driven by a need to discipline an insubordinate figure on his ship…and then, upon realizing that Julie was acting out from years and years of abuse, takes it upon himself to be a father-figure in her life. This is also influenced by his unresolved grief towards the death of his illegitimate daughter, Cheng; and his gratitude for Julie alerting the crew to the presence of pirates sneaking on board in the middle of the night. As a result, he's also more willing to turn the other cheek as far as Julie's ilk is concerned…and this isn't hard since their fights are mostly caused by cultural differences regarding gender roles.**

**Julie hasn't really interacted very much with Iroh (and tends not to lash out at **_**him, **_**per say, since he's the fucking Dragon of the West). She is mostly focused on Zuko and how he goads her like a thorn in her side…and the feeling is mutual, obviously, since they fight like an old married couple. Iroh views their bickering in a semi-amused manner, like little lovers' spats. And overall, in spite of the constant danger Julie attracts to the ship, he realizes that she is unconsciously provoking Zuko to come out of his shell more and interact with his crew. She also indirectly inspires Zuko to try harder to do the right thing, which Iroh finds to be admirable.**

**Zuko, I don't think I need to explain so much. Yes, the Happy Endings-verse Zuko isn't nearly as short-tempered as his Season One counterpart…except in the very beginning, when he was convinced that Julie was either a spy or in some way connected to the Avatar. In a way, he sort of fell for her by accident. He was slowly drawn in as he attempted to find out her true origins, and then he realized he was actually **_**attracted **_**to her (since he's a sixteen year old hormonal teenage boy and Julie is the first girl he's really interacted with in, like, three years…I think this isn't stretching the line of credibility too much). And they have enough in common to make it work.**

**Does Julie irritate Zuko? Yes. Does Zuko irritate Julie? Yes. Do they love each other in spite of it? Yes. Yes, they do. The chemistry is there, the feelings are there, the connection is **_**there**_**. They just have to work things out…like all of Julie's issues with Ramon, and how Zuko (still) believes that she has lingering feelings for her ex-boyfriend. Obviously, he has no idea that Julie was raped, so that changes things.**

**Originally, I never had the scene with Julie and Lin. Instead, I had Zuko and Ayla talking about Julie and the real reasons why she and Ramon broke up. I was going to have him learn the truth and then he would desperately try to save her…and then my Sue Alarm started going off in my brain and I deleted the entire conversation. Seriously. It was THAT bad.**

**Besides, Zuko isn't the one who needs to learn a lesson this episode. **_**Julie **_**is. If and when Zuko learns the truth about what happened between Julie and Ramon, it will be angsty and emotional…but I won't do it in a way that paints Zuko into some asshole character who must repent for not being freaking **_**psychic**_** or blindly accepting Julie no matter what she says and does.**

**Real life doesn't work like that. It just **_**doesn't**_**.**

**For those of you who pointed out that Julie was in danger of turning into a jerk-sue, thank you. Granted, it meant I had to put a lot more time and effort into writing this chapter than usual, but hopefully the overall quality of the fic has improved because of it. I'm still sorry it took me a whole month to crank this puppy out, but still. It needed to be done.**

**So, getting back to Koh and his Masks…**

**The elements of the human spirit was actually inspired by an excellent movie I watched called "The Air I Breathe." It features four characters named Joy, Pleasure, Sorrow, and Love, and…crap, no spoilers, but Kevin Bacon is in it! It's just such a beautiful, thought-provoking film, and you all should totally go watch it. AND it's based off of Chinese (legend? Myth? I'm not sure what the right word would be in this instance) about the four elements of the human spirit. I thought that it would be really cool to have each one of Koh's Mask be representative of each of these elements.**

**I know what you're thinking. "But Distant-Moon, how can Ramon be one of the elements? He was still alive when Julie left for the Avatarverse." Well, I promise all of that will be explained later. It's not a plot hole. It just hasn't really come up yet.**

**I'll leave you guys to your guesses, though. I'm also curious if anyone can figure out the identity of the person who helped Anju escape from Koh. Not that I'm going to actually tell you guys if you're right, but still. You can take your guesses and pride yourself on getting it right when it gets revealed later on.**

**Well, let's hear what you guys think. REVIEW!**


	98. Masquerade, Part II

**A/N: So…did I ever tell you guys how much I HATE winter and everything it stands for?**

**Like snow. Snow is burdensome, heavy, and dangerous. If you end up shoveling it, it becomes a massive pain in the ass. If you DON'T, then it can turn life-threatening. Specifically, it can turn life-threatening for people who don't drive to work and who might need to walk down the sidewalks the whole freaking town is too lazy to shovel. In other words, people like ME.**

**Seriously. I end up having to walk on the side of the road, all the while praying that I don't end up getting sideswiped by the onslaught of morning traffic. It's like playing dodgeball with CARS.**

**You would think I'd be in a better mood now that the snow is melting, right? But, no. Because even though there are sidewalks now, there are still these giant patches of snow still piled up on the edges of the crosswalks. And what pieces of the ground I can see are covered in ICE.**

**Julie: **"Distant-Moon slipped on some ice recently and her knee hasn't been the same. Seriously, it's all bruised and shit. She also lost a layer of skin, and there was this dead flap of flesh just _hanging_ off of the wound, and it was _bleeding_…"

**SHUT UP! You're freaking me out! I'm…fine-ish. It just hurts a lot. And I can't really bend my knee all the way because it's so swollen. But…I mean…it'll get better, right?**

**Julie: **"I dunno. Maybe you should see a doctor. They might have to amputate it."

**Shim: **(appearing right behind Distant-Moon holding a bloodied scalpel) "Did someone say _amputate_?"

**TT_TT MY LIFE IS FRAUGHT WITH HARDSHIP! STOP TALKING ABOUT CUTTING OFF MY LIMBS! I FREAKING CREATED YOU BITCHES! STOP PICKING ON ME!**

**Julie: **(sighs) "It's all right. Just quit freaking out, okay? Don't forget why we're all here in the first place."

**Um…to share my crack-tastic story with any number of strangers over the internet? **

**Julie: **"NO! Well, _yes, _but more importantly…we're here for the party. The one we're holding to appease your wrath as a sadistic goddess of our fanfiction universe who can make any number of bad things happen to us if you happen to be in a bad mood…like the one you're in now."

**Oh, yeah! Awesome! I love parties!**

**Julie: **(facepalms) "Yeah. We noticed."

**So that's why we're doing this Author's Note in here of all places! Oh, that reminds me! I'm going to do a quick shout out to TracyFace3, who requested an update in time for her birthday, which is on the 26th. Well, Trace (you don't mind if I call you Trace, right?)…consider it done. Happy Birthday from all of us here in my secret fanfiction bat-cave!**

**Julie: **"Um…what she said. Only, you know, less…weird."

**As for the rest of you readers…WHAZZUUUUUUP…?!**

**Julie: **"…?! Oh, God…tell me she isn't using liquor as an anesthetic again. We never really got the break room back to normal after the last time we had a party…"

**Aang: **"I dunno, Julie. I thought it was a lot of fun."

**Julie: **"Yeah…until you had the bright idea of mixing rum with red bull, and you ended up going into the Avatar State with a lampshade on your head."

**Good times…(sigh)…good times.**

**Zuko: **"Wait…what party are you guys talking about? And since when do we have a BREAK ROOM?"

**Sokka: **"Man, seriously? That's been around since chapter twenty. Distant-Moon installed this warehouse-sized lounge for all of us so that we wouldn't have to float in a timeless void in between updates."

(Zuko stares at him coldly)

**Sokka**: "What? No one told you?"

**Zuko: **(stiffly) "No. Somehow it must have slipped everyone's mind. And by "everyone" I mean the HUNDREDS of characters that inhabit our fanfiction universe!"

("Everyone" shuffles guiltily, with the notable exception of the villains, who are currently engrossed in a Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament and not paying any attention to Zuko's tantrum. In case you're wondering, Azula is the one controlling Dark Phoenix, not Long-Feng.)

**Zuko: **"Julie, _you _could have mentioned it, at least! I mean, _look _at this place! You have a luxurious kitchen-area completely with a mini-bar, a gym and sparring area, plush sofas and beds, an infirmary…not to mention the wide-flat screen televisions equipped with speakers and what look like blue-ray players…"

**Sokka: **"Don't forget the high-speed internet and the X-Box Connect and PS3 systems…and an unlimited Netflix account!"

**Julie: **(wincing) "_Yeah_, but…well…_hey!_ Quit giving me that look! I seriously thought you knew!"

**Sokka: **"Though this _does _explain why you've blown off every party invite we've sent you so far."

**Zuko: **(Momentarily derailed) "…wait…I was invited?"

**Iroh: **"Nephew, how many times must I remind you to check your Facebook?"

**Katara: **"Well, maybe if he'd quit trying to capture Aang he'd have more time to go online like a normal person his age. That reason alone is why most Avatar instant-messaging chat-room fics end up going on hiatus. Because _someone _refuses to check their _email!"_

**Zuko: **"But…doesn't us having access to the Internet and Facebook break the fourth wall? So, really, if you think about it those kind of fics don't make any sense since we'd just be able to log on to this websit, and…"

**Julie: **"Ah, ah! Stop over-thinking it! And quit looking a gift horse in the mouth, will you? I LIKE having high speed wifi in here, thank you very much…even if it means having to share it with Foaming Mouth Guy. Seriously, that guy tweets more than _I _do, and that's saying something."

**Zuko: **"You…have a twitter?"

**Julie: **"Zuko, your _uncle _has a twitter. Get with the program."

**Zuko: **(utterly bewildered) "W-wait a minute! Uncle? _You _knew about this, too?"

**Iroh: **"…it is because of moments like this that I cannot help but suspect that you only listen to about fifteen percent of what I say, Prince Zuko."

**Julie: **"See? It's not _my _fault you don't pay attention to anything except twelve-year old boys with tattoos covering their bodies. Besides, like you said before, this place is HUGE. I figured that you were around here…_somewhere…"_

**Katara: **"Well, there _are _a lot of us…especially if you count all of the OC's and minor characters…and the extras, too. I wouldn't be surprised if some Book II characters didn't sneak in at one point or another."

**Aang: **"Hey! Look, Katara! Jet just lost an arm-wrestling match to Toph over there!"

**Zuko: **(utterly clueless) "…who?"

**Julie: **"Zuko, it's fine. We're allowed to break the fourth wall during the author's notes. In fact, it's heavily encouraged that you do so. But on the off chance that you really are this clueless, we won't be meeting those two until the next season. Well, actually Jet's going to be in the next part of the Happy Endings saga, but I'm not sure about Toph, yet. Distant-Moon's been tight-lipped about it…the bitch."

**Zuko: **"Um…whatever, I guess." (hesitates) "So, Julie…could you maybe give me a hand with my IPhone…? I just got it and I can't figure out how to work the stupid thing."

**Um, guys? I still have a chapter to post. Could you maybe get with the last episode recap, already, before people think that this is just another rambling author's note from hell? I don't want to lose any more readers than I have already.**

**Sokka: **"Ooh! Ooh! Can I do it? I'm the only member of the original cast who didn't get to do the summary. Hell, even Foaming Mouth Guy got a review special before I did. That's just not right!"

**Considering that you aren't even in this chapter, sure. Have fun.**

**Sokka: **(fist-pumping the air) "Woo!"

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**Sokka: **(doing his most dramatic movie trailer voice) "Darkness has fallen on Jade Valley Village…the town that never sleeps. Confronted by her evil ex-boyfriend, Julie discovers that Ramon and Koichi the mask-seller were actually two of the four Masks of Koh, the face-stealer. With help from General Iroh and the legendary guardian spirit of the mountains, Baihu, it looked like this fight was finally over."

**Julie: **(sighing) "God, I wish."

**Sokka: **"But at the last second, Ramon seized Julie and attempted to possess her spirit…and now Julie is trapped inside her own body with little hope of escaping. While she waits in the darkness of her own mind with Lin, another one of Koh's Masks, Julie learns that everything that happened in Jade Valley was a plot by Koh to turn her into his fourth and final Mask, the Mask of Love."

**Ayla: **(singing and twirling) "Love…love…love…love! Love is all you need!"

**Julie: **(startled) "What the hell?! Where did _you _come from all of a sudden?!"

**Ayla: **"Oh, I was over there trying to teach Yoshi how to fetch. But he's taking a nap, now. He sleeps a lot for a growing puppy. He's really cute!"

**Sokka: **"AHEM! Anyway, while Julie worries about having to work for a giant scary centipede…thing…that steals faces…um, Zuko and Iroh must deal with the aftermath of the battle…and contemplate what _actually _happened the night Aang, Katara, and I escaped from his ship. Bonds will be tested, especially in light of the fact that Iroh has a secret connection to Koh that Zuko has yet to learn about. And _nothing_ will _ever _be the same! Dun, dun, DUN!"

**Julie: **"Huh. You actually made this story sound interesting. Nice job."

**Sokka: **(clearly letting the flattery go to his head) "Well, to be fair, you're the one living through it. Stories are always more entertaining from the outside looking in. Just like adventures are way cooler in books and movies. So in a way, I'd say you're…understandably biased."

**Zuko: **(glaring) "Quit being so friendly with her. She's not _your _girlfriend, you know."

**Sokka: **(confused) "What? Um…I wasn't…"

**Ladies, please. You're both beautiful. Unfortunately, I can't let this go any further. It's time to start the next chapter. In the mean time…Julie, why don't you give these two a long lecture about why men should never treat women like objects if they ever want to get laid…or keep their testicles intact.**

**Julie: **(Grinning malevolently and cracking her knuckles) "With pleasure…"

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-One: Masquerade, Part II**

_Love…_

My insides revolted. I felt an overpowering wave of nausea sweep over me and I nearly lost it. I wanted nothing to do with love, and even less to do with a giant face-stealing centipede. Love is the biggest weakness a person could ever have. It makes you irrational…it tears you apart inside. When you love someone, you give them power over you…and you lose a part of yourself that you can never get back.

Love means being vulnerable and exposed to the other person's desires. Ramon had _broken me _with love. He had deliberately done everything in his power to bind me to him, manipulated me into having these feelings for him…made it so that I couldn't leave him no matter how horrible he was to me. He did it on _purpose_.

"That's not…" I swallowed, trying not to choke. "I can't love…I can't…_be _love."

Lin appeared unmoved. "It doesn't matter if you believe or not. You were chosen by Lord Koh. Do you really think you curling up on the floor and shutting your eyes and ears will keep him away?"

I shook my head. "But…why love?" I found my voice, weak though it was with fear. "Why me? I don't understand…is it because of my bending?"

My bending again. It wouldn't be the last time I said this, but I absolutely _hated _Energybending. I hated spirits and monsters I couldn't even see. I hated being chased and hunted for an ability I couldn't even control. I loathed the people who tried to tell me I was special. This was just another example of how my bending threatened to destroy me…and everything around me.

But Lin frowned. "You're asking why _you _were chosen?" she asked. "How do you expect me to know what it was that Koh saw in you that drew him to you?"

I glared. "You have to know something. You've been working for Koh for a long time, haven't you? Are you seriously telling me that you have _no idea _what he looks for in his Masks?"

The girl sighed. She hugged her arms to her sides and looked very small. I could feel the intense waves of sorrow starting to permeate the invisible block she put in between us, and I realized that those feelings, if let loose without any restraint, would probably be strong enough to make me pass out. Or it would if I still had my body.

Could spirits faint? Note to self: Ask Ayla what it was like to be a spirit. Hey…come to think of it, where _was _Ayla, anyway?

"You were destined," she said flatly. "Just like I was destined. I knew that the moment I had…died." Her eyes were blank and staring at nothing as she spoke. "The ones who killed me…before I died, they threw me into a well, where no one would ever find me. I sank to the bottom and I was drowning…but…it was so weird because I don't really remember dying. One minute I was drowning, the next it felt as though something had grabbed me and pulled me into the Spirit World."

"Drowning?"

Something was tugging at my mind, but I wasn't sure what it was yet. For some reason I was thinking about Bo-Fen and her warning about mirrors…

"The very last moments of my life were terrifying," Lin said in a quiet voice, feather soft. "I was scared and…I didn't understand why they were hurting me…I was calling for my mom and dad…for my brother…I wanted someone to find me. I was so lonely and afraid as the men dropped me into the well…I couldn't breathe…and all I could think was that I didn't want to die. I wasn't _ready _to die yet." Grief carved her expression into something fierce and defiant. "It wasn't _fair_."

…_Remember what I told you about the mirrors? What's the biggest mirror in the entire world? Can you tell me that…? _Bo-Fen's words echoed in my mind.

I felt something constricting in my chest. Was this fear? Or something else? Inside I sensed the answer before my mind could actually touch upon the truth. It was a great and horrible truth, and as we speak I was only brushing the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.

_Water. It's everywhere, in wells, rivers, streams…and it turns out that my husband…my dear husband had made contact with a spirit, an ancient one…a bad one. I don't know it's name, even to this day…but that spirit was able to find me wherever there was a reflective surface. Mirrors…metal…but especially water. I would see it looking out at me from puddles with a taunting smile. And my husband would always follow. _

Koh. Everything was connecting back to Koh. He was the Spirit who had been chasing Bo-Fen in her past life, her and Shen-Long. But why? What could Koh possibly have to gain by making a deal with the man who used to be Bo-Fen's husband?

My head was starting to ache. This was worse than all those games of chess I had been forced to play as a kid—the times my Dad would leave me with my neighbor because he was too hung-over to fake responsibility. In chess, at least, you only had a certain number of pieces and you could see them clearly on the board. But this…there were too many people involved to know who was a power piece and who was a pawn.

I had just stepped into a game of chess with the face-stealer. Metaphorically speaking, that would mean that my side had a king for him to capture. Was I the one he was really after? Or was it Bo-Fen? Or were we both being used so that he could take out whatever grudge he had for Iroh?

What was Koh's plan? Did he send his Masks after me because I was his goal? Or was I just an ends to some nefarious and cunning plan?

"I could feel the water going into my lungs, but…" Lin squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered. "No, I was definitely still alive. I could still _see _what was happening…when something grabbed me in the water and pulled me _through_…and the last thing I saw was my own face…on the body of a giant centipede." She scowled at me suddenly, noticing the vacant look on my face. "Hey! Are you spacing out on me?" she cried. "Seriously…the least you could do is _pretend _to care…even a little. I can't believe someone as selfish as you could be the Mask of Love."

Actually, there was a good reason I wasn't responding to her. Again, I could feel a tickle in the back of my mind…like I was forgetting something important.

I had let my thoughts run away with me during Lin's story. I was really thinking about how horrible it was to drown, all alone and waiting to die at the bottom of the well. I imagined her small body sinking lower and lower…and then in my mind's eye I imagined myself sinking deeper beneath the surface of the water…me, not Lin.

_That's right…I know what it's like to drown, don't I?_

The night I had fallen into the Avatar world, hadn't I been drowning, too? I had fallen off the bridge in my world and ended up sliding through into another universe all together. At the time I hadn't been able to figure out how it had happened, and after a while I had stopped wondering all together. You couldn't blame me, either. I obviously had more urgent problems on my hands.

But if what Lin was saying was true…

_Was Koh the one who brought me here?_

But wouldn't that mean that I was…_not _alive?

"Lord Koh explained to me that our spirits make in imprint on the Spirit World as we pass over. Mine was tainted with regret and sorrow…I qualified to become the embodiment of the one of the four elements of the spirit, and Koh said he needed the face of someone small and beguiling…the face of a child to roam the living world and do his bidding."

That snapped me out of it. I forced my mind away from the edge of the chasm it was inching towards, for insanity lay waiting in the darkness. There was no way I would accept the possibility that I was dead. It made no sense, anyway.

Instead, I had to focus on the present. I had to find my way out of this place. I had to take back control of my body before Koichi and Ramon figured out a way to deliver it to Koh. Life or death, it would be hell if I let the face-stealer win. I had a nasty feeling about what Lin had just said.

"If he needed your face to deceive people into dropping their guards, then what does he need _mine _for?" I folded my arms and tried to appear intimidating.

But Lin shook her head. "It's not the same for you as it was for me. I don't know what Lord Koh has planned for you specifically, but I know it's something he's waited for, for a long time…by human standards, at least. He's been waiting and plotting for centuries; having us Masks shape the world you would eventually arrive in."

"Huh?"

"There's a reason why you are surrounded by Prince Zuko and his crew. It is no coincidence. I don't understand everything, but I know that somehow, the fact that you are around these people specifically will play a role in cementing your fate…as the Mask of Love. We were sent out to make sure that all of you would eventually meet. That part of the plan was vital."

Dread turned my stomach into knots. "So far…Bo-Fen and Shen-Long…and Iroh…they all have connections to Koh, don't they?" _And Zuko_, I realized. Because Zuko was Iroh's nephew, he was also in danger. "Zuko…"

"Huh?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "He's using me to get to Zuko? And the others, too?"

Lin sighed. "Actually, it's more the other way around. He's using them to get to you. It's also why he chose Ramon as one of his Masks. Koh knows what he means to you. He knows that you fear him…and that you loved him at some point."

My hands clenched into fists. "So…it all comes down to love again." I shook my head, disgusted. "You know, I'm absolutely sick of love. If I had a choice, I'd never care about anyone ever again."

I let that statement hang in the air for a moment. Neither of us said anything for a few minutes. Lin had gone back to looking as unsympathetic as possible, wearing an adult expression that made her child-like face seem alien and wrong. Her eyes were hard and almost angry as they stared at me. Somehow, what I had said made her revert back to her old stance of _hating _me.

"And you wonder why you can't control your bending," she spat. "You think refusing to connect to the people around you will protect them? Or you?"

My shoulders stiffened. "If they never met me, they wouldn't be in danger right now." I took a deep breath and straightened my spine, trying to focus on the present. I couldn't afford to panic now. "So, I think we should quit worrying about how pathetic of a bender _I _am and try harder to find a way out of this place!"

Lin shook her head. "That's impossible. We'll never get out." She glared at me. "Maybe if you actually knew how to use your bending things would be different…but the way you are right now, you'll never be able to do it. Soon, the other Masks hiding inside your body will find the last shred of your spirit still able to fight them…in other words, _you_. They'll find you and bring you to the Face-Stealer. Then you'll never be able to get your body back."

Her words felt like someone slamming the final nail in my coffin.

"No," I said quietly. "I…_no_. I refuse to accept that." I glared at Lin. "You may have given up, but I…I have people waiting for me. If I don't find a way back to them, they could _die_. This isn't just about me…it's about _them_. I won't abandon them to the fucking centipede, do you hear me?"

Lin frowned. She pressed her fine lips together as she contemplated me, tilting her head to the side like she just couldn't figure me out.

"You can't control your bending," she told me bluntly. "In order for you to follow through on your…_ambitious_ goal…you have to figure out where your block is coming from."

I folded my arms. "Gee, weren't you the one saying it's because too much of a wuss to accept love in my heart?"

Lin scowled. "It's your _fear, _you dumb-ass. Energybending is an art of _connecting _to other spirits…to the life in all things. If you're too afraid to get close to anyone else…if you won't even let yourself care for anyone else, how do you expect to really connect, bending-wise?"

I didn't answer her right away. What she was saying kind of made sense, and it was bothering me to a certain extent. Partly because I had my pride to think about and I hated the thought that the brat might be on to something. The other part of it was the fact that this probably meant I had some sort of personality disorder. Or that I was this heartless bitch. Take your pick.

"So…I'm not saying I'm afraid, like you said, but…hypothetically if I _were_ a little bit _uneasy _about trusting people…which is completely _rational, _by the way! Um…anyway, saying that I am a bit on the cautious side…and this was what was keeping me from mastering Energybending…" I swallowed and forced myself to stop rambling. "Would getting over my fear solve the problem?"

"Probably. But you would really genuinely have to face your fears. Your root chakra is probably really fucked up from all the fear clouding your crazy-ass brain."

I huffed. "Fine. So, how would I go about _doing _that? As far as I can tell we're the only people here. We're smack dab in the middle of freaking…" I trailed off as I turned around and found us standing in front of a dense forest. "…what the actual _fuck_?"

Seriously. It was a vast, spooky-assed army of trees that sprouted out of _nothing_. The forest stretched as far as the eye could see, and the foliage was a very ominous spectrum of grays and blacks. I tried to peer through the trees to see what the hell it actually was, but I could only see darkness in there.

Lin noticed my curiosity and followed my gaze to the path leading into the woods. "_That_," she said pointedly. "…is most likely a physical manifestation of your fears. We are inside of _you, _after all. Though I have to say, I never expected it to take _this _form. What, are you afraid of trees or something?"

I moved cautiously to the edge of the woods and rapped against one of the towering trees. A hollow, metallic sound reached my ears, and I doubled back in surprise.

"It's metal. This place is made of metal." I frowned. "I think it couldn't make up its mind about whether it wanted to be a forest or a city…so it became both."

"Whatever," said Lin, obviously uninterested. "This is _your _journey, not mine. It's entirely up to you whether or not you're willing to take the first step. I can't make that choice for you."

I flinched at the mere thought of descending into those woods. "I have to go in _there_?" I gasped, my voice coming out in a frightened squeak. "Are you serious?"

"Well, that would technically be the definition of facing your fears."

I swallowed. "Y-you're sure? There's absolutely no other way?"

Lin gave me a hard look. "If you don't want to do it, then sit down and shut up until Ramon or Koichi find you. It'll be over pretty quickly after that. Don't you worry."

Aw, hell. Did she _have _to bring my psychotic ex-boyfriend into this? Come on, what real choice did I have now? I mean, I knew I had to do it. If Ramon got his twisted hands on me, then I was royally boned. Koh would look like a fucking _saint _in comparison.

_What would Zuko do? _I asked myself. _If he was the one in my shoes, would he run away? Or would he plow into that fucking forest and burn the bitch down?_

Well, arson was out of the question for me, but I could still suck it up and go inside. Yeah, that was what I would do. I mean, there was no way I wanted to be a total _girl _about this. I had to grow myself a real pair of _cahones_. Grade A balls.

"Fine," I snapped, rolling up the sleeves of my shirt and stomping towards the trees. "Let me at that stupid forest. I can handle it. I'll be out in no time, just you wait…"

"Uh, huh," Lin replied, clearly not believing a word of it. But she did hesitate for a moment as she watched me preparing to take my first step inside. "Hey, wait a sec'…um…Julie?"

I glanced impatiently over my shoulder. "Yeah?"

She glowered at me for a long moment, clearly loathing herself for what she was about to say. "For both our sakes…try not to fuck up in there. I kind of actually…don't want you to die. I mean, personally I think you're a whiny bitch, but still…" she trailed off, looking bitter. "…that doesn't mean that you deserve something like Koh. So...come back alive. Think you can handle that?"

I stared at her, surprised. "Um…yeah, sure I can. Um…" I shuffled from one foot to the other, feeling awkward for some reason. "You know, it's kind of a shame we can't stand each other. I kind of get the feeling like we have some things in common."

She didn't say anything to that. Well, I suppose there really _wasn't _anything to say to something like that.

"Be seeing you," I said finally, turning my back on her. I took some deep breaths, trying to summon my courage as I thought of Zuko and the others.

_Do it for the balls, Julie. Do it for the balls._

Gritting my teeth, I bent my knees and took off running. It would have been too easy to stop myself if I had taken it at a walk, and I wasn't about to let myself punk out now. I felt an abrupt chill as I crossed the threshold, and before I could really register the change everything went pitch black.

It was definitely fear all right. But there was still ground under my feet, and I wasn't going to let the darkness stop me from putting one foot in front of the other. Good or bad, I just knew there would be something waiting for me on the other side.

It was time that I finally went to go meet it.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

It was quiet in the cabin they had taken refuge in. The only sounds were that of the tea kettle heating on the stove and Shim's slightly off-key humming as he tended to Bo-Fen's ankle. Iroh had taken one glance at his nephew (who had to be coaxed to come inside with the others and wasn't in a very sociable mood) and decided that the task to send off a messenger to Lieutenant Jee would fall upon him. He waited until the tea wasn't in need of immediate attention before approaching Shen-Long.

"We need to send a report back to the ship," he told him. "Can I count on you to deliver it for me?"

The soldier's eyes cut to Zuko for a brief moment before dropping his gaze to his hands. "I don't know," he said in a low voice. "Can you?"

It took Shen-Long a minute to remember he was addressing someone of higher rank. But when he did, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He bowed hastily to the Dragon of the West, his face flushed in shame.

"I meant no disrespect, General Iroh, sir…I just…I was surprised you would still entrust me with anything after my incompetence nearly cost your nephew his life…" he trailed off, wincing.

Iroh frowned at that. "Yes, well…it is not solely up to you to look after my nephew. As a crew we are all tasked to look after one another, and Prince Zuko understands the risks involved with being a leader. In any case, this message needs to be delivered as soon as possible. Your sister and Julie are in no shape to travel just yet, and who knows what we might be facing out here."

Shen-Long looked at him sharply. "You think we're still in danger?"

"I think it is better to be careful for the time being. Some reinforcements would certainly be welcome in case the person who left Julie that book decides to come back for some reason."

There was a heavy implication behind his words. The soldier furrowed his brow as suspicion took hold of him. His eyes darted to the ragged tomb on the table, looking as innocently shabby as possible. The corners of his mouth curved downwards.

"What do you think is happening here, sir?" Shen-Long asked. "I mean…with the Brotherhood sacrificing benders…and then Julie finding that book here…" he trailed off. "It almost sounds as if they were setting her up for some kind of trap…only I can't figure how the face-stealer and his Masks are supposed to fit into the plan."

Iroh shook his head. "You are ignoring the possibility that these two parties could have been plotting independently. In fact, it is quite probable that this was the case. Whoever left the book gave Julie an opportunity to learn more Energybending…and if Koh truly wanted us dead, he wouldn't have left us any means of resistance."

"So the Brotherhood wants Julie to learn more Energybending…"

"They probably imagine she will be a worthy addition to their organization. The book could very well contain their ideology as a form of propaganda. Or they might assume that Julie will become interested in growing stronger and seek them out on her own." Iroh turned back to tend to the tea kettle. "No, I am more concerned with Koh. I believe he is the more immediate threat and it is his intentions that remain, for the most part, a mystery."

Shen-Long sighed. "Come to think of it, it _was _a little too good to be true when the zombies all went back into the ground. I just assumed that they were going back to sleep, but…it was so strange how that fight ended. It was like the zombies retreated _because _Julie got knocked out."

"I think that we will be seeing more of them…possibly when Julie wakes up. So I urge you to go with as much speed as you can manage. The komodo rhino might not be fast enough, but it is the best we can manage right now. Therefore, it would be best if you head directly towards Commander Yamada's camp. It's the closest."

"Yes, sir." He looked towards the other room that Shim had turned into a makeshift infirmary. "I just need to speak with my sister before I leave. I promise I'll be quick, Sir."

The Dragon of the West smiled. "Do what you must."

"Thank you, Sir." Shen-Long bowed to the retired general before turning on his heel and sweeping into the next room.

Iroh watched him leave with a sad understanding in his eyes. "It is not for me to judge how other men deal with the loss of a loved one," he reminded himself quietly. "And he is certainly still grieving for his Ayla."

He listened to the sound of the quiet conversation in the next room, too soft for his ears to make out. But he could hear worry, guilt, anger, and confusion. After a moment, he shook his head and turned away. He had to check on his nephew. Ever since they had holed up in this cabin he had been quiet and perturbed. Iroh knew he needed to have a talk with the boy, and soon.

There were three rooms in all, two bedrooms and a dining area. While Shim hadn't wanted to separate his charges, the bedrooms were too small to accommodate more than one person at a time. Fortunately, the two rooms were interconnected, so the healer could move freely between Bo-Fen and Julie as needed.

He was currently wrapping up Bo-Fen's ankle, and Shen-Long would be there, too. As for Julie, she was absolutely still, almost frozen in her sleep. It was eerie sight, seeing how pale and lifeless she had become in the span of moments. And yet, in spite of everything Zuko was the one sitting at her bedside. He hadn't moved or uttered a word to anyone the entire time.

Iroh was very worried. He couldn't help but remembered when the roles had been reversed…when it had been his nephew who was dying and Julie was the one who refused to leave his side. He couldn't unsee the devastation in the girl's face as she watched Zuko's labored breathing that day.

Now, it was Zuko's turn to feel that devastation.

_Love is a double-edged sword if there ever was one, _he thought. It was such a beautiful emotion, as vital and inevitable as breathing. He couldn't imagine existing without having love in his heart, and yet…Iroh could see clearly how having loved and lost could break a person. Love could build you up, but it could destroy so thoroughly…it was terrifying.

Feeling grim, Iroh slid open the door leading into Julie's room. Sure enough, Zuko was sitting up, watching the sleeping girl like a falcon-hawk. There was no mistaking the brooding expression on the Fire Prince's face. He could practically see the cogs turning in the boy's brain.

Yoshi had somehow managed to climb up on the bed and curl up on top of the blanket covering Julie's legs. He kept snuggling into where her feet should be and making sad puppy noises. It was as if the eelhound were trying to warm her with its own body, not knowing what else to do.

Zuko ignored him for the most part. He was clearly preoccupied with other things to pay much attention to the miserable eelhound. Iroh cleared his throat, getting his attention.

"So, how is she?" he asked him in a falsely cheerful voice. "Any changes?"

Zuko glanced up briefly. He didn't say anything. His face was the perfect picture of exhaustion and uncertainty, an expression which pretty much spoke for itself.

Seeing the look on his nephew's face, Iroh dropped the act at once. "Still the same, then?"

The Fire Prince dropped his gaze back to Julie's face. His golden eyes were smoldering with feelings that were too complicated to put into actual words. Iroh took his eyes off of Zuko for a moment and noticed that Shim had already put a new bandage on Julie's eye, which only made her look more like a dead body they had dragged off the battlefield.

No wonder his nephew looked the way he did…tight-lipped and angry and _confused_.

"Uncle," Zuko spoke up suddenly, surprising the older man. "Who is the face-stealer?"

Iroh went still. The Fire Prince wouldn't look directly at him, but there was just _something _in the calm rasp of his voice that portended a storm about to break. Silence stretched between them for a full minute before he could bring himself to answer.

"His name is Koh."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Answer the question more directly. I know there's more to this than you're telling me. Who is Koh? And what does he want with Julie?"

Iroh moved quietly until he was standing next to his nephew. The Fire Prince made no sign that he had noticed him there. For a brief moment the retired general tried to search his face, but saw only hardness and anger. But he knew the boy for his entire life; he could tell that the anger wasn't only directed at him…it was also directed at Julie…and at the situation.

Iroh couldn't blame him, though. Zuko hated manipulation in any shape and form. Why should he start behaving any differently now?

"Koh is a very old, very dangerous spirit, Prince Zuko," he began. "Legend has it that on the night of the Winter Solstice, when the barrier between our world and the Spirit World are at its thinnest, Koh comes forth and collects another face for his…collection. Though no one knows why he does this…not even the Avatar, so far as I know."

Zuko didn't react. "And what is he to _you, _Uncle?"

A beat of silence. Then…

"I wish you wouldn't ask me," Iroh replied gravely. "There are things I wish you never had to find out…at least, not like this."

He closed his eyes and breathed a quiet, but heavy sigh. It was like the topic of conversation was enough to age him twenty years on the spot. But perhaps it was for the best. When Iroh opened his eyes again, Zuko had finally met his gaze, his golden eyes open and inquisitive.

"Does this have anything to do with…that time you went into the Spirit World, Uncle?"

There was an unspoken meaning behind those words, and a hidden something passed between them. It was enough to take the hardness and accusation out of Zuko's voice. The Fire Prince knew his uncle almost as well as his uncle knew him. He knew enough to be merciful, at least on _this _particular subject.

"I was searching for Lu Ten," Iroh said softly. "Just as you suspect, nephew. I was…in a very bad place when he died. And I…I went to find my son…_your _cousin."

He stopped for a moment, as if choosing his next words carefully. There was definitely something dark lurking in the half-silences. Zuko watched Iroh with an entirely different expression, now. There was a raw sadness they both shared, and seeing his uncle's inner wounds exposed like this made it worse.

For a moment, Zuko considered letting the matter drop. But as the seconds passed and neither he nor his uncle changed the subject, he understood. They both knew that the truth had to be revealed if they were to stand a chance at surviving whatever was happening to them now. Right now, Iroh was trying to find the courage to say what had to be said.

"I…was _not _planning on returning…" he said finally. "But…a series of events showed me that I was still needed here. I had to return to the family who still needed me. There were still things I was meant to do before I passed on."

Zuko felt a chill in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what he could possibly say to that.

"You always seem so carefree," the scarred teen admitted in a low rasp. "Sometimes I resent you for that…it seems so much like you've given up. But there are days when I wonder if you really are as jolly as you seem, Uncle."

Iroh was quiet for a while.

"Having you by my side has put light and warmth back into my life," he said finally. "Guiding you on your journey has given me a new purpose. Helping you grow into the man you were meant to become…I couldn't ask for a greater blessing…" Iroh's eyes met his nephew's. "You are like a son to me, Zuko. Never doubt that."

Zuko, made awkward by the emotions he wasn't comfortable enough to share, averted his gaze. "I…I know, Uncle. I _know_." His golden eyes were troubled. "I feel the same way. I don't always say it, but I…"

"I know. You have trouble putting your feelings into words, but I know you care." Iroh managed a smile. "I know it is hard for you…and I can understand the moments you feel frustrated with me. You have always been a stronger man than me, Prince Zuko. While I lay down before my grief, you fought…and continue to fight through a wilderness unlike any I have ever had to face."

Zuko tensed. "You're stronger than you think," he said quietly. "You came back. You didn't really give up." Slowly, he brought his gaze back to his uncle, his eyes bright. "You could have left me any time…you could have stayed in the Spirit World…but you didn't. Something made you come back…"

"Yes. And it is not a happy tale like you would think. The reason I chose life…the reason why we are on this journey now…the reason why we found Julie and why Koh is moving against us…those things are all connected. I suspect that even the happenings of the Brotherhood are related, as well…though perhaps indirectly."

Zuko looked down at Julie. "I knew there was a reason you were willing to take her in…even though we had no idea where she came from. It wasn't just because she pretended to like tea."

Iroh smiled sheepishly. "Well, that didn't hurt."

"So, tell me. I think you've kept it to yourself long enough." Zuko gave his uncle a hard stare. "If you think I'm so strong, you can trust me to share the burden…whatever it is."

The Dragon of the West brought his solemn gaze to the sleeping girl, so still and quiet.

"You were not the only person who needed me," he admitted. "You see, it is all too easy for a human to become lost in the Spirit World. Only the Avatar can come and go with relative safety. There are dangers that will ensnare a normal person…such as Koh and those who serve him."

Zuko frowned. "The Masks…?"

"The Masks are as much victims as those who lose their faces to Koh. Perhaps even more so. I had been wandering for three days, aimless and desperate, when I encountered one of these Masks."

Iroh lifted a hand towards the slowly dimming candle on the nightstand and made its tiny flame stand taller. Light fell on Julie's face, casting a sharp contrast on her features. Light and shadow seemed to coexist seamlessly in those few seconds, and Zuko suddenly understood.

"No."

Iroh let the flame drop again. "The Mask took the form of a young woman with long red hair…and a face identical to Julie's. She offered to bring me to my son…she said she would show me the way there. I had no other options, so I placed my trust in her. And…"

Zuko shook his head angrily. "No…Julie wouldn't…she _wouldn't _do that!"

"Nephew—"

"If she tried to bring you to Koh, why would you keep her on my ship? I don't understand! Unless this is just another way you're trying to kill yourself, this doesn't make any sense!"

Iroh closed his eyes for a moment. He withstood the harshness in Zuko's voice, standing upright like a lone statue against a fierce storm. He waited, took a deep breath and continued.

"The girl's name was Anju," he explained. "And she was ordered by the face-stealer to lure me into his lair…just as Lu Ten had been…"

Zuko felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

"Somewhere on the way, what was left of Lu Ten must have sensed what was about to happen. Though his soul now belonged to Koh, he resisted…he reached out to the girl who would deceive me. He spoke to her spirit and convinced her to let me go."

Zuko's breathing was unsteady now. His legs threatened to give out and he dropped into the nearest chair before he lost control of himself. He looked absolutely stricken as he held his head in his hands, unable to say anything else. He continued to breathe and the candle's flame swelled with the anger and grief that threatened to spill over.

"She…I can't believe she would…and Lu Ten…"

Iroh put a hand on his shoulder. "I know what you are thinking, and Anju is not evil. The Masks share a karmic bond with Koh and have no choice but to follow his orders to avoid a worse fate. But Lu Ten, as a part of Koh, was able to communicate with her. He persuaded her to resist, and she _chose _to confess everything to me." He looked away. "She even let me speak with my son one last time…but it wasn't long before Koh discovered what was happening and came for me himself."

"So, she was stalling so that Koh would catch you."

The older man shook his head. "Anju refused to tell Koh where I was hidden. And as punishment for her disobedience, the monster descended upon her and brutally tore off her face."

Zuko looked up at Iroh sharply, his eyes wide.

"Koh gave her several opportunities to confess, but she remained silent. Even as he was slowly removing her face, Anju never spoke a word…never made a sound. She bore her punishment, perhaps out of remorse for all the people she had already deceived." Iroh made a face. "I did not deserve to be given that second chance at life after I was so willing to throw it away. I couldn't even bring myself to stop that girl from losing her face…it is one of my deepest regrets. I was truly a coward…"

The Fire Prince took a steadying breath. "Then…Julie isn't the same girl. She can't be. She still has her face."

Iroh paused. "Ah…well, you see…that isn't necessarily true." He glanced over in the corner, and Zuko followed his gaze to where Julie's lone bag of possessions lay on the floor. "Koh left Anju a flimsy festival mask to use as a face…a very striking red mask. Perhaps you know the mask I am speaking of, nephew."

Zuko cursed viciously. The candle's flame danced hazardously on the wick, indicative that his temper was about to explode. "That was a coincidence! The mask-seller gave it to her! That's what she told me!"

"And yet she kept it," Iroh replied. "Julie keeps it with her, perhaps unconsciously. Her spirit remembers even if she does not." He hesitated for a few seconds. "Zuko…you need to know something. That day, after Anju sacrificed so much for my sake…" he trailed off.

"What?"

Iroh sighed. "I had to do something. Lu Ten wouldn't have wanted me to leave her in such a wretched state. My son would have tried to help her…so I went back. Perhaps it was pity that drove me…and perhaps it was partly an act of vengeance for Lu Ten's fate…but I faced the monster in his lair."

* * *

"_I have to say," said a voice from the shadows. "Not many humans are brave enough to come willingly to my hollow tree."_

_Iroh remained impassive as a face suddenly loomed out of the darkness. A young man who closely resembled him stared down from an ominous height, and as the creature stepped into the light the general could see the long insect body snaking around him, countless legs moving faster than he could blink. It took all of his strength not to react to seeing his child's face on the body of a monster._

"_Have you come to join your son, then?" Koh asked in a deceptively gentle voice. "Or perhaps you are simply tired of living."_

_There was a moment of silence as Iroh closed his eyes, collecting himself. "I know now that there are things I have yet to do." His eyes opened again, his expression blank and his voice hard. "I won't lose my face to you, Koh."_

"_Is that so?"_

_Iroh remained stoic. "I have come to make a bargain with you. You have something I want…you carry the face of someone precious to me, as well as the faces of innocent, good, and honest people. I want you to let them go."_

_The monster moved past him, glancing at him from behind before sinking back into darkness. The legs continued to move, often dangerously close to Iroh. Koh let his centipede body brush against the man as he circled around, still hidden in the shadows._

"_And why should I do that?"_

"_Because one day you will regret making so many enemies." Iroh blinked at him. "Those souls you have trapped inside of you, you took them forcefully. They are angry and given the chance, they will rise up against you…they will tear you apart from the inside."_

_Koh could occasionally be seen as he moved in and out of the light. His face continued to change, from animal to human, from man to woman to child, all at random intervals. Iroh watched as each mouth was pulled back into a smile against the owner's will. It was a silent demonstration of the monster's hold over those trapped spirits._

"_They are not resisting me now," Koh remarked. "You will find that humans are not so resilient as you think. They do not fight their destiny. They were made to submit to the will of the spirits."_

"_You are wrong. You will see for yourself one day."_

_The monster regarded him with the face of a hog-monkey. "And what are you suggesting? That I let them go for no reason? You have _nothing _to compel me to do something so foolish. You have nothing I want except for your face, and I assure you that I will have that soon enough."_

_Iroh was unmoved. "I will not turn away from you. I'm not leaving without my son and that girl you forced to do your bidding."_

_Koh laughed. "Oh, you must mean Anju." His face shifted from the hog-monkey to the green-eyed girl. Long crimson hair framed her face, her wickedly amused expression harshly contrasting with her gentle features. "I assure you, General Iroh…Anju is in no way innocent. She earned her fate."_

"_I can't believe that. No one deserves what you have done to her."_

_Anju's face sneered at him. "You speak of things you don't understand…in life, this girl was as much of a monster as I was. You don't know the unspeakable things she did, all in the name of love. She was desperately devoted to a man who used her as a weapon…and she bore all of it willingly, taking lives, destroying villages, targeting benders of all ages…she showed mercy to no one. Her love was vicious…a malevolent force in the world."_

_Iroh didn't say anything._

"_And yet you wish to help her? If you knew what she was capable of, you would say that my enslaving her was an act of justice."_

"_And what did my son do to earn your wrath?"_

_Koh tilted Anju's pretty face in mock curiosity. "What did he _do?_ He took lives, General Iroh…just as you take lives. You both come from Sozin's line…a man who would challenge the will of the spirits by deliberately disrupting the world's balance. That is enough to earn my wrath." The monster smirked. "It was my voice who whispered to the archer on the wall…I was the one who guided him to fire on Lu Ten. I can't begin to tell you how perfectly that arrow pierced his body…the mighty soldier, fallen on the front line It wasn't long before the Earthbenders finished him off."_

_Iroh lowered his face, keeping it blank with every ounce of will he had left in him. But his hands clenched into trembling fists._

"_Do you want to kill me, General Iroh?"_

_The man didn't move a muscle. "I have no power over you. You are correct about that. The Avatar, however…"_

_Strangely enough, that got a reaction out of Koh. The monster lunged forward, thrusting Anju's face inches away from Iroh's. Her eyes flashed with malevolence._

"_The Avatar is _gone_," he spat. "Lost in time. Unable to live or die. Your ancestor, Fire Lord Sozin, took Avatar Roku's life on Crescent Moon Island. He slaughtered the Air Nomads and started a war that shattered the precarious balance between the nations. He singlehandedly ruined countless lives, and your Avatar was unable to put a stop to it." Anju's face gloated. "If you are hoping that he will return, then you are a bigger fool than I ever imagined, General Iroh."_

"_Then I will find him," Iroh said softly. "Humans are not as helpless as you think. One day the world will be united, and humans will work together in harmony. And if I have to, I will personally see to it that the Avatar returns…that he defeats you."_

_Anju frowned. "The Avatar has challenged me once already. In a past life I took the face of the woman he loved. He sought to take vengeance upon me…and that Avatar is still wandering, still searching. He will never find me. That is his fate…an aimless Avatar wandering aimlessly forever." She glared at Iroh. "And should he ever find my lair, I will tear the face from his body while wearing his lover's face. She will be the last thing he ever sees."_

_Iroh closed his eyes, somehow keeping his expression flat and emotionless. "I see it is pointless to persuade you to change your ways. You have no remorse and no fear. You will continue to take faces, and I will do what I must do. So be it."_

_Slowly, the Dragon of the West opened his eyes. "Lu Ten, if you are there, if you can hear me…know that I love you, my son."_

_Koh started to laugh, but something caught in his throat that turned the mirthful sound into a gagging noise. His long body lurched back and arched in agony, the hundreds of legs spasming as face after face struggled to the surface. With every face that Koh forced back, another rose to take its place until Lu Ten's face emerged. His features were contorted in pain, but the boy forced himself to meet Iroh's gaze._

"_We are all on your side, father…but we can only delay him. Get out of here…while you still can!"_

"_Not without you." Iroh held out a hand. "Please, Lu Ten…try…come back to me…"_

_Sadness gleamed in his eyes. "I am bound to the face-stealer…I cannot leave. I'm sorry, father."_

_The general looked stricken. "No…" he breathed. "Lu Ten…you cannot give in. I know you are strong enough to escape. Please, I can't lose you again!"_

_The boy's expression turned gentle. "There is someone else who needs you, father. Have you forgotten about the family you left behind in the Fire Nation? I thought we had agreed that we would come home to them…"_

"_Yes," Iroh agreed in a tone of voice that said he didn't agree at all. _"Both _of us made that promise."_

_Lu Ten closed his eyes. "You have Zuko and Azula to think of. You know grandfather is getting older…and I don't trust my uncle the way you do. He is cold and ambitious." The young soldier's voice turned pleading. "I cannot keep my promise, and I probably have no right to ask this of you…but look after my cousins for me. They need you, even if they won't admit it."_

_The general's face tightened in grief. "I…I understand…but I can't accept the fact that you are lost to me, Lu Ten! I refuse to let Koh take the people I love from me!"_

"_If you don't leave me now, then they will lose _you_! I can barely hold him back, father. Please…let me go. It won't be the last time we see each other."_

_Iroh felt his heart crumbling anew. His son was just so resigned to his fate, and with good reason. The face-stealer was clearly fighting back. It looked as if it was taking every ounce of Lu Ten's strength to maintain control. Prolonging this was only causing the boy more pain._

_So Iroh relented. But he felt in the pit of his stomach that Lu Ten was lying. If he ever saw his son again, it would not be for the reasons he wanted. _

_A dark flame erupted in his heart. He would not let this go unanswered._

"_And father?" Lu Ten smiled sadly as he opened his eyes. "I might not be able to be saved today, but there is someone you can take out of this prison. Will you help her?"_

_Iroh stared. "The girl? Anju?"_

"_Perhaps in helping her, you can help others. Koh has turned her into one of his weapons and calls her his Mask of Love. If you set her free…perhaps if she manages to reincarnate into another body…maybe one day she will repay the favor." Lu Ten gave his father a sheepish look. "I admit that she can be abrasive, but she's starting to grow on me. I know there's good in her…and I think you do, too."_

_The Dragon of the West nodded slowly. "I do…and I agree with you. She doesn't deserve this." Iroh found himself blinking back tears. "I…I just wish I could help you, my son…please forgive me…"_

_Lu Ten shook his head. "There is nothing to forgive. I love you, dad."_

_Iroh closed his eyes. He couldn't watch what he knew was about to happen. "Good bye, Lu Ten."_

_The soldier gritted his teeth as he started to morph into another face. Slowly, he was pulling Anju to the surface. The girl wore an expression of astonishment and confusion as she found herself being dragged up and out of Koh's body. Iroh opened his eyes in time to see Anju blinking at him in bewilderment, her mouth parting to utter a single word._

"_Why?"_

_And then she turned into a ball of light and shot out of the cave. Iroh knew it was time to follow. He almost stopped to look back, wanting to get one final glimpse at his son. But he heard Lu Ten's voice crying out._

"_Run! Run now!"_

_So, feeling like the lowest of cowards, Iroh fled from the lair. He darted outside as fast as his legs could carry him, stumbling over roots and not daring to look over his shoulder. Moving quickly, he kept his eyes on the sky above him and followed the light of Anju's soul as it darted through the trees. He climbed over roots and began to emerge up the slope when he heard Koh bellowing in rage, terrifyingly close by._

_Iroh spurred himself on, repeating the promise in his mind. He would get out of here alive. He would find his way back to his family. He would look after Zuko and Azula just as he said he would…he would find Anju and help her, too. They would escape together…and perhaps one day they would return to fight on their own terms._

_He couldn't Firebend in the Spirit World. He had no way to defend himself from Koh's wrath. His only hope was to find where he had left Anju's empty shell. Perhaps she could guide him out._

_It wasn't long before he saw her up ahead, the faceless vessel holding the festival mask to her face; her will robbed of her along with her features, she sat at the base of a tree waiting for orders from her master. Iroh saw the light streak ahead and surround Anju. The girl jerked as the mask fell from her fingers._

_It was morbidly fascinating the way her features seemed to sprout from the vacant patch of flesh where her face should have been. Eyes, lips, a nose…her countenance stretched and contorted into one of visible discomfort as a gasp escaped her and her eyelids fluttered open._

_Iroh knelt down beside her and steadied the girl as she came alive in his arms. She squinted at him for a few moments before she opened her mouth, daring to try using her voice._

"_O-old man…?"_

_He smiled, but it was a humorless one. "How do you feel?"_

_She scowled. "Like I'm being hugged by a complete stranger. Who gave you permission to put your hands on me, you creepy old pervert?" _

_There was no real malice behind her words (actually, her tone was almost relieved…perhaps even friendly in her own weird, snarky way), so Iroh ignored her barb as he helped her sit up. "I apologize," he said in a voice that said that he wasn't talking about the way he had been holding her upright. "I should never have let this happen in the first place. Can you walk?"_

_Anju frowned. "W-what? What do you mean?"_

"_We're going to leave this place. I want you to come with me…and we don't have much time, so I am sorry if I seem insincere to your discomfort. If we are to survive this, we must start moving…_now_."_

_They heard a bestial roar echoing in the distance, getting closer with every passing second. That seemed to get the redhead moving. She bolted up and practically dragged Iroh with her as she started staggering into the woods._

"_Oh, hell," she breathed. "What did you do to piss off the centipede so badly?"_

_Iroh didn't allow his pace to falter. "I might have taken something of his…but I have no intention of returning it to him." He frowned, trying to peer ahead. "Can you find the way out?"_

"_Just make sure I don't trip and I'll tell you where to go," she answered. "You have to stay off the path. It'll make it easier for him to find us. We need to find water…a lake, a river…hell, I'd be happy enough with a puddle."_

"_Water?"_

_She gave him a sideways look. "Just trust me on this. Right now water is our friend."_

_The general was about to argue, but then he heard a sound that drove any and all inclination to doubt from his mind. _

"_IROH…!" the monster snarled in rage. _

_Well, shit._

_Iroh didn't look back. He could only look ahead…and hope…and plan…and keep moving forwards. It was all he could do with Anju clinging to him, breathlessly whispering directions in his ear. They moved together through the darkness with only each other to rely on. _

_With any luck, it would just be enough to keep him alive…and maybe even to end this. And perhaps if they continued inching through the darkness, they would come to a better place._

* * *

Zuko stared at his uncle in disbelief. "So…you and Anju escaped?"

Iroh nodded tiredly. "Yes, Zuko. We managed to escape somehow. But upon finding the way out, we were separated. At the time I could only assume that she had managed to be born in a new body…and that fate would lead me to find the infant that housed her soul. But…I was not expecting to find Julie."

The Fire Prince scowled. "It can't be Julie. She's _my _age…the time wouldn't add up. I was already a child when Lu Ten died…there's just no way…"

"Time does not function the way you think it does," the retired general answered. "It took me years to find this out, but the Spirit World exists in every single space time simultaneously. Past, present, future…it means nothing there."

"I don't understand what you're saying."

Iroh smiled. "It's complicated. Even I have trouble grasping the exact nature of time, so I don't think about it very often. All you need to know is that it is possible for a spirit to be reincarnated into the past…even into other worlds, where time possibly moves at a different speed. But I am only guessing."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "But you have no proof that Julie and Anju are the same person, Uncle! And I…I don't want to believe it…_any _of it…about Lu Ten or Koh or…" he stopped, gritting his teeth. The flame shot up another couple of centimeters as he struggled to compose himself. "…or that all this time you wanted to find the Avatar so you could defeat Koh! You were willing to betray your own country…"

The smile dropped from Iroh's face like a brick. He regarded Zuko with a more neutral expression, but there was definitely unease in the older man's eyes.

"At the time, I didn't see it that way," he told him slowly. "Family has always been more important to me. And Koh is an evil being who would not hesitate to lash out against the innocent."

Zuko made a bitter sound. "Pretty convenient excuse for a man who abandoned the siege just as he was about to claim victory…for a man willing to give up everything, and then to come home and hide in the palace like a cowardly old fool!" He shook his head, nostrils flaring in rage. "And now…now I find out that this entire time you were helping me capture the Avatar, it was so you could steal him away from me…so you could betray me just like Julie did!"

Iroh gave him a hard stare. "When I vowed to find the Avatar, it was long _before _your banishment, Prince Zuko. I had no way of anticipating what would happen to you…and I returned from the Spirit World to protect you…"

"From what?" Zuko snarled. "From my _father_? What do you understand about my father?"

The older man looked away. "Very well…you may be angry with me for being a sentimental old fool. I accept that. But you know that I would never betray you, nephew. And for that matter, neither would Julie." His golden eyes flashed at the stubborn, angry prince. "She loves you. And so do I."

The Fire Prince closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears.

"Who told you that the Avatar had passed through this valley?" Iroh demanded. "Who was it who risked her life to follow you when she thought your life was in danger? Who was it who sat by your bedside as you were dying?" Zuko wouldn't look at him. "Who risked her own power to draw the sickness from your body, nephew? Who was it?"

"Shut up!"

"Julie is no traitor, Prince Zuko. She would die for you. And as I recall, wasn't she gravely ill and hallucinating the night the Avatar escaped?" Iroh raised an eyebrow. "You were with her. You saw that she could barely stand."

Zuko's eyes snapped open. His hands dropped as he turned to stare at Julie with an uncertain expression on his face. The flame of the candle was sputtering, as if it didn't know whether it wanted to grow or shrink.

"And as for myself," Iroh concluded. "I promised Lu Ten that I would stay by your side. Even if it means giving up my chance at taking revenge on Koh. I will not sacrifice one son for another."

"Uncle…"

Zuko's face looked torn, his hands buried in his scalp. He inhaled sharply through his nose and stared hard at the ground, trying not to crack. The flame of the candle burned intensely for a few moments before it shrank down, almost passive and small.

"If you won't sacrifice me," he said slowly. "Would you be willing to sacrifice Julie? Is that what you were planning?"

Iroh forced every single emotion out of his face so he wouldn't let on just how badly that question had actually hurt him. He looked Zuko dead in the eye and answered without a second thought or a moment's hesitation. "What do you think?"

Zuko slowly brought his gaze back to his uncle, to the man who had stood by his side for the past three years. "No…" he said, his voice cracking a little. "I…I know what kind of man you are, and I…that's why I don't _understand_…"

"One day you will, Zuko." Iroh looked away. "If you want proof that Julie is who I say she is, then simply look at the fact that Koh is targeting her now. She looks almost identical to Anju and she carries the mask that Anju was given by the monster himself."

"That could be a…" the prince stopped himself. Somehow he couldn't bring himself to utter the word _coincidence_. It sounded too much like a lie he was making to himself.

There was silence for a moment.

"Nephew," said Iroh slowly. "I know it is a sensitive subject…and I apologize in advance for having to mention it now, but…do you remember when your mother…"

"Vanished?"

The Dragon of the West nodded. Zuko kept his face away from his uncle. He was ashamed at the feelings of loss that surfaced from that brief reminder. It felt too much like weakness…the same kind of weakness he had just accused his uncle of having, no less.

"Barely," he said in an unconvincingly flat voice. "It was so long ago."

Iroh paused a moment. "Then you don't remember the day you went missing from the palace?" He watched his nephew carefully. "Not long after Fire Lady Ursa disappeared, you suddenly vanished as well. Fortunately, you were found about twelve hours later, after a frantic search was made throughout the Fire Nation…running a dangerously high fever and lying abandoned on the beach of our family's summer home on Ember Island."

Zuko's entire body tensed. "I…I had gone looking for her…" he said slowly, his heart starting to throb. His mind was starting to take him back in time as he recalled exactly what he found on Ember Island that day.

And then the memory resurfaced. _A strange girl wearing strange clothes that were stained with blood, her long red hair dancing in the sea breeze…she scowled at him, her green eyes flashing at him. It was a gaze that told him that she refused to be intimidated and that she would probably bite him if he got too close to her. There were tear tracks on the sides of her face that had been wiped away with muddy fingers, leaving streaks behind._

_They were standing on the beach facing one another. Zuko flushed red at the girl's audacity, for she had just asked him where his parents were._

"_They're not here," he admitted reluctantly. "I came here on my own. I…" he hesitated. "…ran away from home. My mother…she's…missing. I wanted to find her."_

_The hard expression on the girl's face evaporated, leaving a sad and almost familiar expression behind. She stared at him like she thought she understood what he was feeling, something that infuriated him. This girl…she didn't know anything. She was just an angry brat…a peasant._

"_So…you're alone, too?"_

Zuko blinked, trying to remember that day in greater detail…but the details were blurry. The only thing he could remember with any clarity was the girl's face…_Julie's _face…and his old summer home looming in the background like a sentry.

"Uncle," he said slowly, trying not to panic. "What…what happened that day?"

The retired general folded his arms inside his sleeves but kept his gaze on Julie. "As I said earlier, you were found on Ember Island, running a dangerous fever and hallucinating. You were delirious for three days while you sweated the fever out of your body. I sat at your bedside as you tossed and turned, restless…you called for your mother quite often…but once or twice you asked for someone else. A girl's name passed your lips…"

Zuko swallowed. "Julie…"

Iroh nodded. "I knew your illness wasn't an ordinary illness. When you had gone missing I was terrified that Koh had snatched you somehow in retaliation…I was scared that you were dying slowly. But you kept fighting, and soon you recovered. But in your delirious states you asked me what had happened to Julie…where Julie was."

"But what made you think she was Anju?"

"To be honest, that never crossed my mind back then. But after having recently escaped from Koh's lair, I could not simply assume it was a coincidence that this strange girl appeared to you only to vanish without a trace." Iroh glanced over at his nephew. "You were convinced that she was in danger. You kept saying that someone took her."

Zuko frowned. "She probably went back to her own world…I don't know what you mean."

Iroh sighed. "That is not surprising. As time passed, you forgot about the incident all together. I believe you had convinced yourself that Julie was some sort of dream or hallucination you had because of your fever. I do recall Azula teasing you about it."

The prince wrinkled his nose. "She _would._" He brooded in silence for a few moments as he tried to summon the memories that simply refused to answer him. "I do remember being sick. I think the healers said that it was some sort of stress-induced fever caused by my mother's…disappearance." He looked troubled. "I never thought to look for her."

"I would be deeply concerned if you did, nephew. You had no reason to believe she was anything more than a dream at the time."

Zuko looked at him sharply. "And what about you? What made you give up your search if you needed her to fight Koh?"

Iroh met his gaze evenly. "You would have me chase after spirits when you still needed me?" His expression was soft, but earnest. "I won't abandon you. I hope you remember that." He glanced down at Julie again, his expression grim. "Besides…I knew that if fate brought Julie to you in the first place, it would only be a matter of time before you two met again…and I was right."

The conversation broke off after an uneasy silence had settled between them. Both uncle and nephew stood in a troubled vigil over Julie, the sound of Shim's movements echoing from the next room. Neither of them really knew what to say about destiny at this point.

Things had just gotten immensely more complicated, after all. Zuko had, had his own fixed notions about destiny, and deep down he had always suspected on some level that Julie would play a huge part in his future. He had sensed somewhere in the pit of his stomach that her dropping into his life had been no coincidence. Finding her in the middle of the South Pole was meant to be.

He just wasn't sure whether he should feel satisfied at having been proved correct…or unnerved at just what all of this portended.

Before he could really make up his mind in the matter, the girl stirred. Zuko felt himself go rigid as Julie's lips parted and a moan escaped. Her hand drifted to her forehead as her eyelids pushed languidly open. She blinked blearily at Zuko and Iroh for a few seconds before a cautious smile crept upon her face.

"Sorry," she said in a soft, eerily feminine-sounding voice. "I hope I didn't worry you guys. How long was I out for?"

The two males exchanged glances. Neither of them answered her question.

Zuko swallowed and forced himself to look at her face again. He had to make sure that his eyes really weren't playing tricks on him. Wrestling with dread and paranoia, he forced himself to lock eyes with the redhead a second time.

She smiled back at him innocently, staring at him with deep crimson eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Prince Zuko."

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY! Chapter completed! Take that, motherfuckers! YEAH!**

**Okay, I know there was a lot of plot for you to digest in this chapter. I tried to balance out the action, but at times it felt like I was plot-dumping, and I hope it wasn't too confusing for you guys. I know some people had trouble keeping up with the last chapter, so I hope this chapter made things a little more clear.**

**Seriously. Was I info-dumping? You can tell me. I can handle it. I have thick skin…and adamantium claws. TAKE THAT, n00bs!**

**Julie: **"Must you lie to the readers? You don't have either of those things. In fact, every time you get the slightest bit of criticism, your anal-retentive perfectionist streak kicks in and makes you drastically overcompensate for _weeks_. And most of the time it's at my or someone else's expense."

**I only do that because I refuse to cut corners. Anyway, I really value getting reader feedback. It seriously makes my day. The last thing I want is to turn into one of those authors that are so self-involved that they practically have their heads up their own asses. If I want to improve as a writer, I need to listen to criticism.**

**Julie: **"Within _reason_. If someone writes to you demanding that you turn me into a gay elephant, you had better not listen to them. I will fucking _cut _you."

**You're too short to be a gay elephant. **

**Julie: **"That's not the point, and you know it."

**Fine, I get it. I have to learn to trust my own instincts as a writer. Self-confidence and all that blah-blah-blah. Sheesh, finding that middle-ground is so hard.**

**Anyway, getting back to the chapter…I found myself really enjoying the interaction between Zuko and Iroh. It was my favorite scene to write. I've been waiting to have a deep uncle-nephew argument/bonding moment since…well…forever. I'm so glad I finally got a chance to actually write one! This is just fluff-tastic! (The **_**non-romantic **_**kind of fluff, you freaking weirdos).**

**And for those of you who are wondering about Zuko's temper-tantrum at his uncle (yes, Zuko and/or Iroh fangirls, I'm looking at **_**you**_**), I was not trying to paint our beloved Fire Prince as "the bad guy" of the argument. Right now Zuko is feeling extremely conflicted, finding out that Julie is connected to the evil creature that stole Lu Ten's face and that Iroh knew all along.**

**I don't think I have to point out that Zuko frequently lashes out at Iroh in the series, sometimes bordering on cruelty. Not to say that Zuko doesn't care about his deceased cousin or doesn't feel bad for his uncle. But I **_**do **_**think he would have been frustrated to see him behaving like a jolly, pleasure-seeking old man instead of the proud general he once was. I imagine that Azula in particular would have taken pleasure at goading her brother, insisting that Iroh had turned into a washed-up has-been; while Zuko would continuously flounder in trying to defend him. Of course, there's some resentment there. **

**And, of course, feeling that resentment would turn into a source of guilt for Zuko. Because he knows that Iroh has a **_**damn good reason **_**for falling apart the way he did. It is a deeply tragic thing to have to bury one's own child. I can't even imagine what that would be like. **

**So, yeah. Zuko is going to be a **_**little **_**touchy at the moment. He was already trying to come to grips with his suspicions that Julie might still have feelings for Ramon, and now he has to figure out whether Julie was the one who let Aang out of the dungeons back at the South Pole. I don't know if you guys noticed, but Zuko does NOT react well to betrayal.**

**When Iroh tells him that he had (at one point) considered finding the Avatar as a means of avenging Lu Ten, even if it meant betraying his own country, Zuko has no idea what to think or who to side with. It's going to lead to some interesting changes later on in the fic. But I won't say anything more than that.**

**Okay, so next chapter Julie is going to brave the labyrinth of her fears. Zuko and Iroh are going to have to figure out what's going on with "Julie" and her drastic change in personality. Shen-Long is going to deliver a message…or try to. And maybe if I have time left over, we'll see just what happened to the Gaang! (I've been so terrible at keeping track of all the characters; sorry, guys!)**

**Anyway, let me know what you think. REVIEW!**


	99. Masquerade, Part III

**A/N: Hello, fandom!**

**Okay, so I have two…no, make that three very big things I need to talk about before I start the next chapter. They're very important, so for those of you who usually skip the author's note…BLAAAAAAAH DON'T SKIP THE AUTHOR'S NOTE, IT'S IMPORTANT, RAAAAAWR CAPS LOCK! **

**Did that get your attention? Good.**

**First things first, I received a very interesting request in one of my reviews, and I wanted to run it by everyone before I agreed to anything. See, I have been advised that some people might want an official Happy Endings Facebook page. Essentially it would be a place where I would post updates on the story's progress (or really creative excuses as to why I haven't updated yet) and frequent reader polls (as I think of them), and all of you guys can post your fan-art or whatever. I'll even let you Zulie-shippers go crazy. LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR! WOO!**

**Sounds awesome, right? It never even occurred to me to even consider making a Facebook page for this saga. So, what do you guys think? Should I launch the page? I'm going to post a NEW POLL on my profile so that everyone gets a say, even those of you who love the fic but usually don't have the time to review. Just click yes or no to cast your vote.**

**Secondly…HOLY MOTHER OF SOCKS! The Search is almost here! The Search is almost here! I'm so, SO freaking excited! I could go square-dancing with a grizzly bear I'm so psyched!**

**Okay, sure…it's supposed to be the sequel to the Promise comics, which…um…could use a bit of work in the logic department, and left unanswered questions such as "If Aang kills Zuko, who does the Gaang think is going to take over running the Fire Nation in his place? IROH? After his fluffy turtleduck of a nephew got SLAUGHTERED by his friends? Hell, you bitches are lucky if Iroh waits to get back to the Fire Nation so he can politely **_**invade **_**your asses instead of roasting you all on the **_**spot**_**." **

**I mean, my fic "Bloodlines" is a testament to how I feel about the Promise. Yes, it had its moments…and yes, it gave me plenty of ideas for AtLA mind-canon. Honestly, I can't really bring myself to hate anything that gives me so many ideas, so…plot holes aside, I'm really looking forward to seeing what's next in the show. Plus, we're going to finally see what happened to Ursa! Think about all the new canon material I'll have to worry about in my story!**

**Thank God I'm only on Book I of the show. If I had to address anything related to Ursa at this point, we'd be waiting a good long while to see any updates. I'm already regretting going so in depth about my mind-canon Spirit World because I found out that Season Two of Legend of Korra is going to address those unanswered questions. To which I can only say…**_**fffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuck!**_

**Ahem. Right, sooooo…yeah. There's a link to the preview scans on if y'all are as interested as I am. Just wanted to pass along the good word.**

**The third thing I wanted to discuss with you guys is something VERY IMPORTANT. It is about the last chapter, which I got a lot of positive feedback for, btw. You guys were very supportive, and I could totally feel the love…but I also got some helpful feedback, and the upshot of all of this is that some of you were confused by the whole Julie/Anju/Ember Island/Koh thing.**

**I totally don't blame you guys at all. ****See, I was attempting to do this epic plot twist where Julie and Zuko actually met once when they were kids, only both had forgotten about it for a variety of reasons, some of which get revealed later in the fic. However, I took for granted that not all plot twists will look clever just because they're plot twists. Sometimes they can be clumsily executed, as was the case here. Yeah, sorry about that...**

**Here's a quick breakdown of what's actually going on (as much as I can reveal without throwing out spoilers, that is):**

-Somehow, when Julie was a child, she woke up and found herself on Ember Island (it's not revealed how yet, but I have a completely thought-out explanation as to how and why this happens) and meets Zuko, who is also a child at the time.

-Remember the hallucination-dream that Julie and Zuko had when Julie was semi-healing his scar with Energybending? Remember the part where Julie's clothes have blood on them and she suddenly has a scar on her stomach? That was meant to be a clue.

-We first see the scar on Julie's stomach way back in earlier chapters, when she has that shoulder infection and the healer points it out to Zuko. If you connect that to Julie's delirium flashback, she obtained that scar after being stabbed in the stomach with a broken bottle by her father. Somehow, she survived. It has not been revealed how this happened. Julie doesn't even know and chooses not to think about it. This is part of the reason why Julie discounts the entire Ember Island event phenomenon as a recurring dream.

-Zuko, on the other hand, was on Ember Island that day because his mother had just gone missing (Ozai had recently been crowned Fire Lord in the show timeline). Being a child, the first place Zuko thought to look was his vacation home on Ember Island, and using the stealth of a Blue Spirit in the making, he manages to get there undetected by people who might send him back home to the palace.

-Zuko can only remember the snippets that resurfaced when Julie Energybended on him. However, something happened that brought Julie back to her world. And SOMETHING happened that made him forget everything. The last chapter revealed that Zuko actually was on Ember Island that day (and wasn't a dream, as Zuko supposed after Julie semi-healed his scar) and was found lying on the beach with a dangerously high fever. During his recovery, he asked his uncle about Julie as the retired general sat at his bedside. After he recovered, Zuko forgot the things he "hallucinated" while he was sick. But Iroh didn't.

-The whole Julie/Anju thing is going to be explained more thoroughly in imminent chapters to come, so I can't say anything about that specifically. However, the Ember Island Incident occurred shortly after Iroh's visit to the Spirit World in an attempt to save Lu Ten (though in the end he only managed to save Anju). Time doesn't function the same way in the Spirit World, which was said a few times in the last chapter, first by Lin and then by Iroh, who had learned a thing or two about spirits by that point. As such, spirits can be reincarnated into the past as well as the future. And that is all I can say about that.

**In conclusion...I really bit off more than I could chew with this. Clearly, I have a lot to learn as a writer. I have to remember that not everything has to be an epic plot twist. Some things, if they are going to end up being as complex as this is, should be explained in a clear path of plot points that can be easily followed by the reader. Clues shouldn't jump around at various points in the story, especially the really obscure ones. So, I totally apologize for that.**

It kind of made sense in my head, but I keep forgetting that I already have all the clues. The readers don't. And even if the truth doesn't get revealed until later, it doesn't make this look mysterious in the interim...it makes it look like bad writing, plain and simple.

**Still, hopefully this clears things up for you guys. And I can only get better from here! Woo! I worked really hard on this chapter, and I just know it'll blow your minds! It'll blow the rest of my story out of the water, just you wait and see!**

**So read on, y'all! Read and be amazed! I'll be waiting for my pre-ordered copy of The Search! And eating chicken nuggets! Like a BOSS!**

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Two: Masquerade, Part III; The Girl Beneath the Flesh**

Lin was utterly silent as she stared at the mouth of the forest, her eyes fixed on the spot Julie had vanished in. The girl wore an expression better suited for an adult, her mood indecipherable as the seconds passed.

A second figure appeared by her side, a taller man with a vague grin on his face.

"Well done, Lin. I have to admit, that was awfully sly of you…tricking that Julie into entering the face-stealer's lair of her own free will. She'll never get out of that forest. Not alive, anyway." Koichi's smile widened. "You know, there's something absolutely liberating about finding yourself absolutely and totally screwed. I almost envy that girl."

The girl's face didn't change. "I don't."

"Oh? Come now, you can't be having second thoughts. You said so yourself. Julie would never have become a true Energybender on her own. She's powerful, yes…but she gives in to her fears far too easily. She'll be easy prey for Lord Koh."

"Don't pretend to understand me, Koichi. Just shut up if you know what's good for you."

The mask-seller's smile dimmed slightly, turned contemplative.

"You know," he said slowly. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you almost felt sorry for her."

Lin's expression hardened.

"I'm _always _sorry," she muttered. "I…am a being of regret. Nothing more. It shouldn't surprise you to see my true nature. Now, shut up, already. You're giving me a headache."

Koichi bowed his head slightly. "As you wish, little lady of Sorrow. As you wish…"

* * *

_I have to face my fears…_

It just had to be a super-cliché forest. Of all the things it could have been, it had to be a dark, endless expanse of trees. Just perfect.

Anything else I could probably handle. Give me obstacles I could actually see. At least in a situation like that, I knew who my enemy was…and where that enemy was waiting for me. Give me a good, clean fight and I could find a way to come out on top…or at least survive. Surviving was just what I _did_. My entire childhood had been utterly geared around living through one day at a time.

But when it was dark like this…when I couldn't see where the danger was…that was when things got scary. That was when my imagination started to go into overdrive…when I started making up enemies in my head. It was too quiet here, and with every passing second my entire body was tensed for an attack. My heart started to race, and it wasn't just from all the running I was doing.

I still couldn't believe that the only way I could save the others was by around some spooky-ass forest, where there would be things that would jump out from behind rocks and trees. Seriously, I couldn't catch a freaking break, even in my own head. The implications of that were kind of troubling.

_Man, even my own mind is out to get me._

I stopped.

"Is this the point?" I asked myself. "Am…I the enemy here?"

There was no answer. Everything was utterly still and quiet here. But I knew that the silence itself was some kind of clue. After all, this was my own mind. Any enemies I faced here had to come from my own imagination, right?

This was, after all, the forest of _my _fears. The things I saw here would be from the darkest part of my heart…the things that made me wake up screaming in the night.

I swallowed heavily and started again, but walking at a normal pace. Obviously charging blindly wasn't getting me anywhere and I was just tiring myself out. Before I wasted my energy I needed to figure out the puzzle of this place. There had to be some answer right in front of me somewhere…maybe something I had overlooked.

_How long have I been in here? An hour? How do I keep track of time here?_

It was hard to find the courage to keep moving, even though I could barely see. It was practically pitch dark in here, and the only thing I could see were the trees, which were starting to look like normal trees again. It was like my brain was starting to give this place a more solid shape from my memories…because I was pretty sure I had been here before.

_Finally, some familiarity, _I thought in disdain. _That means that whatever's up ahead will be something I've already faced before. This shouldn't be too difficult…right?_

I stared at the trees and tried to think. This place was familiar…but this wasn't back in my own world. I had lived in a city my whole life…and even though there were trees planted here and there in the park, it was nothing like this. That meant that this place had to be in the Avatar world…or else something from my dreams, like the beach I always dreamed about.

Yeah, that beach I saw in Zuko's mind, too. It was the same beach…somehow we both were attached to that place. What did that mean, anyway?

_Not now, _I chided myself. _Focus on the trees. This shouldn't be so freaking hard…I mean, how many forests have I wandered around in, anyway? Besides that massive one on Kyoshi Island and that other one where I met Baihu for the first time…? _

Okay, I had narrowed it down to one of two places. I was either somewhere on imaginary Kyoshi Island…or the imaginary forests of the Jade Mountains. Or, I could be in the freaking Spirit World. I mean, technically I had seen it in the show…so who could say that my mind wasn't bringing me to a pseudo-Spirit World?

"Damn," I whispered. "This just got so much more complicated than it had to be…" I scowled and looked around for a few seconds, wrestling with indecisiveness. "I guess the only way to find out is to see what I find in here. Then I'll know for sure."

I had to keep moving. Turning back wasn't an option.

_Snap._

I froze. Another twig snapped behind me, jolting me into action. I wheeled around and got into a fighting stance (pathetic since I really couldn't fight, but whatever; I wouldn't die quietly), but found nothing there. Nothing except trees.

"The fuck…?" I breathed.

I squinted at the tree I was facing. There was something strange about it. As I moved closer to it, it looked as if there was something hanging from it…like a piece of paper. Frowning, I took a closer look and saw what was drawn on it…a large circle crossed out with a thick, black X. I started to reach for it. My fingertips were about to touch the childish drawing when a voice interrupted me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I didn't have to turn to know who was standing behind me. "Ramon."

His hands went to my shoulders, holding me against his chest. I should have been able to feel a heartbeat. But instead of life and vigor…instead of either of those things, all I felt was cold emptiness. It chilled my blood more than his slimy touch ever could.

"Babe," he whispered. "You seriously can't tell me you don't remember this game."

"G-game?"

His lips were right above my ear. "Everything is a game, you know…even what we had, Red. That was a game of wills…a struggle of dominance. And you lost, remember?"

I bit back the urge to shudder. "T-the game isn't over yet, bastard…I'm still here. And I'm going to find my way out. I'm going to beat you." I closed my eyes and forced myself to be calm. "You're not real, anyway. You're just…you know…a figment of my imagination. All of this is happening inside my head. You can't hurt me even if you try, dumb-ass."

Ramon chuckled. His arms moved to snake around my waist, embracing me from behind. It reminded me too much of other nights spent like this, trapped in his arms. The memory of his touch made me feel disgusting…I hated the way my heart was racing.

No. No, this felt too real. I couldn't move.

"Did you really believe what that Lin girl told you?" he purred, causing a shiver to run up my spine. "Babe, I hate to break it to you, but we're not inside of you anymore. Let's just say we took a detour to someplace way more fun. Didn't I tell you we were going home?"

I didn't have time to feel betrayed. I could only had a single instant to feel that pulse-leaping terror as my eyes flew open, and no time to waste on other emotions. I wasn't sorry, either. Fear was enough for me to deal with.

"H-home? What do you mean?" My breathing quickened as I looked around me, my gaze fixed on the tangled mess of trees that caged the two of us. "Um…do you have holes for eyes? This looks nothing like our town at all. This had to be a dream…"

_It just has to be a dream…_

Ramon toyed with a strand of my hair, something that sent waves of revulsion running through my body. "Well, I never said it was the home we grew up in. But it'll be just as much of a home as _you've _ever had, Red. Take my word for it…your life might actually mean something now that you're working for the centipede."

But…that had to mean…

"We're in the Spirit World?"

He chuckled. "What do you think? Not quite like the Wolves Den, but you have to admit…Koh's forest has its own charms, doesn't it?"

Oh, God…this was insane. Was Ramon in his right mind _at all_? Was he seriously comparing a lair of a face-eating spirit monster with the Wolves Den? With that crappy little club his older brother bought a few years back and gave to him as a sixteenth birthday gift…?

Cripes, I couldn't wrap my brain around any of this. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Why are you doing this?" I snapped. "Dammit, don't you realize that Koh is _evil, _Ramon? You can't trust him! Whatever he has planned, whatever he promised you…it can't mean anything good for humans! Please, just listen to me!"

"What do I care about humanity, Red?" his voice was flat. "People are worthless. They only live to fill their own needs anyway…can't you see that?"

I couldn't answer him. I didn't know how to.

He pulled me closer. "Even you, Babe…you're just a need of mine...something to fill the emptiness inside of me. And I finally found you," he murmured. "I'll never let you leave me again. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you all to myself…even if it means having to take orders from the centipede. And if people end up getting hurt…well, then, it serves them right." He let that sink in for a moment while my heart tried to beat its way out of my chest. "The truth is, Babe, humans don't know how to live. They never did and they never will…but _we'll _show them."

I shuddered. "You…you're wrong. People…are stronger than that. And what makes you think I'd ever want _anything _to do with you after what you did?! I…I'm just a _need_? I'm not a _drug!_ I'm a person! I refuse to belong to anyone, especially to someone like _you!_"

As he pressed his lips against the side of my head I could feel them curl into a wry smile. "If telling yourself that helps you sleep at night, Babe…then I'm going to have _so _much fun bursting your bubble. But don't worry…we have all the time in the world, here. You'll understand eventually…I'm doing this for your own good."

"Yeah?" I said angrily. "Well you can take your good intentions and _shove it_, you bastard!"

I stomped on his foot and wrenched hard to get free, using all of my strength. But as I put all my weight into my leg, ready to cause Ramon as much pain as possible, his feet were suddenly submerged in the black soil. My heel ground into the dirt and slid out from under me, but Ramon still had a firm grip on me and held me upright.

He was almost amused at my desperate bid for freedom.

"Did you really think you could get away from me?" His grip tightened painfully. "Julie…babe, I know we fucked up somewhere. But we had something good…better than most people ever get. You remember that, right? Everything was perfect then…until you had to be so selfish. I would have given you everything…I didn't ask for much in return. Just one thing. We could have been happy if you hadn't held back from me…if you hadn't left me. Why did you have to ruin it?"

My heart felt like someone had wrapped their fingers around it and squeezed it like a ripe orange. It didn't help that Ramon was holding me so tightly, almost suffocating me. His cold fingers reached for my throat and gripped it tight, making it hard for me to breathe; but thankfully giving me just enough leeway to breathe. Not comfortably, but just enough.

"Why did you have to be so selfish?" he whispered. "You were perfect…the only person who ever made me _feel _something. You made me feel alive…you challenged me constantly…made me ache for things I didn't even know how to put into words. You were the only one who wouldn't break, no matter how much I played with you. You were the only person who ever loved me enough to…willingly put yourself in my hands…and you left me. Why?"

His voice. He sounded so…vulnerable. Confused. _Lonely_.

His grip was tight and cruel, but his question revealed another side to him he usually kept masked underneath his ruthlessness. I only had glimpses of it while we were dating, but when he let his guard down…those rare moments when the mask would slip, I could actually see how flimsy his confidence really was.

But…even so. Even so, all of that was in the past. He had evolved into a twisted, manipulative person. I couldn't forget that, no matter what cracks were revealed in his self-assured armor.

This wasn't the person I used to love. Ramon…the Ramon I had fallen in love with…did that person ever really exist?

"You never loved me," I gasped. "You only…cared about…yourself…! You used me…! I…I was just…just a…toy to you…!"

And the memory returned to me.

* * *

_I couldn't have been older than nine when I met Ramon for the first time._

_I stared up at the taller boy holding the aluminum bat. His hair was messy and his smirk was confident as he leered down at me. Beside him, at his feet, lay two older boys who had been trying to jump me only minutes ago. They looked terrible after having their noses broken by the business end of the piece of sports equipment, and neither of them were moving._

_All I could do was stare at them, too shaken up to anything else. "You…you didn't have to hurt them…!"_

_The boy with the bat just snorted. "Sure I did. Why? You want me to hurt you, too?" _

_That shut me up pretty quick. I kept looking from the bat to the unconscious boys, who were really bleeding a lot and probably should see a doctor or something. There wasn't any doubt in my mind that this boy could really hurt me if he wanted to. And let's be honest, he probably wanted to._

_Didn't he?_

"_They would have done the same to you, you know," he told me bluntly. "You weren't going to give them what they wanted. You jumped at them and tried to scratch out their eyes like an animal."_

_I_ _winced. "I need that money."_

"_Uh, huh."_

_I hesitated. "Why did you save me?"_

_The boy stared at me for a beat. "Why did you fight back?"_

_I puckered my mouth into a frown as I wrestled with my confusion. Whatever answer I gave him would probably determine whether or not I'd get to kiss the bloody end of the bat with enough force to smash my skull. Needless to say, I didn't want to die. _

"_I told you, I need the money. My Dad…" I stopped abruptly. Should I really have been trying to appeal to this guy's sympathy? I glanced slightly to my left, as though searching for some sort of mental cue. But really I just didn't want to have to look at the bat or the two boys lying on the pavement. "…he's _sick_. And I need that money to pick up something he needs…like orange juice."_

_He laughed. It was a harsh barking kind of laugh that made me flinch._

"_What's so funny?" _

_The boy shook his head. "A weak little girl like you should just curl up on the ground and die. You know that? I hate weak little girls most of all."_

_I didn't say anything. I couldn't. It was so freaking obvious that he was going to beat me up. I could see it in the sadistic smirk on his face, in the malevolent glint in his dark eyes. I just stared at him, forcing myself to accept this fact so it wouldn't hurt so much once I started feeling the bat. _

_It always hurt more if you gave yourself false hope. This kid was older than me and could probably outrun me. And I was too scared to even stand. There was no freaking way I was getting out of this unscathed._

_Slowly, my brow sank into a heavy scowl as I wiped away traces of my tears with my fists. The boy watched me with the intensity of a hawk eying its prey before walking over to me. The gravel crunched under his sneakers, which were a bright red and obviously new. Soon, he was standing right in front of me, towering like a giant (even though he couldn't have been more than two years older than I was)._

"_You aren't going to cry or beg or anything?" he asked suddenly, looking at me like I was some kind of alien. "Hey. I'm going to kill you, you little bitch. Are you stupid or something?"_

"_I don't care. You're annoying."_

_I could take pain. I just had to make myself believe it. Mind over matter. I was used to pain. I could handle it. It made me strong, in a sense…maybe even stronger than this boy in front of me, who clearly never knew what it was like to be crushed under someone's heel._

_That almost made me feel better about the whole thing. Though, obviously, I would rather have avoided the smack-down all together. But whatever, I was used to not getting what I wanted. It was just how life worked for me. Why fight it?_

_The boy blinked. "Annoying?" He shrugged, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a switchblade. Why an eleven-year-old boy would be carrying such a thing in his pocket was not something that entered my mind as I struggled not to piss myself out of fear. _

_With every ounce of my will I kept my expression indifferent as I averted my gaze. _

"_I suppose you don't care if I cut you into pieces, then."_

_I took a deep breath and tried to ignore him. _

"_Hey, kid," the boy snapped. "You got a name?"_

_This casual question made me clench my hands into fists. There was no way in hell I was going to answer that. What right did this asshole have to know my name? He was obviously a psychopath. _

_He frowned and moved to examine me from another angle. His dark eyes considered the scrawny, red-haired girl at his feet, namely me. He nudged me with his toe, which irked me pretty badly. If this kid hadn't already bloodied up two older kids with a bat, I probably would have tried to wrap my arms around his leg and trip him…but something told me that this would be a terrible idea. _

_He seemed way too expectant as he provoked me. He was trying too hard to get a response out of me. I had seen this kind of behavior from other thugs in my neighborhood; I knew the hard way that feeding into it by reacting would only prolong the pain. This kind of thing was _fun _to kids like him._

_I breathed out of my nose and forced myself not to retaliate. _Let's just get this over with, already_._

"_Was that supposed to hurt?" I grumbled._

_The boy just stared at me, his expression impossible to read. He was still staring at me like I was the weirdest thing he had ever seen. _

_I glowered at him. For some reason, the silence was starting to grate on me. _

"_If you're going to hurt me, then do it. If not, then quit wasting my time. My dad will do a lot worse than you will if I'm not home soon." _

_He gave me a long, slow grin. "I like you."_

_It happened too fast for me to brace myself._

_His fist struck me across the face, sending me sprawling to the pavement. I heard a yelp escape from my small, weak body, but I gritted my teeth and pulled myself back up on to my knees. I knew without checking in the mirror that there would be an angry red mark on my cheek. I rubbed my face gingerly before fixing him with another glare._

"_My dad hits harder than you do," I told him bluntly. "I'm not scared of you."_

_His expression darkened, but his smile grew wider. "Good," he said with a hidden promise in his voice. "Because I think I'm going to keep you. What's your name?" _

_Again, I didn't say anything…mostly because I didn't understand what he just told me. Keep me? What the hell did he mean by that? I wasn't an animal or a decorative plant. I wasn't just something he could pluck from a dumpster and keep for himself. What was this guy's _problem_? _

"_Fine. Then since you don't have a name—"_

"_I have a name," I snapped._

"_Not anymore, you don't. I'm calling you Red. And don't you forget it." The boy gave me another long stare, which I found absolutely unnerving. The glance was enough to send me scuttling back into a wall. He laughed a harsh bark of a laugh. "I'm definitely keeping you. You're fun. I don't think I can ever get bored with someone like you."_

"_W-what?"_

"_I'm going to let you go home now," he told me, as though I hadn't said anything. "But don't forget about me. When I get bored again I'll come find you. Don't bother hiding from me unless you're good enough at it to make it interesting; otherwise I'll do to you what I did to those two," he added, gesturing at the boys with the broken faces on the ground._

_Wait, why was he acting like I needed _his _permission to leave? Oh, right. Because he was the one with the bloody baseball bat. _

_I swallowed heavily. "You're crazy."_

"_No, I'm Ramon. And I'll probably be seeing you in a week or so." He jumped up and caught on to a fire escape ladder, hauling himself up with ease. "You better start running home, Red…unless you want the cops to catch you. You wouldn't want them to think you did this…would you?"_

_As if on cue, sirens started blaring in the distance._

"_H-how did they…?" I gasped, then looked at Ramon suspiciously. "Wait…don't tell me _you _were the one that called the cops…"_

_He rolled his eyes. "Obviously. It wouldn't be any fun if there wasn't a chance at getting caught." He shook his head at me, as if this should have been obvious. "It's part of the game, Red. It's about time you learned how to play it."_

"_How…to play?"_

"_Yeah. Rule number one…don't get caught."_

_There was the sound of car doors slamming. The flashing lights seemed to be right around the corner._

_That got me to move. I scrambled on to my feet and took off running down the alley, my heart pounding a frantic staccato in my chest. I didn't bother to look behind me to see if I was being followed. As far as I was concerned, I would be perfectly happy never seeing Ramon ever again. Creepy bastard._

_Unfortunately, I had no idea that this kid would ingratiate his way into my already-admittedly dysfunctional life…and had no intentions of ever leaving me alone._

* * *

"I was…your fucking toy…" I hissed, trying to pry his fingers away from my throat. "Let…me…go…!"

Ramon didn't seem fazed by my attempts to free myself. He was holding me with almost no effort on his part. Not only was it discouraging, it was downright frightening. How was this bastard so much stronger than me? How had he been able to stand up to someone like Zuko and escape inside my body? How was it that someone like Ramon always managed to get the upper hand? Why?

"I take what I want, Red," he told me, as if reading my mind. "I don't ask permission…and I don't let anything get in the way of taking what should be mine. You used to respect that once. You used to look up to me because of it."

"You…took it…too far…"

"Because you and I wanted different things, apparently." Ramon shrugged, as if this didn't make a lick of difference. "Big deal. That's how the world works. Might makes right. People have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want…or they get nothing. And in order for someone to win…someone has to lose. The world has always been this way."

"…fucking games…" I choked. Everything was just another game to this guy.

"Games like these make you stronger," he said indifferently. "People who are weak complain about how things aren't fair…using that as an excuse to stay weak and to feed off of the strong. Really, it should be the other way around, shouldn't it?"

It was so weird hearing him echoing Commander Yamada. They both had the same ideology…the same scorn towards sentimentality and a willingness to take extreme measures to achieve their goals. It made me really uneasy to think that there were other people like Ramon running around.

But he couldn't have been right. I couldn't accept that. Not anymore.

"I used to…believe that…" I gagged and tried to pry his fingers away. "…but…but not…anymore…"

It was hard to get the words out with him gripping my windpipe as hard as he was. But he wasn't trying to suffocate me…not yet. He was applying enough pressure to weaken me, but not enough to make me lose consciousness; and this was assuming that spirits could even _do _that. Either way, it _was _hard for me to breathe…and that wasn't a good sign, since it meant that I really _needed_ to breathe to survive.

It occurred to me suddenly. _If I die here…what will happen to my body?_

The hand around my throat clenched tighter for a moment before releasing, gripping me just hard enough to keep me still. "If you want to get away so badly, get stronger than me. That's the only way, Babe. Until you do, I'm going to keep taking what I want."

"B-bastard…"

There was a moment's pause as Ramon digested my insult.

"It's just sad how you always try to make me be the bad guy, Red. I always gave you choices, didn't I?"

I thrust my elbow into his chest and forced myself out of his grip. Or maybe he let me go on purpose? Uggh…what difference did it make so long as I put as much distance between myself and this creep as possible?

No, I wasn't going to let this bastard deceive me anymore. If I was going to get out of here in one piece, I had to look beyond his twisted logic. I had to stand up to him. I had to look him dead in the eyes and…be brave. I couldn't let him cling to me anymore.

My breathing was erratic as I struggled to regain my air…and maybe remain calm in the bargain. Fat chance of the second one happening, though.

"Choices? What choice did I ever have? You slipped something into my _drink_. You…you _raped_ me…"

It was just a word. I know it was just a word. But hearing it and saying it made a part of me cringe inside. It made me feel like a piece of garbage left on the side of the road…used and then discarded. My skin started to crawl at the half-memories that swam in my mind…the feeling of his hands on my body…the backseat of his car…the blinking light…and a sharp pain in the back of my neck…

Oh, God…I didn't want my mind to go here. I didn't want to remember this.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. "Babe…you can't remember clearly, can you?"

"I remember enough! I've had sex before that! I know what it feels like after you…shit, don't make me explain this to you! Don't you dare call me a liar! You admitted it to my face! You said you gave me something to calm me down, and that we had sex!"

Ramon just shook his head at me. "You still begged for it. Yeah, I gave you a drink…but you were the one who took it. And then you realized how weak you were on your own...because I was just a need that _you _needed to fill. _Babe_."

That shut me up. That shut me up _good_.

I know it's probably not a good idea to take the word of a guy who slipped someone in my drink, but…what if he's right? Not about that other crap about me _wanting _it, but…the other part. What if we really were just using each other all along?

Was he something I needed?

_No. No, that's wrong. I don't need him anymore! I can take care of myself! And even if I get in over my head, Zuko wouldn't let anything bad happen…to me…_

Oh. Wait.

Was Zuko a need? Even if I had feelings for him…did that change the fact that I _needed _him? I was basically a parasite. I mean, look at this mess we were in right now. None of this would be happening if I hadn't told him to come here.

If I never came to the Avatar world…Zuko wouldn't be in danger right now. He'd have a clear path laid in front of him leading to his destiny. But now he was risking everything just to protect me without even knowing what he was sacrificing in the first place.

I loved him, but it didn't matter. I was using him, wasn't I?

"You begged me to take you back…and you know the drill. A couple fights, then they have make-up sex. That's how it works." He shrugged. "It's not my fault you were too drunk to remember much. I guess you really do take after your old man."

Nausea and guilt…and shame; I was feeling all of those at once. It was a stomach-churning combination of emotions. Oh, God, I was going to be sick. Even if I was just a spirit, I was seriously going to blow some chunks all over Ramon's shoes. Serves the bastard right.

I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. "You're a fucked up pervert. Don't you dare compare me to…to my dad…! I'm different from him!"

"We're all the same inside," he replied. "Didn't I already tell you, Babe? Inside we have this dark place…a void that desperately wants to be filled with something…drugs…sex…liquor…gambling…anything. And you do whatever you need to in order to fill it. That's all." He smirked at the look on my face. "There's nothing wrong with it. We all need something…more than anything else, that one thing that makes us feel _alive_…"

I shook my head. "That…that's no excuse for what you did to me…!"

"You did it to yourself," he snapped. The amusement left his expression for a moment. He actually looked like he wanted to put his fist through something…like my face. "You had a need to fill…and I filled it. If anything, you were the one using me. Why else would you keep coming back to me, no matter how many times I got you into trouble…or made you cry…or lied to you...?" His expression was flat. "I had something you wanted, Babe…didn't I?"

"Shut up!"

"You were desperate! But you had a choice and you chose me!" His expression was alive with malevolent energy. "And I chose you…you stupid bitch! We used each other because we both had dark, empty places where our hearts should have been!"

I wanted to scream. I wanted to feel something smash into pieces in my hands. I wanted to watch something burn to the ground. I wanted…I didn't know what I wanted except to make something feel more broken than I felt at the moment.

"I…I loved you…" my voice cracked as tears pushed their way to the surface. "I loved you…I really did, Ramon. And you…you took my heart and you _crushed _it…!"

"Your heart was a down-payment," Ramon told me bluntly. "Your feelings always belonged to me. From the day we met, you were mine. And what did I give you in return, Red?"

I clenched my teeth and put my hands over my ears.

"Who kept people from finding out about your father?" he snarled. "Who gave you the money to pay the bills that fat drunk couldn't pay every month? Who kept it quiet all those times he beat you enough to put you in the hospital? Who _the fuck _found a doctor that would fix the broken bones and stitch up the cuts without reporting it to the _fucking _police?"

I had never really asked where Ramon had gotten all the money to pay for all of this, in case you guys are wondering. All I knew was that drugs were involved and that it was a family business. I knew that he had expected something from me in return, but he never actually specified that I would be paying for all of his favors with my soul. I certainly don't remember signing a contract like that.

But everything he said was the truth. Ramon was the only reason I had been able to keep my secret from everyone who would have taken me out of my house in a heartbeat. He was like a handsome devil, able and willing to…not solve my problems…but make them _disappear_.

* * *

"_I can make it stop, you know."_

_I stared at the older boy, Ramon as he cleared the fence leading into the empty playground. My hands closed tighter around the reins of the swing I was sitting on, my entire body tense as he approached me. An angry flush crossed my face and lingered there for a long time. I could feel the hot flush underneath my skin and angrily wished I hadn't been born a redhead._

"_Go away."_

_Ramon smirked. "She's going to find out, you know. She's way too nosy not to figure it out eventually."_

"_Go away!" I snapped louder, placing my hands over my ears. "Just shut up! I don't…I don't want to hear it…!"_

_The boy shook his head slowly. He moved behind me and took the swing in both hands, keeping it still. Slowly, he slid his hands down to cover my trembling fists. My face turned redder and I felt like I was about to start crying._

"_I…I don't know what to do…" I choked. "I can't let anyone find out…I can't…"_

"_Well, she already suspects that your dad is a drunk," Ramon replied bluntly. "And teachers are supposed to report that kind of thing. They don't care what's actually going on. They just get in trouble if someone else figures it out before they do…because they're _supposed _to notice if a kid in their class is getting smacked around by their parents."_

_To my embarrassment, I sniffled. "I…I hate her…I wish she'd get eaten by a crocodile."_

_The older boy's hands massaged my knuckles in a soothing manner. "She won't stop until your dad is in jail and you get put in a home somewhere far away. And for all you know, your new family will be worse than the one you have now. Your new dad might even be one of those perverts you see on the news all the time. He might be the kind that likes to go after kids."_

_I flinched at his words. Ramon pretended not to notice, even though it was clear from the grin on his face that he was doing it on purpose. Even at that age I knew that the more panicked I got, the more amusement shone out of his dark eyes. His hands trapped mine, now, preventing me from pulling away or getting off the swing._

"_She'll do it on purpose," he told me seriously. "Your teacher just wants to get rid of you since you're always causing trouble…like that time you punched out that fifth grader's tooth during recess."_

"_H-how do you know about that? You don't even go to my school…"_

_Ramon just shrugged and grinned. "Once your dad is in jail, you'll be taken away and put in a different school. No one really wants you, you know. They'll give you to a pedophile or a serial killer, and he'll carve you up so many ways that no one will even recognize you at your funeral…"_

"_Stop it! Please, just…shut up!"_

"_Shhh…don't worry. I won't let that happen, Babe. Didn't I already tell you? I can make it all stop. I can fix everything and you'll never have to worry ever again. I'll take care of you…"_

_I could feel myself shaking. "You will? Why?"_

_His expression grew icy, though his smile was as wide as ever. "Because I can."_

_I stared up at him as he let me go, but I was too fixated on his eyes to run away. He reached into his pocket and handed me a white envelope. I took it gingerly, puzzled as to why it felt like he had given me a pouch of baking powder._

"_Cocaine," he told me. "Leave that in her desk, and she'll be gone by the end of the week."_

_My eyes widened. "But…" I shook my head. "That's a lie. She doesn't do drugs…"_

"_You're right. They'll take one look at her and know she isn't some crack-whore. But they'll assume she's dealing. It just so happens that some of the kids in your grade somehow got their hands on their own cocaine…along with some other stuff."_

_I frowned. "You…you did this?"_

"_My brothers did, yeah. They get good money for this sort of thing. Though the elementary school kids are small change compared to our usual customers."_

_I stared at him for a few moments, visibly troubled by this information. I looked down at my shoes and blinked a few times, lost in thought. After a minute, I looked up at him again, but my eyes were wide and upset._

"_Won't Ms. Friday end up going to jail over this?"_

_Ramon gave me a flat look. "It's either her or your father. Whose side are you on, anyway?"_

_I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat. "Yours! I…I mean, my dad's…! I just…this doesn't feel right…"_

_He shrugged. "Fine. Then throw it away…or keep it for yourself. It's up to you. Either you can let them take you away from your dad so he can rot in a prison cell, or you can fight back. You can protect him, Red. You choose."_

_I stared at the packet in her hands. "I…I choose…? But…"_

_I trailed off and didn't know what to say, let alone what to do. _

* * *

But that had just been the beginning.

Of course, Ramon had never actually gotten rid of my problems. He had a tendency of granting my misguided desires in a way that would be completely irreversible; like conspiring for me to plant the drugs on my elementary school teacher. It didn't take the administration long to revoke her teaching license after she was caught red-handed with the stuff in her purse.

By the time I realized what I had just done, it was too late to fix things. Sometimes, once you do something, you can't take it back. But I'm pretty sure if someone had given me the chance to do things over, I never would have listened to Ramon.

Because after that, it had been just _too _easy for him to get me to do other things for him. It was like pushing a boulder over the edge of a cliff and watching it roll into a bottomless pit. One bad decision led to another…and then another. How could I even pretend to be a good kid anymore after this? There are certain things in life you just can't get back once it's lost.

Innocence, for starters…

I never claimed to be a good person. The only thing I can really say for myself was that I was able to look after my old man. Not that he deserved it…but then, I didn't deserve anything better, myself. We suited each other just fine, me and my dad. And I was the only one who could really take care of him. It wasn't like anyone else was going to make sure the bastard didn't choke on his own vomit after a night of suckling a bottle of scotch.

Ramon seeing my composure crumbling away, relaxed into a confident smirk. "Babe, it's okay. I know things have been really confusing for you…falling into another world and all. And being around those people for the past couple of months…it gave you some false hope, didn't it? Did you really think that you had a family here?"

I bit my lip and didn't answer him.

"They don't even know who you really are inside. They don't know all the terrible things you've done." He laughed quietly. It was such a sinister sound. "That Zuko guy is ready to dump you just for sleeping with me, and that's the _least _of what you've done. Does he know about what you did to your middle school guidance-counselor's car after he suggested you might be having problems at home? God, that was _priceless_."

"Shut up…"

"You don't want anyone to help you, Babe. You know damn well that you deserve this…deserve _me_. Why don't you just stop fighting destiny and let me take you back already? We could be so powerful together. I'm a Mask, now…and think about how much stronger you'll become if you let the centipede have your face."

"S-shut up!"

Ramon stared at me. "So…you still need convincing, then? Fine."

He snapped his fingers, and instantly I felt the ground underneath my feet start to sink. I jolted and tried to move out of the way, but the black soil had already engulfed my feet, sucking me down into the blackness. Trying to pull myself out only caused me to lose my balance and fall. I flung out my palms to catch myself, and soon my arms were being dragged down with my legs.

The ground was swallowing me whole.

"I'll leave you to think things over, Red," Ramon told me. "Take a good long look at your memories and see if I'm wrong. I know you better than anyone else, you know."

I screamed in fear and frustration as my torso and shoulders were pulled into the blackness. I was only free from the neck up now, and the last thing I saw was my ex-boyfriend kneeling down in front of me, capturing my chin in his hand.

Before I could process what was happening, his lips pressed against mine. My mind went utterly blank as anger and terror shot through me like a couple of lightning bolts. I tried to bite him, but Ramon held my chin too keep me still. The simple act of trying to pull away exacerbated the joints in my neck as the ground still tried to drag me down, and Ramon was the only thing keeping me from being swallowed all together.

Eventually he broke off the kiss and stared into my eyes. "I love you, Julie."

"Fuck you!"

He chuckled. "I like you when you're feisty. Well, have fun, Babe. I'll be waiting for you up here…and don't worry. I have something really fun planned for when you get back. Count on it."

And then he let me go.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Shen-Long tried to stomach the ominous feeling he had as he steered their last komodo rhino down the path to the Fire Nation camp some miles back. He had left most of the supplies with the others, not needing the extra weight to slow him down. In his pouch was a message quickly scrawled by General Iroh to whoever was able and willing to send help to them. But it was hard for him to shake off the premonition that the worst had yet to come, in spite of their best efforts to avoid it.

Then again, he always got that feeling whenever it snowed like this. It had been snowing the day he had lost Ayla, and since then it had been almost impossible not to associate this kind of weather with separation, isolation, and hardship. It definitely didn't help that Julie was still unconscious and didn't seem to be waking up any time soon.

But then, that had been almost an hour ago. For all he knew she could be awake right now and waiting for him to return. He had to hurry.

_Julie, _he thought. _Not Anju. I don't care what any of them say. She's Julie…not Anju._

He refused to believe that the headstrong girl wearing Ayla's face could be the reincarnation of that monster. It was obvious that General Iroh didn't know what he was talking about…though Shen-Long wasn't about to tell him so, since he shouldn't have even been eavesdropping in the first place.

The girl who would risk everything to save someone she loved. The girl who was awkward around strangers and too stubborn to admit when she was afraid or nervous. The girl who had cried in the net when she thought he would leave her trapped up in that tree. She couldn't have been the girl who had ruined Ayla's life.

Whatever she had become after death, Anju had been a monster when she was alive. She had taken everything Ayla loved and destroyed it…for what reason, Shen-Long didn't know. But it didn't really matter. What reason could there have been for her to do the things she had done…?

That village had been a second chance for him and Rena. It had been an opportunity for Ayla to start over after she had been separated from the Brotherhood. And now it was nothing but a crumbling ruin, if that. So many years had passed since Anju had slaughtered the inhabitants down to a man…and then she walked away with that man…with Prospero.

His life had never been the same.

"Anju couldn't have been reborn, anyway," he muttered to himself, watching his breath mist in the air. "She…she couldn't have. Julie is _Ayla's _reincarnation, isn't she?"

Well, wasn't she?

Against his will, the soldier looked back to all those times Julie had insisted that Ayla was living as a separate entity, trapped inside her body. It was too eerie, too similar to the way things had been back then…back when Ayla was the one wearing the body and Anju had been the one…

…the one trapped inside. A spirit without a body of her own…or perhaps a separate personality that had been trained by the Brotherhood to kill with impunity; Shen-Long had never figured out which was the truth. Either way, "Anju" had been a monster that would come out and take control at the worst possible moment. An assassin so deadly that she could easily give a grown man nightmares for the rest of his life.

No. Shen-Long refused to believe that such an evil creature could return to life. Everyone was wrong. And he would protect Julie from these lies. He would because he knew deep in his heart that Julie was good at heart. As difficult as she was to deal with at times, she wasn't a murderer. She just _wasn't_.

He would protect Julie the way he had failed to protect his beloved Ayla. It was his duty.

_But first things first, _he reminded himself. There was still this message to deliver. The quicker the better; if he arrived too late, Koh's minions would doubtless return with greater force…or perhaps the zombies would renew their attack on his companions. Not to mention the fact that his sister had been left behind with the others. She was another person he had sworn to protect.

He could figure out the truth about Julie/Anju later.

It didn't take him too much longer to find Commander Yamada's camp. Judging by the moon's position in the sky, Shen-Long determined that he had been away from the others for about three hours. That was three hours longer than he wanted to waste. It took all of his self-control not to barge in on the Commander himself when he had been told to wait.

How could these men be so calm when there was so much danger thick in the air? Didn't they realize that the most important people in his world could die while he sat around doing nothing? Didn't any of them care that he could lose them?

He pictured Julie and Bo-Fen in his mind's eye…and their faces blurred to Ayla and Rena. The souls inside were the same, but the faces were changed…well, Rena's had changed. In Ayla's case it had been her personality that had taken a complete one-eighty. If Julie weren't as easily-flustered as Ayla had been…if she didn't have this deep need to protect others…well, it was enough that Shen-Long could see the girl hiding underneath the rough exterior.

"You requested to see me, ensign Shen-Long?"

The soldier kept his face indifferent, even though he hated being addressed by his rank. Remembering that the younger man in front of him was a commanding officer, he bit back the bitterness churning in his stomach and focused on the matter at hand. As though he had nothing but obedience on his mind, he bowed to the Commander.

"Commander Yamada," he said. "I come bearing an urgent message from General Iroh."

"Rise," Yamada told him. "Let me see."

Shen-Long was all too glad to do so, and quickly handed him the sealed scroll from his pouch. Without a word to the naval officer, his amber eyes scanned the parchment, skimming over the words as quickly as possible.

"I see," said the Commander after a pause. "So General Iroh is requesting reinforcements to Jade Valley Village…though he was rather vague on the nature of the threat we are facing. Tell me, ensign…just what caught the Dragon of the West so off-guard?"

Shen-Long frowned. "We were overwhelmed by superior numbers…however, we managed to ward off the first wave of attackers. Sir, it's urgent that we send help before the enemy retaliates."

Yamada glanced at him. "A company of five managed to fight off a wave of enemies…interesting. I'm assuming, then, that the girl Julie is among your party."

The soldier gave a start. "How…I mean…yes, Sir."

The Commander smiled. "Very interesting. Yes, I think I can stand to lose a few men in this endeavor. That girl seems to have more potential than I thought. But you never told me what kind of enemies attacked you. Were they Earthbenders? Nonbenders? Or perhaps members of that Energybending cult I've been hearing so much about lately…?"

Shen-Long tried not to feel unnerved as Yamada fixed his gaze on him. It was as if he already knew exactly what had attacked them. Quickly, he tried to weigh out the pros and cons of telling him everything, wondering what would happen if the Commander caught him in a lie.

"There is no need to feel so concerned, soldier. I can assure you that my help is guaranteed regardless of your answer. But if I'm to be of any use in this fight, you had better not leave me to find any unpleasant surprises at the village. It could make a difference between life and death…as I'm sure you already know."

It was impossible to miss the hidden meaning of that last statement. Shen-Long swallowed back his dislike for Yamada and reluctantly answered.

"The enemy seems to be…already dead. They are reanimated corpses, stirred by angry spirits and attacking from their very graves." He watched Yamada's face carefully and didn't see any trace of surprise in his expression…definitely not a good sign. "You probably don't believe me."

"No. As a matter of fact, I find this to be _very _believable. That Julie doesn't seem to have much self-restraint, does she?"

Shen-Long didn't answer.

"Ah, well. It can't be helped. In any case, go report to Lieutenant Keita at once. He'll provide you with further instructions for the remainder of the mission."

"Sir, I'm afraid I can't do that."

Yamada glanced at him. "I gave you an order, soldier. You had better have a good reason for openly defying it." His eyes narrowed. "Well?"

Shen-Long kept his expression neutral. "I was given very specific orders from General Iroh to return as soon as the message had been delivered. Now that my task is completed I am obligated to head straight back to the village…though it would be greatly appreciated if you could provide me with a speedier mount than my rhino."

The commander didn't bat an eye. "Consider your request denied. We're all moving towards the same destination. As far as I'm concerned there's no reason for you to break rank…and if you insist on disobeying my orders, the consequences will be severe."

"Yes, Sir."

Yamada turned his back on him. "I don't know how Prince Zuko commands his men, but I do not tolerate insubordination among my soldiers. You would do best to remember that from now on, ensign. Now go report to Lieutenant Keita. Dismissed."

Shen-Long grudgingly bowed and left the tent, silently fuming. What he wouldn't give just to put that arrogant commander in his place…but he still had Julie and Bo-Fen to think about. It wouldn't help them if he got himself court-martialed over this.

_Just hold on a little longer, sister_, he prayed, willing his thoughts to reach his sibling miles away. _Look after Julie until I get back…and for the love of the Spirits, be careful_.

But then, if Bo-Fen were ever careful she wouldn't have been the young woman he knew as his sister for the past thousand years.

* * *

The person wearing Julie's body blinked innocently at Zuko and Iroh, and neither one of them could think of anything to say back to her. They gaped openly at her as she stretched her arms over her head, as though she had just woken up from a long sleep. She didn't appear to be acting, either; whoever this person was (and Zuko had a pretty good idea who it was, too), they were genuinely groggy from the forced nap.

It was Julie's face that he was staring at, but as the girl opened her eyes, which were now a startling crimson, he knew deep in his gut that it wasn't Julie meeting his gaze. And in spite of everything that was happening…in spite of all this fuss with spirits, the matter of Koh and his Masks, and the mystery behind Anju and Lu Ten…in spite of all those things, Zuko felt deeply afraid for his trouble-making peasant girl.

Where was Julie? This girl wasn't Julie. What had she done with Julie?

Yoshi perked up and peered into her face, tilting his head to the side. _You're not momma. But…you smell like warm fuzzy feelings…like bleeding and hugging prey with my teeth. And tummy rubs. _His tail was suddenly all wags as he pushed himself closer to her. _I like you. Let's be friends, not-mother!_

The girl wearing Julie's face giggled. It was a very weird sound to hear coming out of that body. Zuko was absolutely unnerved.

Yoshi attempted to tongue-whap her face, but the girl calmly pushed his face aside and pulled the eelhound into a hug instead. The puppy proceeded to smother her with as much happy, I-like-you gestures as possible. His enthusiasm could be deadly, though, now that his claws were getting sharp, and Zuko didn't want anything to happen to Julie's body…even if someone else was in control.

So he caught Yoshi by the collar and pulled him off.

"Not now," he told the whining animal. "You can play later. I promise."

_But…wanna play with mother who is not-mother! Lemme goooooooo!_

"HEEL, BOY!"

_Woof!_

"Yoshi," the girl said in a higher-pitched, slightly accented version of Julie's voice. "Please sit. Stay. Roll over."

The eelhound snapped to attention. _I obey. _In about half a second, Yoshi was sprawled on his back and looking eagerly up at them. He would be a good dog and show them just how long he could wait. He would prove his might by laying on his back like a _BOSS_. And then he would disembowel something to celebrate.

Yoshi wondered in his doggy brain whether not-mother would like organs more than his actual mother-life-giver-mother. He laid there and pondered this. And then he pondered some more.

Um…meanwhile…

"Prince Zuko," the imposter said again, making him cringe. Julie never called him that. "Hey…you're giving me a weird look again. What's wrong?"

Wait…there was something in the girl's face that was familiar…the expression she was wearing was such an un-Julie-like expression, but still one he could recognize. Barely.

He swallowed. "Ayla…is that you?"

The pretty mouth pulled back into a smile that was rarely seen on Julie's face. "Oh, thank goodness. I thought you didn't recognize me like this. For a minute, it looked like you wanted to attack me or something…but you wouldn't do that."

Iroh looked from Zuko to the fake-Julie. "Ah…so this is Ayla, then. Um…I take it that Julie is otherwise disposed, then?"

A cloud passed over the girl's face. "I can't find Julie. She's…not here. I looked all around inside her head…and I called her name over and over…but I don't think her spirit is anywhere inside her body anymore." She looked away. "I don't know where she is…but she's gone."

Zuko felt like someone dropped a block of lead into his stomach. "Gone," he repeated, his mouth very dry all of a sudden. "What do you mean, gone? Where could she have possibly gone?"

Ayla looked deeply troubled now, fidgeting on the mattress like a little girl who knew she was in very deep trouble. She did anything to avoid looking at the Fire Prince or his uncle as she squirmed around in her seat. "I…I tried to stop Ramon…I really did. I'm sorry…"

Okay, this really wasn't keeping Zuko from fearing the worst. "Stop Ramon? You mean…when he tried to possess her earlier?"

She didn't say anything. Losing patience, Zuko crossed the gap between them and seized the girl by the shoulders, making her look him in the eyes. Crimson eyes widened in shock as they met the hard gold irises of the banished prince.

"Tell me everything. Julie's life is at stake, isn't it?"

Ayla's expression softened as she teetered on the brink of tears. "I can't help her now. I tried so hard, but…there's nothing we can do. Ramon must have snatched her spirit. It wasn't just him, either…the other two we saw, the mask-seller, Koichi…and the little girl, Lin…they both stopped me from reaching Julie. It was all I could do to protect her body, but…"

She trailed off out of guilt. Iroh put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, pulling him away from Ayla. "We understand," he said to her. "We know you would never willingly put Julie into danger."

Zuko impatiently pulled out of his uncle's grip. "Ayla, do you know where they took her? Is there any way we can find her? Bring her back?"

But the girl shook her head slowly. "They're probably in the Spirit World, right now. And if that's true, then Koh could already have taken Julie's face. I know for a fact that the other Masks are going to try to lure Julie's spirit into his lair…"

"Can't they just drag her there by force?" Zuko snapped, not liking the idea but feeling the need to ask anyway. "They outnumber her…so it wouldn't be very hard for them to gang up on her."

But this time it was Iroh who shook his head. "Koh, like any other spirit, has his restrictions. He cannot enter our world or force another spirit to enter his lair except on the night of the Winter Solstice."

"It's true," Ayla agreed. "The veil between our world and the Spirit World is what keeps the face-stealer in check…otherwise he would reach out past his own lair and steal every face he can get his creepy little centipede legs on." She contemplated that for a moment. "Most likely the ancient spirits that created Koh put that barrier in place to keep him from causing chaos in the two worlds."

Zuko scowled. "But why even create a being like Koh at all? I don't understand…"

"Good and evil are part of the balance," Iroh explained. "The same balance that is protected by the Avatar. Doubtless his very existence provides a check on the force of good that the Avatar represents…and just as the Avatar has his limitations, so does Koh. It is the natural order of things."

"And so," Ayla concluded. "Koh has his Masks. Each Mask embodies one of the four elements of the human spirits…Joy, Sorrow, Pleasure, and Love…and those Masks are what lure unsuspecting spirits into Koh's lair. They have to come willingly, but they also have to be invited in by one of the Masks. Anyone else searching for Koh wouldn't be able to find him otherwise."

Zuko didn't like the sound of this. "So I take this to mean that we can't follow Julie unless Koh wants us to."

Ayla winced. "Yeeeeeeah."

There was a tense silence amongst the trio. Iroh was watching Zuko intently, worry evident on his face. There seemed to be some deep, unspoken fear that echoed out of every pore in the older man's body, a fact that was not lost on his nephew. Zuko slowly met his uncle's gaze and frowned.

"Koh has a grudge against you," he stated. "For taking Anju away."

Iroh frowned. "Yes. And so it would be very reckless to go walking into his lair."

Zuko was careful not to look him in the eyes as he let his thoughts out into the open. "Koh probably would like nothing better than to take your face…or mine. He'd be settling an old score that way…"

That got a reaction out of the retired general.

"Are you out of your _mind_, Prince Zuko?!" Iroh stood at his full height, putting himself in between Ayla and Zuko as he stared angrily into the boy's determined eyes. "Think about what you're saying! You would risk dying at the hands of that monster just for the slight chance of saving Julie?"

Ayla stared at the Fire Prince's back, respect and gratitude radiating from her expression. "You…you would really do that? But…it's so dangerous…"

"I don't care." Zuko's tone was blunt. "I can't leave her like this." He stared defiantly at his uncle. "Yes, she's made a lot of mistakes…ones that I don't know if I can forgive. But…it doesn't change how I feel about her! And I know for a fact that she wouldn't abandon me if she was the one who had to make this choice!"

"Zuko…"

He stabbed a finger at Ayla's face, pointing at the bandaged eye. "Julie took that wound for me. When I was trapped inside my own head, reliving the worst moment of my life over and over again…she jumped in between me and father and took the blow for me! She brought me back!" Slowly, he lowered his arm and glared at Iroh. "I don't know if she let the Avatar go free or not…but I know that girl isn't my enemy, Uncle!"

Iroh closed his eyes, kneading the bridge of his nose with his hand. "Please…Zuko, I…if anything were to happen to you…I don't think I can afford to lose another son…" his voice cracked in anxiety.

Zuko's expression lost some of its hardness. "You won't have to. I'll bring her back…I _have _to. We'll both come back to you. You'll see."

Ayla swallowed a lump in her throat before jumping to her feet. She looked determined.

"He won't be going alone," she announced. "I'm going with him. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to him, General Iroh. You have my word."

The Dragon of the West slowly opened his eyes, an echo of his old grief etched on to his face. "Ayla, I would rather go myself. It would put my mind at ease if I can remain by my nephew's side until the very end. And someone must stay behind to watch over Julie's body. Can you do that for me?"

Ayla looked confused. "I don't understand…I…I could protect Prince Zuko!"

"I don't need protecting!" Zuko protested, but, of course, no one listened to him.

Iroh smiled half-heartedly. "You will have to forgive me. I am not questioning your strength or your courage…but it would put my mind at ease if I were there with him every step of the way. After all," he said, glancing at his nephew. "I _did _warn Koh. I told him I would not stand idly by while he tried to steal more loved-ones from me."

"Uncle…"

Ayla stared at them, her eyes wide. "You both…you truly care for each other…" She dropped her gaze to her lap. "And you both have strong spirits, too…" She smiled softly, but her eyes were sad. "Julie's really lucky to have met you both. Family really is something special, isn't it?"

There was something strange in the way she spoke that made Zuko look at her. He saw the odd combination of fondness, envy, and doubt radiating out of her wavering red eyes. Was she having second thoughts?

No. He wouldn't allow that. He had to save Julie, no matter what.

"If we have strong spirits, then we should be able to handle whatever tricks Ramon has up his sleeve…and the face-stealer, too. So let's not waste any more time, Ayla. If you can take us to the Spirit World, hurry up and do it."

Ayla responded with a slow, resigned nod. "All right. But…you shouldn't be so sure of yourselves. The Spirit World is a dangerous place for humans. Even the Avatar isn't entirely safe from its inhabitants…so be careful. For your sakes _and _for Anju's…I mean, Julie's."

Zuko seemed satisfied with her renewed determination, but Iroh frowned, troubled by something. However, he remained silent as Ayla made Julie's body stand up. Her knees buckled, and Zuko quickly caught her before she could fall.

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you." Her eyes started to glow. "Let's begin."

The crimson light erupted from her body and surrounded the uncle and nephew in a pulsing embrace. Zuko slowly let go of the spirit girl and moved to stand beside Iroh, who placed a hand on his shoulder. They exchanged a long gaze, one that communicated more than words ever could.

The light flared brilliantly, and then faded. The two Firebenders were gone. Or rather, their spirits were.

By all appearances, Zuko and Iroh were sitting side by side on the floor by the bed, napping. This was the way they were found when the door to the other room was practically torn off its hinges and a very startled Bo-Fen limped into the room, followed by Shim.

"What the hell happened in here?" she demanded, but froze upon seeing Julie standing upright.

The girl turned and smiled at the female soldier with an expression so radiant that it actually made her back up a step or two and bump into Shim. She blinked bewilderedly for a few moments as she digested the sight of Zuko and Iroh slumped on the floor beside Yoshi, who was still waiting very patiently on his back like a _good _dog.

Bo-Fen face-palmed.

"Dammit, Ayla," she grumbled. "If I had known you were going to show up, I wouldn't have let Shen-Long run off to play messenger-boy. He's going to be _so _pissed when he finds out."

The redhead winced. "He…he isn't here?"

"Just missed him, I'm afraid."

Shim just looked at the possessed Julie, glanced down at the sleeping pair of royals on the floor, and nodded in satisfaction. "This," he said proudly. "…is a fine day for science."

* * *

**A/N: A fine day for science, indeed.**

**So. So? What did you guys think?**

**Okay, I know this chapter is way heavy on the angst. I think it's safe to say that anything Koh or Ramon-related is going to delve heavy in some deep, sensitive subjects. I'm not especially inclined to try a comedy piece with the face-stealer, either. Not in **_**this **_**fanfic, anyway. **

**So, Lin basically made Julie think she was undergoing this rite of passage to unlock her bending. Instead, Julie wound up in the heart of Koh's lair. But just what are her true intentions? I admit, I'm having way too much fun having the Masks speak so cryptically. It gives me so much flexibility to let them grow as they please. I give them a base nature and allow them to act on it…and this way it leaves you readers to interpret everything they say as you see fit.**

**It's fun, right?**

**As for Shen-Long, he's having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Julie could be the reincarnation of Anju, not Ayla. And obviously he doesn't want to believe it. I didn't go into much detail here (besides the usual exposition stuff), but Anju had a very complicated past. Shen-Long reveals in his thoughts that she was the one who destroyed the happy village his past-self, Rena, and Ayla all lived in.**

**I originally had flashbacks with his POV, but then the chapter-length shot up to ridiculous proportions. For the same reason I had to cut the part featuring the Gaang and save it for the next chapter. It was a tough choice, but I realized that the scenes in each chapter should have a relatively similar theme…and the scenes I chose were the most closely related.**

**However, the good news is that I should be able to update quicker next time. After all, half the work is already done for me. Now that's what I call getting a head start.**

**Aww, yeah! REVIEW!**

**P.S. How many of you guys can spot the Slender reference I dropped in the chapter! Find it! Find Slenderman like you'd find Waldo! DO IT!**


	100. AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

**AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**

_Okay, guys. So, about a month or so ago I posted a poll on my profile asking if you guys wanted a Facebook page. First off, let me thank everyone who took the time to vote. I know it's seriously time-consuming to click a button on someone's profile, not to mention strenuous and bad for one's health. But you guys did it anyway. So, guess what? You guys are kick ass! Keep sticking it to the Man!_

_It seems like a good idea, too. I understand that not everyone who reads fanfiction makes an account on this website, and that's perfectly fine. But almost everyone has a Facebook page. It stands to reason that Facebook would, therefore, be more accessible to you, the Readers; especially since Facebook is currently the most popular social-networking website on the Internet._

_Of course, I could be wrong in that assumption. If so, I apologize. I'm just trying to branch out a little, that's all._

_So, YOLO. I posted the Facebook page. Go look it up. It'll be called, **"Happy Endings, a fanfic saga by Distantmoon."** I know that's not what my penname looks like, but for some reason it wouldn't let me save it as Distant-Moon. So if you have a Facebook account and really like this story, please take the time to Like the official fan-page. It would really mean a lot to me._

_I'm not sure how many Likes this page will actually get, but I intend to post status updates frequently. Sometimes it'll be work-in-progress related, other times it'll be commentary of the Author's Note variety. Not to mention the neat little detail that YOU can post stuff on the page, too. Or you can message me directly on it. Send me questions or prompts you think would be interesting for me to write. Anything you want; just no flames or anything. There's no need to be mean about it._

_For those of you expecting an actual chapter and are wondering why it isn't done yet, now you have your reason. It's almost done, though. I'm about five-thousand words into it and will hopefully have it ready soon. I also realize that a lot of people are very busy with their spring break/easter holiday, so I don't expect too many people to see this any time soon. _

_But seriously. I got five votes, so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect at least five Likes on the page. In the meantime, sit tight, ladies and gentlemen. I have a crap-ton of writing to do, and not enough time to do it before I have to go over to my parent's house for Easter...um...generic mealtime that is not directly associated with breakfast, lunch, _or _dinner. _

_See you next update!_

_~Distant-Moon~_


	101. Deadly Pursuit

**A/N: Why is it that the very minute I tell the Readers I'm going to post the next chapter on a certain day, the Universe decides it will do everything in its known power to hinder me in my goal? Literally, the minute I was done posting that status, I was inundated with time-consuming distractions.**

**But it's all good. I got it done, even if it **_**is **_**shorter than normal. You know what they say: It isn't the size that matters, it's how you use it.**

**Also, for those of you who haven't done so already (and who have a Facebook account), please check out the Happy Endings fan-page on Facebook. There will be daily status updates, sneak previews, fan-art, and even the occasional contest. I've got twenty Likes already, which is neat, except that two of them are good friends of mine who haven't actually read the fic, so it feels like cheating. Let's say a solid eighteen, then. That's a nice number.**

**And now, really quick, Ayla's going to read you guys the summary. I already promised her that she could, so no complaints from the peanut gallery.**

**Ayla: **"YAY! I'm so excited! For a moment there, I wasn't even sure if I was still _in _the story anymore!"

**Um…yeah. That tends to happen when you're a part of a story with hundreds of characters. But you're getting your own deleted scene soon. That's something to be happy about.**

**Ayla: **"I know, right? When do you think that'll be ready?"

**Dunno. I'm going into New York City this weekend, and I kind of just got a Nintendo 3DS in the mail, too, soooooooo…maybe next weekend. I have to really cram my writing sessions, but I think I can pull it off.**

**Ayla: **"Great! I bet it'll be awesome! Will I get to beat up some ninjas? Or maybe a giant dinosaur! I want to wrestle it to the ground like a gator and name it Fred!"

…**did you remember to take that **_**special **_**medicine I gave you?**

**Ayla: **"You mean the sleeping pills?"

**Yes. Those.**

**Ayla: **"Nah. I wasn't tired, so I didn't think I had to take them."

**Um…that's the point. You take sleeping pills to help you fall asleep! You were supposed to…oh, fuck it. Just read the paper I gave you.**

**Ayla: **"Okay." **(blinks at Distant-Moon) **"You seem really stressed out. You should get more sleep or something."

**Yeah. Thanks for that.**

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**Ayla: **"Okay, so what started out as a test of courage for Julie turned into a proverbial worst nightmare when Ramon showed up and revealed that she was actually in the Spirit World. It turns out that Lin's plea for help in escaping from Koh was just a ploy to lure Julie into his lair! Not only that, but Ramon is willing to do anything to dominate her again and turn her into the last of Koh's Masks!

But will Zuko let him? After I woke up in Julie's body and warned him about Ramon's plan, any doubts he had about Julie were put aside for the moment in the wake of the realization that he could lose her forever. Ignoring the potential risks, he demanded that I bring him and his uncle to the Spirit World so he could find Julie before Koh found her and stole her face. But how long will he be able to ignore the truth? Soon, he might just have to choose between his feelings for Julie and the life-quest of his she can't help but oppose.

But in the meantime, Team Avatar is in the process of kicking some major butt. All that remains is the rejuvenate the broken spirits of the downtrodden Earthbenders by capturing their biggest oppressor, the Warden of the prison rig. But will the keeper of the cells have one last trick up his sleeve?

Read and find out, bitches!"

**Hear, hear. Nuff said. Please enjoy the chapter…or I'll cry and flip a table.**

**Ayla: **"OOH! I want to help! Here goes!" :D

**CRAAAAAAAAAAASH!**

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Three: Deadly Pursuit**

The inside of the prison rig was eerily quiet save for the sound of racing footsteps on the metal. The Avatar and his friends were in full pursuit of the elusive warden, but so far they hadn't seen a trace of their enemy…or anyone else. Sokka frowned to himself as they passed hallway after hallway and still didn't see anyone. No guards, no prisoners…nothing.

"Something's not right," he muttered. "Hey, guys! Hold up a second!"

Aang had been using his Airbending to go faster, and was forced to dig his heels and skid to a stop. The momentum was still pushing him far past the others, but Kuba, noticing, snatched the monk by the back of the shirt at the last second. Holding on to a pipe on the wall, he jerked the other boy off his feet and swung him back towards the rest of the group.

Blinking in bewilderment, Aang found himself smack dab in the middle of his friends. "Um…thanks Kuba."

The young Earthbender winced, rubbing his shoulder ruefully. "I'd say no problem, but my shoulder feels like you just tried to pull it out of its socket. Good thing I'm so tough…because you're heavy."

"I'm not that heavy," the monk protested. "I'm just bigger than you. I _am _older, you know."

"Guys," Katara said, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder to get his attention. "I think Sokka had something to tell us…remember?"

The Water Tribe warrior had watched this exchange with folded arms. Aang gave him a sheepish, apologetic grin, but Kuba appeared to have no remorse. The kid just scowled right back at him, annoyed at having been scolded at all. However, in spite of that he offered no comment and waited for Sokka to speak.

"_Thanks, _Katara." The non-bender turned to the rest of the group. "Now, as I was saying…aren't you guys the least bit suspicious as to why we haven't run into anybody _at all_ in the past five minutes? I mean, this place is crawling with guards. Where are they?"

There was a troubled pause.

"Maybe they're on a break or something," said Aang hopefully.

Haru was rubbing his chin, wearing a grim expression. "More like they're _up to _something. Sokka's right. This smells like a trap."

Kuba grinned. "Good. I finally get to kick some butt. I've been waiting for this all day." He cracked his knuckles and looked pointedly at Sokka. "I'll show you guys what happens when you try to leave _me _behind with the bison."

"Well, technically, Aang stayed behind, too," Katara pointed out. "And he's the Avatar."

The boy shrugged, flexing his arm over his shoulder to stretch out his triceps. "So long as I have someone to fight…that's all that matters. I have to get stronger…and I'm definitely not going to do that by playing hide and seek with some prison guards."

Kuba looked so serious that no one could think of anything to say. If eyes were windows to the soul, then the Earthbender's spirit had to have been glowing like a stove filled with glowing coals and blazing with more determination as the seconds passed. It begged the question of whether he always had this seething ambition inside of him or if it had been brought out by some recent change.

Katara watched the boy in that moment of discomfited silence. _He wants to get stronger so badly. I can tell…he wants to find Julie more than anything. _She frowned. _I don't think that's the only thing pushing him, though…there's something else. He looks…angry._

She noticed the boy's hand ghosting over his stomach for a moment as he glared into the shadows. That was all it took for her big-sister tendencies to kick in; just as they would back when she was looking after all the younger children of her tribe. And while Kuba wasn't Water Tribe, he was certainly young enough to arouse some concern within her.

"Kuba," she said. "How's your stomach wound healing up? I haven't had a chance to look at it since we left Omashu."

The Earthbender jumped, his hand jerking away. "It's none of your business…" he snapped. "Back off."

She paused, momentarily derailed by the blatant hostility in his voice. It was as if she had flipped a switch in him, altering his mood from "confident and kick-ass" to "you better start running, bitch." But more worrying was the fact that he never really answered her question. Though he seemed fine enough since he was running around with the rest of them, so it wasn't that he was still _hurt_.

"Sorry," he muttered, his shoulders still tensed and angry. "I just…I don't want anyone messing with it. There's this scar there, and I…it's kind of gross-looking."

"It doesn't hurt, does it?"

He looked at her like she was crazy. "No. The skin's probably dead. How could I feel anything?"

Katara wouldn't have been more shocked if the kid had flat out smacked her in the face. It didn't take long for her shock to dissolve, leaving her with nothing but a sense of urgency. She was halfway to forcing the issue, but something in the boy's face made her stop.

Kuba stared at her horrified expression and sniffed dismissively. "Look, it's okay. I've got other scars. They don't hurt or anything…so quit worrying so much. You act like you've never gotten cut or bruised in your life."

What was she supposed to say to that?

"Well, it's not your fault, I guess. Not everyone can be tough like me…or like Julie. She's got marks, too. I've seen them."

Yes, Katara remembered. The healer she had worked with back on Kyoshi Island had been shocked at a particularly bad scar on the girl's stomach. _From a glass bottle, no doubt, _she had told her. _The cuts are deep, but they seem to have healed just fine…thank goodness_.

The world was such a cruel place. It had already permanently marked children like Kuba, left Katara and her brother without a mother, left Aang completely bereft of his entire race…and who knew what horrible things had happened to Julie. And the Water Tribe girl had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach that the cruelty had only just begun. Her enemies undoubtedly had something nasty waiting for them.

She needed to stay on her guard…to protect the others. Something easier said than done these days.

Meanwhile, Kuba had turned back to Sokka. "Either way I see it, we're going to need that coal if we're going to take this rig. I say we split up. I'll go and scout it out while you guys kick the Warden's butt."

The Water Tribe boy frowned down at his younger companion. "You have a point…but I think you should take someone with you as backup…or at least to help carry all that coal. There's got to be a lot of it to fuel a ship this big."

Kuba scowled. "You think I can't handle it on my own?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea for any of us to be wandering around alone now that we know the Warden's probably got some kind of trick up his sleeve. That's all."

"I'm not afraid of Firebenders," the boy muttered darkly. "Especially not of that Commander Zhao ass-hat. When I see him again, I'm going to punch his face in with a brick."

Katara was about to say something when Haru put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, much to her surprise. The other Earthbender also gave Sokka a sharp look, a silent gesture to let him handle this. Reluctantly, the two Water Tribe siblings disengaged, stepping back to watch what the other boy would do.

"You know," he said slowly. "There's this really neat Earthbending trick my father taught me when I was about your age. Maybe I could show it to you when we find that coal…assuming you let me tag along."

Kuba glanced up at him for a long moment. "_How _neat?"

Haru blinked at him. "Um…" he hesitated. "…_pretty neat_."

"Is that so?" The smaller Earthbender considered this for a moment. "Well, fine then. It's not like Bumi's going to teach me anything…not until I finish his crazy little scavenger hunt."

"Okay," said Aang. "Then Katara, Sokka and I will go look for the Warden. The three of us should be able to handle him."

"Well, probably not since he's bound to have a lot of guards with him," Sokka contradicted him without an ounce of concern in his voice. "But it's fine. If we can get the Earthbenders to back us up we should stand a chance. Just bring that coal to the yard as soon as you can."

Haru nodded. "Be careful, you guys."

"Yeah," Kuba chimed in. "It's going to be pretty embarrassing if I have to come save you from some butt-hurt Firebenders. Try to stay out of trouble until I get back."

The group moved to the next fork in the hallway. They exchanged one last parting glance before the two Earthbenders took the left path leading down, deeper into the fortress. Common sense told them that the engines would be on the lower levels of the rig, after all.

Sokka gestured towards Aang and Katara to follow him as he continued down the hallway leading straight forwards; a path that would eventually snake around to the other side of the rig. During his sole day as a guard, the Water Tribe boy had tried to internally map out the place (or at least learned where all the bathrooms and mess-halls were), which helped somewhat.

"Where are all the other prisoners?" the monk whispered to Katara. "You, Haru and his dad were the only ones tucked away back there."

"Most of the Earthbenders sleep in the yard," she whispered back. "Haru and I wanted to discuss strategy out of earshot of the other guards, so we hid over there…but I guess his dad managed to find us pretty quick. I should have realized that the guards would, too."

"Can't think of everything," Aang replied. "Anyway…if the Earthbenders are in the yard, maybe we should head there."

"Tyro said that he would try to talk to them. What _we_ need to do is take out the Warden before he finds back-up."

The young Avatar paused. "Wait…_take out_?"

_Oh, for love of Tui and La…_

"She means we need to capture him," Sokka replied. "And then we'll hand him over to the…"

He trailed off, suddenly remembering what had happened the last time Firebenders had been captured in an Earth Kingdom village they had visited. Namely, the Firebenders being burned alive as sacrifices back in Jade Valley.

If they handed the Warden and the prison guards over to the Earthbenders, would the same thing happen all over again?

_I'm being ridiculous, _he thought angrily. _We're at war. People die. It happens. And I'm not about to feel sorry for the people who invaded Kyoshi Island and did Spirits know what to Suki and the other warriors._

But it wasn't really so simple, was it? Not now that he and the others knew firsthand that the Fire Nation were people, too…even if they were technically assholes for invading the rest of the planet. The last thing he wanted or needed was for a repeat of Jade Valley.

"Sokka?"

The Water Tribe boy shook his head, derailed and upset. "It's nothing. We'll just…um…figure out what to do with him later. Let's just find him first."

Katara gave her brother a concerned look, but he ignored it.

"Let's go this way," Sokka said after a beat of silence. "I don't think we searched the cell blocks, yet."

And so they went. But if the warrior-in-training was being perfectly honest with himself, he knew the chances of finding anyone down this way were slim. He might have only been a fake prison-guard for a day, but even he knew that the only people they would see were those kept in solitary confinement and the elderly Earthbenders who Tyro knew wouldn't survive a night out in the open yard during a winter freeze. It had taken weeks of negotiation before the Warden had finally allowed it.

But with any luck, they'd also find a guard or two…and then, Sokka was ready to do some negotiating of his own to pry the Warden's whereabouts out of them.

As they neared the cell blocks, though, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

_I can hear noises up ahead…but…what?_

Sokka stopped dead in his tracks. Aang and Katara froze on either side of him, ready in their bending stances (in Katara's case, what she _thought _was a good stance since she had to learn her bending-art through trial and error). But they made no move to attack the guards standing before them, and with good reason.

Each guard had his hands on an elderly prisoner…in other words, a hostage.

"Those…" he choked back the venom he felt rising. There weren't words to describe how underhanded and cruel this was. It felt like the universe had noticed his feelings of sympathy and doubt and spat all over them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." The smug voice of Warden Takei floated towards them as row of guards parted down the middle and gave him room to move ahead into view. "I believe you were about to insult me."

Dead silence.

"What's wrong? Can't think of anything to say? Funny, how meek and quiet you all are now that I've leveled the playing field." The Warden leveled a smug glance at Katara. "What about you, girl? Don't you have any more of your _riveting _speeches?"

She winced, but said nothing.

"I didn't think so."

It was Aang who found his voice first. "Let them go, Warden! They don't have anything to do with this!"

"Oh? I disagree." The prison-keeper had a ruthless gleam to his eyes. "Were you not planning a full-out rebellion right under my nose? Is that rock-lifting lowlife, Tyro, not out in my yard as we speak trying to rile up his fellow prisoners? _No,_" he spat. "I will not allow anyone to undermine my authority. I will have order on my ship…through any means necessary."

Katara glared at him. "Wait…how do you know where Haru's father is?"

"Please. Once it became clear who and what I was dealing with, I ordered the bulk of my men into the yard to lock down the prisoners. And since those mud-people aren't with you, logic dictates that they'd be with the rest of their kind." The Warden folded his arms confidently. "And since I knew the Avatar and his friends would come looking for me, I decided to lay a trap for you. Simple, yet effective."

Sokka jolted in surprise. _He thinks Haru and Kuba are in the yard. _Quickly, he schooled his expression before anyone noticed. _Maybe we still have a chance…but only if we can buy them enough time to find the coal and bring it to the Earthbenders._

Meanwhile, Katara was entirely focused on their enemy, too angry to notice her brother's sudden epiphany.

"Cowardly is more like it," she snapped. "You can't even win a fight on your own without hiding behind a hostage!"

"I simply play to my strengths, my dear." Warden Takei narrowed his eyes. "Now I suggest you surrender quietly…unless you want something bad to happen to these frail old dirt-men."

The trio looked at each other apprehensively. Katara looked at her brother with righteous fury blazing in her cerulean eyes, but he gave her a sharp look and shook his head, silently urging her to stand down. The Water Tribe boy wished he could explain his plan to her without the Warden catching on, but for now he just had to be content that she wasn't risking the lives of the hostages.

Aang's shoulders slumped at the silent exchange, not understanding Sokka's intentions, either. But it wouldn't have made a difference if he _could _understand. There were innocent lives at stake, and he knew there was only one choice for them to make. Just one.

"We surrender," he said softly. "Just don't hurt anyone."

The Warden smiled, like a cat eying a particularly fat canary and snapped his fingers. Another three guards rushed past him to apprehend the young rebels. Before they could defend themselves, they were being jostled and quickly searched for hidden weapons. Sokka's club and boomerang were forcibly stripped away while another guard took Katara's water-skin.

"Bring them above," he ordered. "Let the mud-folk see their heroes now."

The guards tightened their grips on Aang and the others, forcing them to march. But little did they know that the young warriors they had their hands on were not the weary, broken-hearted, downtrodden prisoners of war they were used to dealing with. If anything, now they were even less inclined to give up the fight…even if they had their hands tied at the moment.

But for now, we can only guess how this particular battle will play out.

* * *

Zuko had his eyes closed when his spirit passed over from the world of the living and into the next. He could still feel his uncle's hand on his shoulder, firm and strong as it kept him steady. The transfer over felt like a sudden lurch as all sense of direction seemed to implode inside his skull, leaving only an empty static sound in his ears.

"Nephew, are you all right?"

The Fire Prince inhaled slowly and opened his eyes. Golden irises skimmed his surroundings, a dense swamp-area hidden deep in some forest area. Gnarled roots buried themselves in mud and water, and the trees were so tangled it was close to impossible to see where one ended and another began. It was like being trapped inside a knot of wood.

He frowned. "It's different from last time."

"Last time?"

"When I met the Unagi, we were in a field made entirely out of…marble, I think," Zuko answered without looking at his uncle. "And it was snowing. This place looks completely different."

Iroh didn't look surprise. "The Spirit World is constantly changing. The shifting terrain makes this an even more dangerous, unpredictable place to visit. I suggest we stick together, Prince Zuko."

The younger Firebender certainly wasn't going to argue with that. If they were to be separated, who knew if they would ever see each other again…especially if what his uncle was right about time in the Spirit World. If they lost each other, it could be years before they found each other again…let alone Julie.

An unsettling thought occurred to him. "Uncle…how do we keep track of how much time we spend here?"

The sky overheard was completely different from the sky back home. It had been the middle of the night when they had crossed over, but now it seemed to be the middle of the day. Even more frustrating was the dense cloud cover preventing him from making a sun-dial of any kind. Zuko realized that he might have just thrown himself into more danger than he initially realized.

Iroh also looked grim. "We can't. This is why I wished to accompany you, nephew. We could be here for any number of days…weeks, even…and that is if we are lucky. There are some spirits here who are known to trick humans into getting lost. If we are not careful, we could be lured into staying far longer than we intended."

Perfect.

"Then, let's not waste any time," Zuko grumbled. "The longer we sit here, the less chance we have of finding Julie before Koh does."

"I agree. Come, nephew. I think I see a path ahead."

The two Firebenders trudged through the calf-high water and climbed up the bank on the other side. Zuko looked down at himself in surprise. _My clothes are dry, _he thought. _And there isn't a speck of mud on me._

But he caught his uncle watching him and snapped back into action-mode. This wasn't the time to be distracted. Not now, with Julie lost out in this wilderness, scared and confused. She probably had no idea where she was. And if she was with that Ramon guy, on top of all that…

…Zuko really wanted to hurt that bastard.

It wasn't just that Ramon had this _history_ with Julie, though that would have been bad enough. It wasn't that he had known her for so much longer…or knew things about her that he could only guess about…or had her so intimately close that Zuko couldn't stop the smoke from coming out of his nostrils from the very _thought_ of them together. It wasn't that he wanted Julie all to himself…not really.

It wasn't her fault she fell in love with him first. It wasn't her fault that she felt this way. He knew that deep down, that she couldn't help loving Ramon in the past…but he hated that she did. Because if Julie couldn't help how she felt, how could Zuko?

How could he help but to hate Ramon? It was a futile as trying _not _to be so deeply and heartbreakingly in love with Julie.

But whatever role Ramon had played in her life before, it was clear that the only thing he wanted now was to hurt her…to hurt all of them. And Spirits…if Julie somehow still had feelings for that monster…he could break her. Zuko couldn't let that happen. Whatever Ramon had been to Julie before, it had to stop now. For her sake, even if she was too stubborn to realize it…Zuko had to make this stop. He had to find her before Ramon did.

It was a small comfort to him, one that almost made him feel guilty. But the alternative was losing Julie, and if that happened…if anything happened to Julie, he knew he would never let himself feel anything again. Not for anyone. Not ever.

Zuko took out his frustration on the thick brambles surrounding them, using his anger to push him forward. He could still feel those zombies caging him with their own limbs while Ramon gloated in his memories, threatening to do these vile things to Julie right in front of him. He couldn't forgive that. The guy was an animal and needed to be put down, whether Julie liked it or not.

_What did she ever see in him?_ _He's a monster._

Iroh caught his shoulder. "Easy, nephew. I think the trees are getting thicker the more we try to carve out a path. Perhaps we should not abuse the forest so recklessly."

The forest could go fuck itself.

"We don't have time for this!" he exploded. "I'll set this whole place on fire if it won't get out of my way!"

"You could try, but I doubt it would do us any good." Iroh did a simple Firebending move with not even the tiniest puff of flame to show for it. "See?"

Zuko punched a tree as hard as he could. Immediately, the branches lunged towards him and snaked around his arm, trapping him there. The Fire Prince choked back a cry of alarm as he was pulled into an awkward embrace with the gnarly foliage. Iroh chuckled as his nephew struggled fruitlessly to free himself.

"I think it likes you, nephew."

"Make it let go!"

Iroh rubbed his chin contemplatively. "I wonder…could the trees be trying to tell us something? Zuko, perhaps you should calm down for a moment…or at the very least stop trying to put your fist through its trunk. It isn't helping."

"If I stop fighting back, it'll _crush _me in half!"

"I don't think it will. Please…just trust me on this and _relax_."

Zuko's face was turning red from the exertion of struggling. He closed his eyes and slumped against the bark, quietly seething with rage and embarrassment. Slowly, he let the tension drain from his limbs until the only thing holding him up were those tangled branches.

Of course, that was the moment when the tree decided to let go. Zuko yelped as he suddenly dropped into the mud, splattering it everywhere upon impact.

"See?" said Iroh pleasantly. "That wasn't so hard."

The Fire Prince bit back a nasty reply and peeled himself off the ground. He glared fiery daggers at the tree as though it was his most hated foe…and at the moment, it probably was. Zuko shook off his uncle's extended hand and strode up to the tree.

There was a breath of silence. Zuko stared intently at the stubborn plant while it observed him in an infuriatingly peaceful manner. Slowly, he shifted to the left, trying to edge around the tree…and the branches immediately moved to block his path. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to go right, but the same thing happened.

"A tree," he said slowly. "There is a _tree _blocking my path, uncle…and for some unfathomable reason, I can't get past it."

"Perhaps there is a reason it won't let us through. Maybe we should try asking it."

"It's a _tree!"_

"Yes, and a very persistent one, nephew. We should not underestimate it in any way…especially not in a place like this."

Zuko sighed. He turned back to the tree. "Move," he said through gritted teeth.

The trunk seemed to tilt to the side, as if regarding the banished prince. Slowly, it shook from side to side, indicating no. To further demonstrate its point, it stretched its branches out even wider. He scowled at the relentless plant.

"Look, I need to get past there…" he tried again. "I have to find someone. If she's somewhere past here, I need to keep moving. You have to let me through."

The tree didn't budge.

"Move!" he snapped, lunging for the branches. The two were immediately locked in a vicious tug-of-war as the Fire Prince attempted to force his way through to the other side of the marsh. Iroh watched, his mouth curving into a frown as Zuko was finally thrown back into the mud.

He stepped over the prone body of his nephew and cautiously approached the tree. "Excuse me," he said politely. "Are you sure you can't let us pass?"

The tree nodded. It was _very _sure.

"Are you planted here to guard whatever is past here?" he asked.

There was a long pause before the tree shook its branches, no; very solemnly. Iroh furrowed his brow, pondering this so deeply that he failed to notice three more trees slowly ganging up on Zuko, who was still dazed from that last blow. The prince glanced up and saw his approaching foes and cursed under his breath.

"Uncle!"

"Not now, nephew," he waved a hand dismissively. "This is important."

The trees scooped up Zuko, who was squirming more violently than a fresh eel plucked from the water. The scarred teen attempted to Firebend out of instinct and failed to light up even a spark. Within seconds, he was engaged in a dangerous game of twister with the trees and losing badly.

"Uncle, help!"

Iroh, however, was more focused on his own game of twenty questions.

"You aren't here to protect what's past here," he said slowly. "You're just trying to keep us out."

The tree nodded.

"There is something very dangerous on the other side of this swamp, isn't there."

Bingo. The entire forest seemed to perk up in a tidal wave. The tree Iroh was addressing looked especially pleased and clasped its branches in delight, looking like something fresh out of a Disney movie. The older Firebender blinked in surprise as it suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke, along with the three trees that had Zuko pinned.

When the air settled, the forest was gone. It had been replaced by a swarm of beautiful women. They were all dressed in elaborate little dresses made out of leaves and flowers. The wild outfits hugged their bodies suggestively as they approached the two Firebenders.

Zuko was now lying flat on his back. Two of these alluring young ladies had his arms pinned while the third sat on his chest, her hands moving tantalizingly slow as they traced the straining muscles underneath his shirt. The bewildered prince couldn't keep the blood from rushing straight to his face, his golden eyes trying desperately to find somewhere safe to look.

Iroh, on the other hand, chuckled in mirth, watching the rest of the lovely girls swarming around his flustered nephew. "These are dryads, Prince Zuko. Tree spirits…though normally they are far too shy to take a human shape. They _really _must like you quite a lot."

Zuko choked. "Um…I…um…no, wait…stop that!" Frantically, he reached out and caught the dryad's fingers as they attempted to unbutton his shirt. Then, he hesitated, seeing the look of surprised hurt on her face. "Crap…um…it's not you. You're really pretty, but…um…I can't…"

The dryad sitting on his chest pursed her lips in sympathy while the other tree spirits started whispering in conspiracy to one another. It sounded like wind rustling through branches. For all he knew, it could have been the same thing back in his own world.

"I see," the tree girl said solemnly. "Performance issues. I hear that can happen to human males…especially in virgins and old men."

Zuko's face exploded with color. "That's not it! I just don't want to!"

"He already has a girlfriend," Iroh added helpfully. "However, if you lovely young ladies are looking for some company, I happen to be unattached for the moment. Perhaps we could—"

"UNCLE!"

"Zuko, _please_. You are throwing me off my game…"

There. That was it. The sweet, merciful sensation of an artery imploding inside of your skull…that beautiful feeling when you finally _snap _like a twig…that was exactly what the banished prince was feeling right at that moment. He was immediately torn between the desire to set the entire place ablaze and the urgent need to swallow his own tongue. As neither of those options were available to him (apparently it's physically impossible to swallow your own tongue _on purpose_), Zuko did the next best thing.

He pushed the dryad off his chest, stomped over to his uncle, and dragged him away from the swarm of tree girls and up the hill at a very angry, break-neck pace. The dryad who had initially been blocking their path gasped and sprinted after them. She lunged and caught Zuko by the back of his shirt.

"Wait! You can't go there! Something very bad lives deep within this forest!"

He turned and glared at her. "I already told you. I'm looking for someone, and I'm not leaving without her. So take your hands off of me and let me pass."

The dryad stared at him with big, doe eyes. "You don't understand…it's dangerous! And humans are so fragile! You don't even have roots!"

Zuko closed his eyes for a beat and counted to ten. It was like talking to a child, which was horrifying in a way because of the copious amounts of sex appeal radiating from the spirit's curvaceous form. He sighed and averted his gaze slightly to the left, towards the ground.

"I don't care how dangerous it is. This girl I'm looking for…she's…" he trailed off, wincing. "She's…important. To me, I mean. And I can't leave her here…not all alone. I have to bring her back."

"A girl?" the tree spirit repeated slowly. "Wait, you mean a _human _girl? I see her…she is in a moment fresh in my memory. She runs by the edge of our marsh towards the bad place. Does she have red hair?"

That got his attention, though he was thrown off by the dryad's strange use of the present tense. "That's Julie. She was here? How long ago?"

The dryad looked confused. "How…_long_?"

Iroh caught Zuko by the shoulder and turned to the confused spirit. "What my nephew means to ask is if you could possibly lead us to where the girl went. We are most indebted to you if you help us find her."

The dryad bit her lip, torn. "I can help…and I cannot. She is close…but she is also far. Finding her is tricky." She frowned. "But I can't leave the swamp. My roots are buried deep…not deep…and deeper still."

"Which is it?"

The tree girl beamed. "All of them! I am young and I am old and I am growing up and down and everywhere about! My roots are everywhere and nowhere, they're big and not-so big…isn't that wonderful?"

Zuko clenched his hands into fists. "This isn't the time for games! We need your help, _now! Today!"_

She laughed. "You're a strange human person. What is today?"

The other dryads were crowded around them now, craning their necks to get a better look at the two mortals who had wandered into their grove. Iroh caught Zuko's arm to steady him again and to restrain him from lashing out in anger at the scatterbrained spirits. He could tell the boy's patience was wearing thin.

"There is no such thing as time here, nephew," he reminded him. "And these spirits cannot understand if we try to ask them about the past…or the future."

"He is correct, child."

Another spirit stepped forth, causing all the other tree spirits to part and let her pass. She looked to be another dryad, only instead of the innocent playfulness of the girls blocking their path, this spirit looked older and much more mature. She wore a full gown of oak leaves and stood tall and proud, her manner stately and calm; much like an old tree who has weathered much and seen much.

She gave Zuko a quick look. "These trees are young. They cannot understand concepts beyond the present tense, so anything you ask of them must involve the now. However," she added. "Even if you phrased your question in the right way, they probably won't be able to help you find the girl you are looking for. They see a girl running by in a moment that could have occurred long ago, yet they will think it has just happened. So it is with everything here."

Iroh bowed to her. "You seem to have a great understanding of things, though I'm afraid I did not catch your name."

The tree woman smiled at him mysteriously. "That's because I didn't give it."

"Oh?"

"And even if I were to tell you, I doubt you'd be able to understand it. Humans weren't meant to speak the language of trees." Her visage turned serious again as she seemed to gaze off into the distance. "As for my understanding of things, I can only say that I have lived long enough to understand the illusion you humans call _time_. In this moment, I am an old tree."

Zuko scowled, not in the mood for philosophy or quantum-whatevers. "We get it. This place is crazy. Everyone here is crazy. Maybe I'm crazy, too. It doesn't matter." He moved closer, staring up into the statuesque spirit's eyes with an intimidating stare. "If you know where Julie is, lead me to her."

"And why should I do that?"

He squared his shoulders. "Because she's an Energybender," he growled. "I don't know if this means anything to you, but an evil spirit called the face-stealer is looking for her right now. And if he catches her, I don't know what he'll do."

The dryad gave a start. "Koh?" She hugged her arms to her sides. "No, child. Even if you could persuade me to venture into such a deadly place, I cannot enter that monster's lair unless invited. However…" she hesitated. "…if you're absolutely determined to meet the face-stealer, I can tell you which direction to travel in. Your Julie should be somewhere near there if he hasn't collected her face already."

Zuko opened his mouth to argue, but Iroh caught him by the arm, interjecting. "_Thank you_," he said, pulling his nephew away from the tree-woman. "We are grateful for whatever help you can offer."

"But—"

He was cut off again as the dryad pointed a slender finger up the slope. "Take the path out of the marsh. Eventually you will come across another spirit that takes the form of a hog-monkey dressed in a monk's robes, and if you interrupt his meditation he is sure to point the way straight into Koh's lair out of spite."

Zuko blinked. "We have to trick a spirit into…trying to trick us?"

"To find the way, yes. I dare not stretch my roots past the marsh, so my knowledge of the area is limited."

Wonderful.

"Fine then," he grumbled. "Let's just go then. We've wasted enough time as it is."

It didn't bode well that the only thing they could rely on were ill-intentioned spirits up ahead that would try to lead them astray. But then, Zuko was used to antagonism. Ever since his banishment, it had felt like the entire world was against him…more so than usual, lately. It shouldn't have even surprised him that the Spirits were out to get him, too.

Iroh bowed a farewell to the dryad before following his nephew dutifully up the slope. "You should show your respect, Prince Zuko. The tree spirits take a great risk in pointing the way to us."

He clenched his hands into fists, making the faint stripes on his fingers turn white. "I owe the Spirits nothing, Uncle…and especially not my respect."

His voice was as cold and sharp as the sharp edge of an icicle…or a steel sword. It was enough to sway the military tactician not to force the issue, much as he loathed to disagree with the boy. There was simply nothing more to say.

"All they do is take," Zuko muttered sullenly, unable to let the silence stand for some reason. "As if they haven't taken enough from me already…"

Iroh waited for him to say more, but that was as much of a confession as he was going to get out of his nephew for the moment. Ordinarily, the Fire Prince was a man of action over empty words, and the same was true of him now. He would fill in the unspoken words with every ounce of effort he put into finding Julie…and bringing her home.

For it was clear what Zuko had meant. _I can't lose her. I won't let them take her away. I already lost everything else, and I can't lose her on top of it all._

But no man has a say in what he can or can't lose…or what prices had to be paid for the greater good. It was something Iroh himself had to learn the hard way when he lost his son…lost Lu Ten…and then had to leave him behind with the rest of Koh's nameless collected faces. Those poor, unsalvageable souls he had also left behind…they had paid a price, too.

This was a lesson Zuko had to learn on his own. Iroh could not learn it for him.

* * *

It was cold and dark.

My body felt like it was enveloped in something thick and viscous, something that sapped my strength as I tried to move. The moment I had been pulled under I was in full panic mode, using every ounce of will I could muster into pushing myself back up, towards the surface. But I was too slow and sluggish, and no matter how hard I tried I found myself sinking deeper and deeper.

This felt so familiar…the feeling of being submerged. Not being able to breathe…sinking lower and lower…slowly losing consciousness…

_No._

I had to stay awake. If I passed out, I was going to die…or whatever it was that happened to spirits in a place like this. Whatever it was, it couldn't have been anything good. I had to keep trying. I couldn't let myself give up.

Faces started flashing in my mind's eye…all the faces of people I had met over the past few weeks…people I cared about. Shen-Long and Bo-Fen…Kuba…Ayla…my little bad-ass, Yoshi…Jee…General Iroh…hell, even Team Avatar was here. After a while I started seeing people from my own world, people who I went to school with, people I saw on the street every day, people in Ramon's gang, Jessie and her family…so many faces.

There was just one person missing…one person I was almost relieved wasn't here; but someone I also wanted to see more than anyone else. His absence made it seem as if the cold was coming from inside of me. I felt despair.

"_I don't want you anymore."_

"Zuko?"

Why was I hearing his voice down here? There was just no way Zuko could have found me in the Spirit World. Even if he was pissed enough to hunt me down all this way…he was only human.

And yet as I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into Zuko's golden eyes, narrowed at me in hatred, disgust…and betrayal.

"_You lied to me."_

There was no mistaking the accusation in his voice. It was enough to punch a fresh hole where my heart should have been. I felt even colder and more afraid than I had before.

"_I could have been home by now," _he said angrily. "_I could have been happy. Why did you have to ruin it? After everything I did for you…I risked my life to protect you, and you betrayed me!"_

"Zuko…" I wanted to reach out a hand towards him, but I couldn't move. "I didn't mean…it's not what you think! Please, you have to believe me! I…I wasn't trying to hurt you…"

His expression was so icy that I could have cried. "_You know what I think? I think you're a miserable, selfish peasant whore. I think you're the kind of person that spreads misery wherever she goes. You just couldn't stand the thought of me being happy, could you?"_

"That's not true!"

"_You knew that once I got my honor back, I wouldn't want anything to do with you. Why would the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation waste his time fraternizing with a piece of trash like you?" _

I was shocked into silence. Was that really what Zuko thought of me now?

"_Look at you," _he kept going. "_You're disgusting…scrawny and ugly…it's no surprise to me that you threw yourself at the first guy who would have you, you little slut."_

I clasped my hands over my ears and shook my head. This was wrong. Zuko wouldn't say these things to me, even if I deserved it. He couldn't have hated me this much…could he? Even if all the things he said were true…_were _they true?

"_You were desperate. It's pathetic. I can't even stand to look at you anymore."_

I cringed and curled into a ball, trying to shut out the sound of his voice. Silently, I willed him to stay away from me. This hurt too much…and I was too much of a coward to take it anymore. I squeezed my eyes shut and wished I could die here. Anything to make Zuko be quiet. Anything to make him leave.

"_You deserve much worse than this, you know." _He glared at me. I could feel it, even if I couldn't see it. "_Nice to know your ex-boyfriend still has a soft spot for a worthless bitch like you. I'd kill you myself if you weren't already dead."_

Those words chilled me to the bone.

"I'm not dead," I breathed. "What are you talking about?"

"_Are you serious? It's bad enough that you lie to me…but to lie to yourself? That's beyond crazy. You're so messed up and broken…"_

"_You're _the crazy one," I snapped, burying my face in my thighs. I was suspended in a fetal position while Zuko continued to float around my body like an angry wasp. "I'm alive! I know I'm alive! Just because I'm in the Spirit World doesn't mean I'm dead, you know!"

_He is right, _another voice interrupted me. I could sense Iroh drifting to my other side. "_You just refuse to accept the truth. You died a long time ago, Julie. Think back. Try to remember the night you came to this world…what really happened on that bridge?"_

"What?"

What were they talking about? The night I came here…it felt like another lifetime ago. It was so fuzzy in my mind that I could barely bring the memory into focus. But…there wasn't anything wrong with me. Everything had happened so fast…and there was a good chance I had blacked out a lot of things I didn't want to remember. I mean, was that so surprising? It was a traumatic accident.

My heart pounded in my ears as I tried to think. Suddenly, the fact that I couldn't remember much…that almost seemed like proof in and of itself. _Come on, _I thought frantically. _I can remember. What happened that night? _

I had been on the bridge, right? And I ran into that mugger…he had chased me into the road, and then I…the car hit me. The car hit me and I fell off the bridge…right?

Zuko made an incredulous sound. "_You think THAT'S what happened?" _

"It's my memory," I shot back defensively. "And last time I checked, _you _weren't there. How would you know?"

He ignored that. "_I hate to break it to you, but that's not how physics work, Julie. You don't get hit by a car going _forwards_ and get sent flying _sideways _at a ninety-degree angle…off a bridge and into the water. I know it…and you know it, too." _

Iroh was at my other side now. "_Why don't you give that answer another try? Think harder. What really happened? What happened that you won't let yourself remember?"_

Zuko joined his questioning. "_Can you even remember the day before all this happened? What happened to you before you went to Jessie's house? Did you go to school that day? Where were you?" _

I felt bewildered and dizzy. "I…I was…shut up! I can remember! Just give me a minute!"

I was trembling, flipping through my patchy memories and getting more hysterical with every empty moment I came across. There were too many blanks. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I remember anything? And why hadn't I noticed earlier?

"_You made yourself forget," _Zuko told me bluntly. "_And you deliberately kept yourself from thinking about it. You couldn't handle the truth."_

"What truth? I don't even know what you're talking about!"

Iroh's voice turned gentle…sad…and very disappointed in me. "_You jumped."_

Two words. Those two words were all it took to completely upend the flat surface my world rested on, sending me in a erratic tailspin. _You jumped. You jumped. You jumped. _They slammed home deep into my skull, echoing over and over again.

"_You weren't knocked off the bridge," _Zuko spat. "_It wasn't an accident. You tried to kill yourself. You couldn't handle it anymore, so you lied to Jessie about where you were going. You took yourself up to the bridge and you jumped."_

"No!" I yelled at him. "You're crazy! Why would I do that? I…I didn't want to die!"

Right?

"_The bridge isn't even _near _your house," _he told me. "_Or did you forget that, too?"_

I clutched my head, blinking back tears. "I…I don't know…I don't know…! I don't fucking know! Just shut up and leave me alone!"

It felt like the entire world was spinning around me. I was so overwhelmed I couldn't even think straight. The fact that I was sinking in this…weird abyss…the fact that Zuko and his uncle were both somehow down here with me…that they both seemed to hate me for my betrayal…and now, this. I couldn't handle being _dead _on top of that mountain of proverbial shit.

I honestly couldn't remember what happened the night I fell into the Avatar world; not clearly, anyway. And if I couldn't even trust my own memories…how the hell could I tell what was real anymore?

There was only madness left for me, no matter which way I looked.

"_Admit it," _Zuko growled at me. "_You wanted to die. You're just a worthless peasant who causes problems for other people…your life had no meaning. You should be dead._"

I gritted my teeth. "Y-you're wrong! I keep telling you, I never wanted to _die! _I wasn't _ready _to die!" Why the hell couldn't he believe that? "It was a mistake…all of this is just one big, ugly mistake…it's all wrong!"

"_Everything about you is all wrong,_" he snapped back. "_Everything, from your looks to your personality. No one's even going to care that you're gone, you know. Your own father hated you…your ex-boyfriend probably wants to torture and kill you…and I think I'm going to let him. Good riddance."_

Something inside of me snapped.

"No."

My voice was flat, like the business end of an iron skillet. You know that point where you finally say to yourself that enough is freaking enough? Well, this so-called prince just pushed me way over that particular edge.

"Zuko wouldn't say these things," I said in a low voice. "He may say some mean shit when he's mad…and I probably have him absolutely livid right now. But there is no way he'd leave me to die in a place like this...no matter how much I deserve it. Not if he could help it." I looked away, feeling sick to my stomach. "That's just the kind of stupid, noble guy he is."

The "prince" narrowed his eyes at me. "_You're absolutely crazy. You can't even remember trying to take your own life…and now you think I'm a fake Zuko? Just because I'm…what was it again? Too mean?" _He let out a bark of humorless laughter. "_I'm about to get a lot meaner, cupcake. You haven't begun to see how mean I can get._"

Oh, hell no.

"I did a lot of stupid, terrible things in my life," I said slowly, raising my head to lock gazes with him. "And I made a ton of mistakes…things I can never take back. And I probably _do _deserve to be here right now. I'll admit that right now." I uncurled from my defensive ball and clenched my hands into fists. "But don't you _dare _try to tell me you know me better than I know myself! You can't even do a convincing Zuko, you fucking moron! And I'm not going to let you insult him with your terrible acting!"

The fake Zuko stared at me incredulously. "_What?"_

I ignored his confusion. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not remembering things right for some reason. But no matter what crazy shit is happening inside my head, I will always know who I am. And I know Zuko better than that, too! He tried to protect me from Ramon, even after hearing what I did! And that's the least of what he's done for me!"

I squared my shoulders, showing them that I wasn't going to let them intimidate me anymore. I was done letting these imposters fill my head with lies, trying to drive me crazy. When it comes right down to it, you have to be your own judge…you have to decide right and wrong for yourself. Who you are, who you choose to trust, the actions you take…even the things you believe in…those choices would always be mine, no matter how many mistakes I made in the process.

And there was one mistake I was tired of making: Not trusting the right people.

"Zuko earned my trust a long time ago," I told the fakes. "And all you guys have tried to do is try to trick me into thinking I'm dead. You're probably just illusions Ramon made to trick me into giving up. But I think I know myself better than you…well enough to know that I would never try to jump off a fucking bridge! And even if I were even _remotely _suicidal, I still wouldn't be dumb enough to take your word for anything!"

So, there.

I waited for them to concede defeat, to crumble into ashes or disappear…or something. But instead, I found myself caught off guard by the extremely off-putting grin pulling the edges of fake-Zuko's mouth from ear to ear. It was so unlike the real Zuko…hell, it was so _inhuman_-looking that I jolted backwards. I kind of expected his head to split open like an alien's or tentacles to start crawling out of his eyes. Something gross like that.

Fake-Iroh looked no better. It was really unsettling to watch their eyes turning black as they slowly shed their disguises. I watched in silent horror as their features blurred together in a delighted grimace that promised my imminent, slow, and painful demise.

_I think maybe I should leave now._

Only problem was, I had no idea which way was up. I had gotten completely turned around down here, so for all I knew I could end up throwing myself deeper into the abyss. And what if there were more of these despair-inducing monsters lurking around? My sanity was barely intact as it was.

"_You should have let the madness consume you,_" said fake-Iroh. "_You know, there happens to be a little bit of madness in every person's spirit. To embrace that madness is to discover true liberation…and there is no more uplifting feeling than that of throwing off the shackles of reason._"

I blinked. "Um…what?"

Fake-Zuko just shrugged. "_I don't really understand half of what he says. He tends to speak in long, drawn-out metaphors that go completely over my head._"

Huh. Just like the _real _Zuko and Iroh. Nice to know that some things were consistent, even here in the topsy-ass-turvey Spirit World.

"_In other words,"_ fake-Iroh clarified. "…_you're about to wish you had surrendered your mind when you had the chance."_

Um…well, shit.

"You know what? Let me just take a moment to say that a man's preoccupation with shackles of any kind tend to hint that, HEY! WHAT'S THAT OVER THERE?!"

The fake Firebenders wheeled around to look at what I was pointing at. By the time they realized what I had done and turned back around, I was already swimming away from them as fast as I could go. I was hauling ass doing a weird variation of the front-crawl stroke since I had never technically learned how to swim. I was way better at sinking and drowning.

It didn't really matter though. Head start or no, it wasn't long before fake-Zuko and fake-Iroh were after me. And you might find this surprising, but both of them could swim way better than I could. You wouldn't expect that from a couple of guys from the Fire Nation, but there you go.

However, seeing as my life was on the line, I was desperately missing the stereotype that Fire Nation types hated water and couldn't swim.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw that they were rapidly gaining on me. Holy crap, this was bad. I meant it when I said I didn't want to die. I really, really wanted to live…or at least not get devoured by a couple of slobbering demons!

Taking that peek completely ruined whatever momentum I had going for me. I was a sitting duck, and could only watch as fake-Zuko and fake-Iroh stretched their jaws wide open and literally _vomited _out what looked like raw, oozing darkness from their gaping mouths. I screamed and shielded my eyes, expecting it to melt my skin and eat through my bones, like acid.

Instead, it felt like someone had spritzed me with Febreeze or something…only a lot colder. Well, at least I could rule out the possibility of chemical burns.

I opened my eyes and saw that the entire world around me had gone completely dark. I had no idea where I was or where the two fakes had gone. I was just floating in a sea of black that was so all-consuming, so overwhelming that I felt like I was being crushed by it. My mind struggled to make sense of what was happening to me and had to shut down repeatedly before I went insane.

_They want me to go crazy, _I thought over and over again. _And if I go crazy, I won't be able to stop Ramon from bringing me to Koh. _

Hell, if I lost my mind, I'd probably go with him willingly. So, no matter what I saw, no matter what happened, I had to stay in control. I couldn't believe anything I heard while I was sinking in this void…especially not some crap about me trying to kill myself. I know who I am. I would always know who I am.

_I am me. I am no one else. I am Julie, and I want to live. I have to get out of this place._

"_You'll never leave,_" Zuko's voice broke the silence. "_Not until you accept the truth._"

I shook my head firmly. _It's a lie…it's a lie…it's all wrong._

"_Still in denial?_" Iroh's voice sounded even more disappointed. "_Then I suppose we will just have to show you what really happened…_"

I saw a speck of light in the distance.

"_You brought this on yourself…_"

The light grew brighter and brighter until it consumed me. I couldn't escape the blinding glare. It felt like the light was actually piercing _through _my body, exposing every ounce of darkness trapped inside of me. Every secret, every fear, everything I ever wanted to hide from the world…all of it was rushing out of my soul to escape the light. I couldn't hide.

"No…"

I whited out.

* * *

_Bzzzzzzzzzzt…Bzzzzzzzzzzt…Bzzzzzzzzzzt…_

What the hell was vibrating?

_Bzzzzzzzzzzt…Bzzzzzzzzzzt…Bzzzzzzzzzzt…_

Sleepy and miserable, I started groping blindly in the dim lighting of the room, looking for the thing that was making the buzzing sound. Eventually, my searching fingers found the nightstand and closed around a small, rectangular object. Instinctively, I jammed my thumb against the buttons, effectively silencing the cell phone alarm before pressing my face back into my pillow and going back to sleep.

…

…

…wait a minute.

My eyes snapped open. "What the fuck? Cell phone?" I shot up so fast that I could hear the joints in my neck cracking. "Cheap crappy mattress…moldy sheets…shapeless pillow…"

I gasped, looking around my bedroom in a daze. It was all there. The rickety folding tray-table I used as a nightstand, the peeling paint on the walls, the stray pipe that ran along the top of my ceiling and heated my bedroom (which was also where most of my clothes were dangling on their respective hangers), the window with the cracked panes of glass leading out to the fire escape…everything was right where it belonged.

More importantly, _I _was where I belonged.

"I'm…home…"

I sat there in total silence as I let this sink in.

Now, give me a moment to evaluate the situation. I have been gone, stranded in another strange universe for almost three months. For weeks now, I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out how I was going to get home. I should have been fucking ecstatic. I mean, this was what I've been praying for practically from the moment I was dunked in the water.

Maybe I was still in shock…but all I could feel was tired and empty.

"I'm home," I said again, slumping back under the thin blanket. For some reason, I just couldn't muster up any real joy.

Seriously, what the fuck?

"So, it was all just a dream," I mumbled, trying to bunch up my pillow into a more comfortable shape. I had gotten way too used to the soft, fluffy bedding Jee had bought me. "Just a dream," I said again, because it clearly wasn't sinking in.

All the people I had met…they had all been a dream? Having people care about me for the first time since Jessie…that had just been a dream?

_Zuko_ was just a dream?

Oh, fuck. I was _crying_.

"I'm right where I belong," I muttered angrily, punching my pillow and ignoring the tears blurring my vision. "Everything's going to be fine now. No religious nutcases trying to enlist me…no ape-faced Firebending admirals trying to kill me…no overzealous, misguided Lieutenants trying to make a lady out of me…no stupid, angry, noble...brave…stubborn-as-fuck asshole prince to…to _ruin _everything…it's perfect."

Everything was the way it should be. This was where I deserved to be. So why did it feel like my heart was breaking?

* * *

You know how they say you never know what you have until it's gone?

That's hard enough to deal with. Just take my word for it, homesickness and loss, it's a real bitch. But at least you can move forward from there. You can accept that what you had was gone and find a way to get on with your life. I mean, it _sucks, _but at least it's not impossible.

But what do you do when you've lost something…that you can't even prove that you had to begin with?

Well?

What do you do?

_Zuko…_

* * *

**A/N: The End.**

…**this came way too late for April Fool's Day. Plus, I think you guys are smart enough to figure out that this is nowhere near the end of the story. And yet, wow. Julie suddenly finds herself back home in her own world, as though she never left.**

**Sounds kind of too good to be true, right? (evil grin)**

**Okay, so obviously I took some liberties in writing the Spirit World. I imagine that my fanonverse is going to deviate heavily from main canon once Book II of Legend of Korra comes out. Not to mention the rest of The Search comics, which I'm pretty sure has spirits in it.**

**It's the unexplored terrain, and Bryke are currently exploring the ever-loving-fuck out of it. So don't be surprised if my whole "no time in the Spirit World" thing doesn't stick. I mean, it'll hold true in my story universe, but if it's not canon, that's not my fault. I mean…the story is pretty much AU, anyway, right?**

**Ahem. So…the dryads. I know it's technically Greek mythology, not the Asian-esque culture we normally see in Avatarverse. However, I wanted to make the Spirit World as topsy-turvy as possible…I wanted a place that would completely throw humans out of their native element. The answer came to me, surprisingly, while watching an episode of Teen Titans; the one where the Titans go to Starfire's home planet so that she can get married to a giant blob thing and create romantic tension between her and her canon pairing.**

**That episode.**

**Basically, since it's an alien planet, her friends can't get a grasp of the culture, and can't even tell what's a bed, what's a chair, or what's alive. And I decided that I wanted the Spirit World to be kind of the same way. Everything there should technically be alive. Everything.**

**Hence, Zuko and Iroh's interaction with the **_**very **_**friendly tree spirits.**

**The Spirits are only going to get weirder from here on out. I mean, the way I see it, Spirits are basically aliens in their own right. If they thought like humans and behaved like humans, they wouldn't need an Avatar to act as a bridge between the two planes. So I'm going to treat them like alien-ghosty-things.**

**Anyway, I just hope you guys like my rendition of the Spirit World. I'll admit, it has me pretty worried. WHAT IF IT SUCKS?! D:**

**Ahem.**

**Finally, getting back to the Gaang, some of you are probably wondering about Kuba's intense reaction to Katara's mothering. I promise that the reason for it, as well as his increasing determination to throw himself at Firebenders, is happening for a reason. But that particular shell won't get cracked until much later in the story. However, I feel like Katara, who is definitely the most nurturing out of anyone else in the group, would be the first to pick up on the fact that something might be wrong.**

**I'll give you a hint, though. It has **_**something **_**to do with what happened at Kyoshi. And also with Bumi's scavenger hunt. Ha! Try to figure that out!**

**So…yeah. What's going to happen now? What does the Warden have planned for Team Avatar now that they're in his clutches? Will Kuba and Haru be able to find the coal? And what will Julie do now that she's back home? Will Zuko be able to find her?**

**So many questions you will I'd spoil for you. But no such luck. Go review now.**

**REVIEW!**


	102. Sister, Mine

**A/N: Hey, y'all.**

**So, first off, kudos to everyone who liked the Facebook page so far. You guys rock. And on a similar vein, I should probably apologize to those of you who love the fic but do not have a Facebook account; you guys are also quite awesome. I should not have implied that you were **_**less **_**awesome than other people.**

**Also, it seriously didn't occur to me that so many people wouldn't have a Facebook. It's why I got so excited when someone made the suggestion; I thought, hey! Here's a way to reach out to people without a account! Perfect! **

**I have a lot to learn about life and people, obviously. (sigh)**

**Maybe I should edit that author's note so that it doesn't sound nearly as bitchy. I **_**could **_**do that. Probably should. I mean, I don't want to seem like some whiny person with a keyboard who DEMANDS love from the fans constantly. It's presumptuous and annoying. So, yeah. My bad, guys.**

**In other news, I am totally psyched for May 4****th****, which is Free Comic Day (in case you didn't know). On the first Saturday of May, participating comic book stores give away certain titles for **_**free**_**. AND I heard that there's supposed to be an Avatar free comic featuring Mai as she "deals with her broken heart."**

**SPOILER ALERT: **

**{{{Yeah. Mai and Zuko broke up in The Promise, Part II.}}}**

**Okay, it probably sounds like a cheesefest, and I know that some of you might not be Maiko fans. Personally, I think it's a pretty good pairing (surprise, surprise, right? I mean, I'm writing a Zuko x OC fic) all things considered. And Mai's pretty cool. I'd like to see more of her, especially if this comic shows her growing more independent and asserting herself as a good, solid character of the show; not just "girl-who-gets-paired-with-Zuko-in-canon."**

**The worst that can happen is that she'll get sloppily portrayed as "girl-who-realizes-she-can't-live-without-Zuko-and -goes-crawling-back-to-him-in-the-end." In which case…well…at least I might be able to glean some canon tidbits about the Avatar-world itself. Maybe I can scrap some inside information about life as a Fire Nation noble for future reference (i.e. for use in the mainfic…somewhere).**

**Anyway, I'll stop babbling. If you guys get the chance, go grab yourselves a copy. I mean, come on. It's FREE. What do you stand to lose?**

…**don't answer that.**

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Four: Sister, Mine**

_I'm home…I'm home…_

The realization was crushing me, and I hugged my blanket tighter around my shoulders as the seconds passed in silence. It just seemed so impossible, yet so normal…so familiar in a way I haven't been able to feel in a long time. I knew better than to try to get out of bed; I knew my legs wouldn't be able to hold me up.

_This is how it feels to be in my room._

I soaked in every sensation; the sights, the smells, the textures, everything. The awkward springs in my cheap mattress were pushing up against my spine, the ordinary cotton sheets swaddled my trembling body (the kind you could buy at a value-mart for about ten or fifteen bucks), the slightly corroded metal bed frame was just as flimsy as I remembered it…I ran my fingers along the surface, registering its chill. That was when I realized that the heat was off in the house.

_Dad never paid that bill on time. Typical._

My heart skipped a beat and almost stopped all together. _Dad_.

He was here, in this house. I felt goose-bumps pushing up from under my skin as I forced back the urge to shiver. I tried not to imagine what he would say or do when he realized I was finally back. Hopefully he would be asleep in his La-Z-Boy recliner again…or maybe sprawled out on his bed with his shoes on. For a moment, I entertained the possibility of sneaking in and out of my house like a ghost, wondering how long it would take Dad to notice I had come back.

_If he's smart, he'll have already changed the locks on the door. _But then again, that assumption called for more IQ points than my old man had to spare these days.

I wondered if anyone realized I had been gone. I imagined what the school officials were thinking about my prolonged absence. Was it something my Dad could lie his way out of? Geez…how the hell was I supposed to just _go back to school _after being out for almost three months? I felt slightly queasy at all the homework assignments I was bound to have missed.

Come to think of it, what had we even been learning when we left? My mind was a big blank.

_Maybe Jessie can help me catch up, _I thought. And then my breathing hitched. _Oh, fuck-nuts. Jessie!_

I had vanished for months and now I was back. I had left with no note, no phone call, no explanation. Nothing. I couldn't imagine what must have been going through Jessie's mind all this time as the days passed and I still hadn't come back. This definitely wasn't something she'd have kept quiet about. She'd have gone to the police or something. She would tell someone that I was missing.

That sense of urgency spurred me to get up. I practically stumbled out of bed and ended up on my knees, my heart pounding. As I pushed myself up and stood on shaky legs, I happened to glance down at myself and saw that I wasn't wearing the clothes I had been wearing back in Avatar-verse. My Fire Nation cloak and tunic, the spiffy boots, they were missing.

Instead, I was wearing an oversized Harley Davison t-shirt that had once belonged to Ramon and a pair of Super Mario pajama bottoms; a repetitive print of Caped-Mario rising into the clouds on the back of a grinning green Yoshi (which kind of clashed with the shirt, but whatever…they were pj's). My bare toes cringed at the feel of cheap, ugly shag carpeting left over from the seventies before I got a grip on myself and went looking for something different to wear.

I cursed as I fumbled into a clean pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt at random. I was pulling on a new pair of socks (actually, a better description would be hopping up and down while stuffing my feet inside each sock) when I happened to pass my calendar on the wall and had to do a double-take.

"That…can't be right."

According to what I was reading, it was October the sixth…the same day I had left.

Okay, before you guys try to point out the obvious—i.e. that no one was likely to keep updating a calendar tacked to my bedroom wall while I was missing—I'm going to tell you that I mark off the days the moment I wake up, without fail. I had gotten into the habit while counting down the days left before pSAT's, and it was one that persisted right up to the day I had left.

A day that should already have a big red X through the box.

A day that was currently blank on my calendar.

"What the actual fuck is going on?"

I heard my cell phone start buzzing from where I had left it on the nightstand. I jumped about a mile, tossing the sock at random and watching it flop helplessly against the lamp. My eyes focused on the incoming text icon and shakily picked up the phone to see who had sent it.

"Jessie?" I muttered. "But what…?" Puzzled, I opened the text.

_Ur late again. ur house already. Hurry up._

"I'm late," I repeated, frowning at the message. "No kidding, Jess." I looked back at the calendar and realized that it was Wednesday. A school day.

Oh. I was late for _school_.

"Whatever," I said to myself. It was amazing how utterly insignificant school seemed to me after having been away for so long. It didn't feel real anymore. I was too used to the life of a soldier at sea…or a soldier _in training _at least. It was a completely different experience all together.

But standing there like an idiot wasn't getting me anywhere. So, I hastily sent a reply text. _Looking for my shoes. One sec._

I waited a beat before I got a reply. It was just an emoticon rolling its eyes, and I bit back a snort of incredulous laughter. That felt more normal, but in a good way.

"I missed you, Jess."

_Man, I hope I don't start crying like a baby when I see her, _I thought to myself. I slipped on a beat-up pair of converse sneakers, looked around and found my backpack waiting for me in the corner of the room. It was a little spooky. The last time I had seen it was when Zuko had it in his possession, apparently after weeks of his trying (and failing) to decode my textbooks…like a total nerd.

I forced back the dull ache in my chest. _Don't think about Zuko. It was all just a dream. It was never real. Get over him already._

Maybe it wouldn't have bothered me so much if the dream had ended on a positive note…instead of me vanishing into the Spirit World, leaving Zuko behind to hate me for my betrayal. It bothered me a lot more than logic dictated it should. I mean, technically there wasn't even a reason for me to feel guilty. Technically, I hadn't _actually _done anything.

It had just been a dream. A really weird, really long, confusing dream. And now it was time for me to get on with my life. Things could finally go back to normal.

I grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

"Hey, old man," I yelled down the hallway. "I'm going to school. Pay the goddamn heat bill, will you?"

I was probably going to pay for that later. But then, after dealing with evil spirits and religious cults and god knows what else, getting an ass-kicking from my Dad seemed like nothing. I mean, I had survived so much worse. What did I have to be afraid of anymore?

Huh. That's weird. Dad didn't answer me.

Whatever. Jessie was waiting for me. I took a deep breath and pushed all the bad thoughts away; forced myself to forget about the drunk in the next room, or even about Zuko and the others back in the Avatar World…I mean, the dream. It was a new day. Things were different now…_I _was different.

Time to make the most of it.

_Normal life, here I come!_

* * *

Perhaps everything I had been through in the Avatar world had been a huge, crazy, jalapeno-nachos induced dream. But if that was true, then dreams have a funny way of continuing long after you wake up…long after you've stopped watching them. Dreams continue even when you aren't a part of them anymore.

Maybe that's why life goes on after someone dies. Maybe life is just a dream we have, and then one day we wake up.

Even so…even if it was all just a dream, part of me didn't want to let go.

For better or for worse, as I stepped out into the world, _my _world, I held on a shadow of what I left behind deep in my heart. I carried it with me when I crossed over the threshold into the sun, down the cracked cement path leading to the street, where Jessie's car was waiting for me.

My friend, the closest person I had to a sister, was waiting for me.

And somewhere far away, the dream continued…not bothering to wait for me at all. I wasn't sure if it was because the dream didn't need me anymore…or if it somehow knew that I would be coming back. Either way, the story continued in my absence.

Life went on.

Maybe that should have been my first clue. I should have known which world was the dream and which was real. But I didn't. Not yet.

For now, the story continued…and this was what happened while I was gone.

* * *

_I miss Julie._

Ayla slumped in her chair, not bothering to touch the cup of watery tea that Shim prepared. She knew better than to drink anything he offered her, anyway. Behind that man's smile lay something unsettling and possibly dangerous.

Instead, she let her gaze drift to the lifeless bodies of Zuko and Iroh, wondering if she had done the right thing. What if they never came back from the Spirit World?

What if _Julie _never came back?

"Hey," Bo-Fen said, clumsily rising from her spot on the bed and limping over to the table. She was using an old walking stick they found as a crutch, carefully supporting herself as she sank down into the chair next to Ayla. "You all right? You've been quiet ever since you woke up."

The girl averted her eyes. "It's been a long time, Rena. I'm not sure…what I'm supposed to say."

Bo-Fen shook her head, wearing a sorrowful smile on her face. "Hon', no one's called me that in a long time. I'm not that person anymore."

"But you used to be."

"Yeah?" She leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. "Seems to me that things change. _People _change." She shook her head, scowling. "It's the one constant that holds true in this crazy world of ours. Things are constantly changing, whether we want them to or not."

Ayla hugged her arms…or rather, Julie's arms around her body. "I've changed, too. I can feel it. I never used to be so dishonest. Telling those lies to everyone…to Julie…it's changed me. I don't think I can go back to being the way I was before."

Bo-Fen shrugged. "I'm not sure if I should consider this a good thing or not, but…well…you get used to it. Lying, I mean. Just as long as you remember what the truth is." She sighed. "The thing is, though…sometimes you get so used to telling lies that you lose sight of reality. And I think that's more frightening than any reality you could ever face."

"I don't know. Sometimes I wish I could lose sight of it…even for just a little while. It would hurt less, don't you think?" She was quiet for a moment. "And anyway, is it _really _a lie…when something _should _be true, but isn't? Is it so wrong to pretend?"

The reply was spoken so softly it could easily have been mistaken for a prayer. But Bo-Fen was no stranger to regrets. She knew how dangerous they could be. Furrowing her brow, she straightened up in her chair and gave Ayla the sharp smack on the shin with her walking stick.

"Ouch!"

"Quit being an idiot," she snapped. She glowered into the startled girl's eyes. "Forgetting the truth is the worst thing you can do. It's the same as losing yourself. You forget what you're trying to protect, you lose what matters to you…and then you have nothing left but the lie."

Ayla stared at Bo-Fen, rubbing her leg gingerly. "You…you shouldn't hurt Julie's body when she isn't here. This is going to leave a bruise for sure…and she won't know where she got it."

"Assuming she comes back at all."

Silence.

"And for all we know," Bo-Fen added in a low voice. "…when she comes back, Julie might not even be Julie anymore. She might have changed again."

"Just like me," said Ayla softly.

The other young woman looked up at her. "Just like the rest of us. We change each and every time we're reborn…for better or for worse. That's how it works. That's life." She made an indifferent gesture, as though it didn't matter either way. "For what it's worth, though…I think we've gotten better for the change. I mean, look at Julie. She's come a long way from her past life, hasn't she?"

The girl froze. "You…you know what Julie…who she really is?"

"I have a pretty good idea, yeah. I mean, it makes sense, what with you being around to talk to her, trapped inside her head. You know what they say…the more things change, the more they stay the same. And personally I think the universe has a sick sense of humor."

Ayla shook her head. "Things aren't quite the same, though. We switched roles. This time, I'm the voice that Anju…" she stopped short. "I mean, Julie. I'm the voice that _Julie_ hears in her head. All I can do is talk to her…guide her…and hope she doesn't remember who she used to be. And she's the one with the body…the one who's _alive_. I won't ruin that for her."

"You sure that's what you want to do? That just makes everything more confusing for her, you know…"

The girl wearing Julie's body clenched her hands into fists. She wore a determined expression on her face, tears beginning to pool in those crimson eyes. "She doesn't have to understand to be happy. All she has to do is live out the rest of her life…she can have all the things that Anju couldn't."

"Hey," said Bo-Fen sharply. "That was _your _life, not hers. You shouldn't feel guilty for what happened. It wasn't your fault things turned out the way they did. And anyway, she chose to be what she was, didn't she?"

"To be trapped? No. She didn't choose that. I just couldn't stand being alone, so I never let Anju pass on." Ayla smiled, but there was a hint of irony in her expression. "I never realized it until now, but it's so lonely being a voice in someone's head. No wonder she kept trying to break free. She must have hated me for doing that to her."

She stared down at her hands, not bothering to keep the tears from spilling over.

"This time she can live. She can be happy. And I know she'll be all right because she has you and Len…I mean, Shen-Long to take care of her. And Zuko. Right now he's doing everything he can just to bring her back safely. I just wish Julie knew how lucky she really is."

Bo-Fen gave her a stern look. "She has you, too. And don't think you're alone, either. That's a mistake both of you tend to make. You think you're alone when you're really not." She nudged Ayla's shoulder to get her attention. "You know he hasn't given up on you. My brother still holds on to the hope that he can be with you again…maybe not now, but one day."

Ayla shook her head. "He can't see me as I normally am. He can't see spirits, even though he's a reincarnated spirit himself."

"It's the curse he chose to bear…the price he had to pay to come back so many times."

"Yes," she agreed, "…but even so…the only way Shen-Long and I could be reunited again would be if Julie never came back. I'd have to give her up…take her body and pretend it's mine."

For a moment, Ayla was thoughtfully silent.

She pulled her hand out of Bo-Fen's grip and held it close to her chest, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to force the bad thought away. After a moment, she took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes, fixing a curious stare on her friend.

"Rena…what did you give up to come back?"

"..."

"Bo-Fen?" she tried again.

The other female shook her head. "I won't trouble you with a lie. Don't worry about it, okay? It's a price I'm willing to pay…just so long as things work out for my brother."

"For Shen-Long?"

"That's right. That idiot would be totally lost if I wasn't keeping an eye on him." She smirked. "You remember how he always looked out for me…even after everything that happened with my husband…and _him_."

Ayla just stared at her.

"Yeah, I know. It's really sappy. But whatever, he's my brother. He'll always be my brother. We stuck together through all of this, and I don't plan on breaking that tradition. You hear me?"

"Things change…"

Bo-Fen scowled. "What's that?"

The girl did a double-take. "Nothing. I was just thinking about Shen-Long. I wonder how he'll handle this. I mean…Julie tried to act like it wasn't true, but…I know he didn't actually believe I was here. He thought that Julie was my reincarnation all this time. He thought I was something she imagined to help her cope with memories from her past life."

"Yeah? Well, didn't you hear me say he was an idiot? He'll come around."

"That's what I…I mean…" Ayla swallowed, having trouble putting her feelings into words. "I'd be happy if he knew I was here, but…what would he do if he realized that Julie isn't _my _reincarnation? What if he found out she was…_Anju_?"

Bo-Fen didn't meet her gaze.

"He still hasn't forgiven her, has he?" she asked softly. "He still hates her…"

"For what she did, yes."

"For what Prospero…and then Koh made her do," Ayla corrected. "Re—I mean…Bo-Fen…listen, it really wasn't her fault. She had a reason to…to do those things! In spite of what she led you two to believe, she wasn't…_isn't _a monster…_please_…"

Bo-Fen couldn't look her in the eyes. Instead, she stared fixedly on a spot across the room, as though she were trying to bore a hole in the wall with her eyes. She was clearly trying not to think about this more than she had to. Ayla felt a wave of frustration wash over her when she realized her old friend was now trying to tune out the sound of her voice, her face as stoic as ever.

"Rena!"

"Does it make a difference, in the end?" Bo-Fen muttered. "It doesn't change the fact that she…hurt so many people."

Ayla blinked. "W…what?"

Slowly, the naval officer turned her head to stare at the spirit girl. "Does having a reason change the fact that she killed all those people? Does having a reason make up for destroying a whole village? For uprooting so many lives? For trying to steal your body over and over again?" She narrowed her eyes. "Whatever it is, it must be a damn good reason, Ayla..especially considering that these aren't even the worst things she's done."

Ayla looked shaken. "That…that was the price she had to pay…to protect what was important to her," she stammered. "Just like how you and Shen-Long had to pay a price…"

Bo-Fen glared at her. "We had to make sacrifices to be reborn. _Anju _made _other_ people pay the price for whatever it was she wanted. There's a huge difference. Anyway, what was so damn important to her that she'd cause so much destruction to protect it?"

"You…you don't have to be sarcastic…it's…unsettling."

"Get used to it. I've always been flippant."

"Maybe so," Ayla snapped. "But…you were never this bitter!"

Bo-Fen made a cynical sound under her breath. "Like I said, things change. People change." She closed her eyes for a moment. "And that's why I'm willing to give Julie a chance. She's not the person she used to be. And let me tell you, I never thought I'd ever see the day where _any _incarnation of Anju would put herself on the line for someone else as often as she did. Julie's...a really good kid."

But Ayla just shook her head furiously. She ran her fingers across her scalp and buried them in her hair, closing her eyes and not saying a word. It looked like she had a bad migraine, when really she was just forced to listen to something she didn't want to hear in the first place.

"I…I don't understand…" she finally whispered. "You think she changed, but…Anju was _always _putting herself in danger…for someone else's sake. She was doing all of those things to protect…_m_…_me_…"

Bo-Fen winced as Ayla's voice cracked. Shit…she just wasn't good with situations like this. Why the hell did people have to cry for? It wasn't like _she _knew how to fix it. Even if she wasn't so shell-shocked by what she just heard, she wouldn't know what to do…let alone what to say.

"To…protect you?" Bo-Fen shook her head in disbelief. "Ayla, she…she kept taking control of your body. She did all these horrible things and made other people think it was _you _doing them. Hell, she's the reason why the Brotherhood named you as their figurehead. All those benders she killed…they thought _you _killed them. How did any of that _protect _you?"

Ayla stood up so abruptly that she almost knocked over her chair. The sound of it scraping back along the floor made Yoshi jerk his head up in alarm. Bo-Fen found herself blinking up at her friend in bewilderment, surprised at the electricity that seemed to crackle in her aura.

"Anju will always be my sister…no matter what. That is never going to change! Even if she never finds out! And even if she does! Even she ends up _hating _me for keeping it a secret! No matter what…I'm always going to be her sister! And she's mine…"

Bo-Fen managed to hold her poker face. "Hon', take it from me. Sisters don't do that to each other. You could make all the excuses you want, but…you have to admit it. Anju treated you like a tool on a good day and like a target on every other day of the year. She was terrible!"

Ayla's expression went dark. "I…I knew you wouldn't get it. You and Len…you wouldn't understand what she was trying to do. But…I don't want to fight with you, Rena. Not now." Her shoulders trembled as she sank back down in her chair, anger quickly giving way to sorrow. "I don't want you to go away again…and I don't want to lose Julie, either. Even now I'm being selfish…too afraid of being left all alone…"

"That's not selfish."

Ayla lowered her gaze, unable to speak. Bo-Fen hesitated for a moment before awkwardly reaching over to pat her on the shoulder. But without warning, the other girl wrapped her arms around the naval officer's torso and squeezed as hard as she could.

"Ummph…!" she grunted, squirming in discomfort. "Hey! Um…do you mind?" She hung there in Ayla's grip for a moment before sighing heavily. "Okay, quit it. It's going to be okay, you know. I already told you that you aren't alone. And neither is Julie. We're looking out for her. I promise."

Bo-Fen cringed as Ayla lifted big, watery eyes and a runny nose up to stare at her. "R-really…?"

_Yikes…this is getting way too sappy for my tastes…_

"Yes. Really." Firmly, she took the other girl by the shoulders and pried her loose, planting her back in her own seat where she belonged. "Sheesh, Ayla. You really know how to make me turn into a big old mush. This is seriously going to cost you." She looked away, her mouth a big squiggle of complicated emotions she was having trouble holding back. "I can't speak for my brother, but…as far as I'm concerned, I've been letting go…slowly. But Shen's a different story, Hon'. He may not be capable of letting go."

Ayla sniffled.

Bo-Fen closed her eyes for a moment. "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Okay? So quit worrying already."

"O-okay…" she whispered. She swallowed the lump in her throat and met her friend's gaze. "It's enough that you care about Julie, Rena. I can't ask you to forget the past or to lie to yourself…and I appreciate that you're looking out for her now. Julie _needs _friends…"

There was a sharp clink as Shim placed a cup of tea beside Bo-Fen, who went rigid in her chair. He smiled serenely down at the girls, ignoring their expressions of alarm and (in Bo-Fen's case) contempt. "I couldn't help but overhear…"

"I bet you could," Bo-Fen muttered.

But he ignored her.

"So," he said. "If I heard all of that correctly, would I be correct in assuming that you and Julie were sisters in a past life?"

Ayla hesitated, staring at the healer with big, wary eyes. "Um…"

"Of course, all of this is assuming that you are, in fact, real. For all we know you could just be a facet of Julie's undiagnosed split-personality disorder…no offense."

"Piss off," Bo-Fen snapped. "And I don't want your drugged tea. If it isn't poison you can give it to Shen-Long when he comes back, but you leave me out of your little creep-show experiments."

Shim frowned at her. "You really shouldn't interrupt people. I was simply asking the young lady a question. It's perfectly innocent. Nothing notorious."

"Yeah, says you. Besides, you were the one interrupting. This is none of your business."

Her voice was cold.

"Now, now…there's no reason to be so testy. I don't mean anyone any harm."

Ayla pursed her lips for a moment, considering. After a moment's contemplation she finally gave him an answer. "Yes. Her name was Anju back then. She was my sister."

Shim nodded slowly. "I see. That's what you claim…but then what did you mean, I wonder…when you said that back in that lifetime, _she _was the voice and you were the one with the body." He gave her a searching glance. "Did you mean that you two somehow inhabited the same vessel, so to speak? Tell me…how is that possible? I'm curious…strictly from a scientific point of view."

Bo-Fen forced herself up out of her chair so she could glower at him. "Why don't you mind your own goddamn business?"

They stared each other down for a tense moment. Then, the smile was back on Shim's face, like it had never left in the first place. As abrupt as anything else he's every said and done, the questionable healer decided to change the subject.

"Would you ladies prefer for me to move Prince Zuko and General Iroh to a bed so they can rest properly? I'm sure they're going to have some stiff limbs if they continue to sleep in such an awkward position."

"As long as you don't take them out of the house, it shouldn't disturb their spirits," Ayla responded calmly. "If that's what you're asking."

"Don't do anything creepy to them while they're unconscious," Bo-Fen added. "The Prince may be young, but he's not an idiot. He'll notice if you remove any organs without his permission!"

Shim's smile grew slightly darker, his face cast in shadow as he turned away.

"Challenge accepted…"

The two girls stared at the retreating back of their resident medical professional and shuddered simultaneously. Ayla hugged her arms against her sides while Bo-Fen furiously dumped out the tea Shim had brought them. She was muttering darkly under her breath.

"Creepy motherfucker. Why the hell did we hire this guy, anyway?"

Ayla shrugged. "Wasn't it because no one else would take the job?"

Bo-Fen sighed. "If the pitiful salary and alarmingly high death-to-squadron ratio doesn't do it, Prince Zuko's reputation as a banished outcast takes care of the rest. No sane healer would touch our crew with a ten foot pole."

The spirit girl opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as the ground started to tremble beneath their feet. Within seconds, the shaking became a full-blown earthquake, and the girls were thrown out of their chairs and landed hard on the floor. Yoshi ended up somersaulting on the ground and landed flat on his stomach. He growled at a nearby chair, mostly for lack of anything else to blame within biting distance.

"W-wh…what's happening?!" Ayla yelled, clinging to one leg of the table while Bo-Fen grabbed the other. The soldier winced in pain as her ankle was exacerbated from the quake.

"I think we just found ourselves a bigger problem than a potential serial-killer for a healer."

The shaking started to subside, but there was no mistaking the shuffling noises coming from outside, followed by the deep, guttural moans of the undead approaching the house. The two looked at each other, panic evident in their faces.

"I wouldn't recommend fighting them," Shim said, suddenly huddled right beside Bo-Fen. She had been too preoccupied with not putting weight on her injured ankle to notice him. She practically jumped out of her skin, shrieking and falling backwards on to the floor.

"Quit sneaking up on me, asshole!"

The healer smiled. "I can't help where I end up during an earthquake, Bo-Fen. I just happened to fall close enough to the table to crawl underneath it.

"Just stay over there!"

"Nonsense. There are zombies approaching and you're in no condition to fight." The shadow of a maniacal grin stretched his mouth in an expression of frightening glee. "And Lady Ayla says that disturbing Prince Zuko and General Iroh would only worsen their condition. Therefore, she and I will have to fortify this house and defend it within an inch of our lives."

"U-um…"

"I've never experimented with reanimated corpses before," he added. "I absolutely _must _run some tests…find out how their decaying muscles are able to function…my, I wonder if chi-suppressants will have any effect on them."

Ayla blinked. "Didn't you use all of it to knock Julie out earlier?"

Shim simply pulled back the lapel of his long coat, revealing an alarming arsenal of needles. Bo-Fen cursed at the sight of so many sharp, pointy objects and crawled as far away from him as she could get. Ayla appeared to be of a similar mind, visibly uncomfortable as she eyed the crude syringes. She pursed her lips in a frown and looked towards the door.

"I think you have the right idea," she admitted sadly. "Dismembering the zombies doesn't keep them from reanimating. Chi suppressants might drive the angry spirits out of those bodies. Or at the very least, they'll slow the zombies down long enough for me to use Julie's Energybending to purge them."

Bo-Fen gave her a concerned look. "Hon', you sure you can pull that off? You're kind of out of practice. It's been a thousand years."

Ayla shook her head. "Being in Julie's body reminds me how to move…how to bend. I just have to open myself up to the memories…anyway, I have to try. If we don't do something, those zombies will kill Zuko and Iroh."

She sighed. "Shen-Long went for help. We just need to hold down the fort until he comes back." She looked determined and forced herself up on to her knees, slowly hoisting herself up on her feet. Careful not to put any weight on her bad ankle, she grabbed her sword and limped over to where Zuko and Iroh were sprawled out on the floor.

She took a seat in front of them, facing the door. "You two try to keep them out. I'll be the last line of defense…in case anything goes wrong. Ayla, make sure you run away if they reach the house. I can take care of the Prince and his uncle."

The spirit girl shook her head. "I won't leave."

"If you die in that body, Julie might not be able to come back. And I don't want to explain to Shen-Long that I lost you again. He'll never forgive me."

Ayla scowled. "It won't come to that. I won't let it happen."

Shim cleared his throat, holding up a blow-dart gun loaded with a fresh syringe. "Ladies…I believe the enemy has arrived."

They all swiveled to face the door as the stench of death and decay finally reached them. Yards away they could see the lumbering forms of the not-so-dearly departed, all painfully determined to make their way into the house. Their rotting eyes were unseeing, but they knew there was prey waiting for them just inside those walls. One zombie lifted its head and let out a feral growl, only to get a chi-blocking dart straight in the throat.

"Nice shot," Ayla offered.

Shim didn't respond to that, however. His eyes were riveted on the horde of undead, his mind feverish as he contemplated just how many tests he could run. The expression on his face was that of an ecstatic child on Christmas morning, surrounded by carefully wrapped presents…or that of the Grinch, preparing to steal them all.

"I repeat what I said earlier. Challenge accepted."

* * *

Okay, so what with all the hell literally breaking loose back in Jade Valley, taking my ass to school shouldn't have been as hard as it was.

I must have stood at the door for about five minutes before I could muster up the courage to actually go outside. Oh, God…please tell me this isn't as pathetic as it sounds. Now I have this mental image of myself staring at the back of a door in some kind of awestruck stupor, like I'm staring off into the glory of creation or something.

But, yeah. Eventually I opened the door. And this was what was waiting for me outside.

First, sunlight. Not the thin, veil-like sunlight you see in December, but still-warm, start-of-autumn kind of sunlight. It was also really humid out, and I could feel my hair cringing from it already, even though I had only been outside for maybe ten seconds. But let me tell you…when you step out of winter (which was what it was in the Avatar world right now) and find yourself on the brink of autumn in another universe, it tends to slap you in the face.

Second…the car. The faded blue, slightly beat-up, but fairly used Toyota convertible that Jessie had bought herself. She had this savings account, and she'd been putting money in it ever since she was thirteen and legally able to work part time…all so she could buy that car. It wasn't really anything special…it was more the idea of having the car, of having that freedom and the road at your fingertips that sold it to her.

I liked that about Jessie. She didn't let her parents buy her a car like every other spoiled sixteen-year-old who went to our school (and believe me when I tell you that they totally would have shelled out the cash if Jessie had let them; they practically worshipped the air she breathed, for cripes sake). She _earned _that car through sweat and tears. She wanted it to be _her _car, and she accomplished what she set out to do with the single-mindedness of someone determined to succeed in life.

Okay, maybe I was a little jealous. Jessie just had so many things I didn't: a good home, a car, loving parents, and a winning personality. Hell, on top of it all, she was pretty and had these killer boobs…I mean, come on! She was the kind of person you'd have to be a total _asshole _not to like. I mean it. If you found a reason to hate Jessie, then that automatically made you a dick by definition.

Obviously I wasn't immune to Jessie's charm. She was just a sincerely good person…and she also happened to be my best (and only) friend.

Speaking of which, third:

The girl sitting behind the wheel of the Toyota, tapping impatiently on the rim of the steering wheel. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the devil herself, Jessica Langley. Apparently she was giving me a ride to school today (which was pretty convenient since I wasn't sure I could remember my usual short-cuts after being away for so long, and I was kind of running late).

Hearing my door shut, Jessie looked up and flashed me a vivacious smile. At this hour, it would have been obscene on anyone else's face but hers. Had she been any of the other freaks I typically saw at school, I probably would have shoved her into a locker or something.

Feeling my knees shaking, I walked over to the car, opened the door, and crawled into the front passenger seat…where I was immediately launched into a conversation.

"Took you long enough," she said, her voice as clear as a bell. "Come on! I've got a chem test first thing, and I want some time to look over my notes."

I blinked at her. "Like you won't just ace it like all the others," I replied, my voice unusually hoarse.

Yeah, I was really trying not to start sobbing like a lunatic and throw myself on top of her. Up until now, I thought I would never see her again, and here she was, in the flesh, talking about chemistry. I had no idea how I was even keeping a straight face right now. I really, really don't.

Jessie frowned, hearing my voice catch. "Hey," she said. "You okay?"

"Uh, huh. I'm just…you know…tired, I guess." I shrugged half-heartedly. "I had a really weird dream…"

She narrowed her eyes. "You _do _have some dark circles under your eyes." She paused to contemplate this for a moment, scrutinizing my gaunt expression. "Actually, you look like you crawled out of someone's crypt. What, did you have someone knock you out with a shovel or something?"

"Jessie…"

"Huh?"

I felt cold and tingly all over in spite of the not-quite-autumn heat. With every ounce of will I had at my disposal, I forced back the tears I could feel coming and smiled.

"You have no idea how happy I am…" I choked. "I'm…so happy to see you again…"

Jessie had the most deadpan expression I had ever seen plastered on her face. "What did Ramon do _this _time?" she said flatly. "Because I swear to God, Julie…if he's stalking you again, I'm going to make sure his ass finds its way in front of a pantsless convict in a prison cell somewhere _far away_."

If only she knew.

"Um…"

"Even if I have to drag him there myself and steal a convict's pants!" she snarled. "I will do it. Do you hear me?"

"Jessie…_I'm _the criminally insane one, not you. Seriously, if you keep this up, your parents are going to start in again, saying I'm a bad influence on you. Remember that time your parents were absolutely convinced that I was a drug dealer?"

Jessie had the decency to look uncomfortable. "Well, you know how dumb parents can be, right?"

She was actually being a lot nicer than I deserved on that note. She wasn't even bringing up that time back in elementary school when I had planted that cocaine Ramon gave me in Ms. Friday's bag. I mean, everyone in our grade knew it was me that did it, and only Jessie dared to eat lunch with me after the fact…though she wouldn't speak to me for a whole two weeks for doing something so horrible.

"Hey," she said. "At least they're not slipping me religious youth counseling groups to slip to you, like that other time they thought you were a lesbian."

I scowled. "I only pretended to be that _one time _to piss off Ramon. It was supposed to be a fuck-you gesture, showing up to prom with a girl instead of him."

"I think it was the fact that Bebe was a lesbian _hooker _that upset the school board so much."

"She was his _cousin! _And in my defense, I didn't know she was a hooker! I just thought it would drive him nuts to date someone he was related to! Is it _my _fault that Bebe snuck off to service the principal's wife in the faculty bathroom when she was supposed to be getting me punch?"

We both stopped, looking at each other as the weight of our words sank in.

"Hey," I said slowly. "Is it really bad that this sort of thing is, like, normal for us?"

"More like awesome. Now, shut up and let me drive. I have a hankering for some breakfast burritos, and nothing is going to get in my way…except the roadkill."

"Fuckin' a'."

As her car pulled on to the road and we left my house behind me, I only had one regret. Part of me, deep down inside, wished that Zuko could have been trapped in the backseat so he could have been forced to listen to that conversation. I could only imagine what a sheltered prince of the Fire Nation would think about any of this. His reaction probably would have been priceless.

And Jee. Seriously, one mention of the word _hooker _and I'd be scrubbing out latrines until my fingers turned numb. And I'd probably be dumping all my loose change in the swear jar to boot.

Iroh probably would have wanted me to slip him Bebe's number. And Bo-Fen would have probably taken this opportunity to dredge up some embarrassing childhood memory of Shen-Long's while the latter tried fruitlessly to deny everything. And while all this was going on, Yoshi would come barreling in, covered in elephant-rat guts, and demanding kisses from me (like he's done many a times).

God, I missed them all so much.

_Ayla, what do you think I… _and then I stopped.

My head felt empty and silent. It was like standing all alone in the foyer of a mansion that nobody lived in anymore. I tried to feel that other presence I had gotten used to, that cheery little phantom lurking in the back of my mind. I tried feeling her warmth, her comraderie. All I found was…nothing.

No Ayla. She was gone.

"Ayla…" I muttered, my heart skipping a beat in alarm. Jessie glanced at me in the rearview mirror, her expression curious.

"Come again?"

"Oh, um…" I caught myself before I could let anything else slip. "Nothing. Just…remembering part of that crazy dream. Remind me to tell you about it later, okay?"

She frowned, not quite convinced. But when I continued to stare out my window without saying a word, she just shrugged and let the matter drop. Jessie knew when not to push the subject, and this was obviously one of those times.

And it was a good thing, too. Ayla's absence unsettled me more than anything else in this situation. It just felt so wrong…like someone had cut out one of my lungs. I never even realized how much I needed her until that heart-stopping moment when I realized she was gone. Even all those times back in the Avatar world when I thought I was alone, I had her all along. She didn't have to say anything to bolster my spirits (and often times communicating was such a strain on her that she would go for several hours without uttering a sound).

But none of that mattered. Ayla had always been there for me…and now suddenly she just _wasn't_. Just thinking about it made my heart ache. It wasn't enough to _completely _ruin my happiness at being reunited with Jessie, but it was definitely enough to make it hurt. And man, did it _hurt_.

I felt as if I had sacrificed one sister for another…which was weird, because neither Ayla nor Jessie were actually my sisters. But whatever. It was just a simile.

Then again, this was my _life_.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Freaking coal. Why does it have to be so hard to find?"

"I doubt the Fire Nation would make things easy for _us_. Let's keep looking. I'm sure we'll find something eventually."

Kuba didn't comment, but scowled through the darkness at an unspecific point ahead, a spot Haru couldn't see. He was surprised at how easily the child navigated the dark tunnels, as though he had been doing this all his life. Most kids his age would be scared of the dark, but not Kuba. He seemed eerily at home.

It made him wonder. Who was this boy, really…and how was he connected to the Avatar's quest? Why was he here? Haru couldn't help but be curious about his younger companion, especially given the fact that they were both Earthbenders—an undeniably powerful connection in its own right.

"Hey," he said. "I've been meaning to ask…but how long have you known the Avatar?"

Kuba didn't glance up. He was getting a feel of the corner they were about to turn. "Dunno…not long, though. Why?"

"Just wondering. I mean, you guys are friends, but other than that…you don't really seem particularly close to them." He gave the boy a sideways glance. "How did you guys meet?"

This question was met with a darker scowl. "I met Julie first…_she _knew them. I probably wouldn't have even made friends with them if it weren't for her." He paused, drumming his fingers along the metal wall in obvious irritation. "I'd probably still be digging out of dumpsters back in Fu-Dong."

Haru frowned. "So…Julie isn't your big sister or something? I just sort of assumed…" he trailed off awkwardly when Kuba turned his head at him and glared. "Sorry…I didn't mean to be rude. You just…always talk about her. You seem to look up to her, so I just thought she might be related to you or something."

"She's not." Kuba looked away. "But…she could be if she wanted to. We both should just be a family together…and then we wouldn't have to go back to our _real _families. We should find a house somewhere far away and be happy. Maybe other kids could come and live there too…it'd be this big safe-house for people who have to run away for some reason…for people who don't have families."

_Aren't those called orphanages? _Haru thought. But at the same time he knew the difference. Being in an orphanage wasn't the same as having a family…a good, loving family.

That was when it sunk in. _Oh, I get it. Kuba…he doesn't have that, does he? That's why he's trying so hard to find this Julie girl again. She must be the closest thing he has to a sister._

"This Julie," he said slowly. "She sounds like a really great person. You must really care about her."

Kuba lowered his face, which was wearing a much softer expression than he had on earlier. "She…wanted to help me. She didn't have to. She had no reason to follow me…after I stole her money and drew a knife on her. But she didn't run or anything. She…stayed. She _chose_ me."

Suddenly, he quickened his pace, sensing that they were nearing their destination. Kuba's footsteps grew more bold in anticipation of the prize that lay ahead, the coal; the sole means with which he could fight the Firebenders on the ship. Sure enough, the halls were starting to slant downwards as they made their way deeper into the core of the ship. It was getting much warmer, so the coal-burning room couldn't have been too far away.

Haru thought about what Kuba was saying. Something about that name…_Julie_…he was pretty sure he had heard it somewhere before.

Strange.

"So, was Julie the one who taught you to run around in the dark like this?"

"Huh?" Kuba blinked at him. "No, I always knew how to do that. I grew up underground…um…" he looked away for a moment, visibly troubled. Haru frowned, wondering why the boy had such a guarded expression on his face. "…I was born into the Brotherhood. But…" he added quickly. "…I'm not one of them anymore! I ran away because they found out that I can Earthbend…" he trailed off, his voice catching as though he were in pain.

Haru was dumbfounded. "You…you were…" he didn't finish that sentence, shaking his head slowly. "No wonder you want a new family so badly. When they found out you were an Earthbender…were they going to do to you what they're going to do to the children they took from our village?"

Kuba's expression went flat. "They were going to kill me. I ran away and lived on the streets for a while…until I met Julie."

"Oh…I see…"

The younger Earthbender stopped for a moment, his shoulders tense and his posture defensive. Up ahead they could see a doorway emitting a faint glow, no doubt from the coal being burned up for fuel. Haru stood side by side with the boy and glanced down at his face, not surprised at all in the pain etched there.

His own family had tried to kill him…his mother and father…maybe even siblings too. Haru couldn't even imagine how something like that would feel. The treachery and betrayal were too much for him to comprehend. For a boy this age to endure something like that was too cruel for words.

"I never used by Earthbending before I met Julie," he said quietly. "I was too afraid too. I was ashamed of it…ashamed of who I was. Even though there were other Earthbenders out there in the world…so many others…they were strangers. It didn't matter if they accepted me…because my family would always hate me for being a bender."

The older boy's expression darkened. "I know what that's like, having to hide your bending, afraid of what other people will think or do if they were to find out. You must have been scared being on your own and having to keep something like that a secret."

Kuba scowled. "You sound like Katara…soft and gentle, like I'm going to break or something. I'm not a little kid, you know. I can handle the bad stuff…and Julie can too. And _she _wouldn't baby me the way you two do." He huffed. "People think that just because you're younger that makes you stupid or weak or something. Julie doesn't play that shit with me. It's what makes her so cool."

Haru frowned thoughtfully. "And she got you to Earthbend again?"

The cloud on the younger boy's face evaporated instantly. He rubbed the back of his neck, grinning a little sheepishly at a resurfacing memory. It was an abrupt change in mood, but it was indicative of how much influence this Julie person had on him.

"Actually," he said. "I didn't have a choice. Julie and I were being chased by the Fire Nation and I had to use my Earthbending to help us escape. She didn't even know I could do it. I surprised the hell out of her _and _the soldiers trying to capture us. And you know what?" He looked up at Haru seriously. "It felt _good_. Being able to help someone…being able to protect someone…it made me feel strong, _proud_, even. I never felt that way before."

They were both silent for a minute, lost in their own thoughts. Kuba was still smiling to himself as he crept closer to the engine-room door. His movements were smooth and quiet, but the stealth was obviously drilled into him; he was able to slip closer without making a sound, but the look on his face said plainly that he was still caught in the glow of a pleasant memory.

"I want to get even stronger," he said quietly. "I want to protect the good people in the world. I want Julie to be proud of me, too. I want her to let me take care of her for a change." He frowned for a moment. "I lost her because I couldn't beat Commander Zhao. I wasn't good enough to kick him to the curb…and I got burned pretty badly, too."

Haru looked at him carefully. "On your stomach?"

"You heard Katara babying me over it," he grumbled. "…rubbing it in. Anyway…just because I lost one fight doesn't mean I'm afraid or anything. I'm going to use this mission as practice. Next time I see Zhao, I'll make him _pay _for what he did to me…for what he tried to do to Julie. I'll make him _hurt_."

Not knowing what to say, but unable to shake off the chill that settled deep in his gut, Haru silently knelt beside him. He also had a nagging feeling in his mind that things were about to get serious, so he used that as an excuse to let the uncomfortable subject drop. He kept his eyes and ears alert so he could spot anything his younger companion missed. He and Kuba peeked around the corner and saw a couple of shadows stretched out along the far wall, the hulking shapes of the engineers.

Judging by the way the shadows moved, they were busy shoveling coal in the large burner that sent heat through the rest of the ship and kept her moving. The engineers were so absorbed in their work they hadn't even noticed they were being crept up on by two Earthbenders. They didn't notice a thing, even as their silent stalkers surreptitiously pulled some of the coal into the air and prepared to strike from behind.

Two quick blows, one for each engineer. Haru winced at the hollow _thunk_ as the very solid lumps of coal struck the backs of their skulls. Kuba, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. It looked like he was used to violence, and had, in fact, seen worse than this. Without prompting, the younger boy was digging through their pockets, snatching anything they could use.

"Hey," Haru said. "Shouldn't we be focusing on the coal?"

Kuba's expression turned sour. "I'm thinking ahead. Besides, you never leave a dungeon without searching all the bodies first."

"What?"

"I dunno. It's something Julie used to say a lot. Sometimes she'd have a bad day, and she'd go on these long rants about something called…Ar-Pee-Gees."

"RPG's?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I guess the context doesn't matter," Kuba said with a shrug. "It's pretty good advice. People always have good stuff on them. And you never know what might come in handy."

Haru thought about it for a moment. "I guess that's true. Anyway, better we have these tools than the Fire Nation, right?"

The two chuckled amongst themselves as they pocketed the goods and strapped the tool-belts around their bodies (Kuba draped his across his torso and looped it over one shoulder like some kind of sash or ammunition belt). Then, they turned back to the piles and piles of coal; glistening black bounty just waiting to be put to good use.

"How are we supposed to move this to the surface?" Kuba muttered. "Earthbending?"

"It's too much. I'd say we'd have to funnel it out somehow. Hmmm…" Haru reached into his pocket and took out a scroll that Sokka had given him before they parted ways. It was the layout of the ship he had snatched from the Warden's library earlier. "Okay, so there aren't really any quick and easy tunnels for us to use…"

"Well, how did they get this coal down here to begin with?"

Haru sighed. "Hard labor, I suppose."

Kuba peeked around his arm and glanced at the blueprint of the rig. "Wait. What are those little…tubey things?"

"Those? Um…those aren't tubes. They're the vents…and…" he paused as a realization gripped him. "…and they go everywhere in the ship. And all of them open up at the surface! This is perfect!" He gave Kuba a relieved grin. "Good eye, kid."

The boy scowled. "Call me kid again and I'll give you a _black _eye." He folded his arms, trying and failing to hide his pleased smile. "And you're welcome."

The next five minutes were spent forcing the lid of the vent off the wall and making sure that the other vents in the room were sealed shut. They needed a long, unbroken path for the coal to travel on its way up. Haru perused the plans carefully, supervising while Kuba made good use of the tools he "borrowed." They made a pretty good team, all things considered.

"All right. That should do it." Haru stood up and took a bending stance. "Let's get this coal up into the yard."

Kuba nodded. "It's about time."

And they didn't even _know _that the others had been captured already. Time was literally of the essence, not that they needed any additional motivation to move quickly.

"Okay, it'll take both of us to push the coal all the way up. On the count of three…"

They sank into their horse-stances.

"One…"

Together, they reached out with their chi and felt the coal with their bending. Several lumps of it started twitching at once as they got a firm grip on their element, preparing to lift it.

"Two…"

One by one, chunks of coal were pulled into the air, forming a collective, hovering mass of rock.

"Three…!"

The coal all rushed the opening of the vent, forcing its way up and out of the room. It probably doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment, but moving that much raw material for such a great distance was extremely taxing, even with the combined effort of two Earthbenders. Kuba in particular was having a lot of trouble, barely having a grip on his element and almost no training whatsoever. But he dug in his feet, bit his lip, and refused to give up.

Within the minute, the two boys found themselves getting tired. They were sweating as they sent as much coal up and out as they could, and it was clear that they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

"H-Haru…" Kuba grunted, struggling with the weight of the coal. "W-what…happens if we…drop it?"

Haru scowled. "Don't want to…find out…so bend like your life depends on it!"

"It would help if someone up on top was pulling some of it! Dammit! Why do _we _have to do all the work?!"

However, with no other alternative, it was all the boys could do to keep bending the coal and pray that it made it all the way to the surface.

* * *

**A/N: Ta-Dah. Huge-ass plot reveals for you guys. I hope you enjoyed all that. And, again, I sincerely hope that this doesn't amount to a solid lump of confusion to anyone not gifted with spoilers. I'll admit, sometimes I don't do a very good job at foreshadowing, so you'll end up with a scene with everyone talking in riddles…full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.**

**I actually had to go back and rewrite the scene with Ayla and Bo-Fen. They were being so unnecessarily vague that it made Yoda sound blunt. But yeah, they were finally catching up after being separated for a thousand years! Talk about dramatic. **

**In full knowledge of my incompetence, here is what I wanted you to take away from that scene: **

**1) AYLA AND ANJU ARE SISTERS. **

**2) Julie is the reincarnation of Anju. Up until now, everyone thought she was **_**Ayla's **_**reincarnation. They were **_**wrong**_**. I was attempting the unreliable narrator thing…but it might have turned into the unreliable **_**author**_** instead. But yeah. There you go.**

**3) Anju did BAD THINGS that Bo-Fen and Shen-Long can't entirely forgive her for. However, Bo-Fen is under the belief that Julie deserves a chance, and finds her vastly improved from her past-life. Shen-Long, however, is still deluding himself, thinking Julie and Ayla are the same person. Even Bo-Fen can't say how he'll react to finding out the truth.**

**4) Shim is a creepy motherfucker.**

**I know you guys are a pretty smart bunch and don't need every little plot point explained to you, but the whole past-life thing can be freaking confusing, and I'm not a hundred percent confident in myself right now. But that's my own personal thing. I'm trying to improve, little by little. I hope it pays off soon.**

**The conversation Julie has with Jessie are partially inspired by the inane phone conversations between me and the Real-Life Jessie (but mostly inspired by a sleepless night preceded by a tub of nutella, a spoon, and a heap of self-pity as I found myself looking over my old fanfiction folder I had back in high school. Christ, I found a cross-over between **_**Sin City **_**and **_**Hamtaro **_**in there. O_O What the fuck was wrong with me?).**

**Anyway, nuff said about that. And I hope Kuba and Haru were just as interesting. I realized that I needed those two to interact on a personal level, especially since Haru is the only other Earthbender besides Bumi that Kuba has gotten to meet so far. I can totally see those two bonding something fierce, especially since Haru tends to be level-headed enough to balance out Kuba's tenacity and recklessness. Plus, he seems to be good with kids, if his interactions with Teo and The Duke are any indication. I think Haru would be a good influence on Kuba.**

**Plus, I wanted everyone to see Kuba's little-brother crush on Julie. And when I mean "little-brother crush," I mean purely platonic sibling-type love…you sickos. He looks up to her a lot and wants to make her proud of him, which is understandable enough given their circumstances. God…I love writing for the little guy. **

**Now, if only I could **_**draw **_**him. Why do I suck so hard at drawing children?! WHY?**

**Anyway, if you liked this, REVIEW!**


	103. Between the Rock and the Hard Place

**A/N: Hey, everybody! What's up?**

**Again, apologies for not updating as often as I would have liked. Life has literally dropped its pants and dropped several kids off at the pool these past few weeks, and I was unlucky enough to be in the vicinity of said pool. Since when is May a month of hardship and insanity? **

**Plus, I made the mistake of trying to juggle too many responsibilities at once and ended up posting nothing…which SUCKED. **

**To Quoted: **No need to apologize for the review. It got me back on track as far as my writing was concerned. And honestly, I needed to hear that people actually care if I update or not (once again, Distant-Moon has been sitting in the self-pity corner and needed a good kick in the shins…or a kitten). And I worked extra hard to make this chapter as kick-ass as possible! I hope you enjoy it!

**To KRTheBlackPearl: **I freaking love your stories and your fan-art! You are another person who kept me racing to get this next chapter posted; and I'm sorry that I don't have the Deleted Scene done quite yet. As many a reader will attest, it takes me freaking forever to get a good scene written down. This is what happens when I hold (what were supposed to be omake-scenes in the beginning) to the same lofty standards as Mainfic. Hopefully this chapter will be epic enough to tide you over until it's finished.

**And to everyone else, seriously, thank you for sticking with this story for so long. I know it's not perfect or the most original fic-idea on the face of the earth, but it means a lot to me that you guys continue to love and read it anyway. I mean, if you were to go on TV Tropes and look up all the things people do wrong in fanfiction (particularly with OC's), you'd have Julie in a nutshell.**

**Seriously, she has all the makings of a Mary-Bitch-Sue. She's got an unusual appearance (according to AtLA standards)…she's got the tragic backstory and abusive father...and a toxic-as-all-hell ex-boyfriend…she's got special powers (even if Energybending is canon, it's super-sparkly rare and mystical…and barely touched upon in the show, so I can pretty much get away with anything)…she's got a cute, cuddly, uber-mascot of awesome-sauce…and she's paired up with a main-character.**

**And yet somehow it all works. Don't ask me how. It just does.**

**So, yeah. In other news, my Dad's mid-life crisis has taken an AWESOME turn for the strange. In a sudden fit of nerd-dom (his way of embracing his inner child since being a nerd wasn't at all trendy when he was my age) he ordered a couple of practice swords in the mail. And apparently I'm going to learn how to use said sword so I can beat up cosplayers to amp up my street cred.**

**His words, not mine. I think he wants bragging rights over a daughter that can bench-press a moose and make the Incredible Hulk piss himself in fright. I have no idea how I'm supposed to feel about this…but I **_**do like**_** getting a spiffy new sword. **

**Swords make everything better. Even family weirdness. Even a mid-life crisis. Though, I swear to God, I hope I don't start acting this crazy when **_**I **_**get old. Having a crisis seems so…exhausting.**

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Five: Between the Rock and the Hard Place**

Okay, so you know that weird feeling you get when you've been out on summer vacation and you finally go back to school? Remember how hard it always is to readjust to suddenly having homework, projects, and tests?

Well, try going back to school after being whisked away into a fictional, yet dangerous war-consumed world, only to return on the same day you left. See if you can bring yourself to crack open a book when for the past couple of months, your sole concern was staying the hell alive.

Well, that and trying not to hook up with a cartoon character because that would be destroying canon and kind of cheating on reality. Just a little bit.

But you know what? It was almost _weirder _being around my classmates again.

No one so much as glanced my way as I climbed out of Jessie's car and walked up the steps leading into the building. It was like I had never left; these people simply didn't give a shit that I was alive and in their midst again. Not that they had cared much _before…_

I'm not sure what I was expecting. Certainly not a parade…but at least a "Hey, where've ya' been, McVay?"

But I suppose I should be relieved that I wasn't being interrogated by the entire student body or the faculty and staff. Anything to keep the heat off of my old man did wonders for securing my physical and mental well-being. People were too busy texting on IPhones and making out against the lockers to so much as wonder where I had gone. Everywhere I looked, there were normal kids my age who only had to worry about their grades or having a date to the Homecoming Dance (which, according to the bright pink flyers thumb-tacked on the bulletin board outside the gym, was next Friday).

You know your life has gone down the shitter when the normal becomes a Twilight Zone moment. I couldn't help but notice that none of these people had to avoid being stalked by their ex-boyfriends…or evil spirits…or religious cults. I wasn't sure if I should have been basking in the normalcy, or been gagging at how revoltingly easy these jerks had it.

"Hey," Jessie said, poking me with the eraser side of her number two pencil. "You're all spacey again. Didn't you hear me?"

I blinked at her in surprise. "You said something?"

"I asked if you wanted to come over to my house after school to study. My PSAT scores were god-awful, you know."

"You scored in the high percentile range for all the categories. What are you even worried about?"

"Seventieth percentile in math is _not _okay, Jules. I might have scored higher than seventy percent of kids in the country, but there are still thirty percent that did better than _me_. Stuff like that _matters _when you're trying to get into med-school."

Here we go.

"Sounds like a passing grade to me," I muttered, finding myself getting quickly irritated with the conversation. After all, my grades sucked. Absolutely sucked. "Quit stressing, will you? You're doing fine."

Jessie folded her arms, shifting her backpack to rest on her other shoulder. "Well, stressing sure as hell beats staring blankly at the PTA bake sale flyer like a zombie."

"Actually, I was looking at the Homecoming banner."

"…"

"…"

Jessie was staring at me like I had five heads growing out of my neck. Not that I could blame her, either. I was acting like a total space cadet.

"…You _hate _Homecoming and everything it stands for," she said slowly. "Not to mention any other school-sanctioned event." Nice observation, Holmes.

"Um…I was picturing it on fire?"

"Julie, you wouldn't even care if those soccer moms were being tarred and feathered right in the gym. Come on, this isn't like you."

I sighed. "I know. I just…I guess I'm just tired."

Jessie frowned. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

Good question.

"Honestly…" I hesitated. "…no. I'm not. But even if I am, do you really think I can afford to take a sick day? You know I can't stay home during the day."

We both went quiet as we mulled it over. Over the chatter of the other students I could hear the discordant blaring of the warning bell. On cue, the clustered group of kids started breaking off from their cliques and scattering in different directions. I sighed, knowing that Jessie had to get to her chem test.

"Look, I'll be fine. You get to class and quit worrying…at least until lunch. Deal?"

"…_fine_. But if you're not better by then, I'm dropping your sorry butt at the nurse's office."

So, in other words, I'd be cutting class after fifth period. There was no way I was going to lie down on a stiff cot while that miserable old scarecrow of a nurse slipped me pamphlets about peer pressure and substance abuse. And I doubt whatever was wrong with me was going to magically clear up by then. I needed to book it.

"Sure," I lied. "Whatever you say."

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, though. I mean, I just had to get through the day. Compared to fighting zombies, how bad could it possibly be?

* * *

You know what I said just now? Scratch that. Coming back on a school day was the worst punishment God could have imagined for me. Though don't ask me what He was punishing me for. I've been asking myself that practically since the day I was born.

I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. Somehow, in being whisked away to another world and being forced to fight for my survival, I completely forgot how many assholes actually attend my high school. I don't quite know how _that _happened, though. A lot of things here are different from the way I remembered them.

For example, the fact that I wasn't very well-liked at school…but I remembered this pretty quickly when some of the football players snatched my backpack and got me involved in a woefully one-sided game of keep-away until homeroom started. Then, after a very apathetic substitute homeroom teacher made them give it back, I opened up my bag and found that the jerks had managed to snatch all my notebooks in an alarming display of sleight of hand.

Of course, once first period was over (fucking English class, and no, I hadn't actually done the assigned reading on Macbeth…though even if I had, I probably would have forgotten it over the past couple of months...stupid Shakesphere) I found my books out in the hallway. It took me too long to gather them all and put them back in my bag, so I ended up being late for study hall.

Okay, fine. No one cared. It was study hall. But, still.

I would have been perfectly content to spend that time doodling or listening to my cheap mp3 player, but once I opened my notebook the only thing I could think about was getting a hold of those stupid bastards who took my backpack and bashing their faces in with the business end of a golf-club. And you couldn't really blame me for it, either. One of them let their girlfriend scribble inside my notebook, and she had written the word "SLUT" all over the first page in offensively pink gel-pen.

I figured word must have finally gone around that I had been dating Ramon. It probably wouldn't have mattered if Ramon was our own age or went to another school or something. But no, they all knew who he was…a college-aged, bad-ass drug-dealer with a crap-ton of ill-begotten money. Of course they thought I had slept with him.

They weren't wrong, either.

So, you can imagine the shitty mood I was in by the time I had to gather my things and go to math, my worst subject on the face of the planet. There was no way in hell I was going to keep it together by the time lunch rolled around. And the last thing I wanted was for Jessie to feel bad for me (or worse) worry about me. I owed the girl too much already.

More often than not, being friends with me cost more than I was worth. Jessie probably would be in the running for Prom Queen if she didn't make the daily faux-pas of sitting at my lunch table and being openly friendly to me in the halls. And back in Avatar world, getting close to me could be considered fatal. Really, it was better not to be a burden on the only person here who actually cares about me. Jessie was my one and only real friend.

So, I decided to cut class for the rest of the day.

Considering that fourth period was gym for me (we just ran laps in preparation for the Presidential Fitness Exam coming up next week), it was relatively easy to grab my backpack and slip past the perimeter of the school. With so many kids already outside, who was going to notice one more?

There was a city bus stop not too far away from school grounds. All I had to do was cross through an alley across the street to reach it. So, in case those of you stuck on your high-horse want to lecture me about the evils of skipping school, look at it this way: they shouldn't have made it so ridiculously easy to leave in the first place.

Anyway, I was long gone by the time my fifth-period math class started.

No one bothered me as I entered the alley. During the day, the only things you were going to find there were trash and the occasional rat or two (and rats don't bother me so much anymore after seeing those monstrosities called elephant-rats up close and personal on Zuko's ship). However, it was overcast outside, so it was darker than usual for that time of day.

Even so, I really wasn't expecting any trouble. I had cut school so many times before. Hell, I had probably done it the first time I lived through October sixth…you know, that day I went to the Avatar world. It was the whole reason why Jessie found me and dragged my butt to her house to make up the work…and I ended up staying so late that I had to run home before my Dad realized I had missed curfew. That was how it happened, all right.

But this wasn't the sketchy interstate bridge on a foggy night. It was a significantly _less _sketchy alley within the school zone leading up to the bus stop. It was only really bad at night. There should have been nothing to worry about.

I suppose that was the trigger for Murphy's Law to kick in right at that moment…

_Huh, _I thought as I kept running. I could see the end of the alley in the distance, a bright spot against the monochromatic browns and grays. _Did this alley always stretch so far? Or am I just out of shape?_

The latter was highly unlikely. I had done survival-mode training with Bo-Fen two to three times a week. A little jog shouldn't have winded me as badly as I was now. How long have I been running for, anyway? It couldn't have been longer than a minute, but it felt like much longer. I slowed to a walk and let myself have a quick breather.

"What…the hell?"

The exit to the alley looked even farther away than when I began. I started to get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Maybe…I should head back the way I came in…"

I turned and saw pitch blackness behind me…the kind of black that looks like it can swallow a city whole, the kind that left your knees quaking and weak at the sight. There was no way in hell I wanted to go in there. I was too genre-savvy for that kind of stupidity.

This whole mess reeked of the supernatural. Dammit…I thought I was done with the creepy bullshit!

"Looks like trouble followed me back home," I muttered, forcing myself to turn my back on the swirling darkness behind me. "Okay, so light or dark…?" Come on, like I'd ever be suicidal enough to choose the dark path. "Light it is, then."

But I frowned. How the hell was I supposed to get there? It looked so far away…and it really wasn't all that bright to begin with. Maybe it wasn't even real. For all I knew, the spirits or demons or whatever-the-fuck-they-were wanted me to chase after an illusion. But, still…I couldn't face that kind of darkness. I wasn't brave enough.

"Babe…I have never seen you look so lost in the entire time I've known you."

Oh, fuck-nuts. Hearing _his _voice here of all places was the last thing I needed. Why was he here? More importantly, why was _I _here with _him? _I just wanted to go home! I was tired of this!

Ramon's hands were suddenly on my shoulders, big, calloused hands that could easily strangle the life out of me. I shuddered as he parted the hair along the back of my neck, his fingers slow and methodical, careful not to brush against my skin. My whole body was tensed for his touch that it jolted me to the core when I suddenly felt his lips against my ear.

"I knew it was a matter of time before you got too cozy in that school," he commented. "And look at where I found you."

I swallowed. "What…is this place?"

"Just somewhere we can talk. That's all. This area exists inside a temporal causality loop…in other words, a place where a specific moment in time repeats itself over and over again…just like in that one episode of Star Trek."

I scowled. "Do I look like a Trekkie to you?"

Ramon barked out a laugh. "Yeah, Babe. You're too mature for that stuff. That's why you still watch cartoons and anime."

"Hey, fuck you!"

The longer I stood there, the more things I noticed were wrong with the alley; the silence, for starters…the pure, dead absence of sound. The only things I could hear were Ramon behind me and the sound of my own heart beating against my chest. But there was also the sharp contrast between darks and lights…normal scenery didn't look like this. It was so jarring and surreal that my eyes automatically skipped over the color.

I didn't like this place. It was so _wrong_. I wanted to kick Ramon in the balls and run away, but what he told me was still echoing in my head. I _couldn't_ get away because we were in a loop. I'd just keep repeating the same steps over and over again until I exhausted myself…and I wouldn't be any closer to the exit. I was trapped in here.

I felt weak. "Did…did you do this?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. That's not really your concern, is it?"

Like hell it wasn't! If Ramon could suddenly start trapping people in loops, I felt it was in my best interests to know about it! This was even worse than finding out he was a Mask. This was such god-moddery…it wasn't fair! Wasn't there _anything _I could do?

"Oh, calm your tits already," he said, a rare note of scorn in his voice. "If I could do this sort of thing all the time, I wouldn't have had to lure you into the Spirit World. I can only create little pockets like this if certain conditions are met."

"What conditions?"

He smiled against the back of my neck. "Do you really think I'd tell you, that? You'd worry that pretty little head of yours for nothing. The important thing is that you're trapped. Not just in this alley, Babe…the entire city is enveloped in the temporal causality loop. Do you know what that means?"

"Um…that time is going to repeat itself…so…" I felt my blood run cold. "Wait a minute…it's October sixth…the same day that I…I left!"

Ramon grinned. "Give the girl a prize. I'm surprised you were able to reach that conclusion so quickly. That's impressive. Yeah. The city is going through the same day over and over again. Which means tomorrow, you're going to wake up in your bed, and it's going to be October sixth again. And the next day will be October sixth…and the day after that…and the day after that…"

"You…" I was so angry I was speechless. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you do something like this?"

His answer scared the holy hell out of me.

"Because I can."

He stepped around me so that he was in front of me, and the expression on his face was so flat, so callous that it made me panic internally. I knew from experience that a look like _that _meant Ramon was getting bored with the conversation…and things got dangerous when Ramon was bored.

"To be honest, Babe…I'm really pissed with you. I don't like arrogant little bitches telling me they never want to see me again. I don't _like _being walked away from…and you're going to regret leaving me." His face became a void of calm; a terrifying, blank slate of emotion. "But I'm not such a bad guy, you know. I figure this is a golden opportunity for both of us. That's why I created this space…so we can work out some sort of deal."

I almost didn't trust my voice to speak. "W…what opportunity? I don't…I don't understand what you're saying, you bastard…"

Ominously, a ghost of a smile appeared on Ramon's face.

"Let me ask you something, Babe…have you ever found yourself wishing you could change the past?"

For some reason, the question made me very uncomfortable. I mean, I knew damn well that I had my share of regret. If I could change the past, I would fix all the mistakes I made down the road. I'd never let Ramon ingratiate his way into my life. I wouldn't have let him talk me into hurting people who were just trying to help me. I wouldn't have let him treat me like his property, and I sure as hell wouldn't have slept with him.

"Are you kidding?" I said incredulously. "If I could, I'd erase you from history. I'd make it so that I never even met you."

Ramon ignored that. "Doesn't that seem like a waste? After all…you're trapped on October sixth, not at some random date years ago. So why don't you focus on the present? Tell me…what is it that you'd do differently today, if you could? What would you change about October sixth that could potentially change _everything_?"

"What do you mean? Nothing really happened today! Nothing except…"

Oh.

Today is the day I leave for the Avatar world. Is Ramon saying that if I let today play out like normal I'm going to end up falling off the bridge and into the Avatar world? Is he saying that I could _change _it so that this never happens?

My heart skipped a beat. "I could stay here. I could make it so that I never leave…"

Ramon's smile grew wider, like a Cheshire cat's. "That's right. You would live out the rest of your life as a normal girl…imagine that. No war…no Brotherhood…no Energybending…you can make all of that go away right now."

Holy crap. This was great! I mean, assuming Ramon was telling the truth (big assumption, I know), I had nothing to worry about anymore. All I had to do was make sure I didn't cross over into the Avatar world. I could change everything! And I wouldn't have to leave Jessie!

It was perfect…except…

"Hey," I said slowly, feeling my joy ebbing away. "Wouldn't that also mean that…I'd never meet Zuko…and Aang…and everyone else? If I stay here…I'll disappear from their lives. They won't even remember my name."

"Even if they did, I doubt they'd ever find you here. That's not your problem anymore. They're not even real, you know. They're just cartoon characters, you know."

My heart clenched painfully. "But…that doesn't mean they aren't _real_. I mean…look at you! You're made this space-time loop thingy…and that's only because you met Koh…so that means they _have _to be real! _This _is real!"

"Perhaps. But if you really believe that, you should be jumping at the chance to make up for all the trouble you caused those guys. I mean, by that logic, you completely dropped in and uprooted that Zuko-guy's life. You snatched his destiny from right under his nose. You stabbed the motherfucker in the back...more than you even realize."

I scowled. "No. I refuse to feel guilty about that. Letting Aang go was the right thing to do…even if Zuko never realizes it. Hell, I was practically doing him a _favor_. He would have been miserable in the Fire Nation! It wasn't the right time for him to go back!"

"Nice logic for a liar and traitor."

"Tch…" I winced. "Don't think I don't know what you trying to do. You want me to feel guilty for some reason. All of this…it has to be some kind of trick."

Ramon shrugged. "Hey, believe what you want. By all means, go back to the Avatar world. Go ahead and let Zuko die. Good riddance…one less thorn in my side. I don't like people touching my things, you know."

I know I probably should have just walked away, or demanded that he undo the temporal-causality-whatchumacallit. Nothing good ever came from taking the things Ramon said seriously. Every time I listened to him, I ended up royally screwing myself over. But then again, part of me was still worried…about Zuko. Stupid, right?

But then, I guess when you have these kind of feelings for another person, it makes you a little stupid. This was why I didn't want to get attached to him to begin with. In the back of my mind, I must have known something like this would happen.

"What do you mean when you said that Zuko would die?" I demanded. "If I go back…you said that Zuko…you said that he was going to die. Tell me what that means!"

"Really? He didn't tell you?" Ramon laughed. "Babe, he's cursed. Because he met you…because you changed his fate, he's going to die long before he ever has the chance to become Fire Lord. Just think…if the story hadn't changed so much, it would have been him, not Zhao, that invaded Kyoshi Island. No one would have been hurt…no one would have died…but more importantly, your heart wouldn't have given out during that battle."

None of this was computing. "And?"

"And? Babe, he and that Ayla girl had to make a contract with a spirit to save your life. You were going to die right there in his arms…and man, that would have been excellent. That Zuko was so worried about you that he used his own life as the Seal. Unless he fulfills the terms of the contract, he's going to deteriorate…and he'll die a slow, painful death."

My initial reaction was disbelief. That idiot…he traded his life to save mine? How could he do this…and for a girl he barely even knew? And after we had that fight…no, there's just no way Zuko would do that for a miserable person like me. I refused to believe it.

I didn't deserve a noble sacrifice like that. I didn't even deserve having Zuko in my life to begin with.

"That can't be true…"

"Whether you accept it or not, Zuko is going to die unless something changes. Because he is bound by the contract to take the life of Commander Zhao…and let's be honest with ourselves; that guy doesn't have the balls to do it. Good, honest types like him? He'll get himself killed trying to do things the honorable way."

"Better than being a selfish bastard like you," I snapped, my heart racing. I was starting to feel sick. This couldn't actually be happening. "Zuko wouldn't be stupid enough to make a contract. He just _wouldn't_…not for me."

"Ah, but I thought he _loved _you, Babe," Ramon sneered. "Oh, wait. That was before he found out that you just aren't the girl he thought you were. After all, Zuko thought he could trust you…and in reality, you were the one who let the Avatar go."

If he had stabbed me in the heart and twisted the knife around, he couldn't have hurt me any worse than he did with that bit of truth. Zuko had always protected me, even when he hated me. That was just the kind of person he was. And I had repaid him with a knife to the back. I had ruined his life…maybe even permanently, if Ramon was right.

But he couldn't be right. He just _couldn't _be.

"Yeah, except according to you I'm already dead, right?" I said angrily. "If I'm already dead like you were telling me before, then Zuko couldn't have made a contract." I let that sink in, wanting to cling to that shred of hope with everything I had. "You are so full of shit, Ramon!"

"Not my fault you're missing some pieces of the puzzle. I wasn't lying about your death…but let's just say that Fate had something different in store for you when it intervened. You _do _have a body after all. It works just fine…maybe even better for all that you've been through. By the way," he added, flashing me a predatory grin. "I _like _that nice, athletic shape of yours. And you've been growing your hair out…it looks cute. Even if no one else in the loop can notice the difference, I think you look pretty sexy."

I bristled. "Shut your mouth! I don't believe a damn thing you say…about me…or Zuko…so just get the hell out of here!"

I just wanted to get away from this conversation. The contract, if it was real…I wanted it to go away. Even if it meant that I'd be dead, then…I'd accept that. It wasn't _right _for me to have a second chance at the expense of someone much more deserving of it.

"It's all true, Babe. Regardless of what you believe, this is the path you carved out for yourself…this is the reality you created. But it doesn't have to be the only one. I'm giving you the chance to change that…you could fix everything you destroyed."

I stared at him. "If I never meet Zuko, then…his story will go back to normal? He won't…_die_?"

"Not like this, no. Assuming his destiny remains the same, he should be able to live out the rest of his long life…and he'll never even notice the difference. He can have the life that you stole from him."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"What do I have to do…?"

Ramon grinned. "Well, that's entirely up to you. You need to figure out how you ended up in the Avatar world and make sure it doesn't happen. And I'm giving you as many cycles as you need to make this work. Just get a little creative…the possibilities are endless, you know."

My heart skipped a beat. _Endless_. Could I really believe that? Did I really have the power to change Zuko's fate? And mine? Was such a thing even possible?

"I guess the reason I end up in the Avatar world is because I…died. Or fell off the bridge. At the very least, I have to stay away from that place today." I frowned. "Can it really be that simple, though? This smells like a trap somehow."

I looked up and Ramon was gone. The alley was back to normal.

The sound of bustling city life reached my ears again, and it startled me so badly that my knees gave out. I knelt on the ground, hugging my arms to my sides and listening to my heart pounding in my ears. This was all so crazy…I could barely believe it was real. Things like this didn't just _happen _to people. I've said it once and I'll say it again…things like space-time loops and scheming ex-boyfriends…it was something out of an anime…or a really cliché fanfic.

Real or not, though, I had a choice to make. Did I want to change destiny? Was I brave enough to try?

"This…is so fucking weird…" I muttered, pushing myself off the ground. I glanced around warily, still feeling as though I was being watched. It made goose-bumps rise up underneath my skin. "Oh, screw this. I'm going home!"

I took off running for the bus stop. I was in such a hurry to escape that I didn't realize I was being watched. And let me tell you, after the encounter I just had, the last thing I wanted to do was stop and look back. Being trapped in a loop with a fucker like Ramon had been downright frightening.

So, yeah. I sprinted to the bus stop like a demon was chasing after me. For all I knew, there probably was. I couldn't tell what was logical or possible anymore.

* * *

But I suppose you're probably wondering if the person watching me was my ex-boyfriend. Considering how long this story is getting, I'm going to save whoever reads this the suspense and tell you flat out, yes. It was Ramon along with another one of the Masks, an older man with a perpetual smile on his face.

Koichi looked down into crystal clear pool of water and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Are you sure this is going to work? Did she really believe you?"

Ramon laughed quietly to the other guy standing next to him. "Hook, line, and sinker. I tell you, she's way too easy sometimes." He sighed. "Ah, well…she's still got a nice ass. And it's always fun playing with her. I could do this for an eternity…"

For a moment, the expression on his face betrayed the barest hints of fondness and affection, but it was masked by the sinister glow of unrestrained obsession.

"She's a little worm, you know," he commented. "She never could handle things herself…I always had to take care of her. But I love her anyway. She _needs _me…she'll _always_ need me." His eyes narrowed. "I'll _make_ her need me if I have to."

The mask-seller smiled politely, brushing aside the unintentional confession. However, he mentally stored that tidbit away for future use. Knowledge was power, after all.

"I have to admit, I'm surprised she bought it so quickly," the Mask of Joy prompted, steering the conversation in a slightly different direction. "You have her scared out of her mind, you know. She probably thinks you can control time or something equally as ridiculous."

"What time? Time doesn't exist in the Spirit World, remember? This is just a pretty little illusion I made to keep her busy while you deal with Scar-Face and Santa Claus. I can't wait to see what she does to try to _"save" _that guy. It's so fun watching her struggle." Ramon was practically brimming with excitement. "My Baby never gives up…no matter how many times she slips and falls, she keeps getting back up. I like that about her, you know."

He tossed a stone in the water and the surface rippled, changing the image projecting out of it. Soon, the two found themselves looking at the figures of Zuko and Iroh being guided through a thicket of giggling willows by an older tree spirit. Ramon smirked devilishly before hawking up a loogie and spitting it into the pool.

On cue, Zuko let out a curse. "_Euuuggh…what…what just dropped on my shoulder? Did a bird just…?"_

"_I don't think that's excrement, nephew. Perhaps it's starting to rain."_

"_Are you kidding? It's sunny out right now. Besides, this is too thick to be water…gross…"_

Ramon burst out laughing. "Man, what an idiot. You should have an easy time picking them off. Just make it entertaining for me, okay? I want to watch the fuckers squirm before we feed them to the centipede."

Koichi smiled. "You have your goals and I have mine. It's not _fun _I'm looking to have, you know."

"Well, either way, I could care less so long as they don't mess with my little Red. I'm going to keep her nice and safe, no matter what anyone says. She's not getting away from me…and I'll fuck up anyone who tries to set her free. Understand?"

"Now, now…no need for threats. I have no intention of breaking your spell. We're on the same team, you know."

Ramon leveled a stare at him. "We're all in it for different reasons. I'm in it for myself, so I'm Pleasure. And you…you're Joy. Who knows what agenda you've got? Anyway…just keep that in mind, in case you're suicidal enough to mess with me."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure I'll find what I'm looking for in time," Koichi replied. He was smiling, but his eyes opened and his stare was ominous. "It's good to see you taking so much pleasure in this. Living purely for one's own selfish needs…it can be nice at first…but be careful not to trap yourself in a rut. Living through an endless cycle of pain and pleasure…I doubt that will make anyone truly happy in the end, least of all yourself."

"Yeah? Well, go fuck yourself."

"I thought you didn't want me encroaching on your territory."

Ramon folded his arms and glowered into the pool of water. "If you don't take care of those bastards, I'm going to do it myself. And if that happens, it won't be pretty."

Koichi smiled. "I suppose I'll leave you and your Julie alone for now. I'd hate to intrude on such a _happy _couple."

The older man turned on his heel and vanished into the shadows. Ramon's back tensed and his hands clenched into fists as he glared at Zuko's projected image, as though he wanted nothing more than for him to whither under his gaze and die.

"Things will be better this way," he said to the darkness. "Julie is mine…she belongs to me. She should want nothing more than to be with me. She just doesn't know what's good for her. She never has."

He tossed another stone in the pool, watching the water ripple and churn against its weight.

"Soon, Babe. Real soon."

* * *

"This is as far as I can go. The rest is up to you."

Zuko gave the dryad a stiff nod while his uncle bowed. "We appreciate you bringing us this far. It must have been quite a risk getting involved with us."

The proud oak woman frowned. "It is as your nephew said, General Iroh. The world will be in great danger if Koh collects all four of his Masks. She is far too powerful as she is now…far stronger than any human should ever be, even if she _is _an Energybender. If Koh has control over her, he could possibly manage to find a way into the mortal world."

The Fire Prince considered this for a moment. For some reason, he was deeply troubled…not just at the prospect of Koh using his world as an all-you-can-eat face buffet, but at what the dryad was saying about Julie. What did she mean when she said "more powerful than any human should ever be…?" That made it sound as if the girl wasn't even human.

"Julie's different," he commented. The oak glanced at him impassively. "Look, she may have the potential to be a powerful bender, but…right now she's just a girl who's lost and probably scared. She isn't the problem here…Koh is."

The dryad smiled sadly. "I understand your feelings, Prince Zuko. But the world has never existed in absolutes. Good or evil…regardless of Julie's intentions, she is a force that must not be taken lightly. The fact that she cannot control this power is potentially even more dangerous than if she were using it to some specific end."

"And if Koh makes her his Mask, he will undoubtedly imprint his own desires in her heart…" Iroh added grimly. "A desperate, misguided soul wreaking destruction…I fear that will be Julie's fate if we do not find her soon."

Zuko's stomach turned. "We'll find her, then. We can go the rest of the way from here…but do you have any idea what's up ahead?"

The oak woman pointed a finger up the slope leading into a dense fog where the gentle willows became sparse. What foliage remained were gnarly, twisted, and dark-looking-ominous shapes in the distance that looked ready to grab them at any moment. And now that Zuko knew that everything in the Spirit World was sentient, he could easily believe he was staring at a clustered group of hostile strangers.

"Those trees undoubtedly work for the face-stealer and whisper lies to confuse travelers," she said. "However, it would be best to ignore them since your goal is to find Julie as quickly as possible. Instead, you need to seek out the spirit I mentioned to you earlier. If you pester him enough, he will attempt to trick you into walking directly into Koh or one of his Masks."

"Does this spirit have a name?"

The dryad nodded solemnly. "Yes. His name isHe-Ping_._ He is not necessarily malevolent in nature…he just values peace and quiet above all else. He would think nothing of throwing you to the face-stealer if it meant he could go about his meditations undisturbed."

Zuko thought about this. "So…all we have to do is bother him. That shouldn't be too hard."

"We should still be cautious," Iroh interjected. "Things are rarely so simple in matters such as these. You must be on your guard."

"I know, Uncle. Don't worry."

"You know I only nag because I care, nephew. Please understand."

"I…I know…I just…" Zuko sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. He felt awkward all of a sudden. "Everything will be fine. I promise I'll be careful."

He knew exactly why his uncle was so keyed up right now. Lu Ten, his cousin and Iroh's son, had met his demise in these woods. And now they were traveling down the same path on a crazy mission to save the person responsible for his fate…though Zuko had a lot of trouble matching this Anju up with Julie in his mind. The girl he knew would never trick innocent souls into entering Koh's lair.

But then again, the girl he knew wouldn't have set the Avatar free, either.

_She was sick, _he reminded himself. _It couldn't have been her. Julie wouldn't do that to me…would she?_

"It is best to leave all doubts behind you," the dryad advised them, her gaze cutting into Zuko as if sensing his thoughts. "Only a determined, unwavering spirit has a chance of surviving an encounter with Koh. If you cannot remain steadfast in your goal…I cannot promise your safety."

"Are you saying I should turn back?" Zuko snapped.

She blinked at him. "I cannot choose your Fate, Prince Zuko. That is entirely in your hands now. I can only tell you what I believe…and that is that your Julie must be kept safe at all costs." She was quiet for a moment as her words sank in. "If you have made the decision to continue your quest, then go and find her…for all of our sakes."

He felt like he was getting a headache. "I don't need you to tell me that! I'm leaving. Come on, Uncle!"

The retired general sighed. "Please forgive him. He can be blunt, but I assure you he is actually a good, kind boy."

The oak chuckled. "I can see that. He truly cares for that girl." She paused, her lips pursing together thoughtfully. "If they stay together, your nephew and Julie have the potential to change this world…though it is still too soon to say what this will do to the precarious balance of things."

Iroh turned to leave. "That is why I am here to guide him. It is all I want…for Zuko to find the right path for himself. For him to grow into the honorable young man he was always meant to be. But he must make his choices on his own…and he will have to make them soon regarding Julie…and the Avatar."

"Then go. He needs you…and it would not do to keep such an impatient young man waiting."

He laughed congenially, sounding deceptively like nothing more than a jolly old man. "I'll admit…I wish he weren't so eager to rush headfirst into danger like this. But this is the path he has chosen…I will stand by whatever decision he makes in the end." He bowed again to the spirit and turned to follow his nephew into the fog.

The dryad watched them both vanish. "Take care," she murmured, a fond expression on her face. "Humans…they are unique creatures, aren't they? I pray for their safety…"

Unbeknownst to the conversation he had missed, Zuko continued to trudge through the forest, the parting words of the oak-woman still echoing in his mind.

_A determined, unwavering spirit? Does something like that really make a difference?_

He stopped when he crested the hill, waiting for his uncle to catch up. He scowled a little, but didn't say a word as the older man smiled at him, patting him on the shoulder as he moved past him. Still, Zuko couldn't keep the sigh from passing his lips.

"You're so slow."

"You'll have to forgive an old man for not being as quick as he used to be, my nephew."

"You're not _that _old. They call you the Dragon of the West for a reason, you know."

"Oh? I suppose we'll see if I can live up to my reputation, then…even after all this time." Iroh looked ahead at the winding path through the trees. "We are fortunate to have a road to follow. I suppose we will run into He-Ping when the path ends."

Zuko followed his gaze, but he didn't look happy about what he saw. "I hope it isn't too far. We've taken too much time already." He frowned. "What do you think Julie is doing right now?"

"I imagine trying to find her way back. She might not even know we are searching for her…or even that she is in danger."

They looked at each other and nodded. Without further prompting, they set off down the path leading deeper into the fog. They had reached a point where barely any sunlight filtered through to them and their surroundings were enveloped in heavy shadows, casting the entire world in a spectrum of gray, green, brown, and black. What little color there was seemed washed out by the fog. It was dreary and ominous.

Zuko occasionally would glance at some of the surrounding trees, more out of curiosity than anything else. But he was repelled by the knotted branches and misshapen trunks that looked eerily like agonized faces pushing up through the bark. So many faces surrounded them the deeper they went in the forest…almost like a gallery of human emotion.

"Uncle," he whispered. "Is this where Koh keeps his faces after he steals them?"

Iroh's expression was tight. "Koh can only wear one face at a time. He takes the shape of a giant centipede with an eye that blinks through faces faster than you can imagine them. And he will do this randomly, as to startle those foolish enough to visit him in his lair."

Zuko hesitated. "He…_startles _them?"

"Showing any emotion at all in front of Koh will be the end of you, Prince Zuko. The moment you let an expression form on your face, it will be ripped from your body, and your soul will be added to his collection. Once that happens…there will be no saving you."

He bit back the urge to shudder as he thought about a monster like that descending on him to deliver such a fatal blow. That had been Lu Ten's final moment as a free spirit…and now he was just another face in Koh's collection.

"Uncle…will we be seeing Lu Ten tonight?"

His tone was hesitant, careful. Normally Zuko knew better than to bring up his deceased cousin out of fear of upsetting his uncle. But Iroh didn't even blink. He had his emotions carefully schooled, perhaps in preparation of the cruelty in store for them.

"I know we will," he replied. "Koh is very eager to add to his collection, you know. And I imagine members of the Fire Nation Royal Family would be two excellent additions. He will do anything he can to get a rise out of you…out of both of us." He looked at Zuko seriously. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried for your sake, Zuko. You are an easily-provoked person…and you aren't very skilled at concealing your emotions."

"I'll manage just fine…"

"Still…it is imperative that you remember yourself at all times. Try to clear your thoughts while you are here…as if you are doing your breathing exercises or your morning meditation. Remember the basics…"

Zuko scowled. "What good will the basics do for us here? Neither of us can bend! I just want to find Julie and get out of here before that monster gets a hold of her!" He clenched his hands into fists. "We could run into the other Masks at any time," he said in a low voice. "And I bet _they _know we're coming. We wouldn't have been able to get this far if they didn't, right? Isn't that how it works? We can only enter Koh's lair if he wants us here?"

Iroh nodded gravely.

"If I see him again…Ramon…I'll make him pay for hurting her."

"Zuko, that boy is…unstable…dangerous." The retired general caught his nephew's arm and tugged urgently, forcing him to stop for a moment and look him in the eyes. "We don't know what kind of power Koh has given him…but we do know one thing. His feelings for Julie…it's an obsession unlike any I have seen in my lifetime."

"All the more reason for me to take him out," Zuko muttered. "Did you hear the kinds of things he wanted to do to her back in Jade Valley? Uncle, can you even imagine what he'd been doing to her while they were together…!"

"You must not let him provoke you!"

The Fire Prince closed his eyes and breathed in slowly through his nose, exhaling only after he felt like his inner surge of temper had passed. "It's a little late for that, don't you think? If I have the chance to get rid of him while I'm here, I'm going to take it."

"Our top priority should be bringing Julie out of this place safely," Iroh scolded him. "Leave your grudges for another day…or else you will _not _survive this journey!"

Zuko took another deep breath, anger still burning in his eyes. "Fine…I get it. Even if I don't like the idea, Julie's life is at stake here…and so are ours." He forced himself to relax. "Lu Ten was taken in these woods. I won't let that happen to us…or to her."

The older man frowned at the boy, but whatever he had been about to say died on his lips as he glanced ahead. Sure enough, the path had reached its end, tapering off right at the end of what looked like a lake with wooden poles protruding from the mud. And perched on the base of one of the poles in the distance was the unmistakable shape of a monkey dressed head to toe in a monk's uniform.

"Is that He-Ping?"

"Well…I suppose we can ask him and see. If he is, we will undoubtedly be serving our purposes by interrupting him. Come along, nephew."

Zuko sighed and followed his Uncle over to the edge of the lake. He frowned as Iroh stooped down to pick up a stone and tossed it into the water. Even though the surface was clear, it sucked the stone down until it became apparent that the lake had no bottom (or at least not one they could see). It hadn't even occurred to Zuko to check the depth of the water.

Iroh certainly was no slouch of a guardian. "We will have to cross on these poles. Fortunately they seem big enough to stand on, but if you aren't careful you will slip and fall into the water." He gave him a pointed look. "If you are patient and go slowly then it shouldn't be too difficult."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "Yeah, sure," he muttered sarcastically. "Really easy…for an Airbender, maybe."

However, a moment later the two Firebenders stepped on to the poles nearest to the edge of the lake, despite the younger's grumblings. It was easy going at first, as both made a point to watch their step going across. But then, the journey is always safer at the beginning—and sure enough things became more difficult as they neared the center of the lake, where the water was deepest.

"Whoa…!"

SPLASH

Iroh stopped in his tracks, looking back towards his nephew, who was frantically trying to regain his balance. He held his breath and he could have sworn his heart had stopped beating for a moment; but soon Zuko was standing with both feet firmly planted on his pole. He looked extremely annoyed.

"Something jumped out of the water right in front of me," he snapped defensively. "I wasn't expecting it."

Iroh shook his head. "Zuko…you must prepare yourself for surprises while we are here. The face-stealer will have worse ones in store for you if you cannot handle one little fish."

Zuko winced. "I get it, all right? You don't have to keep lecturing me…!"

He didn't want to admit it, but his uncle's warning disturbed a very deep part of his being. He knew he wasn't the most level-headed person…and this was the last place he wanted to lose his temper or be caught off-guard. But it was just who he was. He didn't know how to mask all the anger and frustration he carried around inside of him. And to top it all off, he couldn't Firebend his stress away.

Zuko wouldn't admit it, but he was afraid. He was afraid for Julie, but he was just as afraid for his uncle…and for himself.

_Lu Ten died here…no, he was already dead. Now he's worse than dead._

What did he get them both into, anyway?

"Ohm…" a deep voice echoed from several yards away. "…Ohm…"

Zuko and Iroh looked over at the chanting figure and then looked at each other. He was close enough now so that they could see him, and there was no doubt that this was the spirit they were searching for. A monkey dressed in monk robes…a monk monkey…or a monk-e…was this supposed to be some sort of pun?

"I guess the Spirits have a sense of humor after all," Zuko commented. "Not that I'm a fan of their idea of comedy."

Iroh frowned, but ignored the statement for the moment. "It would be better if we got off these poles. He seems to be sitting on a small island of sorts. We can stand on that for the moment."

"Yeah, well we have to reach it, first." The Fire Prince moved to take a step and jolted back in horror as the pole directly in front of him abruptly sank into the water. If he hadn't been paying attention he definitely would have stumbled into the lake.

"You'll need to watch where you step, travelers."

The unknown voice put Zuko immediately on guard. Not knowing if it was Koh or some other spirit come to torment them, he frantically schooled his expression into what he considered to be a blank slate. Then, taking a deep breath, he turned to look in the direction the voice had beckoned from.

Koichi the mask-seller was perched on another one of the poles, legs crossed and eyes bright with interest. He seemed remarkably unconcerned that the poles around him were sinking into the lake, seemingly at random. In fact, he almost looked pleased by the situation, as if the potential danger scratched some very deep itch in his soul, one he could never reach on dry land.

"What do you want?" Zuko said in as calm a voice as he could manage.

Iroh broke him out of his emotionless stupor, however. "Prince Zuko…what are you doing?"

That got to him. "What do you mean, _what am I doing?_ I'm controlling my emotions…isn't that what you told me to do? For all we know, the Masks might be able to steal faces, too."

"You look as if you haven't had a good bowel movement in weeks," Koichi commented. "I don't think you want Lord Koh taking your face because you look constipated…because technically constipated counts as an expression."

Zuko's brow twitched. "I don't need any advice from _you!_"

From his precarious seat, the Mask of Joy seemed to have an excellent view of both Firebenders as well as He-Ping (who was fiercely determined not to acknowledge their presence, judging by increasing tenacity in his "Ohms"). Beaming openly, he gestured around him at the lake itself.

"I have to say, you both have good taste in ambiance. This is one of my favorite places to relax…it's so unpredictable, very much like life itself. Nothing ever stays the same…there is no confinement in the ordinary and routine."

Iroh kept his expression neutral. "You seem to like surprises."

"It's a liberating feeling, taking a risk. It makes you feel alive...which is saying quite a lot when you've been dead for hundreds of years."

Zuko glared at him. "I could care less about your personal habits. You took Julie…and I want her back. Tell me where she is, or I'll _make _you tell me."

Koichi lifted an eyebrow. "You cannot _make _me do anything, Prince Zuko. Out in the mortal world you may be a strong Firebender, but that's all you are…just a Firebender. Perhaps if you were the Avatar, it would be different…but here you have no power over me…or any of the spirits around you." His expression turned a shade darker and significantly more sinister. "Not that it matters to me, but I suggest you watch your tone, lest you provoke someone you shouldn't."

That hit him like a fist.

_Perhaps if you were the Avatar, you'd stand a chance at saving Julie. What do you seriously expect to do here? How did you ever think you could stand against something as powerful as Koh…? _The words weren't spoken, but the message was clear.

Just a Firebender…he was just a Firebender. And here…he may as well not be a bender at all.

"Besides," Koichi added as an afterthought. "I wasn't the one who took your Julie. That was Ramon…you know, Pleasure."

Oh, yeah. The guy Zuko wanted to burn alive.

"And I suppose you know where he is," Iroh prompted.

The mask-seller rubbed his chin for a moment, considering. "I might know. That's certainly a possibility…but can you trust anything I say? I might very well lead you into a trap."

_How nice of him to warn us, _Zuko grumbled mentally.

"Of course, you could always ask He-Ping, over there," the Mask continued calmly, as if he were merely discussing the weather. "In a way he might be _more _trustworthy since he is guaranteed to mislead you. You can trust in his lies."

"Ahem!"

They all glanced at the monkey-monk spirit as he pointedly cleared his throat, glaring at them with one eye open. Still maintaining his lotus position, he slowly shut his eye again and resumed his chant. "Ohm…"

Zuko frowned, realizing he was at a proverbial fork in the road. Koichi wasn't saying as much, but this entire scenario was a form of riddle…to take a risk and take him at his word, or to place his trust in a known liar. And while he stood here wondering, more of the poles were sinking into the lake.

"Whatever choice you make, you must make it soon," he told them. "…for the platforms are sinking fast, and there's no telling when yours will join them. Tarry too long and your path forward will be lost…same for the path leading behind. Regardless of the outcome, I will wait here until you have made your decision."

Iroh narrowed his eyes a fraction of a degree. "You would risk your safety so thoughtlessly?"

Koichi grinned like a child caught with his hand in the cookie-jar. "Oh, no. I assure you, I've thought long and hard about this. I've decided that there's no place I'd rather be than on this pole. There's no telling how long it will support my weight…or if something will knock me into the water."

"So, either you're absolutely insane, or the water doesn't hurt spirits," Zuko stated.

"Quite the opposite. This lake can suck your soul into the darkest, coldest, and loneliest places in the Spirit World…from which there is obviously no escape, unless you can out-swim the currents. It's a miserable fate, all right…so I wouldn't recommend testing your luck."

With that said, he sat back comfortably and did nothing more than observe the two Firebenders with a pleasant expression on his face. Zuko and Iroh exchanged a tense glance. As though urging them to hurry, two more of the poles to their left shuddered and sank beneath the surface of the water.

"Well, I think it's obvious what we have to do," said the Fire Prince firmly.

"Yes, as do I," Iroh agreed. "Let us hurry across to He-Ping before we lose our way back."

"Wait…what?"

The retired general turned to his nephew in surprise. "Zuko, we cannot trust the Mask of Joy. He was probably sent to us by Koh…and he'll have both our faces before we ever see Julie again if we follow him."

Zuko hesitated, doubt creeping its way onto his face. "I…I know it's risky, but what choice do we have? Our only other option is pestering a random spirit until he sends us someplace we _know _will be dangerous…and there's a chance Julie might not even be there." He folded his arms. "I say we have a better shot if we follow one of Koh's Masks. At least then we _know _we're on the right track."

"It is dangerous. You'd be taking too great of a risk!"

"Yeah? Well…sometimes you have to take risks to get somewhere. And some risks are worth taking. I'm not going to let Koh have Julie…and I won't let Ramon have her, either."

Koichi laughed from his perch as the pole directly in front of him sank into the lake. "My, Prince Zuko…I can only imagine how Ramon would react if he were to hear you say that to his face. The way he's been looking at that girl…even in her current state, he guards her as if she's his secret treasure."

That seemingly-innocent comment got immediate results.

"Ramon has Julie?"

The mask-seller shrugged. "It's rather complicated. You see…he has her trapped, yes…but she isn't a prisoner. She wants to be where she is right now."

Ignoring his uncle's silent warnings and frantic gestures to come back, Zuko turned and began crossing poles until he was standing on the one nearest to where Koichi was sitting. The Mask looked up politely, his calm façade teasing the Fire Prince's last nerve. It was lucky he remembered he couldn't Firebend in the Spirit World, or else he would have tried to force an answer out of him.

"Tell me the truth! Where is she?"

Koichi tilted his head to the side. "You think I'm lying? You think Anju is being held against her will, as though she were some kind of damsel in distress?" He shook his head incredulously, his expression turning abruptly dark. "You do her a great dishonor to patronize her like this. The girl has more power than you ever will, human. She just hasn't realized it, yet."

"Her name is Julie, not Anju," Zuko snapped, his ears burning red from anger. "I don't care how strong she is or what kind of power she has! To me, she's just…Julie…" he trailed off for a moment, visibly troubled. "She said she didn't want to go with Ramon…so why would she want to be with him _now? _Why would she go back?"

Koichi shifted a little in his seat to scrutinize him more closely. "Does it bother you? The idea that she chose him over you?"

He snarled and would have lunged had Iroh not reached him and caught him by the arm. "Do not let him provoke you, nephew. It is clear that he will be of no use to us. Now, let us hurry."

Zuko breathed out through his flaring nostrils, wishing he could feel the fire expanding inside of him with every breath. He felt utterly cut off from his element…and utterly useless. Grudgingly, he started to follow his uncle back towards where He-Ping sat. But to their dismay, the monkey-spirit was nowhere to be found.

"He's…gone."

Koichi grinned. "That tends to happen when you're not paying close enough attention. People come and go so quickly here."

Zuko wheeled around and yelled at him. "You tricked us!"

"I did no such thing. You knew exactly what you were doing when you chose to come speak with me…and it is clear that you had no intention of placing your trust in someone as unreliable as He-Ping. You know he doesn't have the same information that I do." He looked pointedly at Zuko. "I know where Ramon is keeping her. I could show you what your ears refuse to believe…"

He fumed silently, once recklessly determined, now suddenly indecisive underneath Koichi and his uncle's stares. The offer was just too good, too tempting…there was no way this wasn't going to turn around and bite him in the ass. Zuko had been all set to try to pry Julie's whereabouts out of this man…but having him willing to lead him to her changed everything.

Iroh narrowed his eyes at the mask-seller, voicing his nephew's unspoken thoughts. "Yes, but who is to say that you will not lead us into a trap, instead?"

Koichi, rather than being put-off by the general's suspicion, looked pleased that he made such a connection. "It is quite a dilemma, isn't it? But I tell you…that moment when you have exercised every last option and have no hope but to trust in the toss of the dice…knowing that your fate hangs in the balance…you truly feel alive. And there is no feeling more joyful nor more liberating than in abandoning the constraints of one's personal comfort zone."

Zuko's anger ebbed for a moment as he resisted the urge to face-palm. "So, in other words…you have a gambling problem."

"I prefer to call it an appreciation for the art of probability," the mask-seller corrected.

"Still…what do you stand to gain by helping us?" he pressed. "I thought you wanted to give Julie to Koh. Wasn't that your plan all along?"

Koichi grinned. "That's not something either of you need to know. Besides," he added. "Can you really afford not to trust me? You're out of leads…and if you keep wandering aimlessly the face-stealer is certain to find you and ambush you." His expression dimmed slightly. "Let's just say that I have a very good reason for interfering with Ramon's…ah…_good intentions_ for Anju."

Zuko opened his mouth to retort, but nearly bit off his own tongue as he felt the pole he was standing on beginning to sink. Reacting purely on instinct, he jumped with barely enough time to spare, landing clumsily on another pole closer to where Iroh was standing. He was instantly grateful for his uncle, who held him steady as he caught his balance.

"I…I think we should get off this lake," he said awkwardly.

Iroh gave him a flat stare. "Yes, I think that would be best…unless Julie is somewhere underwater."

* * *

**A/N: And so begins Zuko and Iroh's excellent adventure.**

**First off, let me say how much I wish I could have fit everyone else in this chapter. I feel like until this arc comes to a resolution, the chapter is either going to be set in the Spirit World entirely, or entirely in the mortal world. Which means chapters involving Zuko and Julie will be solely about them, while Team Avatar and the rest of the Zu-Crew can take up their own chapter to be epic and bad-ass.**

**I also have to apologize if the first part of the chapter read too much like a high-school fic. I assure you, things will pick up now that we've gotten the time-loop plot-point out of the way. Julie is going to relive her last day in her own world…over and over again until she finds a way to change history and prevent herself from meeting Zuko. Hopefully it will make up for having to read about things like the PTA and Homecoming dances (it will never happen again, guys; promise!).**

**Also…I think I have an overabundance of psychopaths in my fanfic. But Ramon is undoubtedly a special kind of crazy. He's manipulative, domineering, and way too obsessed with maintaining the power-play between himself and Julie. But there's definitely some raw affection underneath his more abusive qualities…which only makes this whole thing creepier.**

**Of course, the fact that Zuko has no idea what's going on makes this really good for fan-service. I can't wait to see what you guys think of this chapter. **

**REVIEW!**


	104. Divide and Conquer

**A/N: I'm not going to explain where I've been for the past three weeks. All I'm going to say is that I learned a valuable lesson about the earth's gravitational pull and why you shouldn't experiment with it…at least, not when alcohol is involved.**

**Julie: **"We had another Incident here at Distant-Moon's Fanfiction Mastermind Lair. Oh, and before you guys ask, Zuko is out sick this week, so he can't help me announce this next chapter."

**Dude can party. That's all I'm saying.**

**Julie: **"What? Zuko isn't hung over! He had to skip work today because…um…well…_someone _might have slipped his email address to some of his fangirls on the Internet…and, well…I _warned _him not to touch the last pudding cup in the fridge. He had it coming. Anyway, the upshot of all of this is that Zuko has to go under the witness protection program until this all dies down."

**I meant me. Wait…Zuko had to flee the country? AGAIN? This is the third time in the past four months!**

**Julie: **"Technically, the first time was when he set up his Facebook and Twitter account, and his number of Likes and Followers exploded overnight…and then Zuko started getting some naked pictures of his followers in his email Inbox, so we had to shut both of the accounts down. The second time was…well, okay, that one was me. Though in my defense, I didn't think people still went on Pintrest and ImGur."

**Those were shirtless photos of Zuko. Why would those NOT go viral?**

**Julie: **"I didn't really think that through. But he forgave me once I convinced him that the Internet was run by the Spirits and not a bunch of horny teenagers. Honestly, I think he was more confused by it all than he was angry. He couldn't understand why people would want to look at pictures of him all day."

**Did you explain that people are fapping to those pictures yet?**

**Julie: **"…like I said, he thinks the Internet is owned and operated by the Spirits. I'm not giving the guy any more reason to have some sort of existential crisis. You should have seen him when he found . I found him on the floor in the corner sitting in the fetal position in front of an open laptop. Poor guy managed to find an M-rated fic pairing him up with his uncle."

**Oh. So…he was on **_**that **_**side of the Internet. Yeah, I think that merits a day off. God knows he already has it rough, being paired up with you and everything. I ought to give the guy a raise.**

**Julie: **"You don't pay us at all." **(thirty seconds later) **"…HEY! Screw you!"

**Oh, calm your tits and do the summary already. It's been a few weeks and I bet people are going to need reminding about what happened last time. You know, in case they forgot. Pretty please?**

_LAST TIME ON HAPPY ENDINGS!_

**Julie: **"Okay, so I'm going to skip what happened in the last chapter with me and Ramon since neither of us actually appear in this chapter. It's been way too long since we heard from Team Avatar, so I've been given strict instructions to catch you guys up on what's happening with them. I mean, it's only fair. I'm just an OC living in a canon universe. The moment I start hogging the entire spotlight is the moment I become a Mary Sue."

**You're not a Sue. God, just get on with it. I have to clean my apartment after I'm done writing this because I'm having Real-Life Jessie over at my house this weekend. I'm going to make her play pixilated horror video games until she cries and/or pees herself. **

**Julie: **"Genius. Cleaning for the chance to clean up someone else's pee."

**Shut up. Summary. Now.**

**Julie: **"Ahem. Anyway, in case you guys forgot, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were ambushed with a hostage situation while chasing down Warden Takei and were forced to surrender. They were captured and are currently being taken…_somewhere_. And Haru and Kuba are busy trying to bring all the ship's coal up into the yard using the ventilation shafts. But it's probably going to take more than just a little coal to light the spark of rebellion in the hearts of the downtrodden Earthbenders."

**Remind me to steal that metaphor from you later. I like that crap about coal and how it doesn't do anything unless you light it on fire. Without the spark lighting the fire of rebellion, coal is just…you know…coal.**

**Julie: **"…um…anyway…Ayla, Bo-Fen, and Shim are the only ones left in Jade Valley to defend the unconscious bodies of Zuko and Iroh while they…" **(trails off as she squints at the paper in her hands) **"Why is the rest of this sentence blacked out in permanent marker? And…why are they unconscious?"

**Look, I'm not giving you any spoilers. Just accept that they're doing something that you're not allowed to know about until a couple of chapters later.**

**Julie: **"Uggh! Fine…!" **(glares at the paper) **"And Shen-Long is going to get help so that everyone else doesn't get eaten by zombies or Koh the Face-Stealer. Okay? Are we good on plot stuff for now?"

**Yes. You can go back to dicking around on Youtube. Have fun.**

**Julie: **"Oh, I'm sure I will. The Internet can be _very _informative, you know." **(Lets her cryptic statement sink in for a moment) **"…Bye."

…

…

…**I think I need to go disable the Wi-Fi. Something about this feels very not-right. The last time Julie sounded so ominous, Zuko had to go by the name of Bertram Smith and become an accountant in Minnesota for a few weeks. It was a **_**bad **_**time. **

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please read and review. You know, the usual guilt-trip.**

**.. .. ..**

**Chapter Ninety-Six: Divide and Conquer**

Before I go any further with my story, I should probably remind you, my reader, that not all stories have happy endings. Not everyone is destined to wear glass slippers and escape from their problems in a pumpkin carriage. In fact, most people never even come close. A lot of people, good, honest people, have to carry their broken dreams and regrets with them for the rest of their lives.

And some, reader, have to carry them far longer. Regret is a dangerous thing. Although sometimes regret can inspire us to improve ourselves and our future, more times than not it only serves to bind us to our pasts. People who let themselves wonder what might have been allow those questions to eat away at their minds until they learn to let them go…or simply lose their minds.

I'm saying this because we are at a crucial point in the story. If I had to pinpoint a time when things started to fall apart, it would be right around now…when all of us were split up and became divided and vulnerable; not just in body, but in spirit as well. It was here and now that regret began stalking the people I cared about. And it would be some time later when regret would finally catch up, sink its fangs into my friends…my family…and tear them apart.

There was a bloodbath on the horizon. It wouldn't be today…or tomorrow…but it was coming. Not a single one of us saw it coming, either. Like I said, most of us were too focused on the skeletons in our closets to put much thought towards the future.

And that, reader, would be the bitch that killed us. But that's a story for another chapter.

Instead, I'll tell you what had happened to Aang and the others. I'm telling you about the Gaang and not about me or Zuko because part of me _needs _to talk about something positive for a change…and let's just say that what was about to happen in the Spirit World would be a harbinger of all that Doom I was talking about before.

I don't even want to think about Zuko right now. So, deal with it.

Ahem…where to start?

Okay. I'm sure you guys remember that while all of us were scattered around Jade Valley (and in the Spirit World) trying to survive, the _actual _main characters of the fandom were on a Fire Nation prison rig attempting to break out the Earthbenders who were prisoners there. The only problem was that pretty much all of them lost the backbone and resilience that was practically legendary for their folk. They could barely muster up the nerve to get through another day, let alone to mutiny.

Oh, sure. They had tried to stir up some kind of rebellion. They even had a working plan that should have pulled the rug from under the Fire Nation's feet. It's just that Warden Takei chose that moment to be unhelpfully shrewd; so ultimately he discovered their plot and tried to eliminate them quietly. When that failed, he resorted to taking hostages, and finally Aang had no choice but to surrender.

They were on their way to the yard now, wrists chained together and eyes facing down. They were escorted with a ratio of about three guards per prisoner, all of whom were being watched like hawks. Aang winced felt his wrists starting to chafe from the heavy metal bracelets, which had been designed to restrain a bulky Earthbender and not a lean, agile Airbender. But he didn't dare complain so long as Katara and Sokka were trapped with him.

_I wonder if Kuba and Haru made it to the coal room, _he thought nervously. _I hope they weren't captured, too._

But if Warden Takei had either of them, he certainly wasn't saying anything about it. He didn't even seem to notice there were people missing as he strutted down the hallway in front of them. It seemed he was too busy gloating to himself to be concerned with anything more urgent than his own ego.

"And to think I was ever worried about maintaining control over this ship," he sneered. "I suppose I should thank you, Avatar. If you hadn't put yourself in my hands so willingly, I'd probably have to stay on with a miserable little vessel like this until the end of my career…but now, they'll admit I'm worthy of better things. Assuming I don't decide to retire early, I could take over the Boiling Rock if I wanted to." He looked pleased at the idea.

"The Boiling Rock?"

"It's the most well-guarded prison in the Fire Nation…located on an island in the middle of a boiling lake, and absolutely inescapable. And," he added. "….that'll be where your little Water Tribe friends will be staying for the rest of their miserable lives."

Aang felt his eyes go wide in horror, but before he could say anything he was dragged through a door leading out on to the catwalk outside. It was going on to morning now, and you could see the faint light of dawn creeping over the horizon as the sun pushed its way higher into the sky. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to his surroundings, but when his vision finally cleared he found himself staring down into countless pairs of eyes.

"The Earthbenders…"

"We brought most of them into the yard the moment you made your…ah…daring infiltration," the Warden informed him smugly. "As you can see, all of my men are at ready in case anyone decides to start some trouble. I've given them orders to use lethal force if necessary…and to use extreme prejudice in doing so. I suggest you don't go performing any more of your motivational speeches, little water rat."

This remark had been directed at Katara, who was busy scanning the crowd of Earthbenders below. Her gaze shot up as an angry flush crossed her cheeks. His tone was so condescending that she couldn't help but feel enraged and humiliated at the same time.

"You won't get away with this!" she snapped.

"Empty words from a little girl who doesn't know her place. But don't worry…you'll learn soon enough. I'm an excellent teacher."

"Ngggh…!" Katara made a sound of disgust.

Aang felt a wave of anger roll through him at the casual threat. Immediately, his mind retreated back to Jade Valley, when Delun and the other Energybenders had them both cornered in that village. He remembered how Katara had screamed when that man used his bending to inflict as much pain as possible, striking at her chakras where she was unable to defend herself.

After that, everything became a blur of sound and color. He couldn't remember much of what happened next, but eventually he woke up in Katara's arms again; as if the ordeal with the Brotherhood had only been a bad dream.

But Aang knew that it was no dream. This…_all _of this…was real. And people were dying every day.

"This is all my fault," he whispered. "I…I failed them…again."

Sokka gave him a sharp look. "Hey, don't beat yourself up like that. The Fire Nation did this, not you."

In spite of the reassuring words, Aang remained unconvinced. His grey eyes smoldered as he thought about the burning bodies, the ritualistic murders that an entire community had taken part in. He thought about the way that man had looked after being hung up on the stake like a suckling pig and left to burn simply for the crime of being born a bender. And then he thought of the Air Nomads…and imagined how it must have felt when the Fire Nation had come for them…how it felt to be _burned_ alive.

He imagined his temples being consumed by the flames and almost lost it right there. But ironically, it was Warden Takei's words that dragged him back to the present.

"Look upon your so-called heroes and see what happens to those who defy the Fire Lord!" he bellowed down from the safety of the catwalk. Several pairs of eyes stared morosely back at him, their gazes lingering on Aang and his friends with an intensity of a people betrayed.

Aang was ashamed and resentful at the same time. They expected him to solve their problems, but none of them would lift a finger to help themselves. Between these people, who were too afraid to stand up for themselves, and the people in Jade Valley, who were actually _more _hostileout of fear…he couldn't tell which were worse off for it. Either way, he felt hard pressed to even want to help them anymore.

_I can't let myself think like this, _he reprimanded himself. _These people are suffering and need my help. I'm the Avatar…this is my responsibility. I'm letting everyone down._

Strangely, another voice—a familiar one—echoed back, "_Then what do you intend to do about it, Aang?"_

His heart skipped a beat.

"Roku?"

Katara and Sokka looked at him strangely, but Aang ignored them, unwilling to let go of this shred of hope. Avatar Roku had just spoken to him…he was here. He wasn't alone.

"_Yes, Aang…I am here. I am always here, for I am a part of you. We are all one._"

He breathed out a sigh of relief and allowed his eyes to slide shut, mercifully blacking out his less-than-pleasant surroundings. Instantly, the previous Avatar materialized in front of him, his expression weary and solemn. In that instant, he felt like he had been dragged into the principal's office to get a very stern talking to. Aang felt an urgent need to justify himself.

_Roku, I'm trying everything I can to fix things, but…I don't think I'm strong enough…or smart enough. I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore! Please, I need your guidance!_

He bowed his head sadly. "_This is not your fault, Aang. You were not the one who allowed the world to burn. What you see before you is my legacy…my failings as an Avatar._"

_What do you mean? How is this _your _fault? _I_ was the one who ran away…and now the Airbenders are dead. If I don't do anything soon, the Earthbenders will be next…and the Waterbenders, too. No one will be safe._

"_No one is ever safe. Good and evil are all part of the balance, and it is the Avatar's job to make sure that the two forces remain in check. But I allowed Fire Lord Sozin to live after he made his intentions for the world very clear…and now I'm leaving you to fix my mistakes. Aang, I'm truly sorry._"

Aang felt something in his chest tighten into an aching knot. It probably should have made him feel better that other Avatars had made mistakes in the past…but instead, he just felt terribly frightened. Because who was going to fix _his _mistakes? The whole world was going crazy…_he _was going crazy. And not even Roku knew how to make it stop.

"_Aang, you must listen to me. It is not your destiny to lose here. It is not the time to give up hope._"

_What am I supposed to do? I can't fight all of these Firebenders by myself! _

Roku smiled sadly. "_Didn't you hear me say you weren't alone? Take another look at the people you are about to give up on. Perhaps they are not so ready to lay down and die as you originally thought…_"

A loud explosion roared in Aang's ears, causing him to jolt out of his meditative state and back into reality. He blinked in confusion, unable to believe what he was seeing. But if his own eyes couldn't be trusted, he could count on the startled cries of the prison guards and the sound of the warden screaming for his men to regain control of the situation. Soot and smoke hung in the air like a shroud.

Katara and Sokka started gagging from the fumes. Thinking quickly, Aang looked down at his manacles and decided he had just enough wrist movement to summon a small swirling sphere of air. Though his wrists ached from the friction of the too-loose handcuffs, he managed to clear the air around the three of them, allowing them to see and breathe clearly.

By that point, it was more apparent what had happened. Someone—or something—had blown the vents clean off the air shafts leading into the rig. And pouring out of those shafts was a ridiculous amount of glistening black coal. The Earthbenders were momentarily stupefied at the sight of their element suddenly and inexplicably returned to them. It was like they didn't know what to do with it anymore.

But this only lasted long enough for Tyro, who was in the thick of the crowd, to snatch up a lump of coal and hold it in the air in a tightly-clenched fists.

"For the Earth Kingdom," he cried out loud enough for all to hear him. "My brothers and sisters, now is the time to take back what was stolen from us! Not just our land, but our will to live as a free people! For our villages…our families…for the very skin on our bones!"

Aang held his breath, and he heard Katara gasp quietly beside him. Neither of them expected the downtrodden leader to make such a strong comeback. But now the older Earthbender looked absolutely fierce as he called out to his fellow benders.

And then, he received an answer from the crowd.

"The Avatar is with us," a younger man shouted. "We can't lose!"

The rest of the Earthbenders rapidly solidified as a group, taking long-forgotten stances and taking a hold of the coal with their bending. Warden Takei saw what was happening and began screaming orders at his men.

"Show no mercy! Strike down the insolent fool where he stands!"

"Not today, asshole!"

Before the warden could finish his command, a fat lump of coal struck him flat in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the blowhard. He staggered back and barely grabbed on to the railing in time to keep himself from falling over it. That had been a powerful blow.

The triumphant retort (and the coal) had come from Kuba, who chose that moment to crawl out of a ruined vent with the last of the coal. Apparently he had no problem with climbing up such a steep, narrow tube to reach his enemy. It was a pretty gutsy move for the kid; but then, Aang remembered that Kuba was much more comfortable underground. He was like a vengeful prairie-gopher.

"Eat dirt, you fucker!"

Katara looked completely dumbfounded at the boy's foul language. She and Sokka exchanged glances before Aang scratched the back of his ear sheepishly.

"Julie must have really rubbed off on him, huh?"

"Tell me about it," the Waterbender murmured disapprovingly. "I really worry about those two. If Gran-Gran ever caught us talking like that, we'd probably have to scrub our mouths out with tiger-seal-blubber soap until our gums bled."

Sokka had his mind focused on more important things than profanity, as he took the opportunity the confusion provided to grapple with the guards and retake his boomerang. He shoved one of them over the railing of the catwalk and sent him screaming into the melee below. The other was blasted off by a powerful gust of air directed by Aang.

But before he hit the ground, a certain water-skin flew out of his hands and landed on the metal walkway. Katara scrambled over and scooped it up, slinging it over her shoulder for good measure.

"I thought I'd never get my water back," she grumbled. "Better make up for lost time…starting with a certain prison warden."

Takei was quickly realizing that he was out of guards to protect him and clean out of options. Surrounded by an angry Team Avatar and left with no-where to run, he stared pitifully up at them. His eyes flickered from Katara (who was smug and confident), to Sokka (who was none-too-pleased at the way his sister had been threatened earlier), to Aang, the youngest member of their trio.

"Mercy, Avatar! Don't let them kill me! I…I'm sorry for everything I did…and I…please spare my life!"

Aang stared at him, remembering how many people had burned in the past hundred years. He imagined rows and rows of burning stakes, the ruined Air Temples, the silhouette of the Fire Lord looking up at a blazing comet…his mind was completely fixated on the fire.

But this man didn't start the fire. He was wretched and cowardly and cruel…but taking his life would solve nothing.

"The monks taught me that life…_all _life…is sacred. I won't kill you."

Warden Takei's face lit up with hope.

"T-thank you!"

Aang felt a cold indifference towards this man and his gratitude. "It's not for me to decide. I'll let the Earthbenders figure out what to do with you. They're the ones you hurt. They can decide what your punishment will be."

Katara looked at him in alarm. She opened her mouth, perhaps to protest, but the look on the boy's face quickly made her shut it again. She appeared torn, but didn't know what to say.

Sokka seemed to be of a similar mind, though. "Good. Let them have a taste of their own medicine. Maybe they'll lock them up in the dark until they forget what the sun feels like."

It was an easy thing for him to say, being a non-bender. He didn't entirely understand what it meant to be a bender and to be utterly separated from your element. But Roku, who was always a faint presence within Aang, was repulsed by the idea. The Firebender in Aang cringed at the thought of being locked away in the darkness. It was as if the fire was in his blood and kept him alive and sane…which was definitely ironic given that it was the source of all this destruction.

"_Fire is not only destruction Aang. You will learn for yourself one day. In the meantime, be decisive._"

The monk felt his resolve grow stronger. "The Earthbenders will deliver justice. We still have to go save the kids that were taken by the Brotherhood. It's almost morning…we don't have any time to waste here."

The battle ended soon enough. Haru rejoined everyone in the yard and managed to get his own blows in before the prison guards had all been subdued. The Earthbenders had originally been at a slight disadvantage in spite of the coal, since the Firebenders all attacked from higher ground…that is, until Aang, Katara, and Sokka tossed them down into the yard.

All the while, Aang bore witness to the renewed vigor of the Earthbenders and felt a glow of pride. It wasn't hopeless after all. They really _were _able to make a difference. Maybe things weren't so hopeless after all.

"_Be swift…be decisive…be just._"

For the first time in a very, _very _long time, Aang felt good about himself again. And that made all the difference in the world. It made it much easier for him to part ways with Haru and his father once they had finally secured the ship for themselves. He knew that the rebellion would be in safe hands.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Tyro had asked. "We could use all the help we can get in taking back our villages."

The monk shook his head. "Someone has to find the Brotherhood and stop whatever they've been doing in these mountains."

The man's face turned grim. "Spirits…I heard what those monsters did to Jade Valley. I'm praying for those children." He shook his head solemnly. "If you like, I can spare some men to help you find them."

"You said so yourself. You're going to need every man you've got to take back your homes." Aang looked at Katara and Sokka. "What do you guys think?"

Before either of them could respond, they heard a loud bellow coming from above. They all looked up and laughed as Appa came soaring out of the clouds and hovered alongside the ship…at which point, Aang promptly abandoned any pretense of being a capable deity-type-figure-person-thing and ran to cuddle his favorite sky bison.

"Perfect timing, buddy. I missed you."

Appa rumbled appreciatively. Katara and Sokka smiled at the sight of Aang openly indulging in his inner youth, a sight that had dwindled over the past couple of weeks. They nodded at each other before turning back to Tyro.

"I think we'll be all right," said Katara. "We believe in him."

"As do we," the Earthbender replied. "We can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us. Especially you, Katara. It was courageous of you to infiltrate this prison…Haru told me that this was your plan from the beginning."

The Waterbender blushed. "I just wanted to help. It was nothing…"

"No," Haru interjected sternly. "It wasn't nothing. You guys really came through for us. I'll never forget all the risks you and your family took to save mine."

"Or how you tried to freeze him to a boulder while you were hung over," Sokka added.

Katara turned beat red. "You promised you wouldn't talk about it anymore!" Frantically, she glanced at Haru and Tyro. "It was bai jiu…okay? I had no idea how strong the stuff was…and some friends of ours insisted on buying us drinks at the last village we stayed at. I mean…it would have been awkward to say no, right? And…" She trailed off, giving her brother a furious look. "Sokka, how could you?!"

Tyro just laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "It's a lesson learned, Katara. I won't think any worse of you for it. Quite the contrary…I've had some misadventures with alcohol myself when I was your age. Man…those were some crazy nights."

Haru just stared at him. "D-dad?"

"Oh, come on, son. Did you think I sat around drinking plum juice until I turned sixteen?"

And everyone laughed.

.. .. ..

But like I said before, things weren't so spiffy-keen for the rest of us. I'm not even talking about myself for a change. Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of the rest of our crew, who were trying frantically to pick up the pieces of our little zombie outbreak some hours ago.

Shen-Long knew it had been a bad idea to turn to Commander Yamada for help. He hadn't liked him very much to begin with, nor did he trust him. And after he ordered his reassignment to a man as loathsome as Lieutenant Keita, he doubted he ever would.

It was true, he already had plenty of reasons to feel so sullen and bitter about the situation. The forced transfer was going to make it very difficult for him to protect Julie and Bo-Fen. For one thing, a new Lieutenant was less likely to tolerate insubordination or a deviation in rank from Shen-Long. So, if he had to break off from the group to go help his sister, for example…let's just say that it wouldn't end well for anyone involved.

But there was another, more compelling reason why Shen-Long was on guard around his new Lieutenant: it turned out that he was one of Julie's suitors.

He only found out after he had delivered Commander Yamada's orders to Keita's tent. He had been given leave to enter by the guards with barely a word of explanation, making the act of handing over the scroll with Yamada's seal and saluting suspiciously easy. The man sitting at the table barely gave Shen-Long a passing glance as he snatched the message out of his hand, melted the wax binding it, and reading it.

"So," he said after a pause. "I suppose you're the new transfer the Commander was referring to in his orders."

Shen-Long stood in the at-ease position. "Yes, Sir."

Keita sat up a little straighter in his seat, taking a swig of a beverage in a dark brown bottle. There was the smell of hot sake lingering in the air that was hard to ignore; but he seemed sober enough for the time being. He took the moment to scrutinize Shen-Long with a hard stare—so the soldier thought it was only fair to size up his commanding officer in return.

He was fairly young for someone in his position, though that wasn't saying much. Keita looked to be in his mid-twenties and was in the process of growing in an impressive set of sideburns to frame his blunt features. No, he certainly wasn't an attractive man…but there was an aura of raw power that hung around him, mingling with the sake-smell. And when he finally grinned at the discomfited Shen-Long, Keita had an unmistakable swagger that reeked of overconfidence.

"I suppose we'll see what we can do with you soon enough," he continued. "According to Yamada, we're going to be hunting an Energybending witch…"

"With all due respect, Sir, the girl isn't a _witch_. And we're going to bring her back safely."

Keita chuckled. "Well, of course. Witch or no witch, it wouldn't do me any favors to just let something come along and kill the girl I'm supposed to be marrying." He moved to take another sip of his drink, but paused as he noticed the dumb-founded look on Shen-Long's face. "What's with _that _look?"

"Uh…um…nothing, Sir. I just…" he couldn't help but stare at Keita in horror. "…did you say you were going to…_marry _Julie?"

His commanding officer scowled. "Didn't Lieutenant Jee tell you? I thought that was why he was transferring you over to me. Unless…" he peered down at the message again. "…oh. I see. This was Commander Yamada's decision, then, was it?"

"Yes…and if you're asking me if Lieutenant Jee knows about this, I can't say…_Sir_."

"Ah, well…can't be helped, I guess. Go suit up and report back here with the rest of the men in ten minutes."

Shen-Long felt his insides writhing in panic as he saluted and left the tent without another word.

_What's happening here? Just what is Yamada up to?_

Forcing him to serve under someone he _knew _was courting the girl he had sworn to protect…was this some kind of message? It was a well-known fact that Commander Yamada saw the world as pieces resting on a giant pai-sho board, and never did anything unless he had a very good reason for it. It was only natural to assume that this reassignment was just another repositioning of his pawns…perhaps with the intentions of capturing a more valuable playing piece.

_He knows he can't go against General Iroh, but Jee is another story. He's taking advantage of this. And by sending Keita, a man who serves under him, to rescue Julie…is he hoping this will improve Keita's odds of marrying her?_

And then what?

_If Julie marries this Keita, Yamada could have indirect access to her. _Shen-Long felt his heart drop into his stomach. Yamada was after Julie…and for all he knew this could be a move to eliminate General Iroh and Prince Zuko as well. The only way he would know for sure would be if he had read that scroll, but that would have been impossible to do without alerting either Yamada or Keita. It had been sealed with wax, after all.

_I can't let this happen, _he decided.

Shen-Long grimly resolved to do whatever it took to keep Keita away from Julie as he adjusted the straps on his pack and steeled himself to report back to the devil himself. But before he could find the man he happened to pass by Yamada's tent and heard a very familiar, very _angry _voice.

"You can't order me to stay behind when my _daughter _is out there!"

It was Jee.

"I have no intention to leave you anywhere, except possibly in a jail cell," Yamada snapped. "And that won't be necessary so long as you cease your insubordination, Lieutenant. I doubt you'd be much good to Julie in a place like that."

Shen-Long scowled. _That bastard…_

"You're sending me off to smother some small village rebellion, miles away from where Julie is…!"

"You'll be serving directly under me for this mission," Yamada replied. "It just so happens that this is a matter of great importance. That village is an important source of coal for our ships…we can't afford to lose control of it. In the meantime, I am sending Lieutenant Keita and his men to secure Jade Valley and rescue your…" there was a pointed pause. "…well, she isn't your biological daughter, Lieutenant. Nor are you her legal guardian, to my best of knowledge."

Dammit. Why did Julie have to be so stubborn about signing those papers?

"She's as good as my daughter, _Sir. _I just have to submit the necessary paperwork."

"Yes," Yamada assented with an air of indifference. "And until then, you are nothing more than her benefactor. You have done well in trying to bring the girl out to Fire Nation society. She has a lot of potential…and will undoubtedly have a bright future ahead of her. But like it or not, you have no say in what that future will be…at least, not yet."

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with this, you're out of your damned mind!"

"Oh? And just what do you intend to _do _about it, Lieutenant?"

There was an angry silence, the kind so heated that one could feel the hostility all the way from outside the tent, where Shen-Long was crouched and eavesdropping on the conversation. This was definitely looking bad. He knew his Lieutenant wasn't the kind to back down when it came down to an issue of morality, even if it meant calling bullshit to the face of authority. And if this kept up, Jee would definitely end up arrested…or worse.

It was unspoken among the crew that this was the real reason why Jee had been called on to serve on Prince Zuko's crew. The fact that he had served under General Iroh during the Siege of Ba-Sing-Se could be coincidental, especially when the rumors were so extremely plausible—that Jee had been blacklisted from every other armed unit at the time of Zuko's banishment so that he would have no choice but to take the job. What better way to deal with a banished prince, a washed-up general, and a brutally-honest, downright insubordinate lieutenant, than to put all three of them on a boat and send them off on a wild goose-chase?

However, Shen-Long had no way of knowing if those rumors were actually true. Jee never really talked about his reasons for joining the Avatar hunt beyond his usual cryptic statement that he owed someone a very tall favor. That someone was probably General Iroh himself.

"Nothing to say?" Yamada's voice held a smirk of triumph. "How wise of you to hold your tongue. You see, contrary to your belief, Lieutenant, I have every intention of protecting Julie in your absence. Disregarding your foolish sentimentality, the girl is a valuable asset to the Fire Nation…and it would be a waste to let anything happen to her before we can find a use for her."

"You—"

"You can take heart in one thing, though. That young man who delivered the distress message from General Iroh—your ensign…I believe his name was Shen-Long? Well, I've ordered him to be reassigned to one of my units being deployed to Jade Valley…so rest assured that someone you deem to be trustworthy will be present, in case you still doubt my…good intentions."

Jee hesitated, puzzled by the information. "Why are you telling me this? Do you think this will be enough to keep me off your back, Commander?" Anger seeped back into his voice, betraying his emotions again.

"Accidents happen, Lieutenant. It would be a shame if such a good, honest soldier were to meet an unpleasant end during battle."

Shen-Long felt his heart lurch. _That motherfucker…!_

"I believe something similar happened to General Iroh's son, didn't it?" Yamada tsked. "But then, rumor has it that you were a witness to the tragedy…so I suppose you would know better than _I _would. Still, it's a shame how many loyal young men have had to die for the sake of this war."

"…"

"But you needn't worry. That Shen-Long seems to have a good head on his shoulders. So long as he follows orders, Lieutenant Keita won't allow him to come to any harm…and before you know it, Julie will be safe and sound. What more can a father want?"

Okay. So, it was official: Commander Yamada was most definitely their enemy. And chances were, if Shen-Long didn't find a way to separate from Lieutenant Keita, he'd end up getting a stray fireball to the back in the heat of battle. Probably, Yamada was taking steps to eliminate all of them as he stood there pondering it.

The shit had hit the proverbial fan. He needed to get back to General Iroh and warn him.

"Understood," said Jee in a bitter tone of voice. "I'll prepare my men to retake the mining village. We should be ready to leave within the hour."

"Very good. You are dismissed."

Shen-Long ducked down and watched Jee exit the tent. The lieutenant's face was a picture of helpless rage. He hadn't seen the man this worked up since Cheng was alive, which spoke volumes about the situation. Quietly, he crept out of his hiding place and fell in step with Jee before he had time to realize he wasn't alone.

"Sir?"

He jumped. "You…don't startle me, Shen-Long…!" He gave the younger man a stern look. "In the mood I'm in, I could have burned a hole through your chest."

The soldier made an apologetic gesture. "I suppose your conversation with the Commander didn't help ease your mind, did it?"

Jee blinked. "So, you heard all of that?" His expression settled down to something grimly satisfied. "It's good to know that all that stealth training paid off. I'm more comfortable about sending you after Julie knowing you can slip past even a snake like Yamada."

"Actually, Sir," he paused, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched. "…I was thinking perhaps we could give him the slip now, while he's still getting his pawns into place for his next move. You and I could head back to Jade Valley with a handful of trustworthy men, and…"

But Jee was shaking his head.

"Too many innocent lives at stake," he told him. "Yamada made his point loud and clear…he has no problem executing anyone who gets in his way, and I won't drag my soldiers to an early grave just for following my orders."

"But…Sir, what if Yamada is only separating us to make it easier to eliminate us?"

"I don't doubt that's what he's trying to do, Shen-Long. But we can't go forcing other people to turn traitor to save our hides. It's cowardly and dishonorable."

Shen-Long grimaced. "You're starting to sound like Prince Zuko, you know."

"Well, it's the one thing that brat and I agree about. That's got to be worth something, right?" Jee's tone was light and casual, but his frown portended at the storm brewing in the man's mind. His eyes were downcast as he pointedly avoided the soldier's gaze. "But still…it hardly matters. No matter what I do, heads are going to roll. And Julie is right in the middle of all of it…dammit!"

The exclamation startled Shen-Long, not expecting the lieutenant's calm to shatter so suddenly. For an awkward moment he considered putting a hand on Jee's shoulder, but that would probably have been a bad idea. Nor did he have it in him to try to restrain his former commanding officer. The man was clearly desperate to do something, anything to protect his ward.

"Sir…I can't promise much, I know, but…you know I'll look out for her. And we know that Yamada won't let her die…we can be sure of that much, at least. So long as he has a use for her, Julie _will _live."

Jee grabbed Shen-Long by the arm, giving him a fierce look. "Protect her. She doesn't understand how our politics work…she doesn't even know she's floating in a bull-shark tank. Until I can get to her, don't let her fall into Yamada's trap."

The soldier winced. "Yeah, well…that's going to be pretty difficult. I'm supposed to be taking orders from one of her suitors, you know."

The lieutenant's eyes narrowed in distaste. "Keita?"

"Yes, Sir."

"He's an arrogant bastard…and he's got a mean-streak a mile wide. He's no-where near good enough for Julie."

"He seemed to think otherwise," Shen-Long commented. "He acted like the match was a sure-fire thing. I suspect that's the other reason Yamada wants to keep you out of Jade Valley right now. He doesn't want you interfering in…_true love_."

Jee cursed under his breath. "Dammit it all…I wish I had never sent out Julie's name to those matchmakers! I wish I had never started this ugly marriage business…but how the hell was I supposed to know that all of this would happen?"

"You didn't! Julie was still just some strange girl barely earning her keep on the ship. You honestly thought you were doing her a favor!"

The older man tensed his shoulders and pulled out of Shen-Long's grip. He turned his back on the soldier and started striding away angrily; but the younger Firebender wasn't about to desist so easily. He called after the lieutenant frantically.

"Sir, wait! Please, you can't blame yourself for what's happening…!"

Jee paused, glaring over his shoulder.

"It's going to be my fault even if the Agni-damned Commander himself orders me not to blame myself…and nothing you or anyone else says is going to convince me otherwise."

Shen-Long's jaw dropped; unfortunately, his stupefied silence provided enough of a break for the naval officer to just keep walking. Before he could think of anything that might possibly persuade the man to stay, he was gone, vanished in one of the tents that were scattered around the camp. He let his hand drop back to his side, sympathy rooting him to the spot.

His fingers unconsciously clenched into fists. "Don't worry, Lieutenant…I won't let you lose another daughter."

His pounding heart began to calm its pace now that he had reached his decision. There was no time for second thoughts or reservations, now. He turned and started walking in the opposite direction Jee had gone, headed towards the armory tent. After all, he had a mission to prepare for.

_If it's a war Yamada wants, he's got one._

Shen-Long rushed back to Lieutenant Keita's tent, cursing when he realized he was the last person in the squadron to arrive. He had probably taken more like fifteen minutes instead of his allotted ten. Since he wasn't in any mood to be disciplined in front of the rest of his new squad by some swaggering drunk guy, Shen-Long silently fell into line with the others, hoping that no one would notice his arrival.

As a matter of fact, no one so much as batted an eye at him. No one except Keita himself, who gave Shen-Long a long stare as he moved down the line-up to address his soldiers. Seeing the distinctly _annoyed _expression on the man's face, Shen-Long could only choke back his reservations and hope he wasn't as late as he thought. Maybe Keita wouldn't say anything about it.

"Nice of you to finally show up, newbie."

Well, so much for that.

"I was delayed, Sir. It won't happen again."

His new lieutenant smirked. "Yeah? Well, see to it that it doesn't. Now as for the rest of you," he snapped at the other men in line, causing them all to snap to attention at once. "I only have a couple of minutes to debrief you miserable cupcakes, and I don't want to get my ass burned for not following mission protocol!"

Shen-Long made himself appear attentive. If Yamada had given Keita orders to kill him should he turn disobedient, it was more reason to appear compliant…at least until he was back at Jade Valley with Julie and Bo-Fen. Perhaps in General Iroh's presence he could make his move.

Well, that was the _plan, _at least.

"Our mission is simple. We are to enter Jade Valley and thoroughly search the area for Prince Zuko and General Iroh, and, above all, to secure the Energybender traveling with them. I'm sure you've all heard the rumors floating around about this one."

The guy to Shen-Long's left smirked knowingly. "There can't be a single person in the entire unit that doesn't know about that Julie girl…the witch."

_Seriously…why is everybody calling her a witch now? Did I miss something?_

Keita grinned. "That's the girl. I've got a written description of her right here, so pay attention." He focused his attention on the roll of parchment in his hands and began to read. "The target is a young female aged about sixteen or so years…standing at approximately five feet, four inches…hair color, red…eye color, green…" He looked back at his men. "And of course, you need to be on guard for any attempts she makes to Energybend. If she resists, you're to use full force to subdue her."

"Hold on," Shen-Long spoke up, causing everyone to look at him at once. "Julie isn't an enemy of the Fire Nation! Why are we suddenly treating her like one? This is supposed to be a rescue mission!"

The Lieutenant folded his arms and glared at him. "Did I give you permission to speak out of turn, newbie?"

He didn't answer. Somehow, he managed to keep his tongue and his temper in check; but inside, the soldier was reeling at this new development. They weren't planning on helping Julie at all. They were going to _kidnap _her.

As if he heard what Shen-Long was thinking, Keita met his angry stare and confirmed what he had been afraid of. "Contrary to what some people might assume, this is _not _a rescue mission. My unit doesn't _do _rescue missions."

Quickly, the uniformed officer skimmed through his row of soldiers. "Private Kimchi. Tell our newest recruit what our unit specializes in."

A man on the far end of the row visibly flinched at being addressed by name. The man, one Private Kimchi, was a visibly nervous young man with watery eyes and traces of baby-fat on his face. Not to say he was _fat_…just soft-looking. Shen-Long doubted he had seen battle very often, if at all.

"S-Sir…" he stammered. "We…that is to say, the unit…we're a search and recover unit…Sir."

"Very good," said Keita condescendingly. "So, newbie, do you think you can understand that? We _search _for things of interest…either to the Fire Lord, to the Fire Nation army, or both. And then we _retrieve _it…whether the thing of interest _wants _to be retrieved or not."

Shen-Long's jaw locked into place. "Yes, Sir," he ground out through his teeth.

"So what are we going to do when we find our target?"

He tensed some more. "…retrieve her. Though, if you forgive my saying so, Sir…I don't think General Iroh and Prince Zuko are going to just _let _you take her."

Keita stared him down. "I have my orders, soldier. And you have yours. Find the girl. Bring her back. And if anyone…and I do mean _anyone_…interferes with your orders, you are to take them out. The only people who would get in the way of a special-interests unit are enemy soldiers and traitors to the crown."

This last part was spoken to the rest of the unit, who barked out on cue, "Yes, Sir!"

But Shen-Long remained silent, his mind brewing a storm-cloud of thoughts and unable to sort through them with so much happening at once.

_I just hope things are going better for Bo-Fen than they are for me and Lieutenant Jee…_

.. .. ..

As a matter of fact, things were no better back in Jade Valley. Unless you count having your house crashed by slobbering hordes of the undead _better_. As it were, the trio of defenders were hard-pressed to keep the zombies away from the house (and from the sleeping bodies of Zuko and Iroh within). There were just too many of them.

Bo-Fen cursed when she saw a rotting arm thrust its way in between two wooden planks in the wall. "Dammit…" she grumbled, unsheathing her sword and severing the offending limb at the wrist.

There was a sickening thunk as the hand flopped to the ground. After a few seconds it twitched before curling over, palm-side down, and started scuttling across the floor like a crab. But it didn't get very far before Bo-Fen calmly snatched it into the air.

"Hey, Yoshi," she said, dangling the hand tantalizingly over his face. "Want a chew-toy? Look, it moves and everything."

The eelhound in question was lying on his back, just as he had been when Ayla had first woken up half an hour ago, to prove what a _good _dog he was. Not only had he not moved so much of an inch since then, but he was determined to stay like that until he fell asleep and forgot why he was on his back to begin with. That would show everyone how good he was.

Yoshi wanted to make it very clear. He was a _good _dog.

The puppy blinked at the female soldier upside down, reptilian eyes riveted on the prize in front of him. Add that with the frantic wagging of his tail, and it was clear just how badly he wanted to clamp his jaws around the squirming fingers. Unfortunately, grabbing it would mean rolling over…something he had already decided he wouldn't do, no matter what.

Still…at least he could still admire it from afar.

_It's dancing! _Yoshi was awestruck. _I want to hug it with my teeth…!_

"Looks tasty, right?" Bo-Fen smirked. "Come on…take a bite. You know you want to."

The eelhound whined and put his paws over his eyes. _I cannot. There is too much at stake! Mother wants me to be a _good _dog…!_

"…but it's _moving_."

Ayla looked exhausted. She had been using her Energybending to put the zombies to rest, but she had to do it one at a time…and the sheer volume of foes made this a daunting task. Half an hour into the fight and she was sweating.

"Bo-Fen, please don't tease the dog with zombie parts," she said in a small voice. "You don't know where it's been."

"Sure I do. It was on a zombie."

Yoshi's attention drifted to a speck of dust floating in the air slightly to his left. Bo-Fen waited until the very second he took his eyes off the severed hand—then she batted him across the nose. The eelhound went _berserk, _snapping blindly with his jaws and barking shrilly. It was quite a sight considering he was still upside down.

_I'm-a GET IT! RAWRAWR!_

"Normally I find animals to be fascinating subjects," said Shim, wearing his trademark passive-aggressive smile. "However, if you don't silence him soon, I might miss my next target…and a tranquilizer dart will end up in his neck…"

Bo-Fen stuck out her jaw. "Oh, piss off."

"Or somewhere _else_."

"…"

"A little help please!" Ayla squeaked as three zombies rushed the window at once.

Shim turned and dropped two of them with his tranquilizer darts without even stopping to think about what he was doing. The third happened to trip on its fellow undead and snapped its leg on the way down, so he didn't bother wasting his precious ammo. The motion of his attack had been so fluid and natural, it was as if he had been born and raised an assassin rather than a healer.

His eyes sparkled with a dangerous light as he rose up to his full height, withdrawing his hands into his sleeves again. His smile was like a broken mirror.

"I love watching them fall," he declared to himself softly. "Seeing the limits of the human body…witnessing mankind's frailty…it's a humbling sight."

Then, Shim realized that Bo-Fen and Ayla were still watching him with horror-struck expressions. He blinked at them with mild curiosity before he understood.

"Ah…" he said quickly. "Did I unnerve you? My apologies. I was just reflecting out loud. It's nothing either of you need to worry about."

The girls exchanged dubious looks before decidedly edging farther away from the healer. He simply raised an eyebrow at them, half-amused, half-impatient.

"Oh, please…do you two honestly think that scooting to another side of the room is enough to keep my curiosity at bay?" he asked. "Believe me…if you have something to fear from me, you'll know….not that it would help much. I have an extensive history with working with _reluctant _patients." He chuckled to himself. "I mean, I did manage to track you all down, didn't I?"

Ayla flinched at his harsh words, but Bo-Fen just rolled her eyes. "If you're so used to chasing people just to make them your guinea-pigs, then you should know that _telling _us that isn't going to keep us from fighting back if we have to."

Shim flicked a gaze over the female soldier before smiling even wider. "You're a rare breed, you know. Stubborn, yet sensible women are hard to find." He folded his arms, tilting his head to the side to examine her better. "I find your bravado even more fascinating, though. I know I scare everyone…even you, Bo-Fen."

She grew very quiet, but she stared at him with an expression that was careful not to betray any emotion. Her poker-face was so well-honed she could probably have passed for the world's most indifferent statue. Her face said (more than words ever could) that she gave about zero minus infinity fucks for Shim and his lethal idiosyncrasies.

But then, looks were deceiving. Bo-Fen had countless years' worth of practice of hiding her feelings. Shim was almost as unsettling as any spirit she had ever met, and she had met plenty of those in her many lifetimes.

"Everyone has a limit," he said softly. "People can be quite fragile…and inevitably they break. But every day I learn something that realigns my suspicions about a human being's true potential…and with Julie, I'm so close to the answer I can almost feel it lurking behind me, out of sight…whispering softly in my ears…"

For a moment, something shifted in his eyes. And then she caught a fleeting glimpse of helplessness tied to his elation. Though he believed to be on the brink of something most elusive and desirable, the act of searching for it bound him in an endless cycle of trial and error. The man was obsessed with his work, plain and simple.

Bo-Fen found the man repelling in many ways, but just for a moment she dropped her pretense of caution and wondered if there was a part of Shim that secretly wanted to be free of those chains.

She knew all about chains, the kind you wore willingly and without complaint. Even now she could feel their weight on her neck and shoulders…it was so hard not to give in and bow underneath them. To surrender would be a relief, but she swore to the core of her being that she wouldn't give up.

Not until it was over. Not until her brother finally found a way to save the girl he failed to protect a thousand years ago. Not until she could piece together what had actually happened to Ayla the day the Brotherhood caught her and burned her at the stake…the day that same cult had split into five separate factions and scattered across the globe…and the same day her Sifu, the man named Prospero, had vanished into the Void that Ayla created upon her death.

And of course, Bo-Fen wouldn't rest until that bastard had paid for what he did to them all…both Prospero and Dorian both. Even if it meant having to endure a thousand more lives. The thought of finally being vindicated for all those years of suffering…it was music to the soul.

On that note, she wondered what could possibly be driving Shim to obsess over the human spirit to such extremes. What was it he was trying so desperately to achieve? And how would Julie help him achieve it?

Hell, maybe he was just crazy.

"Do you even know what it's like? Hypothesizing…experimenting…and never being satisfied with your findings?" He closed his eyes for a few seconds, visibly reigning himself in. "Nothing matters but the results. And obviously we're not getting any with our current strategy."

Shim turned his attention back to Ayla. Belatedly, she realized that he had changed the subject to the zombies they were failing to dismember.

"We're heavily outnumbered and we can't defend this cabin indefinitely. Sooner or later they'll wear us down."

Bo-Fen glared at him. "And what do you suggest we do, then?In case you haven't noticed, the prince and General Iroh are still in the Spirit World. We can't move 'em until they wake up."

"Then we're going to die," he said simply. "Because I'm out of tranquilizing darts."

There was a very ominous silence roaring through the room. The cabin suddenly felt too small, and the girls were afflicted with a sudden, crippling sense of claustrophobia. The air grew warm and stifling as they contemplated the awful, glaring truth. They were totally fucked.

Ayla slumped down by the wall, rubbing her eyes with her hands. "This can't be happening…"

Shim shrugged, as if he didn't care that Almighty Death was doing the sexy-catwalk right outside, waiting to be let inside. "Sure it can. Disregarding the zombies, it's not _that _improbable of a scenario. The world is at war, we're in enemy territory, and we're badly outnumbered." He gave her a pointed look. "_Julie_ managed to Energybend on multiple targets at once…"

"Yeah? Well, I'm not Julie! So screw you, you…creepy…evil…scientist guy!"

The stress was obviously getting to Ayla. She just couldn't pull off a "mean bitch" face even on her worst day. But damn it if she wasn't trying her hardest.

"I…I don't know how Julie was able to reach so many of spirits at once," she stammered angrily, red splotches staining her cheeks. "This is unreal. I'm not strong enough to silence them all." She frowned. "It doesn't make any sense. I was an Energybender too…so why is Julie so much stronger?"

"That's what's bothering you? I'm more worried about why we have more zombies than what we started with," Bo-Fen grumbled.

The redhead pursed her lips as she fell deep within her thoughts, speculating.

"Maybe some of them are coming out of the mines or the mountains," Shim suggested. "Earth Kingdom folks usually bury their dead…so it would make sense if Julie managed to resurrect them as well. It's a well-known fact that there are natural veins of energy coursing through the earth. If Julie happened to tap into one of them…" he trailed off.

Ayla looked worried. And wouldn't you if you have umpty-dozen zombies trying to break into the house?

"I don't think all of this is _Julie's _fault," she said slowly. "Baihu was driven from his shrine by the Brotherhood…and his absence is affecting the area more than we originally thought. Without him centered in the Earth, the dead are restless. They're angry about the war…about the Brotherhood…and whatever Julie did triggered this massive chain-reaction." She paused, glancing warily towards the window. "I…I wonder if other spirits are angry, too."

Bo-Fen brushed off the question. "That's not important right now," she snapped. Just thinking about angry spirits made her skin crawl in anxiety.

But Ayla wouldn't be dissuaded. "What if we're missing something, though? The key to putting all the angry spirits to rest…we might not be able to do it like this. The only way to really stop more dead bodies from reanimating would be to find the source of the disturbance and purify it."

Shim went over to where Zuko and Iroh were sleeping (or…you know, whatever it is you called it when people leave their bodies behind to go on an epic adventure in the Spirit World). Bo-Fen kept a sharp eye on him as he checked their breathing and vitals. His lips pressed tightly together in thought.

"Are you suggesting we seek out this shrine?" he asked.

Ayla hesitated. "Not we. Me." She looked from one to the other and looked down at her toes, abashed. "I…I'm going alone."

Silence.

"I'm the only one who can Energybend, and…and we can't move Prince Zuko or General Iroh. If we do, we could accidentally sever their connection to the mortal world…their spirits may never reunite with their bodies." She turned her attention to the ancient book resting on the kitchen table, the one that had caused this mess. "That tomb might come in handy. I'll be taking it with me."

It took Bo-Fen a full three seconds to realize that the spirit girl was actually going to leave the cabin, alone and unaided. She was going to just run off with Julie's body and some creepy magic book and _leave_ her. Leave her with _Shim_.

"I will fucking kill you!"

Ayla held up her hands apologetically. "It's not that bad! Really! It's going to be just fine!"

Bo-Fen snarled under her breath. "That freak is going to lobotomize me while zombies are crawling through the floorboards! Do you think I want that? DO YOU?!"

"I can hear you," Shim pointed out serenely.

"You were meant to," she snapped. "Anyway, it's not just _you _I'm worried about." She turned back to Ayla. "What if you get hurt or captured or something? You don't know what else is lurking out there besides the zombies. For all we know, there could be something worse in the mountains! And I sure as hell don't want to have to tell Shen-Long that you got your ass _killed _doing something stupidly heroic."

Ayla puffed out her cheeks. "_Julie _does stupid, heroic things…and _she _gets to do things on her own…"

"Not after this, she isn't. Seriously. Only that girl could manage this much destruction during a five-minute potty break."

"Rena, please!"

Bo-Fen's eyebrow twitched in aggravation. She hesitated, looking uncertainly at the prone bodies of the crown prince and his uncle, then a sideways glance at Shim (who unhelpfully decided to waggle his eyebrows at her—most unprofessional, by the way). She sighed in defeat.

"This is really going to bite me in the ass…but fine."

Ayla smiled in relief. "I knew you would understand. Thank you."

The female soldier scoffed and looked away. For a moment, her trademark poker face had faltered, revealing an uncomfortable scowl and wavering blue eyes. She obviously _didn't _understand and was probably upset at the prospect of her friend walking into certain slaughter.

"Hon'," she said slowly. "You're one of the only people in the world I can really depend on. Don't blow it now, got it?"

Ayla's expression softened…melted into something distinctly pained and regretful. She couldn't meet her friend's eyes anymore and chose to stare at the floor instead.

"You know I'm terrible at lying," she said softly. "I know I can't say that it'll be all right because…that's a lie. But I do know that if I stay here in this cabin and do nothing…if I don't take this risk now, then we'll have no chance at winning this fight. I know it's hard, Rena, but…really, this is our only choice."

Shim coughed into his sleeve. "Assuming we don't move Prince Zuko and General Iroh. Assuming we don't just leave them behind." He gave her a significant look. "Or assuming you don't just abandon all of us here and now…just to save one person. I think you know the person I'm referring to."

The girls froze. They both turned to stare at him in bewilderment. Noting their confusion, the healer abandoned his pretense of pleasantness and stared back at them, utterly detached and purely analytical. Bo-Fen felt her hackles rising at the sight of it.

"What the hell are you going on about?" she demanded. "Is this another one of your sick experiments? Just be quiet already, you creep!"

"If your end goal is to save everyone, including those two," he explained clinically. "…then yes. Ayla's plan of action would be best...if you go on the assumption that the person leaving the cabin is trustworthy. However, as a healer, it's in my best interests to be observant, both of people and my surroundings. Furthermore, it's my responsibility to point out other options to my patients…and to say that is our only choice would be a false statement…a misleading one, as a matter of fact." Shim's eyes glinted as they examined the startled redhead. "Ayla…you're not so gentle and innocent as you seem. You're trying to manipulate us."

Bo-Fen shook her head angrily. "Unbelievable. If any of us is being manipulative, it's you. I mean, you practically admit to using the people around you as test subjects! Why should we listen to anything you have to say?"

Ayla was absolutely silent. The only sounds that could be heard were the shuffling noises of the undead circling the house. Even though the ones closest to the house had been dropped by Ayla and Shim, there were still many others closing in…and their moans were getting louder by the second.

And yet the redhead continued not to speak.

Sensing the shifting mood, Bo-Fen turned her back on Shim and looked closer at the spirit girl. "Hon'…say something. Tell him he's wrong. Come on."

Ayla lifted her crimson eyes and met her blue ones. "I'm not leaving anyone behind," she said, giving Shim a piercing look. "I'm not letting Zuko or Iroh die…to do that would completely crush Julie. She…doesn't have many people she can trust. If something happens to someone she's starting to trust, she'll think it's her fault. She'll blame herself…and she won't let herself trust anyone ever again."

Bo-Fen felt something catch in her throat. Something wasn't right.

Shim sighed. "Why don't you drop the act, already? You don't care if they live or die. You only care if their absence were to impact _Julie_. If you were really so worried about those two, you never would have sent them to the Spirit World in the first place. Am I right?"

Ayla's eyes flashed in anger. "I had no choice!"

No one said a word. The girl realized her error too late and looked from one face to another. She shot Shim a furious look and seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Prince Zuko and General Iroh are good people," she said slowly. "And I don't want them to die. But…if it came down to a choice between them and my sister…of course I'm going to choose Julie!"

"Just like if it comes down to protecting Julie's body over protecting theirs, you won't hesitate to do it."

"Stop framing my words! That's not what I mean at all! I'm not going to abandon them…or anyone else. Even you, Shim…though I can't say that I like you very much right now," she added, trying hard to look fierce and unforgiving.

The healer smiled. "That's what I was hoping you'd say." He walked over to Bo-Fen and patted her on the shoulder. "In that case, you'll have no problem taking Bo-Fen with you. I mean, if you really have no intentions on abandoning us, then there's no reason not to. Probably better that you do, given that she'll be of no use here. She's in no condition to fight."

Ayla's jaw fell open. "W-what?"

None of this was computing in Bo-Fen's mind. She stared up at him, eyes wide and full of bewilderment. "And what the hell will _you _be doing? While I'm with Ayla…what about you?"

Shim was unconcerned. "I suppose I'll wait for your brother to arrive with reinforcements. After all, it's not like I can just leave my patients. Not in this crucial stage of examination."

Oh, thank the Spirits. For a moment, Bo-Fen thought he was going to attempt something suspicious and heroic. It was actually refreshing that he was honest about his intentions…even if they were twisted and frightening.

"You're just sending me away so that I can't stop you from taking their kidneys."

The smirk on his face turned condescending. "You say that as if you're capable of stopping me in the state you're in now. You can barely walk." He glanced at the window, which they had the foresight to barricade with a cabinet. "If you stay here, you're only going to distract me. So go with your friend and commit some sort of crime against science. That should give me enough reason to find you afterwards."

She jutted out her bottom lip, narrowing her eyes at him. "Fuckin' weirdo. So let me get this straight…you made all this fuss and accused Ayla of being some kind of traitor just to trap her into taking me with her? Is that what I'm hearing?"

"Yes."

"…"

"…"

Bo-Fen lunged, slugging him hard across the jaw. Shim managed not to fall over, but he doubled back a few steps and released his hold on her shoulder. He had his face turned away from her, and it was clear by the hunch of his shoulders that the blow had struck him hard.

"I hope that hurt," she grumbled. "…you patronizing piece of shit. If I ever hear you talk that way about Ayla again, I'm going to put your sorry ass in a grave. And I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me whether you want me or not."

He didn't say anything.

"Hey, did you hear me? Or did I knock something loose when I hit you just now?"

Slowly, he lifted his head up. The right side of his face had an angry red hue to the skin that indicated that a bruise would appear soon. And that unsettling smile never left his expression. He neither looked pained nor surprised in the least.

"You're an unfathomable woman. Just keep in mind that this is your one ticket out of here."

Bo-Fen gave him a withering look. "If you don't mind, I think I'll wait for my brother. Even he isn't stupid enough to make that kind of suggestion to me…especially not to my face. Next time I'll be taking your teeth and making a necklace out of them."

"Duly noted."

Ayla had no idea what was going on. There was obviously _something _happening…something that had little to do with surviving zombies. But they weren't even looking at each other anymore, and it was almost as if the heated exchange had never happened. Shim went back to where Zuko and Iroh were sleeping, and Bo-Fen limped over to the table and snatched up one of their remaining saddlebags half-full of rations and supplies and shoved it into her hands.

"Don't feel too bad about Shim," Bo-Fen muttered. "I'd sell anyone and everyone to the wolves if it meant protecting my brother."

"Then…you're not mad?"

"Why would I be? You're protecting Julie. Just focus on keeping yourself alive, too, okay?"

Ayla nodded slowly. Hesitantly, she glanced over at the healer across the room.

"What?" the soldier demanded roughly.

"Was he hitting on you just now?"

Bo-Fen gave her a deadpan look, but the slightest hint of a flush rose to her cheeks. "Dammit…I knew I should have hit him harder." She closed her eyes for a moment and forced herself to relax. "It was nothing. He was just being an asshole so we would leave him alone to run some creepy tests. Didn't you get that?"

"Y-yeah, but…it sounded like…well…"

"Well, nothing! You're reading too much into the situation! And anyway, this isn't the time to be gossiping about my freaking love-life, got it?"

Ayla started backwards, eyes wide. "Oh. Um…sorry, Rena."

She still looked miffed. "Whatever. Get going already. You should have enough supplies to sustain you without weighing you down."

"Ah…right. Thank you."

She accepted the rations without complaint even though she doubted she would really need them. But she knew better than to protest when Bo-Fen had _that _look on her face. Who knew she would get so mad over Shim of all people? Then again, Ayla would probably be horrified if anyone suggested that the man had a vested romantic interest in her. Hell, she'd probably kill herself.

"The zombies are scattered all around the house," Shim spoke up. "But their ranks are thinnest on the west side, so I suggest you make a break for it in that direction."

Ayla nodded firmly, shouldering her pack tightly as Bo-Fen pulled off two of the planks in the wall. The redhead knelt down and peeked out, checking to see if the coast was clear. Though, obviously, there were zombies everywhere, at least they weren't too focused on the hole.

"All right," she said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I'm sure you will," Shim replied in a tone that said exactly the opposite. Bo-Fen shot him a dirty look. "Do you know where this shrine is?"

"I'm an Energybender. I'll just follow the chi currents until I find something. Shrines tend to be built where there's a high concentration of spiritual energy."

"She'll find it," Bo-Fen snapped at him. She turned and gave her friend a rare smile. "We'll hold down the fort just fine until you come back. Don't worry about us."

Ayla smiled warily, trying hard not to look at Shim. Visibly uncomfortable, she tried to think of something else to say. She didn't want to say goodbye; it sounded so final…and permanent. After a moment of fruitless effort she gave up and let her smile drop.

"Bye…" she whispered.

Bo-Fen watched as the girl crawled through the hole and darted out into the darkness. She limped over to the boarded-up window and peeked through the slits in the planks. She held her breath for a tense moment as Ayla evaded the sparse group of zombies ambling about that side of the house; but not for nothing, Julie's body was nothing, if light and nimble. Ayla had no problems getting into the forest unscathed.

Within two minutes she had vanished.

Breathing out a sigh, Bo-Fen dropped to the ground, pinching the bridge of her nose with her forefinger and thumb. She was getting one hell of a headache.

"Perhaps you want to move over to the other room," Shim suggested. "I need to block off that hole you made."

"Fuck off."

"It isn't safe there."

She gave him a look. "It isn't safe anywhere in here. Anyway, you have a lot of nerve trying to be civil after the stunt you just pulled." Absently, she started picking at the frayed ends of the bandage supporting her sprained ankle. "You didn't have to keep acting like you don't trust her."

Shim's expression didn't change one iota. "What makes you think that was an act?"

"You said so yourself…you only accused her because you wanted her to take me with her."

"The thing is, Bo-Fen, Ayla _isn't _trustworthy. I just brought my suspicions out into the open, but that doesn't change how I feel." He sat down opposite her caught her gaze. "I know you don't like me or trust me very much. But if you can't trust my intentions, can you at least trust that I'm a capable scientist?"

Bo-Fen gave him a hard stare. "I trust that you know your shit, so far as medicine is concerned. But people? No, I don't think you know or understand people at all."

"Regardless, I can tell when something is amiss…when stories don't add up…and I know how to draw conclusions from them."

"Meaning?"

Shim frowned. "I'm not surprised that you don't know about it, Bo-Fen. I'm sure Iroh would have done everything he could to keep this a secret. The more people who know about it are more people who could potentially put Zuko, or even the entire crew at risk. However, as the only healer on the ship, Iroh had no choice but to confide Prince Zuko's condition to me. The moment he was aware of the curse gripping his nephew, he came to me and told me everything that transpired between Ayla, Zuko, and the Unagi…" He paused. "What do you know about that incident?"

"Only that Julie really pissed off Commander Zhao and almost died when she lost control of her bending. At some point later, she and Zuko were found in the water. The only thing I heard about an Unagi being involved was when Prince Zuko first saw Yoshi…he was screaming about him being an evil spirit or some crap like that."

"Well, I'm not sure _evil _is the best word to describe Yoshi," Shim acknowledged with a smile. They both glanced over at the eelhound, who had fallen asleep during the course of the conversation and was dreaming about chasing things. They knew this because his legs were kicking out, as if in pursuit of something invisible. "But, yes. All of this is true. And there's a lot more to this situation than you were told."

"Like?"

"Aren't the least bit curious about what it was that saved Julie's life?" he asked. "Didn't you find it strange that they woke up in the water?"

Bo-Fen scowled as understanding gripped her. "They were in the Spirit World, weren't they? That's why they were in the water…the ocean is a giant mirror, and mirrors are gateways into the Spirit World." She hesitated, her brow furrowing in worry. "The Unagi was reincarnated…which means…" her face went pale. "…oh, hell. Please tell me that they didn't make a fucking contract with it."

"Not Julie. Zuko."

The female soldier cursed violently, slamming her fist into the wall. The entire house shook, as if it were made of nothing more substantial than playing cards and was about to topple any second. "There are _consequences _when a person contracts, Shim! Didn't anyone tell him that?"

"That is entirely my point," he said grimly. "Someone _should _have told him. In fact, there was no reason for Zuko to have been in the Spirit World in the first place. Someone brought him…and then someone purposefully kept this information from him so that he would make the contract to save Julie's life."

Bo-Fen went still. "You think it's the same person who brought him and his uncle to the Spirit World tonight? You think _Ayla _did this?"

Shim's expression was absolutely serious. "I don't think. I _know_."

They locked eyes, carrying the weight of his words between them in silence. Outside, they could hear the zombie's moans getting louder, and something raked its undead fingernails against the front door. But their voices sounded as if they were mourning terribly, empty of words but full of pain and lamentations. The sound chilled Bo-Fen to the bone.

"Ayla doesn't care if Prince Zuko and his uncle lives or dies," said Shim with a note of finality in his voice. "The only thing that matters to her is keeping Julie alive. That was her sole objective from the very beginning. The rest of us are…expendable."

"Then…before, when she…when she sent Prince Zuko and General Iroh to find Julie in the Spirit World?"

He nodded. "Undoubtedly, she thinks she can play her gambit a second time. She is gambling their lives to bring Julie back from Koh's lair."

Bo-Fen didn't believe it. She couldn't believe it. Angrily, she tried shaking the carefully-laid suspicions out of her head, ignored Shim's rational voice and disregarded how much _sense _it made. She didn't want to face this. It was too much, after everything she and her brother went through…after everything they suffered for, all for this girl…there was just no way this could be true.

She didn't know what to believe anymore.

"We've got guests at the door," she commented in a low voice, keeping her gaze on the floor. "We'd better not keep them waiting."

This could wait. It _had _to wait, now. Thankfully, the zombies weren't as patient.

.. .. ..

**A/N: This chapter gave me a lot of trouble to write. For some reason, in spite of having the actual episode to work from, and in spite of knowing exactly what to put in the chapter, I found trouble executing it correctly. Especially that last scene regarding Ayla. There is a big plot reveal on the horizon, and I didn't just want to text-book dump it like a total clutz.**

**To KRTheBlackPearl: **"I had to hold off on posting the Deleted Scene because of the spoilers it would have given away for the next few chapters. I promise you'll get it soon. I hope this chapter had enough plot bunnies in the mean time. "

**Is Shim right about Ayla? Is she really planning on sacrificing all of them to keep Julie alive? Or does the spirit girl have something else up her sleeve? Will Shen-Long be able to come to his sister's aid? Or will he be stuck catering to the whims of Lieutenant Keita indefinitely?**

**Next chapter we get another look into the Spirit World! Zuko and Iroh are now being guided by Koichi, the Mask of Joy, and are about to make a troubling discovery about Julie. But Ramon isn't going to take kindly to their attempts to save her. Are you guys excited to see what happens? **

**Don't just sit there grinning at the computer screen! REVIEW!**


	105. Surviving October Sixth

**A/N: Congratulations. You found another Zulie chapter. Aren't you pleased?**

**Good stuff this update. Heavy on the feels, deeper than one of those ocean chasms, and a motherfucking tree. Yeah, you heard me. A TREE.**

**TREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…!**

**Why a tree? Because shut up. **

**It is raining a lot, and there are these big black beetles crawling into my house. I wish I had a Yoshi to kill them until they were dead. Seriously, they're freaking awful. They're barely a step above earwigs, which I absolutely can't stand in terms of repulsiveness.**

**Which is weird, because I think Koh (who is a centipede) is absolutely **_**adorable**_**. He's my baby. Well, not really. I didn't **_**create **_**him, but…hell. I'm adopting him. Mike and Bryan are going to have to deal. It's their fault for only sticking him in one episode and then leaving us to forget about him.**

**Also, I now have my Avatar wallscroll, complete with the grown-up Gaang. I am amused because grown-up Zuko is the shortest out of all three guys. Aang looks like the Jolly Green Giant next to him. It's so funny. **

**And later today, I'm going to be forced into participating in a White Castle hamburger-eating competition in honor of the Fourth of July. Because apparently that is what our day of independence translates to: eating disgusting amounts of fast-food until you're sick.**

**I swear, it's like my office's fun-club is run by Hetalia fans or something.**

**So, I'm going to post this puppy now, before I'm too sick to edit and stuff. Real-life Jessie will be coming over to nurse my wounds (it's a Wednesday thing—she stays at my house for a day before going back to her parent's house for the weekend, then she goes back to her school dorm for the rest of the week). I could always force her to edit, but…screw it. I want to update.**

**As always, enjoy the chapter. Read and review, mon bitches. **

**.. .. ..**

**Chapter Ninety-Seven: Surviving October Sixth**

Do you know how precious a life is?

Seriously. Think about it for a second…imagine the miracle combination of cells, molecules, DNA, nerve endings, flesh, and bone…among the countless other things that make up a human being. Have you ever contemplated what goes into a person when they're made? And I'm not just talking about the textbook biology stuff, which is pretty fucking miraculous in and of itself…I mean the essence of a person.

The stuff _inside _of us that makes us who we are…what is it? Are we merely a product of our environment? The most recent link in a chain of memories? An inexplicable combination of chemical reactions occurring in a small part of our brains? What are human beings, really?

Have you ever thought about it? I mean, _really _thought about it?

I did. When I look back on what I went through in the Spirit World…and the aftermath of it all…I am both humbled and troubled by my lack of a definite answer to my question. And I'm not giving anything away too soon, but the issue of my humanity is going to be something of an obsession to me. This entire story just screams of self-discovery, a coming of age tale of a troubled teenage girl trying to figure out if her life actually amounted to anything in the end…or if there even is a point to life at all.

Let's just say I'm not in a very good place right now. But if it helps, I'm learning how crucial it is not to take people for granted. Every person is a unique combination of unknown variables, an intricate conglomeration of hopes and dreams and vital organs.

Take Jessie, for example. What do you see when you look at her?

Long, curly brown hair tied back in a bun. Pale, freckled skin and a full, buxom figure (with this _killer _set of boobs…not that I was jealous or anything). Round, hazel eyes that alternate between green and brown depending on the light. A sensible wardrobe of earth-toned tops and a lot of denim. Dangling music note earrings and dark brown cowboy boots, which many considered to be signature trademarks of the girl herself.

But then, that's just the outermost layer of who and what Jessie is.

Okay, take those signature trademarks I just mentioned. Jessie got those earrings at a flea market because they reminded her of me (the singing, I guess)…and I'm pretty sure the boots were vintage. Jessie has a tendency to find old, beat-up things and find the beauty in them. That car of hers is another good example. Not only did she buy the piece of crap with her own money, but she worked her ass off to pay to get it fixed up and gave it a new coat of paint.

Some kids are shallow enough to try to give her crap over it, but Jessie just doesn't care. She is unfailingly and unflinchingly herself at all times. She is so sure of herself and who she is that the majority of people instinctively like her just for her sense of honesty. Was she always this confident? Was she just born a good, pure individual…or did she have a choice?

I really need to know. It's been eating away at me for years. Can a person really choose to be a certain way, like a person chooses not to smoke or eat red meat?

I'm especially bothered by how Jessie makes it look so easy to be so strong and brave all the time. I never could connect to people like she does. Compared to Jessie, I'm mean-spirited, vicious, and crude…a scrawny delinquent…not to mention the personal bitch of a dangerous drug dealer and con-artist. And for as long as I could remember, it just felt like who I _was_. I could pretend to like people, and I could refrain from saying the hostile things running through my head…but inside, I'd still think and feel the same way.

Maybe some people are born to be good and others are born to be bad. Maybe I'm just a shitty person, and Jessie's such a saint that she loves me anyway. Still, though…if I was to have just one sole good deed to call my own, I wanted to at least save Zuko. There was a sense of irony to it, the fact that I couldn't do anything genuinely good without putting such a selfish spin on the whole thing. Of course I had to be doing this for stupid, sentimental reasons.

Oh, well. If this all works, it'll be like we never met…which means Zuko and I will be complete strangers. No more cheesy-bad romance. No more selfish attachments.

Right. Exposition. I'm getting there.

So, after Ramon made me the offer I'd be absolutely stupid to refuse, I decided right then and there that I was going home. Sure, my dad was probably going to kick the ever-loving crap out of me if he caught me playing hooky (whatever…yesterday I was being chased by _zombies_), but it was the easiest solution that I could think of.

The only thing I had to do was stay alive for the rest of the day. I was already twelve hours in with no life-threatening encounters (save the one I just had with Ramon). The way I saw it, I could just crawl into bed and stay there until midnight…and even if Dad decides to mess with me, I still would be far, far away from that fucking bridge.

No water meant no problems. Bathing was for the weak!

Unfortunately, the universe has hated me since the day I was born (and every day since then), and today was no exception. Every unseen force imaginable seemed hell-bent on getting in my way. The very heavens shook at my audacity to try to change destiny (when really, I was just trying to clean up the mess I made).

In other words, Jessie found out I cut math class. I know this because I got a very frantic text from her on the way home.

_Where are you? I was waiting for you in the math hallway. No one knows where you went. Text me back ASAP!_

Dammit. I was going to get it, and good. Before five minutes had even gone by from the first text, my phone was buzzing from another incoming message.

_Is it your dad? Did he pull you out of school or something? Is he sick again?_

"Sick" was Jessie's nice way of saying "miserably hung-over." But even so, her question rubbed me the wrong way. Dad and I have a shaky agreement between us; he doesn't normally come to the school if he can help it, and I don't give him a reason to come running over there. All of my acts of juvenile delinquency occur far away from school grounds and I avoid the nurse's office like the plague. In return, should he feel the need to take his frustration out on me, he waits until I get home.

Of course, there was a brief period when I just stopped coming home. I had stayed with Ramon for about six months while we were dating. When we broke up, I came crawling back like a total loser. Naturally, my old man nearly smacked my teeth out and told me that next time I decided I was too good to live in his house, I shouldn't bother coming back.

No place like home.

I texted her back: _Not feeling well. Went home early. Call u later._

Then I waited. The silence I received in return was ominous, a sure sign that Jessie knew damn well I was lying. Normally, if she thought I was coming down with something, she would be peppering me relentlessly with questions. If she wasn't going to reply, it meant she was sure I was fine…but I wouldn't be once she got a hold of me.

Jessie didn't like it when I skipped school. She was worried I wouldn't be able to get into college, even a crappy liberal arts school. Part of me appreciated her concern, but the rest of me was still bitter that my chances of getting into Julliard had been shot to hell a long time ago. It was kind of hard to care about my college portfolio after that.

Though, even if I hadn't missed the audition deadline, I probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway. The only thing I was banking on was my voice since my grades sucked and I couldn't act or dance. And since my dad blew a gasket over my elementary school teacher coming to the house to sign me up for NISMA, I started to get this sick feeling of dread every time I had to perform in front of someone, and it never went away. I probably wasn't thinking straight when I made the application for Julliard.

Or maybe I was just desperate and scared to death that I'd be stuck in this miserable city for the rest of my life. And after falling into the Avatar world, all of this seems like it happened a lifetime ago. It was weird looking at all the things that used to matter to me and realizing just how insignificant it all was.

But whatever. I'm digressing.

I knew better than to walk in through the front door. Dad has a knack for hearing the spare key scraping in the lock, even while he's asleep. I think it's because he's so jumpy—probably the one thing he hates more than anything is the idea of someone coming into our house uninvited. So, instead of doing something that'll deliberately get on his nerves, I use the fire escape and climb up to the second story where my room was.

Before I went in, I peered in through the glass to make sure the bastard wasn't hanging around in there for some reason. It was rare, but there have been times when he stays out all night and is so disoriented when he gets home the next day that he just passes out in my room. And given the fact that I didn't see him at all when I left for school, there was a good chance that this was going to be one of those times.

I didn't see him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be somewhere nearby. I tested the latch and moved it slowly open. Before I did anything else I took off my shoes, knowing how much sound they'd make on the metal and wood. Then, with all the care of a squirrel in a mine-field, I pulled myself through the window and perched on my desk. I looked around and found my room completely empty, and—even better—my door was shut.

I let out the breath I had been holding and shut the window. As I turned, though, my arm brushed against the lamp and knocked it clean off the desk. I sucked in my breath in horror as it hit the floor, but thankfully didn't break—the ugly shag carpet kept it from shattering into pieces.

_Shit, shit, shit…_

I waited breathlessly for my dad to come busting in, but the seconds passed in silence. I swear I could hear my heart pounding as nothing remarkable happened. Eventually, I reached the conclusion that he hadn't heard me knock the lamp over.

I was shaking like a leaf as I touched down gently on the floor and went over to my bed. The suspense had drained me, so I took a few minutes to rest. My hands trembled as I pressed them against my eyes, blacking out the world. It took me a long time to calm down.

_I got lucky today, _I thought. _I can't believe he didn't hear that._

I stared vacantly around my room for a while, my gaze drifting from the lamp on the floor to the clothes hangers dangling off the pipe running along the ceiling, all the way to the closed door. Huh. Maybe that was why the sound hadn't carried to the rest of the house. Good thing I shut the thing before I left today…except…

_It wasn't me._

I hadn't shut the door…at least, I don't _think _I did. Why was my door closed? Had someone been here while I was gone? All of a sudden, Dad's absence felt less like a blessing and more like an ill omen. It was kind of like losing a venomous spider in your room. Something weird was going on…besides the general weirdness of having come home from a cartoon universe.

Okay, either I could go check this shit out…find out what my dad was doing. Or I could curl up in bed like I had originally planned on doing and waiting this out until tomorrow.

All right, I was going to be living here from now on, and sooner or later I'd have to face the old man. Hiding wasn't going to solve anything. And for all I knew, something could be wrong. He could be sick or someone might have broken into the house. I doubted I could just lie here for the next twelve hours with all of that sitting on my mind.

"Fuck it," I grumbled, pushing myself up reluctantly. I went and found a waffle-ball bat (the kind toddlers use in preschool) and went looking for a possible seven-foot-tall yeti in a clown mask trying to steal the silverware.

Yeah. This was going to end poorly. There was a good chance that Dad was just sleeping or something, and I'd wake him up by trying to get downstairs. Oh, well. At least I'd _know_.

Sneaking out of my room was understandably nerve-wracking. Just opening the door took forever because I was afraid it would squeak and someone would hear it. I settled for leaving it ajar and slipping through it on all fours. I had the bat in my left hand and clung to the railing of the stairs with my right, inching my way down and wincing at every sound I made. Watching me, you'd think one of the steps was wired to explode or something.

It really wasn't funny. I was actually scared. My own house felt like a den of suffering, and I don't think there would ever be a day when I would feel safe here. The last time I felt genuinely safe, I was in the arms of a certain fire-breathing cartoon prince…which, I guess, didn't bode well for my current mental health. All I needed was for someone to figure out the depth of my feelings for a fictional character, and the next thing I'd know they'd have me in a psych ward somewhere. Who knows?

Still, I couldn't help but wonder…what would Zuko say if he saw me like this?

I tried not to think about it. After all, I had more pressing issues to deal with. Once I reached the bottom of the stairs I stayed in my crouch and clung to the walls and corners as I began searching the other rooms of the first floor. Not that stealth was exactly my forte, but it sure as hell was smarter than being out in the open.

I checked the kitchen first, ducking under the table and peeking around through the chairs. I abandoned my flimsy little bat to look for something that might be useful. I searched the drawers and found a steak knife tucked away in the back. Well, it was better than nothing, I decided as I tucked it into my belt.

There was a door separating the kitchen from the den, which was where Dad liked to go through his Guinness six-packs while watching old Law & Order and Cops reruns. That was probably where I'd find him, if I was lucky. Swallowing my dread, I pushed open the door and crept inside.

The first thing I noticed was how dark it was. The only light that could be seen was the harsh white static of the television screen. Guess no one paid the cable bill, either. The back of the La-Z-Boy recliner was facing me, and I could faintly make out the hulking figure slumped over in the seat…motionless.

_Is he asleep? _No, he couldn't be. Dad usually snored, and right now it was dead quiet except for the sound coming out of the TV…and a faint dripping noise. I crawled along the floor, drawn to the light like a moth to a flame. Something was so eerie about what I was seeing…as if this was one of those tests where you look at an image and try to find all the things wrong in the picture.

There was definitely something wrong.

I started to notice the smell first, a sharp metallic tang that grated on me as I got closer to the recliner. There was also the stale smell of sweat and even feces—which was gross, but not completely out of place; drunk people are very capable of shitting themselves, you know. I just pulled the collar of my shirt over my nose and mouth and kept moving…until I realized the carpet was damp.

_Beer? _I thought, pulling my hand back and examining it. My brain short-circuited when I saw the sticky russet fluid coating my fingers. _Blood…_

Oh, Jesus Christ. That was when I saw the duck-tape wrapped around the chair. That was when I saw the curve of Dad's arm draped over the arm of the recliner, lifeless and dripping more dark liquid. It took a long time for me to process what I was seeing.

"Dad…" I said, my voice so strained that it was barely louder than a whisper. Panic seized me. "Dad…! Oh, Christ…! Fucking…FUCK! DAD!"

I ran around to the other side of the chair and got in between my old man and the TV he wasn't watching. His eyes were empty and stared at nothing while the gash in his throat greeted me in a dark, crimson smile…like someone had taken a knife and slit it open. His shirt was soaked through with his own blood and vomit. There was a few empty scotch bottles lying abandoned at his feet, including one that had been half-empty when it fell out of my dad's hands. Someone had caught him by surprise, tied him up with the duck-tape, and…

…oh, my God. He was dead. He was absolutely dead. I was in the same room as my dead father, and I had no idea what to do. This wasn't…couldn't be right.

I collapsed to my knees and started hyperventilating. My own knife fell out of my belt-loop and landed in the soggy spot in the carpet, where Dad's blood had soaked through it. My gaze was locked on the still-lit cigarette in my dad's mouth. The sick fuck who killed him lit him a cigarette and put it in his mouth after he cut his neck open.

Then I saw it. On the door I had entered through, I saw the words spelled out plain as day—words I hadn't seen when I had crept past it. They were painted in what looked like blood. Of course they were. This was the scene of a murder.

And the only clue I had was the accusation dripping red onto the ugly carpet: **BAD FATHER**

"…aah…aaaahhhhh…." I didn't realize the broken, garbled sound was coming out of my mouth until my voice cracked. But knowing it made no difference. It did nothing to alleviate the horror paralyzing me to the spot. There were no words, just a long, drawn out cry—full of sound and agony, signifying nothing. "…aaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH…!"

My scream went on and on. I couldn't keep quiet, and I wasn't in the state of mind to even try. All that was going through my brain was: _He's dead…he's dead…he's dead…oh, my God. He's dead._

"You don't sound too happy, Babe."

The voice behind me, it was Ramon. I was so torn apart by my discovery that I didn't even bother turning around. But my heart lurched painfully when I realized he was in my house. The bastard was in my den, probably to gloat. I just…I couldn't deal with it.

"He can't hurt you anymore, you know," he told me. "You should be glad. This was for your own good, you know."

I was trembling. "You…you did this…"

"Someone had to die today. It's the cost of a life. In order for you to live through the day you were destined to die, someone else had to take your place."

Everything was blurring together, and it wasn't entirely from my tears. The corners of my vision were turning black and red. I couldn't think straight. I never felt so broken in my life.

"You killed him…" I said again, not caring that I sounded like a broken record. "…to take my place…you killed him." Slowly, I turned around and faced the monster, locking my gaze with his.

Ramon was smiling fondly at me, like the sight of me kneeling in my father's bodily fluids was the most endearing thing in the world. "That's right."

My brain snapped like a twig.

"Then fix it!" I screamed. "You can do that, can't you?! Isn't this just a time-loop?! Turn back time! Make it morning again and…and I'll find a way to save him! I don't want my dad to die!"

Ramon stopped smiling. "Why do you even care?"

"I…I…I don't want him to die…" I was gasping now, having a full-blown anxiety attack. "I don't want my dad to die…he can't be dead…I can't…he's my dad! I can't let my dad die!"

He considered me for a moment, a wretched girl kneeling before him, begging him to change things. I must have looked like a wreck, but it never occurred to me at the time how desperate I was. Once again, I was throwing myself at Ramon's feet in an attempt to protect my father…because there was just no other way.

"If he lives, someone else is just going to have to die," he told me. "That's how it works. Equivalent exchange and all that jazz."

"Fine! Whatever! I don't care! Just save him!"

Ramon shook his head at me. "First Zuko, now your old man…you're on one hell of a rescue mission, aren't you, Babe?"

I didn't answer him. I waited, staring miserably into his eyes.

"All right," he replied. "Just don't go crying to me when things don't turn out like you think they will. After all, it's a hefty price to pay…and someone has to pay it."

His words made no impression on me. My broken mind interpreted them like static; garbled, meaningless noise like the sound coming out of the TV. There were no words. Just the smell of blood…the sound of blood dripping on to the floor…the sight of blood on the walls…the feel of blood on my hands…it was everywhere.

Everything was made of blood and ashes. That was what I realized as the world crumbled away before my eyes. The last thing I remember seeing was Ramon plucking the cigarette out of my dad's mouth and dropping it into the scatted pile of bottles, where the remnants of that half-empty scotch soaked deep into the carpet.

It went up in flames.

The fire was pretty. It would burn away the blood. Maybe it would burn what was left of me, with it.

But I never got my wish. I woke up in my bed before the flames could reach me.

The day was October sixth.

.. .. ..

Okay. It was going to be okay. You just had a bad dream, Julie. Starting today, you are swearing off the Doritos, and everything will be okay.

I just had to try again. It wasn't rocket science. I could have as many chances as I wanted to make things right…to keep the people who mattered alive. It wasn't just about Zuko anymore. And it was never about me. My life…had a price.

Someone had to pay.

Ramon promised it wouldn't be Dad this time. I wasn't going to find him dead in my living room today. Today would be different. I just had to get through it…just like I got through every other day in my life.

I had survived this long by taking things one day at a time. I would keep it that way…one October Sixth at a time. Sooner or later, I was bound to get it right.

Right?

I'll admit it. Things were pretty freaking bad. That first time-loop had been one massive mind-fuck, but at least I learned how to play this sick game Ramon started. I had hope of actually changing things…maybe not the first time around, but eventually I'd figure out how to survive October sixth. Or so I thought.

No one told me that Zuko was wandering around the Spirit World looking for me. No one gave me any warning, not even a fucking hint that the idiot would eventually show up and ruin everything I was trying to do. It was probably a good thing, though. The thought that I could still save Zuko was the only reason I hadn't gone insane seeing my dad cut open like a Christmas goose.

Still, he was coming. It was only a matter of time before he found me with Koichi leading the way. Only right now he wasn't anticipating finding me in my own world. Instead, his unsettled mind chose to replay his confused memories of me, trying to figure out the same thing that was bugging me right now.

Who was I, really? Just what was I made of inside? Was I this irredeemable traitor finally getting what I deserved, or was there enough good in me to justify his risking his life in the Spirit World?

My bets were running heavily on the former, but then who knew what was going through Zuko's brain at the moment? If I were anything remotely like Zuko, I probably wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place.

The sun was rising for me…a brand new day; or rather, a brand new October sixth. Things were going to be different. With every ounce of will I had in me, I was going to change everything.

In the mean time, I'm going to switch the narration over to Zuko.

.. .. ..

(**Zuko's POV**)

Following a known enemy to a strange, dangerous place he'd never been before…as far as bad ideas went, Zuko had to admit that this one took the cake.

But he was doing it anyway—all to save a girl he didn't know as well as he originally thought he did.

It was quite some time before it occurred to Zuko that this wasn't the first time he found himself questioning the veracity of Julie's character. He had doubted the girl since the day they met. He had seen right through her _nomad_ farce almost immediately (he'd have to be an idiot not to), and had been consumed with figuring out her true identity since.

And yet, in spite of all that suspicion, he had managed to get ridiculously attached to her. But then, Julie had always fascinated him. Even in the beginning…

"_What is it with you and cards, anyway?"_

_Zuko had asked this question mostly out of irritation. He had just sat through another tarot card reading in an attempt to learn more about this strange girl…and all he had gotten were vague, half-answers that only left him with more questions. Whether she was just a private person or actually had something to hide, Julie kept her secrets closely guarded. And her puzzling mannerisms and quirks only added fuel to his curiosity._

_He picked up 'The Fool' card and examined it with a scowl on his face. "Your stories don't add up, you know. You may as well just tell me the truth."_

_Julie looked like she wanted to snatch the card out of his hands. "Even if I told you, it's not like someone like you could understand."_

"_And what's that supposed to mean?"_

_She started shuffling again. Zuko found it a little mesmerizing to watch her hands as she feverishly maneuvered the cards in a seemingly random order. If he had known anything about shuffling techniques, he might have been impressed by her curious method—an effective blend of riffle and Hindu-style. However, being wet behind the ears in that regard, it was enough that she moved quickly and fluidly to convince him of her skill._

_Watching Julie concentrate on her shuffling was surprisingly fascinating. But that was as much credit as he was willing to give her at that point. After all, she still refused to answer his questions._

"_Hey," he snapped. "Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!"_

_Her brow furrowed, but she somehow managed not to rise to his bait. Zuko wondered if the girl found it soothing to shuffle cards. Perhaps having something to do with her hands was enough of a distraction for her to tune out the sound of his voice._

_Well, he wasn't having any of that._

_Zuko reached out and snatched one of her wrists, bringing her card-dealing to an abrupt halt. Julie cursed as her cards slipped from her hands and scattered on to the floor. She wrenched her arm away and gave him a furious look._

"_What the hell is your problem?!"_

_He glared at her. "Do you even know who you're speaking to? When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer it! If you make me have to repeat myself again, you're going to regret it, you…peasant!"_

_Her nostrils flared angrily. "I already told you…I have nothing to say to someone like you! That thing you just did…it proves that! Besides," she added flippantly. "…isn't this all a little _beneath_ you?"_

"_Card games?"_

"_Gambling," she spat. "Con-artistry. Call it what you will…it's not exactly something a prince should be interested in."_

"_I thought you were fortune-telling."_

_Julie winced, looking away. "Anyone can make guesses about the future. And news-flash: fortune-tellers don't decide a person's fate…that's all on you. But people don't care about that. They want to pay money for someone to tell them what they want to hear. That's all it is."_

"_So, what you're telling me is that you're a fraud?"_

"_I never said I couldn't read tarot cards," she grumbled. "But you can't make money telling people the truth. People don't want the truth, especially if it's inconvenient…or depressing. That's something I learned a long time ago." She sighed. "The thing is, people come to you wanting a fortune told, wanting the elusive solution to their problems…and most of the time they already know what they need to do. They just don't want to do it. And if you tell them that, they'll complain or want their money back."_

_Zuko frowned. "So, what have I been paying for, then? Lies?"_

_Julie firmly met his gaze. He was almost derailed by the way those soft green irises glowed in the dim candlelight. He found his attention drifting from those demanding eyes of hers to the soft crimson tresses framing her heart-shaped face. The light of the candles really brought out the peach-colored glow of her skin, which would have been perfect if it weren't for the occasional marks he noticed around her body, marring her appearance._

_She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't exactly pretty, either. She was just Julie. And inevitably, his gaze always trailed back to her eyes. All of her defiance and pride shone there, like gems._

"_You're not paying anything," she said. "All you have to do is put up with me until we reach the Earth Kingdom. Then, I'll be out of your life for good. It'll be like we never even met."_

_Zuko scowled. "That doesn't answer my question! Have you been lying to me this whole time?"_

_She breathed out a frustrated sigh. "My past has nothing to do with you or your mission, okay? So, what if I _have _been lying? It's not like you'd believe me if I told you…and here, the truth doesn't just leave you broke. It can kill you."_

_Her unspoken meaning was clear: He would kill her if he discovered the truth. And that belief was almost condemning in and of itself._

"_Either way," he told her ominously. "I'm going to figure you out. Anything you keep from me, I'm going to find out about it. You're just buying yourself time, peasant."_

"_Yeah?" Julie scoffed quietly._

_She barely suppressed the sound of her disdainful laugh. There was nothing in her face that indicated humor or amusement. Instead, she looked distinctly bitter—the green eyes Zuko had found striking were full of scorn._

"_Over my dead body," she muttered._

Zuko almost stopped in his tracks as this unwelcome memory floated to the surface of his mind unexpectedly. He paused long enough to take a deep breath, drawing in enough air to smother the dull ache in his chest temporarily. He tried to shake off the sense of déjà vu he felt, as if everything that was happening now had been foreshadowed by that one conversation in the dark.

Thinking back on those early days bothered him—especially in light of how suspicious and hostile they were towards one another. It was a sharp contrast, the way he felt about Julie back then and the way he felt about her now. If someone had told him that he would end up in love with her…well, he wouldn't have enough words in his personal vocabulary to tell that person just how delusional they really were. He didn't see it coming at all.

Falling in love…a concept so cliché, he couldn't even imagine it as a possibility for himself. And yet it happened. Of course he had the bad luck of falling for someone he had every right _not _to trust. His guilt over their past interactions was definitely unfounded given recent revelations.

It was ridiculous. He loved her, and he barely even knew who this girl was deep down inside. And yet, there it was. Zuko couldn't change how he felt any more than he could hide it. It's why his uncle was so convinced that he would be an easy target for Koh the Face-Stealer.

Even now. There was a chance she betrayed him, and even now he loved her…loved her as much as he hated her for making him feel his way. And man, did he have a lot of hate bubbling around inside of him right now. Hatred born out of years of exile, shame, hardship, and humiliation…hatred for the people who scorned and ridiculed him the entire time he struggled…hatred for the one person he thought he could finally trust—the one girl he thought to be different from all of them…and ESPECIALLY for the crazy bastard who stole her from him.

But there was still one person he hated more than anyone else (and that was saying quite a lot since he _really _hated Ramon): Himself. Specifically, Zuko hated his weakness…both for his inability to save Julie and his _need _to do so in the first place.

_I can't abandon her._

It was true, this was bigger than whatever was happening between him and Julie; he wasn't so much of a lovesick fool that he could forget that. When it came right down to it, Zuko wouldn't be able to look at himself in the mirror ever again if he abandoned someone to a fate like this…never mind if that someone was Julie. A person so callous had no right to call himself the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation…no right and no honor at all.

And Zuko wished that he was doing this for his honor's sake. It would have made all of this simpler. He had a feeling honor had taken a backseat to Julie a long time ago…probably the moment he had chosen to help her instead of capturing the Avatar for himself back on Kyoshi Island. Maybe even before then. For all he knew, everyone was right about him after all—maybe this mission was more of a vanity project than anything else.

His father was right to banish him…he had no honor at all, not when it came to things like this. Even this…could Zuko honestly tell himself that his decision to come to the Spirit World was based on right and wrong? Was it for the good of the world, like he had told that dryad-woman? Or was this just because of his selfish desires…his inability to let go of one girl…one measly little peasant.

_Not peasant. Julie._

He hated himself sometimes. He really did.

Zuko knew that sooner or later he would have to address some very major issues…and by _address_, he meant chasing down Julie and trapping her in a corner or something until she told him what he needed to know. It had taken a lot of denial and procrastination on his end to avoid _thinking _about it, but that was the coward's route. It was long past time to be objective about this entire situation…about _Julie._

Feelings aside, he needed to figure out what to do with her. To do that, he needed to find out two things…at the very _least_.

First…what exactly happened between her and Ramon? Zuko knew this would probably be a touchy subject, but given the fact that Julie's ex was proving to be a total psychopath hell-bent on killing them all, he felt it was a pertinent question. At the very least he wanted to know why they broke up.

As for the matter of their sleeping together…well, he had mixed feelings about that. It wasn't like he could blame her for something that happened before they had officially met. That was unreasonable, and Zuko knew it. It didn't stop him from wanting to throttle Ramon for it, though.

Yeah. Probably better that he didn't open that can of worms right now. Maybe that one could wait until they got back from the Spirit World. You know, when there wasn't a KOH stalking them in the woods.

Second, and more importantly…did Julie actually free the Avatar?

Zuko closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh. _Julie…_ The longer this went on, the more he suspected that he didn't really know the girl as well as he thought he did. Things like this made him think twice about the things he learned about her in the past couple of months. What was real? And what was just an act to get him to let his guard down?

_She's not my enemy, though, _he realized. Whatever her true motives were, they weren't to cause him intentional harm…or the shame or ridicule he would undoubtedly receive if he failed. Julie wouldn't even have a reason to do it. She wasn't from this world. This war had nothing to do with her…so what did she care whether or not Zuko completed his mission?

So, what, then?

Zuko felt a gnawing desperation—the kind he used to feel as a kid when his uncle tried teaching him pai-sho, and all he wanted to do was flip the table and light the entire board on fire. He wanted to know the answers to his questions, but a part of him deep down was afraid of what he'd find out. It all made him feel like a coward.

But no…blissful ignorance was no longer an option for him. He was going to find her and then she would answer his questions, no matter how painful the truth was. She would finally tell him everything, and then they would leave the Spirit World together.

What would happen after that…well, that depended on what she had to tell him. He wouldn't let her die like this—Zuko didn't think anyone really deserved a fate like that—but that didn't mean he could _trust _her anymore.

Then again, this was assuming she even _did _it. It might not have even been her fault the Avatar escaped. She could have had nothing to do with it.

_Okay, _he tried to rationalize to himself. _Disregarding the possibility of temporary insanity or fever-induced delusions…why would she sneak all the way down to my dungeons and free the Avatar? _Maybe someone had blackmailed her into doing it…or perhaps she had been tricked by someone.

Zuko almost groaned in frustration when it suddenly clicked—that no one _had _to force her. Julie, for whatever reason, had an unfailing soft-spot for children. The way she had risked her life for Kuba when they had first met…that was case and point. And the Avatar seemed to be just a goofy bald kid.

Oh, spirits…he remembered now. The night before the Avatar escaped, he found Julie cozying up with that monster of a sky bison, stewing from guilt (and that fever she was running at the time). They had an entire conversation about this very subject—and Julie had asked him if he even felt guilty…if it bothered him that his target was just a child.

He closed his eyes. _Agni…just a child. She must have thought she was rescuing him._

If that had been her reason…maybe he could forgive her. Zuko could almost understand how it must have looked to her. She barely knew him back then…she couldn't have known how important this mission was to him. And by all appearances, he was locking a child in a cold, dungeon cell with the intention of imprisoning him for the rest of his life. That must have looked pretty evil.

His irritation spiked. _Idiot. Just like her to make assumptions like that. _It pissed him off, definitely, but it sure as hell beat the prospect of genuine, ill-intentioned treachery. Acts of stupidity were one thing…relatively forgivable offenses provided they weren't repeated. But a knife in the back?

At least Zuko could console himself that _that _possibility was appearing more unlikely by the second. Now all he had to worry about was the massive face-stealing centipede on the loose.

Got to love progress.

"It's not far from here," said Koichi the mask-seller, flashing his toothy, Cheshire Cat grin. "It's actually a rather ingenious set-up…you'll understand when you see it. I have to give Ramon credit where credit is due. This trap suits its prey perfectly."

That snapped Zuko out of his contemplation. "What do you mean?"

"It's too soon to explain. You'll see for yourself."

Contrary to what the man thought, this statement was hardly comforting. The Fire Prince felt himself growing tenser with every passing second as he and his uncle inched deeper into the woods, closer to where Julie was hidden. He tried to imagine what Koichi might have meant by the cryptic bit of information…a trap that suited its prey…a trap perfectly designed for Julie.

A trap designed by Ramon with Julie specifically in mind. That was just…creepy.

"Are we still in Koh's territory?" Iroh asked calmly. "You don't seem as familiar with this neck of the woods, as the saying goes."

Koichi paused and gave the retired general a scrutinizing glance. "You noticed, huh?" he replied, looking sheepish. "I'll admit we left Koh's woods some time ago. Ramon deliberately brought Julie somewhere it would be…_difficult _for the rest of us Masks to follow." He turned to look at Zuko now, his eyes alight with mischief. "As I said before, Ramon has his own plans for the girl."

"Plans that don't involve Koh?"

"That's impossible. Serving the face-stealer is in the very fabric of our beings now. We are a part of him, and he, us. But I suspect some part of Ramon might be trying to resist our master. That is why he brought Julie someplace where Lord Koh cannot directly interfere."

Zuko was troubled by that. He should have been relieved to hear that Julie wasn't immediately in Koh's grasp, but all he could think about was the two of them alone together. If she still had feelings for Ramon, he could easily exploit that. Was this the kind of trap Koichi was talking about?

"You seem doubtful, Prince Zuko. Is something on your mind?"

The Fire Prince glared at him, irked that he had seen through him so easily. "You make it sound like he's protecting Julie from Koh…but that's not true, is it? He's just keeping her all to himself. He's _crazy_ and _sick_."

Koichi appeared thoughtful. "Pleasure has many vices, you know…but if I had to guess at Ramon's one redeeming quality…one shred of light in that black soul of his…I'd have to say it is his love for Julie."

"Love?!" Zuko repeated incredulously. "The way he treats her…_talks _to her…that's not something you do to someone you love!"

"Perhaps. But your opinions aside, the fact remains. Ramon is very much in love with her. Arguably, Julie is the only person he ever cared about, in life and in death." The mask-seller grinned, and it was a sinister expression. "Unfortunately, Ramon doesn't seem to know how to love someone without trying to dominate them. It is in his nature, you see."

"You make it sound like that makes it okay for him to treat her like a piece of property."

Koichi shrugged. "Right and wrong have little to do with it. Ramon loved Julie…he _still _loves her. And for what it's worth, Julie returned his feelings…_once_."

No. Absolutely not. There was no way he was going to swallow something so blatantly _false_. He didn't want to accept that Julie's relationship with Ramon had any shred of decency to it…and what's more, he _couldn't_.

It wasn't love. It was toxic.

"Yeah, maybe _once_," he spat. "Whatever they had…it's over. She doesn't want anything to do with him anymore."

"Oh? You truly think that, Prince Zuko?" Koichi gave him a piercing stare. "Julie admitted that they had been intimate. Do you honestly believe that she'd have allowed that if she didn't feel anything for him? Are you really so naïve that you think she feels nothing for him _now?"_

"She saidthat she made a mistake! Don't you dare put words in her mouth!" Zuko was livid. "For all we know, Ramon could have just…" he stopped short as a cold feeling settled over him, his heart pounding in his ears. "…anything could have happened."

"Zuko," said Iroh quietly. "Are you all right?"

He didn't answer. He was too busy trying to stop his brain from sending panicked signals to his stomach. The nausea was really starting to get to him, but try as he might he couldn't keep himself from reacting to the idea of Ramon physically coercing Julie into…something like that. His brain kept disconnecting to keep the hideous thought from taking root in his mind's eye.

_No, _he thought firmly. _It's not what I think. She said she made a mistake…that's all it is._

"Even if Julie loved him once," he said slowly. "…it's over. She doesn't want anything to do with Ramon. And I'm going to find her and bring her back."

Koichi's smile turned patronizing. "Assuming she even wants to return with you."

Zuko sputtered angrily before looking away. Iroh looked from his nephew's turmoil-ridden expression to the smirk of the Mask before his own visage hardened into something formidable. He put himself in between the Fire Prince and the other man, his eyes as sharp as glass, ready to cut.

"You have done enough explaining," he said in a rare (for Iroh) menacing tone of voice. "If you intend to lead us to Julie, I suggest you do it quickly."

Koichi's mirth settled, though the smile never left his face. "Very well."

But all Zuko could think about were his own nagging doubts. He wished he could tell himself there was no way Julie would willingly go with Ramon, but…deep down inside, he knew the girl better than that.

After all, this was _Julie _he was talking about. The girl who expected bitterness mixed in with the sweets, and suspected some hidden malice behind every smile directed her way. She would sooner go back to her abusive father in her own world than to try to stick it out under the care of a sincerely good man like Jee, simply because it was the place she called _home_.

Home. That was a cruel joke of a word. But Julie clung to it with all her might, and nothing Zuko said would convince her that she was better off here. In the end, he never could persuade her of that fact…instead, she had merely given up hope of returning to the world she came from.

Maybe the same would hold true for Ramon. Maybe Julie would choose to stay with him…simply because a twisted, broken sham of a relationship was the only kind she knew how to deal with.

Zuko felt absolutely sick.

"Uncle," he whispered, careful not to let Koichi overhear. "You don't think Julie would…"

"Still have feelings for Ramon?" Iroh replied quietly. He looked strangely pained for a moment, sympathy prominent in his eyes. "Well…it's definitely possible…even likely that she does have _some _unresolved feelings. Love is a very difficult emotion to suppress, and abusive relationships can have a brainwashing effect on the victim. Given the way Julie's father treated her…well…it would explain what might bring her to reciprocate the feelings of someone like Ramon in the first place."

Zuko looked away. He couldn't stomach much more of this. What was it going to take to convince Julie to put her past behind her, once and for all?

"It's not my problem," he muttered in reply. "We're going to find that crazy girl and bring her back…and after that, she'll be responsible for her own stupid decisions. I'm sick of this."

Iroh nodded slowly. "That might be best. There is little to be gained from trying to save someone who refuses to be saved. And everyone is responsible for their destiny…Julie is no exception." He put his hand on his nephew's shoulder. "You are doing everything you can for her. The rest is up to her."

Zuko didn't say anything. He had serious misgivings about this entire situation.

For the next five minutes the trio traveled in silence. The trees seemed to be ensnaring one another, vines groping and strangling the trunks and branches of their neighbors. Zuko suspected there was a body of water close by, as the ground seemed to sink with each footstep, as though he were treading through mud. It was as if the turf itself was just a flimsy cover, and the real ground was composed of nothing but tree roots.

Just as unnerving was the grass that stretched up to the middle of their thighs. Zuko eyed the ominously swaying blades, all too aware of how many dangerous creatures liked to hide and stalk their prey among tall grass; things like snakes. His uncle seemed to have the same idea as he calmly took a branch and gently parted the grass immediately ahead of him, watching to make sure he didn't step on anything alive.

"The danger is not what lies hidden in the grass, you know," said Koichi conversationally. "It's the grass itself. Take a closer look at it."

Zuko frowned, reluctantly pausing to examine the tall grass. Upon first glance it seemed harmless, but as the sun came out from behind a cloud he noticed that the light reflected off each blade a little too strongly. And the edges _did _seem unnervingly sharp…but walking through it, it looked and felt like normal grass. Was it just a trick of the light?

No, probably not. Everything in the Spirit World seemed designed to kill; though he had no body to speak of here, he wasn't especially eager to find out the hard way what could hurt him and what couldn't. Better not to chance it at all.

"The grasses here guard a very important tree," Koichi explained. "You might know of it. Back in the mortal world, its roots stretch for miles, covering most of the southwestern Earth Kingdom…though many mistake the entire area as a massive swamp. They call it the Banyan-Grove Tree."

Iroh actually stopped in his tracks, appearing surprised. "The Tree of Enlightenment?"

"Indeed." The mask-seller turned to Zuko and began to explain for his benefit. "This tree is older than most of the spirits currently in the Spirit World. In fact, some believe it sprouted when the world was first brought into being. Others think that it was originally a shoot from one of the trees carried around on the back of the Lion-Turtle, Genbu. The Banyan-Grove Tree sprouted from that shoot and turned into a massive forest."

The Fire Prince was quickly growing impatient at the unfamiliar names being dropped at his feet. "How is any of that relevant to us right now?"

Koichi quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought you might show more interest…given that you're already acquainted with Baihu. Genbu is another one of the four direction spirits. He is the Black Tortoise who presides over the northern quarter of the Spirit World…or he should. Genbu spends most of his time in the mortal world, roaming the waters and observing mankind. There is huge forest growing on his shell, you know."

"And the Banyan-Grove Tree is one of those trees?"

"So, they say. Either way, the tree is our current destination. But few are allowed to get too close. If these grasses sense you intend to harm the tree, they'll attack…slicing into your legs until you cannot walk. The blades will chop your spirit into bits, and eventually your remains will be small enough to be mixed into the soil." Koichi grinned. "Food for the tree."

Zuko felt the color draining from his face. He imagined thousands of those knives carving into him, tiny cleavers sawing into his flesh and muscles, mincing his bones into meal, and emptying his blood on the roots of a massive, evil-looking tree. Suddenly, it was a small comfort that Koh didn't lurk in this part of the Spirit World. If you were human, there was no safe place for you to hide.

"Ramon brought Julie here?" Iroh asked tersely.

"Yes."

_Food for the tree._

Zuko feared the worst. Was Ramon that much of a madman that he would bring Julie here to be ripped to pieces, just so no one else could have her? For a moment his vision blurred as he became temporarily light-headed, the faint ringing noise in his ears indicating that he was on the verge of fainting. His blood was searing in his veins as his anger pushed through his body, forcefully clearing his mind before he could collapse.

It would be a horrible way to die…and it would be happening to her spirit. Her body would remain intact back in the mortal world, but her spirit would be devoured slowly, painfully. All those knives…

He was going to slaughter Ramon. This was so inhuman…there weren't any words to describe it.

"She is still alive," Koichi remarked, perhaps in response to Zuko's sudden chalky pallor. "But if she remains here for too long, there is a greater risk that the tree will decide to consume her. Either way, she will be of no use to Lord Koh if she dies here. I'm sure you understand."

He did. The Mask of Joy had brought him and his uncle here to do the dirty work for him…to rescue Julie at the cost of their own lives. Once they were both dead, he would be free to bring Julie to Koh.

But what choice did Zuko have?

_If Julie still loves Ramon after all of this, _he thought numbly. _I'm putting her on suicide watch. _No one who didn't already have a death wish in mind would put themselves in a relationship with such a blatant homicidal maniac.

That was when he saw it. The Banyan-Grove Tree.

The thick, lush canopy loomed like a massive umbrella, making all the other trees in the forest look like weeds in comparison. Zuko found he had to look up just to see the top of it, and even then the branches and vines obscured his vision too much to be certain of what waited for him above. Perhaps Ramon was lurking somewhere higher up, watching him; but he would never know for sure. His eyes were riveted on the humanoid figure tangled up in the roots.

There was no air left. _Julie._

The redhead seemed to be embedded in the wood, something that almost caused Zuko to panic until he realized that the roots were draped around her, almost like a cage. Vines bound her arms and legs, pinning her to the base of the massive tree and forcing her head upright. Julie's pose indicated that she had been frantically struggling not long ago, but her eyes were open and vacant, staring directly into Zuko's. She wasn't moving at all. He wasn't even sure if she was breathing.

Before he could react, Iroh had him in a firm grip and was holding him back.

"Easy, nephew. No sudden moves, remember?"

Zuko exhaled sharply. "We can't just leave her trapped there!"

"If we plunge in there blindly, there is a good chance we will not be leaving the Spirit World alive," the retired general reminded him sharply. "Julie is alive…and we want her to remain that way. We need to be cautious…gentle…"

_I will kill you, _the Fire Prince thought, picturing Ramon in his mind's eye. _There will be no safe place for you to hide. You'll burn for this._

The grass stirred restlessly, and the travelers could hear the very distressing sound of metal rasping on metal…like so many blades scraping against one another. Koichi looked pleased at the sudden spike of danger in the air, but Iroh tightened his grip on Zuko and hissed in his ear.

"Stop this now, Prince Zuko! You'll kill us both!"

Zuko gritted his teeth and forced himself to look away. _Clear your mind, _he thought frantically. _Like Uncle told you. Remember the basics…the breathing exercises. _

He brought the mental image of a single burning candle to the surface of his thoughts. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in and held it for a few beats. Then, he exhaled, imagining the flame stretching higher on the wick. Inside he remained cold as ice, however. More than anything else since he entered the Spirit World, he missed the feeling of his inner fire pulsing with his beating heart. Without it, he barely felt alive.

_Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…_

He couldn't forget about the deadly grasses, but it was his best bet at calming down. As his aura became distinctly less hostile, the plant-life seemed to calm down as well. After a safe period of time, he opened his eyes and found himself looking at Koichi. Was he enjoying watching them flounder like this?

"A person can only wander through the grass safely if one is in utter control over their thoughts and emotions," said the mask-seller. "Any hostile feelings or intentions will be sensed by the Banyan-Grove tree, and it will defend itself."

Zuko glared at him, but continued to take slow, even breaths. "Thanks for the warning," he muttered.

After a tense pause, Iroh loosened his grip on him, allowing the teen to stand on his own two feet. He hesitated, bringing his gaze back to Julie in small degrees, as if inching his way into ice-cold water. He tried to imagine she was sleeping and not in mortal peril; it was the only way to keep himself from rushing over to the tree and ripping away at the vines.

He moved cautiously, approaching the tree at a deceptively lazy pace. Julie didn't react as Zuko appeared directly in her line of vision. Those eyes were empty, lifeless. It was as if she was in some sort of trance.

"What is this moat?"

The sound of Iroh's voice caught Zuko's attention, and he turned to see what the older man was doing. He was crouching down by the ring of stagnant water surrounding the base of the tree. Zuko stood next to his uncle and peered down into the pool, surprised when he found the water as clear as glass. However, instead of seeing the murky bottom of the moat or even his own reflection staring back at him, Zuko was looking at…a city.

Not just any city. It was the strangest city he had ever seen. His eyes skirted the impossibly tall building sthat reflected the light, the hulking metallic vehicles that dominated the streets, the congested sidewalks, and the people…_spirits_. Their clothes were either bizarre, indecent, or an unsettling combination of both. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the fashion, or so Zuko thought.

And right in the middle of the crowd was a single red-haired girl, trying to weave her way down the street without being noticed. That caught his attention right away.

"It's Julie," he said, looking back and forth from the image in the pond and the girl bound in the vines ahead. "But…how?"

"The Banyan Tree brings about enlightenment for those who sit beneath its branches and meditate," Koichi explained. "It reminds humans that everything and everyone is connected…and as such, it is the keeper of countless memories, which sustain its roots."

"So, that's not water. They're Julie's memories."

Was it his imagination, or did the mask-seller's smile dim slightly. "Ramon is somewhere close by making sure the Banyan Tree keeps the girl trapped inside her own mind. Right now, she is reliving the events of a very crucial day in her life…over and over again."

Something clicked in Zuko's brain. _A trap perfectly-suited for its prey_.

"Forcing your way through the roots would be dangerous," said the Mask of Joy slowly. "…both for you and for Anju. Even if you pulled her free, she would remain stuck in her trance. Her memories…the essence of her being is floating in the water at your feet."

Iroh rubbed his chin suspiciously as Zuko knelt down to take a closer look. He could see Julie looking over her shoulder warily, as if she could sense she was being watched. Even from a distance, she didn't look like she was doing well at all. There were dark circles under her eyes, her expression distinctly haunted. It was like she knew something terrible was about to happen.

She probably _did_.

Curiosity got the better of Zuko, causing him to do something very stupid. He brushed the surface of the pond with the tip of his finger.

His mind caved in on itself as hundreds upon hundreds of memories rushed to fill every empty crevice of his skull. He jerked back, clutching his head as the onslaught of images pressed against his eyes, as if they were so intent on capturing his attention that they were willing to force the orbs out of their sockets. His head started to pound, his ears popped, and for the next couple of minutes, Zuko completely forgot who or what he was.

Instead, he became transfixed on the thoughts and emotions of a very unstable young girl, going through the worst moments of her life.

The current of Julie's life force continued to drown him until he thought he would die. Memories, thoughts, bits of knowledge that didn't belong to him crammed their way inside every pore in his body, making his chakras throb. When he opened his mouth to scream, he wasn't sure if it was his own voice or Julie's.

He was in too many places at once. Zuko's mind flashes to a cluttered, unkempt house, wondering if the smell is the result of all the empty bottles or the large man passed in a recliner chair…he suddenly is staring up at the ceiling of a sparsely-furnished bedroom, mattress springs poking him as he thought about the door that he somehow knew had no lock…school yards and classrooms, where other kids stared and whispered, and only a girl named Jessie seemed happy to see him…a boy named Ramon teaching her how to shuffle cards, among _other _things…a doctor's office, the last place he wanted to be when he had glass stuck in his arm from the broken bottles…

Zuko felt himself cringe as he realized it wasn't his arm, but Julie's. And then, because he didn't want to see anymore, he tried to pull away. But all he found was another memory, a blurred-out, hazy recollection of a person barely lucid enough to be awake.

There was the smell of cigarettes and orange juice, the knowledge of taking a drink from Ramon, of watching the room spin…and spin…over and over until she wanted to lie down and sleep, but she couldn't because nothing felt right after that. Nothing would be right ever again because she was in his bed and couldn't remember how she had gotten there. And he told her that she had begged for it...that she deserved it.

And then he saw them standing in an alley. Somehow, Zuko already knew what they had been discussing. His mind flooded with phantom, abstract concepts about time-loops…knew that Julie was trapped in one. She would have to relive the same day over and over again…the day she fell out of her own world and into his.

But Ramon wasn't going to let that happen. Gloatingly, he threw Julie's secret back in her face—the way she had released the Avatar, the fact that she had shamelessly betrayed the boy she claimed to love—and now on top of it all, she was going to kill him. Zuko was dying because of her.

_That's wrong…that wasn't her fault. I couldn't protect her. She got dragged to Kyoshi Island because of me, and she almost died fighting _my _enemy. That wasn't Julie's fault!_

Julie was looking at Ramon like her final lifeline, a last resort. They were about to strike the deal…the pact that would change everything. Unable to speak for himself or explain, Zuko stood by while Ramon told Julie all about the Unagi…and Zuko's mission to kill Zhao. And one look in her eyes told the Fire Prince that she really believed that he would die.

Not only that. She believed that this was all her fault. That _she _had killed him.

"I'm giving you the chance to change that…" Ramon told her. "You could fix everything you destroyed."

_No. He's lying! It wasn't your fault! I chose this! Do you hear me, Julie?_

Julie was hanging on to his every word. "If I never meet Zuko, then…his story will go back to normal? He won't…_die_?"

_Julie, no! No, no, no! What are you doing?!_

"Not like this, no. Assuming his destiny remains the same, he should be able to live out the rest of his long life…and he'll never even notice the difference. He can have the life that you stole from him."

_Julie, stop this! Stop it right now! _

"What do I have to do…?"

Ramon grinned. "Well, that's entirely up to you. You need to figure out how you ended up in the Avatar world and make sure it doesn't happen. And I'm giving you as many cycles as you need to make this work. Just get a little creative…the possibilities are endless, you know."

_No, he's lying to you! Julie, please! Don't do it! Listen to me!_

_I know sometimes it doesn't seem like it, but…I don't mind the way things are. I don't mind having you by my side…even if it means having to be burned and banished just to meet you. Even if it means not capturing the Avatar right away, I wouldn't trade that…not now. Not ever. Can't you see that? Don't you feel the same way? _

_Why are you doing this? Why are you throwing it all away?! Julie, please! We can figure this out! We can figure a way out of this…a way to beat Zhao and the Brotherhood and all the spirits in the world…we'll beat them all. But please, don't change this. Don't change _us_._

_I can't think about life before I met you. I don't want to think of life without you around. You're the only friend I've had in three years…_three years_, Julie! How can I just let you erase the best thing I've had since the day I lost everything? You can't just drop into my life, change the way I look at the world, at everything…change _me_, and then _leave_…and make yourself not exist! _

_How can you do this to me? To yourself? Don't you know that I love you?! You damn peasant! Answer me!_

_Julie!_

_Shit…!_

He lurched up, gasping for air. There wasn't enough air to get the sour taste out of his mouth. Spirits, he was sweating and he couldn't breathe to save his life. Iroh was kneeling over him, frantically trying to revive him.

"Zuko…"

"It's…" Zuko started to say it was all right, that _he _was all right. But he wasn't. Nothing was all right. This was all so wrong. "She lied." She lied, and that was only _half _of it.

"What?"

"She's going to change history," he blurted out, alarm-bells ringing in his head. "Julie, she's stuck in some time-loop, and she's trying to make it so that she never meets me! She thinks that she can undo the deal I made with the Unagi, Uncle!"

Iroh frowned, holding his nephew by both shoulders to steady him. "Easy. Take deep, slow breaths. Remember your basics, Prince Zuko."

"Fuck the basics! Julie's going to erase herself! I have to stop her!"

Koichi coughed loudly into his sleeve, startling the Fire Prince—as if he had taken sandpaper to the boy's already frayed nerves. "Ramon can't change the past. No one can change the past."

"But—"

"What you observed was the trap he laid for Julie…a snare made from her guilt," the Mask explained. "You see, the tree is forcing her to relive her memories of the last day she spent in her own world. All Ramon has to do is to convince Julie that things should have gone differently…to make her feel so guilty that her own mind would become her prison."

"I don't understand."

Koichi sighed. "Memories are not as resilient as you think. They are often shaped in hindsight, and given the fact that Julie will be reliving the same events over and over, trying to change them every single time…well, let's just say that eventually she won't know what's real and what isn't."

"None of it is real," Zuko snapped. "I have to tell her…make her understand…or just drag her out, if I have to!"

"Ah, but the tree might not like that."

The Firebenders—uncle and nephew both—froze on the spot. The grass swayed ominously, and Zuko could definitely hear the suggestive rasp of the blades, but thankfully nothing worse happened. It was as if the swamp was merely reminding them not to do anything they'd both regret.

"The tree will only relinquish Anju if she emerges of her own free will," said Koichi finally, patting the boy on the shoulder. Zuko glared at the hand, not liking the gesture of familiarity, but held his tongue. "So, by all means, persuade her."

"But…" he was starting to see a problem. "Julie won't wake up. How can I talk to her?"

The Mask of Joy smiled mysteriously. "All that Julie McVay is lies within the lake. The problem lies not in finding _her_, but in warding off all those memories…in making sure you don't lose yourself while finding her."

Zuko was uncomfortably reminded of another person who had given him similar advice. _Never forget who you are._

He was the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, son of Fire Lord Ozai and Fire Lady Ursa…he was a stain on the family name, an outcast with not honor…he was a young man trying to win back everything he had lost…a young man terrified about what he was about to lose now. He was a teenage boy trying to be a leader, trying to learn from his mistakes, and wanting (at the very least) for the girl he liked to finally stop running away from him.

Right now, he was a guy who was desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures.

"That won't be a problem," he said. Then, he paused to consider the lake. "I just have to jump in?"

"Zuko," Iroh interrupted suddenly. "I—"

"I know what you're going to say."

Zuko turned around to face his uncle, looking the older man solemnly in the eyes. They regarded one another for a tense moment, but the Fire Prince wouldn't yield or look away. He was determined, and Iroh knew that very well. It showed in the resignation lining his face, aging him.

"And I, you, nephew. It is the same thing Lu Ten told me before he led his men to try to take the front gates of the outer wall…he said, _I must do this._"

Zuko nodded slowly. "And you're going to tell me that it's dangerous…that I shouldn't do it. That I should try to find another way…but…there is no other way. Julie is in that lake, Uncle…and I can't leave without her. I can't let her have her way…and let her write herself out of our story."

"Story?"

The Fire Prince looked away for a moment, tension hardening his expression. "It was just a flash of something I saw in her head…something about a story…_our _story. She feels like she doesn't belong in it…with us." He shook his head bitterly. "She's probably crazy. So, I have to go and remind her what's real." He paused, scrutinizing his uncle. "You don't have to come with me, you know."

Iroh raised an eyebrow. "_Really_, Prince Zuko. You think I intend to leave you to your own devices in the Spirit World, while a known foe leads us into what may possibly be a trap? _Really?"_

Zuko felt himself blush. "Fine, then. We'll go together. Probably for the best, anyway. You're better at convincing people than I am. Julie will listen to you."

"I think she is more likely to listen to you, actually." The retired general gave the younger Firebender an evaluating glance and smiled proudly. "You have grown in the past few months, you know. Julie has to know that you are trustworthy by now."

The scarred teen frowned, doubtful. "If she trusted me, she would have told me everything…"

"To the contrary. Julie thinks very highly of you. But," Iroh added, some of the pride ebbing from his voice as his expression sobered. "…even without seeing the memories you saw, I can tell that she is a young lady with a complicated past. There are probably things that shame her…things she wanted to keep you from finding out about."

Zuko had to grit his teeth and swallow hard to keep his stomach down, thinking of the blurry memory that smelled of cigarettes and orange juice. Spirits…she didn't deserve that. And she had kept quiet about it…she told him it was just a _mistake_. She made him think that it had been something she consented to…that it was all her fault…

Iroh read the expression on his nephew's face and nodded sadly. "If that is true, that would explain a lot. Julie would be afraid that you wouldn't look at her the same way…that you would be ashamed of her, as well."

"I'm not!" he exploded. "It wasn't her fault! It wasn't her! She didn't…Uncle…she didn't mean to…she wasn't given a choice…no one ever gave her a choice! Not once!"

Zuko wanted to make him understand, to make everyone understand how unfair this all was. He knew he was probably shaking, which was embarrassing, but he wasn't in the state of mind to care. Why didn't anyone _get _it? This was all wrong. Julie wanted to disappear…actually wanted to disappear.

Why did his heart ache so badly? His stomach was hopelessly tied in knots, the bad kind that meant you had swallowed glass or something equally as sharp. Nothing was all right. Nothing would be all right ever again if he didn't find Julie soon.

It was wrong. All wrong. His mind looped over that single thought over and over again, trying to calm itself through repetition. It wasn't working, though.

"I know," Iroh said calmly. "And that is why you must tell her yourself. I will be with you in case anything should happen, though."

Zuko took a deep breath, let out a shaky sigh, and nodded. "All right…let's go."

Koichi was waiting for them both, gesturing towards the lake as if he was merely an usher in a theater. The Firebenders approached the pool cautiously, just to be on the safe side. This could still be a trap, and besides, there was still the grass to worry about. Zuko peered into the water and searched until he could see Julie…until he could make out the hardened resignation on her face. If he would have to wade through her memories just to reach her, he would do it. He would bear it for her.

She deserved that much.

"I'll go first," Zuko told him. "And if I make it without losing myself, then you can follow. But if it looks like I'm going to forget who I am…"

"You won't. But just in case, I'll hold back a little while and see."

Plan made, the Fire Prince turned back to the water. He took a deep breath (thank goodness Firebending taught him such magnificent breath control—he knew he could hold his breath for a while if he had to, and there was no telling how deep this pool was) and dove into the moat. There was a loud splash, and then he was gone.

Iroh waited five seconds. Ten seconds. He gazed into the water, searching for his nephew…and was surprised when he saw the boy's memories suddenly magnify in the surface of the pond, blurring slowly into focus. It wrestled against the tide of Julie's memories. The two minds touched and battled for dominance.

"How long will this take?" Iroh asked, concerned.

Koichi shrugged. "As long as it has to," he replied. "That all depends on Prince Zuko."

The retired general closed his mouth and fell into a troubled silence. _Be strong, _he prayed, watching and waiting for his turn to follow his nephew into the abyss.

.. .. ..

**A/N: There you have it. One epic chapter, complete with Zulie-angst and a crap-ton of feels. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I hope it was everything you guys could hope for.**

**Okay, so obviously the fanon couple has to work some things out before this episode arch is over. There are all sorts of trust issues and admissions that must be made on both sides before Julie and Zuko can form a real, healthy relationship. And that couldn't happen so long as Julie was keeping all these secrets, not only about her role in Aang's escape, but regarding her own past.**

**Obviously, I didn't want Zuko to just automatically forgive Julie because **_**ermagerd-they're-in-lurve**_**. She still lied to him, and that's going to be addressed. But at least he's able to put her betrayal in a wider perspective, and understands her a little better in the long run. If their romance is going to survive, both Julie and Zuko have to learn to trust each other in spite of what happened in the past.**

**So, yes. Zuko is still mad…but he's also confused and frantic as hell because he realizes now exactly what Julie is trying to do. Just because his trust in her is shaken doesn't mean he wants her gone…and it definitely doesn't mean she deserves to disappear. Besides the glaring fact that leaving her to do so would be plain **_**wrong**_**. Don't forget that Zuko is heavily motivated by his deep personal morals—honor-bound to try to do what he feels is right. Love is also a factor in his decision to jump into the water, but the truth is that Zuko would have probably gone after Julie even if he wasn't in love with her.**

**Leaving a girl to vanish into a pool of eternal guilt and suffering is NOT right. And he is going to do something about it. That is just who Zuko is.**

**The Banyan-Grove Tree is a piece of canon that I decided to flesh out some more. I thought that since trees were such a prevalent image in the Spirit World, why not include the most bad-ass, spiritual tree in the whole show? **

**The grass is just my way of turning the entire Spirit World into a sharp, pointy death-trap for people who aren't the Avatar. The way I see it, if normal humans were meant to run around in the Spirit World, there wouldn't be much of a point to have the Avatar act as a bridge between man and spirit. It stands to reason that only Aang or his other incarnations would be able to freely roam there. Even deceased humans have to be on their guard.**

**Nature is dangerous. Bad things happen if you poke it with a stick. I know. Sometimes I watch the Discovery channel.**

**It was always mind-canon to me that the Banyan Tree was related to the trees we saw on the Lion-Turtle's back in the Sozin's Comet special. And it helped that one of the four direction symbols in Chinese lore is actually a tortoise. I thought, why the hell not? If the shoe fits…**

**So, yeah. Expect to see more of the Lion-Turtle in later chapters. He **_**is **_**the one who teaches Aang to Energybend, after all.**

**What did you guys think? Was it good? I demand constructive feedback! RAWR! REVIEW!**


	106. Another Layer Deeper

**A/N: Omigosh. I actually managed to break 1100 reviews with my last chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who have supported the fic all this time. It's been a long road, and we're going to keep on chugging forward.**

**Ew. Chugging is such an icky word. I was going for a train metaphor there. It seemed appropriate at the time…but now I can't un-see the funnel.**

**Julie: **"That's what happens when you party so much. I bet a psychologist would have a field day doing word association tests with you."

**Ah, ha, ha…bitch.**

**Anyway, sorry this took a while to post. For starters, I was really picky about each draft I wrote, especially given how crucial this particular episode arc is for the rest of the fic. Then, I finally had a workable final draft, edited it with Real-Life Jessie, and tried to post it yesterday. That was when I realized that I couldn't log in.**

**Story of my life. But I guess it all worked out. It gave me another opportunity to look this chapter over one last time before posting it. I just hope this whole thing isn't too melodramatic or sue-ish or…whatever. **

**I hope you guys enjoy the Zulie this chapter, because next chapter is going to go back to Ayla, Shen-Long, and the rest of the Zu-crew as they try to survive. It'll be epic (I hope, assuming I don't piss off my muse again).**

**In the meantime, RxR! **

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Eight: Another Layer Deeper**

I was miserable.

Okay, I know. Dumb thing to say given everything that was happening, but I couldn't sum up my thoughts any better than those three words. Against all odds, I found myself back in my own world safe and sound…I had a chance to make everything right again…normal. That was what I wanted, right?

I know I wanted to be here. I know that I wished for this…but I never thought it would be like _this._ Living the same day over and over again, trying to change things for the better—only to watch someone _else _die in spite of your efforts—it was starting to eat away at my sanity…or what was left of it after I found my father dead in my living room that first October sixth. If I knew that my return would come at this price, I definitely would have thought twice about it.

I mean, my dad was a shitty person. I knew that. But…I didn't want him dead. I swear I didn't _want _to find him like that, with his throat cut open and bleeding everywhere like a stuck pig.

Why did I feel so guilty? I wasn't the one who killed him, but the fact that I left him in the first place…the fact that I almost let myself get adopted by Jee…and the way I tried to forget how my old man kept me when he could have easily dropped me off at an orphanage or adoption center somewhere…I mean, I guess I felt bad about those things. I think that guilt was transferring over to his death, making me feel things I shouldn't have been feeling.

It wasn't my fault, was it?

Well, either way, it was over now. Ramon brought me back to the crack of dawn, moments before my alarm would wake me up for school. For a long time, I laid there in bed and breathed in the early-morning humidity and tried not to think about who was going to die today…or _how _they would die.

Yesterday I had gotten to watch an old man suddenly keel over on the bus because he forgot to take his insulin. He happened to be sitting next to me, and as he fell he had grabbed me by the arm and held on in a frightening death grip. I had to stare into his face while people around me were calling for an ambulance, watching the life slip out of him.

Yeah. That was just _yesterday_. And I've seen _worse_.

There was the child in the park who just wanted to pet the stray dog with the sharp teeth while his mother was busy answering her cell phone…the teenager working the register at the McDonalds closest to my house, who got her head blown off by the guy standing in front of me on line…the balding man in the business suit who was running late for a meeting and didn't see that truck that ran the stop light…

And sometimes they weren't strangers. Sometimes they were people I knew. Neighbors. Classmates. Even Jessie. Christ…that one was the worst one to watch. Even worse than watching my old man die. I swear to God, I am never, ever going to burn the image out of my memory. I will be taking Jessie's broken body in the driver's seat of her car with me to my own grave.

Of course it had to be a car accident that killed her. And here's the kicker—I had been so close to making it to midnight. I had been studying at her house like usual and purposefully missed curfew, knowing that we'd both be safe at her house for a while. Like usual, we studied for our SAT's, Jessie helping me with the math problems we had done a thousand times (on prior October sixths) until she realized what time it was. And this time, when she offered me the ride home, I accepted it. Like a fucking idiot.

We were crossing the interstate bridge when the car swerved and hit us. And yes, it was the same bridge I fell off of when I came to the Avatar world. I swear to God that for a moment I thought it would finally be my turn. Instead, I came to feeling incredibly sore…and then completely numb when I realized that Jessie was dead.

How many days have I spent here? When would it be over? When would everyone finally be safe? Who would eventually take my place in the afterlife so that Zuko wouldn't be cursed to die? I was starting to think it would be better if I had just let Koh have me instead of having to deal with this never-ending hell…only that wouldn't be saving anyone.

All I had to do was just let someone die—but it always happened in front of me. Every single time that person would die while locking eyes with me, and how the hell was I just supposed to let them stay dead? These were innocent people…with lives that meant a lot more than mine…with families and friends that loved and cared about them. These were people who would have futures. I had no right to steal that from anyone.

I laid in my bed with my eyes closed, wishing that the whole world would just disappear…or that I could disappear instead. I hated myself so much. I honestly couldn't imagine dragging myself out of bed and living through another day, but I knew I had to get up eventually. If I didn't, someone else would die. If I didn't play by Ramon's rules, Zuko would die, too.

_One person can't be worth all of this pain, _I thought to myself.

Why was I even doing this? Didn't I promise myself after Ramon that I'd never let one person become my entire world again? Wasn't I smarter than all of this?

Zuko doesn't even want to see me again. He probably hates me. I know I'd hate me if I were him. But weirdly enough, it only made my goal of un-meeting him more necessary. By changing history, I'd make it so that I never hurt him in the first place. And I could fix my mistakes. I could save him and…I could be home where I belonged. This was a fantastic opportunity. Why was I so miserable?

_I don't want him to go away. I miss him. I miss Zuko…I'm such an idiot._

Freeing Aang had been the right thing to do. I knew that deep down. But dammit…why did bad things have to happen even when I tried to do what I felt was right? Was I just not trying hard enough? I was doing everything I could to earn a happy ending for everyone who deserved it…so what was I doing wrong?

If I wasn't such a fuck-up, I probably would have figured out the answer by now.

No, I couldn't let this get to me. I had to keep going…to try harder…to get out of bed and live through another October sixth, and if that failed I had to try again. I had to. There was no choice.

_Bad things can happen to good people, but they shouldn't…and they won't. Not if I have anything to say about it. _Scowling at the ceiling, I kicked the covers off of myself and sat up in bed. _I have to find a way to save them._

Here I go again.

* * *

"…and I knew I should have studied up more on molecular bonds, but I honestly thought it was going to be more multiple choice than anything else. Mr. Wagner didn't even hint there would be a diagram-portion of the test!"

I nodded blankly, letting Jessie rant to me while she walked me to math class. This was strange for her since I knew damn well she had her music theory class on the other side of the school; but she started doing this about ten October sixths ago because according to her I looked…off. She kept asking me if I felt all right and if I wanted to talk about it.

I didn't. She'd just forget it when October sixth started again.

"It's crazy…organic chemistry isn't something they teach you until college! But I guess that's what I get for taking AP Chem, right?"

I shrugged, glancing out the window while we walked. It was the same old scenery, nothing new no matter what I did to try to change it. I was starting to get the urge to rearrange furniture just to break up the monotony. Given that someone was going to die today, it was as much excitement as I could handle.

"Julie?"

I didn't respond. I was thinking about what she had looked like bent over in the driver's seat, her insides turned into jelly and her spine broken into thirds. Best friends weren't supposed to imagine each other that way, but that car accident really fucked with me. I wouldn't be forgetting her corpse any time soon, if ever.

"Julie, why won't you say anything? Are you mad at me or something?"

I stopped to look at her. I just stared and stared without any idea what I was supposed to say. Was I mad at her? Did she really just ask me that?

I had to watch her and other people around me die over and over again. She didn't understand, _couldn't _understand no matter how many times I tried explaining it to her. She would just keep forgetting every time the day reset. It wasn't her fault, but…yes. Yes, I think I actually was mad at her. For dying and for forgetting and for acting like it never happened.

Because it _didn't _happen. Of course it didn't. And because it never happened, it was obscene of me to have that image of her dead body in my mind all the time.

"You're going to be late for class," I told her flatly. "I'll see you at lunch."

Jessie bit her lip, torn. "Julie…"

"I don't want to talk right now, okay? Just leave me the hell alone!"

Her eyes went wide for a moment, as though I had slapped her. She stared at me for a few seconds before her expression became closed off. It made me feel guilty and ashamed of myself—it wasn't really her fault all of this was happening to me, and I knew she didn't deserve to have me take my feelings out on her.

But just like always, she handled it gracefully. "Fine. When you want to talk, you know where I'll be."

I folded my arms and turned away, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah. Okay, fine…whatever."

Jessie gave me one last searching look before leaving. I was now standing alone in the hallway—or at least I _felt _alone, even though I was surrounded by kids of various cliques rushing off to their next class. I hugged my notebook closer to my chest and breathed a sigh, eventually finding the stones to face my fifth period pre-calculus test.

Oh, yeah. Of course those bastards would slap a test in my face today. Life was a cruel bitch sometimes. Given that all of this would just happen again tomorrow (no, not-tomorrow…it was going to still be October sixth), it really didn't matter if I passed or not; but I still couldn't get the answers right, no matter how many times I took the test.

Math and I were never close friends. Business I could handle, but when it came to math I usually let Ramon handle the practicalities of it.

Dejected, I slumped down into my chair and waited for the bell to ring. People around me were shooting me pointed looks, and I guess I looked more like crap than usual. I heard some whispered comments pondering if I was on drugs when our substitute teacher finally entered the room with our test papers in hand.

"Okay, settle down," he said, waiting briefly for the hushed giggles and murmured conversations to come to a close. "Your teacher, Ms. Hawthorne, is having some car trouble and won't be able to make it in today. However, I was told that you all were scheduled for a test today, which she was kind enough to leave copies of in the main office. You will have the rest of the period and may begin as soon as you receive your booklet."

I ignored the activity at the front of the room and just started doodling in the margins of my test booklet. This was really going to suck. Seriously, why math? Fuck math.

All this repetition was driving me crazy. Stagnant unchanging scenery danced around in my head with conjugated French verbs, numbers, and dead bodies—all of it spinning until the edges of reality blurred together. I was lost in a world where I couldn't distinguish between what was, what _wasn't_, and what should be. I wasn't sure how much more of it I could take.

It was tedious and nightmarish at the same time. I almost wished someone would shatter reality so I could escape from it. But that was as likely to happen as me acing this test…or even as me making it to October seventh with my sanity intact.

I picked up my pencil and started to write my name at the top of my test paper…when all of a sudden, my wish was granted. Outside of the warped void I called reality, a very familiar person jumped into a pond, pushing into the surface of my thoughts. Abruptly, another person's consciousness crashed in my mind, loud enough to make me fall out of my chair with tears stinging in my eyes.

Broken…everything was going to break…my mind was breaking…the whole world was twisting and distorting before my eyes, edges turning jagged and colors exploding in front of me. My classmates lost their faces as they turned to look at me expressionlessly. But there was only one face in my mind now…one person I could feel trying to reach me.

"Zuko…?"

* * *

Time seemed to stop entirely for Zuko as he broke through the surface of the water and began his descent into the darkness.

Just dipping his pinky finger into the pond had been excruciating for him. But diving in? Fully immersing himself in its icy depths? The shock of impact was so severe that it almost knocked him out—but somehow he remained focused enough to endure when the weight of Julie's consciousness slammed into him again.

It was different, though; instead of a fluid sea of memories pulling him along a dark current, Zuko felt like there was a very solid wall pressing against him. It was as if whatever was in the pond was actively resisting him, trying to keep him out at all costs. Perhaps it hadn't been aware of Zuko the first time, but now there was a very definite presence threatening him.

* * *

What was Zuko doing here? He didn't belong here! How was he inside my head? And not just as a thought or a memory, but as a living, breathing entity…just invading my mind like it was an empty room? No, I couldn't take it. It shouldn't be allowed!

No…he couldn't come here! If Zuko found his way into my world, it would ruin everything I was trying to do. All those people would have died for nothing…and maybe he would try to take me back...and then _he _would die, too. What was the point of even doing all of this if I couldn't even save _him_? Of all the people I wanted to save…couldn't I at least save him? I didn't care what happened to me so long as I could protect him for once.

After everything he's done for me…this goes beyond obligation. I owe it to Zuko to try to save him, but more than that…I _want _to save him. Even if it means being all alone.

Wasn't I always alone?

I knelt there on the dusty tiles of the classroom floor, hands covering my ears to keep out the sound of his heartbeat, but it was everywhere…_he _was everywhere.

"Get out," I hissed through gritted teeth. "Get out of my head!"

"Miss?"

Abruptly, reality fixed itself again, and I found the substitute teacher kneeling down next to me, his eyes concerned and wary. He must have just graduated from student-teaching since he was in his late-twenties.

And suddenly, I had a flash of intuition that today would be his day to die. A startled gasp flew from my lips as I locked eyes with him. At the same time, I could feel a certain Fire Prince wading deeper into my thoughts, and it was painfully intimate. I was just as afraid of him making his way here as I was of him reading what was in my mind and heart.

_No…no, no, no…please not now. Zuko, who the hell gave you permission to be inside of me?! _

"I…I'm not feeling well," I said weakly. "I…I need to go to the nurse, please…"

Another wave of phantom consciousness hit me like a fist and I doubled over, gagging. Part of me felt bad for leaving my substitute math teacher alone when I knew the grim reaper was stalking him, but Zuko's invasion into my reality seriously scared the shit out of me. My fight or flight instincts were hammering at me to get the hell out of there.

"Whoa, I think she's going to hurl," said someone from the next desk over.

Instantly, several people were pulling out I-Phones, waiting to film a scene that would hopefully end in me projectile vomiting all over the floor of my math class. Immature assholes…didn't they care that there was something wrong with me? Or were they too distracted by the potential YouTube hits and re-blogs on Twitter to care?

"Put those away!" the substitute snapped. Then he turned back to me. "What's your name? Julie?"

I nodded wordlessly, fighting fear and nausea and an overwhelming hatred for the people around me.

"Okay, I'll write you a hall pass. Do you think you can get to the nurse's office yourself? I can have someone escort you if you'd like."

"N-no…I don't need anyone else."

Shakily, I got to my feet, snatched my bag, and made a break for the door—not bothering to wait for the hall pass. Once I was outside, I never took my hands away from my ears—every inch I gave was another inch closer Zuko got, and I couldn't let it happen. I had to save Zuko. I had to save everyone…even the ones who made my life hell.

Sooner or later I would save them all. But who was going to bother saving me?

"Stop it," I whispered. "Just go away! Leave me alone!"

* * *

_Get out! Get out of my head!_

It was Julie's voice.

_Who the hell gave you permission to be here?!_

Zuko cringed as another shockwave rippled over him, trying to push him back. What the hell was she doing? Didn't she realize how much danger she was in right now? Or did she think he was trying to hurt her? Either way, he couldn't just do what she wanted. Who knew if he would even be able to try again a third time?

_Stop it! Just go away! Leave me alone!_

Julie sounded like a child on the verge of a meltdown. Zuko could sense her desperation and fear even as she tried to sound angry. She was afraid of him getting any closer. The very thought of what he might find had her in a panic—and he could tell, because that thought was surging around him like electricity, charging every single attack Julie's frightened mind sent his way.

He scowled, determined not to give up. '_Stop pushing me away. You can't keep me out like this…no matter how hard you try. Let me help you already!'_

_No…no, no, no…stay away!_

Zuko felt a small pair of hands push him from behind, knocking the air out of him. He lurched forward, and darkness swept over him. His cry of alarm sent bubbles rippling towards the surface, and the water rushed to fill his lungs, dragging him down…down…deeper into the cold blackness waiting to consume him. His vision started to blur as he sank, and he stretched one last hand towards the retreating specks of light above him, where his uncle was waiting for him.

Uncle…he wouldn't ever see him again. He was going to die in this pool. Julie was going to kill him by accident.

'_No! Julie, stop!'_

And that was when his body collided with the stone floor, jarring his bones and forcing his jaw to snap shut. Pain swept through him, as if he had fallen from someplace really high up. Zuko groaned, trying to push himself up and having trouble, as gravity seemed to be taking its toll on him after he had been in the water for so long, and—hey! Wait a minute! He was on land now!

Zuko's eyes snapped open. He was sprawled out on the floor of what appeared to be some sort of dungeon. Not that he had encountered too many of those in his young life—but it wasn't hard to imagine that this dark, dank place fit the description pretty well. Slowly, he pulled himself to a sitting position, checking to make sure he hadn't broken any bones. Then, he remembered he was in the Spirit World and that he was technically a spirit, and couldn't _get _broken bones…at least, he hoped.

Either way, he felt fine enough to get to his feet and explore a little. He was really confused about finding himself in a prison when he should have been in Ramon's carefully-spun illusion world, where Julie was.

"What is this place?" he muttered, running his hand along one of the stone walls. It was cold and slightly damp to the touch, making him want to shudder in disgust. "Ugggh...!"

The ceiling—because apparently there was a ceiling now, and no visible way for Zuko to return to where he was—was dripping some kind of unidentifiable liquid. He cringed, stepping away from the possible filth and looking around. Unless he counted the constant dripping sound, it was dead quiet, and Zuko found the silence to be ominous.

"Julie?" he called out. He waited, hoping that the girl would answer him. Instead, the shadows seemed to thicken, and he felt his stomach clench in anxiety. No one else was here. But where _was _here?

It occurred to him, suddenly, that his uncle should have been there with him. The older Firebender was supposed to have followed him the moment Zuko made it into Julie's mind. He waited and listened for Iroh's arrival, but only found darkness as far as the eye could see. The seconds ticked by with no change, and very soon Zuko found himself very, very worried about the retired general.

_Uncle? What happened to you?_

If it were anyone else, Zuko would have assumed that he had been abandoned. But this was Iroh, his mentor…no, his _uncle_. The man had stuck to him like glue since the day he had been banished three years ago. Three long, lonely years at sea with nothing but a crew of misfits to keep them both company, and a near-impossible mission to keep them hopelessly occupied. The man was the embodiment of loyalty, and nothing short of death would keep him away from Zuko.

Nothing short of death…

_No. He probably got delayed somehow…or maybe I'm the one that's lost. Maybe Uncle's with Julie right now, and I'm the one trapped in this…other place_.

"Uncle!" he yelled. "Where are you?" Then, he paused, looking around in deep consternation. "Come to think of it…where am _I…_?"

Either way, sitting around in the dark wouldn't answer his questions. The only way he was going to get anywhere would be if he got off his butt and walked there. He paused to give the nearest hallway the once-over, decided it was as good of a place to start as any other, and went in that direction.

The sound of his own footsteps was putting him on edge. Why did Julie's mind have to be so creepy and depressing? Assuming that was where he was. Zuko didn't like how this boded for her current mental state if it was true.

'_Man…and I thought _I _had issues. Julie makes me look like the most well-adjusted person on the face of the earth.'_

Then he saw the doors.

Actually, a better word for them would be cells. They lined the walls, several heavy-looking metal doors that practically screamed, _Do Not Enter. _From what he could see they were all locked, but the one all the way at the end of the hallway was bolted shut from the inside; as if someone was going really far out of their way to keep him out. There was currently only one person he could think of who would be hiding from him right now.

"Julie," he called through the door. "Are you in there?"

No answer, but there was a sudden chill in the air that made him hesitate. Every molecule hovering around him seemed to suddenly stand still, very intent on his movements. Zuko felt the tension and took that as a silent confirmation. He glared at the door, refusing to be intimidated by its forbidding aura as he grabbed the handle and attempted to force it open.

It wouldn't budge.

"Julie, open this door right now!"

He froze, though, when he heard the whispers in the air. They were faint at first, the soft utterances that came out of the mouth of a child. Zuko pressed his ear up against the door and realized the sound was coming from the other side.

_Go away! Please…! Just go away!_

Zuko gripped the doorknob tighter and struggled more fiercely with it. It was as though the door itself was alive and shrinking away from his touch. It trembled underneath his fingers like a frightened adolescent.

_Stop it…please! You're hurting me!_

"Julie…"

_Don't look at me…! I don't want you to see me like this! _

Zuko stopped, dropping the doorknob and taking a step back. Frustration and concern wrestled for dominance while his mind tried to comprehend the mystery of the sentient door.

"She won't open up to you this way," a voice spoke up from behind him.

He wheeled around and found himself staring at a very familiar, very unwelcome child. "Lin…"

The little girl frowned, angling her face up to give him a disapproving look. "Obviously," she said. She tilted her head up to scrutinize him thoughtfully. "Hey, you know what? You and Julie really suit each other. You're both so hopeless."

Zuko felt anger bubbling over the longer he stared into her disdainful eyes. Clenching his hands into fists, he strode over to her, grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and shoved her into the wall. He pinned her there with one trembling fist, but she didn't look at all impressed.

"Idiot," she was all she had to say. "Just what is _this _supposed to accomplish, anyway?"

He glared at her. "You're going to tell me how to get to Julie…now, before I lose my patience with you."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Wow. Threatening a child. That's really noble of you."

"I'm not stupid. You're not a child. You're not even human." Zuko pushed her harder against the wall, trying to intimidate her into compliance. "I know you know how to open this door. You're one of the Masks…and they're behind all of this. Or at least, Ramon is. You should know what he's planning."

Lin sighed. "Of course, I do. Why do you think I'm here, anyway?" She looked away, glaring at some distant corner of the room. "Ramon is taking this too far. If he pushes this any further, Julie won't just be compliant…she'll be broken. And I'm not sure if you know this…" her tone of voice indicated that she seriously doubted it. "…but a broken spirit is almost impossible to fix and is of no use to anyone, least of all Lord Koh."

Zuko narrowed his eyes. Of course. That explained why Koichi had been guiding him before. Ramon was obviously a nutcase, and they'd rather have Julie alive and out of their reach than in his destructive hands. And though they were willing to help him now, he'd be a naïve fool if he thought they'd just leave Julie alone after all of this was over.

What else was new?

"I don't suppose you know what this place is?"

Lin shook her head in disbelief. "You don't know?" She blinked at him, as if he had just admitted to not knowing that the sky was blue. "Surely you must have some idea. You can't have just jumped in the Memory Pool without knowing what you were getting into."

Zuko didn't like the implication that his intelligence or judgment was lacking. "That mask-seller told me that this pool was made up of Julie's memories…that the only way to free her from the Banyan Tree would be to find her here. But I touched the water once before…and the memories weren't anything like this. That's why this doesn't make any sense to me. This place is too unreal to be something Julie remembers!"

"Well, you're not wrong. Technically this _isn't _a memory…however…there isn't any doubt that this space was shaped by Julie herself. Her mind created this dungeon." Lin gave him a pointed look. "I could probably explain better if you'd put me down. Neanderthals don't even treat kids like this, you know."

He made an annoyed sound under his breath, but reluctantly lowered the spirit girl to the ground.

"I thought we were in her memories."

Lin shrugged. "Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before Julie noticed that someone else was digging around in her head and took some defensive measures." She sniffed irritably upon witnessing the dumbstruck expression on his face. "Clearly there are thoughts and memories Julie doesn't want to give us access to…things she's been training herself to keep hidden."

Zuko blinked. "You mean…secrets?"

"Oh, absolutely. She doesn't want us to know about certain things, so she's trapped those specific memories behind these doors. Even if we could get them open, her subconscious seems to have taken the precaution of veiling the truth behind surreal imagery. Hence the dungeon motif."

He just stared at her. It was kind of weird to watch a little girl using words like subconscious and surreal. But then, that certainly accounted for the ancient presence peeking out from behind her child-like countenance. It only solidified the fact that Lin wasn't human, and that it would be a huge mistake to treat her like one.

"How do I find her, then?" he asked.

Lin stared at him. "This place was shaped out of guilt and regret. I am a being of remorse…the Mask of Sorrow. If anyone can access the deep, dark places of a person's soul, it's me." She smiled at him, pulling the skin of her face tight around her dull, disenchanted eyes. "I'm going to let you pick one door…just one. I'm going to allow you to pass through that door and then I'm going to leave. Whatever you find in that room will have to guide you the rest of the way to Julie."

"Isn't that leaving this too much to chance?"

She was unmoved. "If you want to help Julie as badly as you claim to…and if your connection to her is real…you should be able to find her eventually. Just don't take too long." She gave him a stern look. "Julie isn't the only one vulnerable to the past. She isn't the only soul who can be trapped in this lake. Remember that…your _highness_."

Zuko gritted his teeth in anger. As if he would really want to linger in a place like this. The sooner he found Julie, the sooner he could leave the Spirit World behind him…and finally get some answers. Unless the creepy girl was being sarcastic, he couldn't see anything that could compel him to stay longer than he had to.

"Well?" she said presently. "Have you decided which door you want to choose?"

It should have been obvious. At least, that was what Zuko thought.

"This one. It's the most heavily guarded. That has to mean that Julie is hiding there."

Lin smirked. "She's behind _all _of the doors. Don't be so stupid. The only thing you're going to find behind a door like that is more danger. Do you really think Julie is going to let you walk into the deepest, darkest place of her soul and get away unscathed? She'll resist you any way she can."

Zuko glared at her. "I've made my decision," he growled. "It's not your place to question it."

"Very well. Stand back, unless you want to be disintegrated along with the door. It makes no difference to me…one less Firebender to turn the world into ash."

The Fire Prince didn't take his gaze off the Mask as he quietly stepped aside, seething wordlessly. Who was this smug child to pass judgment on his people? On him? If it weren't for Julie, he wouldn't have any reason to stand there and take her barbs of resentment…but it was a price he was willing to pay, putting up with Lin. If it meant finding Julie, then…

The Mask of Sorrow put her hand against the door and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were glowing a deep cobalt color.

Zuko felt it before it happened—the suddenly overwhelming spike of power that surged through the spirit in front of him before it was all channeled directly into the door. The explosion that followed not only destroyed the locks; it cracked the stone hinges and vaporized what was left of the door. One move was all it took for Lin to force her way inside.

And that was when he heard Julie's anguished scream.

* * *

It hurts…it _hurts_…!

I don't know how long I huddled there at the top of the stairwell, clinging to the railing with my eyes shut. The inside of my skull throbbed, as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. Tears pooled in my eyes as I fought off the pain, forcing myself to stay conscious. If I passed out here, not only could I break my neck…there also wouldn't be anyone to keep Zuko out.

I had to keep him out. He had to stay away if I was going to save him. And if I didn't save him, all of this would have been for nothing. I couldn't allow that.

After a while, I heard the warning bell go off, indicating to the entire school that fifth period was about to end. I screwed up my brow in frustration as I tried to get up and drag my butt to the nurse's office. I couldn't stay here and let a horde of unsympathetic peers find me like this. The way I looked right now was absolutely pathetic.

The next four minutes ticked by too quickly, and before I was barely halfway down the stairs the bell went off again. Within seconds, I could hear the rising hum of my classmates rushing off to their next class. The sound made my headache spike, and I gave up. All I could do now was camp out in the nearest corner and pray that no one tripped over me.

People stopped to gawk at me for a few moments. There were some snickers, some muttered comments regarding my sanity, and some quiet speculations about whether or not I was hung over or high. Yeah. Not what I needed right now.

"Julie?"

Oh, no. Oh, please, no…leave me alone.

The substitute math teacher found me curled up on the floor—fantastic. And instead of averting his eyes like any other teacher in this school would (one less can of worms to open, according to the school board), he actually stopped to see if I was okay. My stomach churned in panic—I still hadn't forgotten the intuitive vibe I had earlier when I sensed that he would be the one to die today. Given the way I was right now, there was nothing I'd be able to do to stop it.

Not now. Don't let it happen now. I couldn't handle it right now. I had to focus…Zuko was trying to find me and…he was inside my head somehow…none of this made sense. If I had to watch someone die again, right in front of me, while I was trying to keep a grip on my sanity…I was going to break.

I needed Ramon. He would know how to fix this. He could make this stop, couldn't he?

"What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down beside me. "Are you sick?"

"I…I'm fine…! Just…go away, please…!"

What was this guy's name again? Mr. Whitman? Oh, hell…my head hurt just trying to remember. It didn't really matter, but if he was going to die soon, I may as well remember his name since he was trying to be kind…I think.

"Let's get you to the nurse's office," he said in a gentle voice. "Or we can talk to the guidance counselor. Whatever is going on, we'll find someone to help you. Okay?"

Of course, he was ignoring my pleas to be left alone. Instead, he held out a hand, indicating that I should take it so he could help me to my feet. I refused to even look at it, finding his sympathy to be as unbearable as the pain. It reminded me too much of someone else who had tried to take care of me when I had been sick.

_Zuko…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…please, just go away…_

He wouldn't, though. It wasn't who he was. If he was here, he would try to save me. Even though I betrayed him, he would do the honorable thing and bring me back with him. He didn't understand that this was where I belonged. I was home…and this time loop I was trapped in was my own punishment for all the selfish things I had done.

This was my way of atoning. I wouldn't let him steal that from me. How _dare _he even try?

"I said, LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I kicked out, just trying to get him to back up, to give me some space to breathe. It had been an angry impulse to push the man away from me. Why couldn't people listen to me when I told them to go away? Why wouldn't anyone listen?

It was his own fault he slipped as he staggered back, away from me. It was his own fault that he pitched over the railing and fell all the way down to the first floor. Wasn't it?

There was the sickeningly heavy thud as Mr. Whitman's body hit the ground. For a few seconds there was an unnatural hush before the screams began. My eyes widened, transfixed on the spot where he had been standing only moments before. Oh, God…oh, my _God_…

"You killed him!" a girl nearby, who had witnessed the whole thing, screamed at me. She peered over the railing and cringed away from the awful sight below. "He…he's _dead_…you…you killed him…!"

No…no, no, no. Oh, my God.

"What's _wrong _with you?" someone else demanded, staring at me like I was some kind of monster. "He was trying to help you!"

My breathing was coming out in shallow gasps. "I…I…I didn't…he was…he never…_listened_ to me…" I shook my head frantically. "It was an accident! I didn't mean to…to kill him…he just _fell_…!"

"Crazy bitch," an upperclassman muttered in disgust.

People were milling about downstairs, drawn to the scene of the disaster like flies are drawn to a corpse. While everyone took the opportunity to echo their trauma and revulsion, cell phones were capturing the evidence of the crime, streaming it to the internet as quickly as possible. In the confusion, no one bothered calling for an ambulance—I supposed it was the general mindset that someone else would do it, but in the meantime, YouTube! The rest of the faculty had to put up some kind of barrier to keep the rest of the students from disturbing Mr. Whitman's body.

It was one of the most disgusting things I had ever seen in my life. None of these people really cared that this guy was dead. They just wanted to be included in the tragedy. I actually heard some other kids wonder out loud if school would let out early because of this.

Humans were disgusting. Why was I even doing this? If one of these miserable assholes dropped at random, what difference did it make, really? The world didn't need them…not like it needed Zuko. I didn't owe these freaks a damn thing.

Okay, the substitute teacher was a different story. I was the one who killed him, after all—he deserved to have a long, happy life, and I had stolen that from him. It was only fair that I let Ramon reset the timeline, if only for one last time. Whoever was next to die—so long as it wasn't Jessie or my dad...or someone else like Mr. Whitman—I would just let them stay dead.

"Ramon!" I called out. "Hey! I need you to fix this, okay? Restart!"

I waited while people all around me were looking at me like I was some kind of crazy person. I waited and waited…and waited while paramedics came in with a stretcher. I started to get a bad feeling, wondering if Mr. Whitman wasn't actually dead—maybe that was why Ramon wasn't turning back time. I scrambled over to the railing and looked down (ignoring the fact that everyone was giving me a wide berth, as though I were a dangerous animal).

Oh. He was very definitely dead. No one could survive having their head smashed open like a raw egg. I…I was going to be sick.

"Ramon!" I yelled, louder this time. "What the fuck are you waiting for?! Fix this!"

No. This couldn't be happening. Why wasn't he answering me? Why did he abandon me like this? This was _wrong_. I had just _killed _a man…and he was going to leave things the way they were…? No, I didn't want this! I wasn't a murderer! I didn't want someone else's blood on my hands!

"What's her problem?" another boy muttered, shaking his head at me.

"Isn't Ramon that drug-dealer she's going out with?"

I sank to my knees, clutching the bars of the railing and staring through them while my body went numb. They were like prison bars…I was going to go to jail for this, wasn't I? Oh, my God…I just killed a man…I _had _to go to jail. There was no way to bring him back to life unless Ramon did something.

He wasn't going to do anything. For whatever sick reason, he had decided to abandon me to this fate. This couldn't be happening.

"Aah…aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH…!"

I couldn't stop myself from screaming. This was a nightmare and I wanted to wake up. Someone…anyone, please…make this a bad dream! Why wouldn't anyone _help _me?!

* * *

Zuko felt the color draining from his face. "No…!"

Lin turned back to him. "It's done. That blow should have her defenses down for a little while, so I'd take advantage of the delay while you can."

The Fire Prince shook his head. "What…what did you do to her? Why was she screaming like that?! I thought that this…that none of this is _real? _Why is she in pain?!"

She tilted her head at him in confusion. "Are you an idiot? This is her mind. It doesn't matter if she's the one shaping the images we see…it's all a part of her. Obviously there are consequences if you want to push your way deeper into the core of her being. But then again…you already made your choice, didn't you? I thought you _wanted _to save her."

"I never wanted to hurt her!"

Lin gave him a disgusted look. "Then go home. Die. If you're too weak to follow through with your resolutions…if you no longer have the will to carry on…then you're nothing but garbage, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

Zuko's jaw snapped shut, eyes wide. Lin looked away.

"Those who are unwilling to finish what they start go home with regrets. Don't make that mistake, you moron."

His brow furrowed in confusion. As outraged as he was, he couldn't help but wonder about the true nature of the Mask of Sorrow. But he shook his head, forcing the thought away. The little girl worked for Koh. She had lured Julie into this darkness—and now she was opening the door for him as well; probably hoping he would be consumed as well. It wouldn't do him any good to dwell on it.

"I'm not leaving without her."

She still wouldn't meet his gaze. "We always risk hurting the people we care about…but abandonment is the worst pain imaginable. That loneliness…that fear…that _pain_…it was what consumed my entire being as I died. I waited for my big brother to come, but…he never did." All at once her expression hardened into something fierce. "At least Julie has someone to come find her. She doesn't deserve it."

"That's not for you to decide. Stand aside."

Her eyes gleamed from the malice that she couldn't hide, but she did as Zuko asked. They narrowed into slits as he passed her and entered the swirling darkness on the other side of the door.

"No going back now," she said quietly.

Zuko glanced over his shoulder in time to see the stone doorway melt into a solid wall, barring his only exit. His jaw almost dropped to the floor, but he caught himself in time to remember where he was. Logic-defying occurrences shouldn't surprise him given his current location, but it was hard every time a random encounter sauntered over to the laws of physics, crapped on them, and went merrily on its way.

He shook it off and turned back to the room in question. By now his eyes had adjusted to the harsh light fixture in the ceiling. Zuko frowned, finding it a poor substitute for a candle with a living flame dancing on the wick. This light was artificial and dead, and flickered sporadically as whatever fueled it sputtered in its flow of power. A couple of fat flies were throwing themselves helplessly at the light, bouncing off the glass bulbs and making a wretched buzzing sound. Watching them made Zuko feel vaguely ill, so he looked away.

It looked like he was in some sort of classroom. Though he never attended public school himself, having had private tutors most of his life, he recognized it as such upon seeing the rows of child-sized desks facing towards a very, very large black chalkboard. That wasn't an exaggeration, either. The blackboard was about as large as a banquet table, and standing in front of it was…

"Julie?"

A little girl with red hair tied back in a ponytail was writing lines on the chalkboard. She didn't respond when Zuko called her name…in fact, she didn't seem to notice him at all, even when he walked up right behind her to see what it was she was dutifully scribbling in that strange, otherworldly language of hers. Not that he expected for it to magically translate itself, but…

…oh, wait. Never mind. The letters, though unfamiliar, were suddenly legible to Zuko. Was it because he was in Julie's mind that he was able to understand what her younger self was writing?

He frowned, glancing at the heading towering far above his head: DEATH COUNT.

"Are these…names?"

Zuko tentatively put his hand on the chalkboard, puzzling over the foreign letters and reading them slowly. He didn't understand at first. There was just a long list of people underneath the ominous chalk title, and as he lifted his gaze to read it again he felt goose-bumps rising on his arms.

"Julie, who are all these people?"

The girl paused, and without turning she pointed wordlessly at the heading of the list. Zuko shook his head, still not understanding…not _wanting _to understand. Part of him already sensed the truth, and it deeply disturbed him.

"These…are the names of people who are dead?"

She nodded.

"How…did they die?"

The little girl was quiet and still as a stone. She stopped writing, her hand holding the chalk and poised to continue her lines at a moment's notice. She never moved, never turned around, but stood there and listened impassively to Zuko. Unable to take it anymore, he grabbed the child by the shoulder and turned her around, forcing her to look at him…except…

Zuko's eyes widened. "Oh, Agni…" he breathed. "Who…who did that to you?"

Her lips were sewn together with thick, coarse, ugly black thread.

Julie stared up at him with dull, apathetic eyes. His grip slackened on her out of shock, and without a single change in her expression she pulled away and calmly turned back to the blackboard. It was only then that Zuko saw the sign dangling around her neck. He only got a quick look at it as she was turning around, but he saw clearly what it said: TRAITOR.

She was pointing at herself.

"You…_you _did this? You were the one to…do that to yourself?" Zuko was appalled.

But Julie was shaking her head, scowling. Wordlessly, she pointed at the chalkboard again before pointing a finger at herself. His eyes traveled from point A to point B over and over again before his mind reached an unsettling conclusion.

"Are you saying that…you were the one to kill these people?"

_No. Please, say that I'm wrong, Julie. This can't be right. You wouldn't do that!_

But the little girl nodded slowly, resignedly.

"I don't believe that," he snapped, suddenly and unexpectedly furious at her. "Don't lie to me! This isn't something you'd do! I _know _you, dammit!"

She shook her head, no. Her eyes were sad and lonely, and her meaning was clear. _No, you don't. No, you don't. You think you do, but you don't._

Zuko stared at her. Then, abruptly, he shook his head. There was just no way he was going to accept that Julie was some kind of killer. This was the girl who freaked out when she realized she was an Energybender because she was terrified of hurting someone. This was the girl who constantly put her life on the line to protect other people. She was no murderer.

He frowned at the chalkboard. This was all just an illusion, a trap Ramon designed to imprison Julie in her own guilt. Maybe that was all this was…some kind of trick to make Julie believe she was responsible for the deaths of these people.

"Julie…did you mean for these people to die?"

The little girl winced and shook her head, no. Zuko felt a tingle of relief. That was a good sign. Whatever had happened in Julie's head, at least it hadn't been intentional…not on Julie's part, anyway. Ramon was a different story, obviously.

"So, it was an accident, then," he said. "Not your fault. You don't have to punish yourself for something that wasn't your fault."

Julie stared at him, wary and suspicious. Zuko scowled. He was getting really sick of that expression on her face. What would it finally take to get Julie to trust him? Or even to smile? He stifled his hurt feelings and gruffly held out a hand to her, beckoning for her to take it.

"Let's go back," he said.

But this was apparently the wrong move. Julie was staring at his offered hand like a coiled-up snake. The color drained from her face as she backed away, shaking her head vehemently. Something about that gesture genuinely frightened her.

_No…no…NO! Not again!_

Zuko could hear her voice pleading from the shadows. It scared him, hearing the raw terror in her words, as if she were being tortured. He stared at the child-version of Julie, who had taken refuge in the corner with her hands over her ears and her eyes tightly shut.

_Ramon! Please, make it stop! Make him go away! Before he gets killed! Please, I don't want to see it again! Not again…please…please, I'll do anything…!_

Zuko caught movement out of the corner of his eyes. He looked back towards the chalkboard and saw a piece of chalk floating, writing down more names. Every time a new name was added, the little girl in the corner cringed like someone had hit her. Anger burned in his stomach. Somehow, he knew Ramon was the one doing this to her.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted at the ceiling. "You sick son of a bitch! Get out here before I burn this entire room to the ground!"

The chalk paused thoughtfully. Then, it started writing another name, slowly…deliberately taking great care as it traced out the letters. Z…U…K…O…

"You think I'm scared of you? You're so much of a coward you won't even face me in a fair fight. The only thing you know how to do is to torment an innocent girl, who can't…who _won't _fight back…because she loves you too much to even _think _of hurting you. It's disgusting how you treat her. She doesn't deserve this!"

Zuko heard a ghostly chuckle. The chalk floated up again and started drawing a very child-like sketch…of what looked like a giant lowercase letter L. Then, in a heart-stopping moment, he realized he was staring at a set of gallows.

"What are you doing?!"

A voice floated down, answering him snidely. _Don't worry about it. This isn't for you. You want to see Julie so badly? You want to go to where she is? _His tone was vicious. _Fine. But she's the one who's going to pay the price._

From behind Zuko, there was the sound of a rope going taut. His breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding in his ears. He didn't dare to move…couldn't bring himself to turn around. The sound of Julie's whimpers had stopped, replaced with a slow, eerie swinging noise. It sounded like a bag of sand was dangling in the air like some sort of pendulum…only Zuko knew that this was no sand bag. He knew it like the taste of bile on the back of his throat.

"You…you sick monster…" he whispered. "I…I'm going to kill you…if it's the last thing I ever do…"

Ramon laughed. _I'll be looking forward to it. _

And then Zuko was alone. Swallowing heavily, knowing full well what he was going to find, he forced himself to turn around. He took in the sight of Julie's small body dangling from the noose that hung from the ceiling. The cords binding her lips had been cut, leaving her mouth mutilated, open, and bloody. Her eyes had rolled up to the back of her head, leaving only the whites showing as she dangled to and fro.

His gaze was drawn back to the sign hanging around her neck. It now read: TRUE LOVE.

This man was evil. There was no other word to describe him. He was pure, shameless, unadulterated evil. And somehow, he had gotten Julie to fall in love with him.

Zuko felt his rage building as his pulse thudded, brimming with unspent chi he longed to turn into searing-hot flames. The need to Firebend was excruciating now…to put all of his anger, all of his drive into a killing blow. He wanted to watch Ramon burn alive, slowly…painfully…until he was nothing more than ashes; a bad memory to be scattered to the winds.

It was too much. It was all too much. He had only been here for maybe ten minutes…but who knew how long Julie had to stay in this horrible place? Zuko couldn't imagine how anyone could linger here and remain sane. It couldn't be possible.

Maybe Julie had already lost her mind. Maybe he was already too late.

The thought made him completely lose it. His vision went black for a moment as his reason left him. The next several moments passed by like a blur, and Zuko couldn't remember much of anything except the sharp pain he felt as he put his fist through the giant chalkboard with the intent of shattering it into pieces.

Breathing heavily, Zuko stared into the cracks he made, ignoring the stinging in his flesh where the shards of the blackboard cut into his hand. Wait…it wasn't just pieces of the chalkboard…there was _glass _underneath it. What was glass doing hidden here?

Zuko blinked at his own reflection, staring back at him with astonished eyes.

"It's…a mirror…"

That was when it hit him. Mirrors were gateways into the unseen world. Was this the only way out of the room? Was this what Ramon meant when he said he would let Zuko go to where Julie was?

"The way out," he murmured. He furrowed his brow, reached towards the mirror in spite of the drops of blood dripping from his wounded hands. The moment his fingertips brushed against the cracked glass, his reflection blurred and distorted before his eyes.

Within seconds, the image changed. Now he was looking at a very familiar redhead sitting in a very pristine cell. She was dressed in some sort of hospital gown, and her face was drawn and haunted. There were bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long, long time. A man in a white coat entered the room, and the two orderlies surrounding Julie snapped to attention, heightening their vigil in the presence of this new man.

Zuko watched, puzzled at this drastic change. "Julie?"

"Do you know why you're here?"

Julie was silent, her bangs hiding her eyes and casting her face in shadow. The doctor frowned, looking at his clipboard. A wall clock ticked oppressively in the background, visibly jarring on the girl's nerves as she winced every time she heard it tick. She was very obviously on edge and barely holding herself together.

"Not in the mood to talk today?"

The girl frowned, upset. "I…don't have anything to say. I shouldn't be in here. This is all just a mistake. I…I didn't mean for any of that to…to happen…"

The doctor pursed his lips for a moment. "Several classmates of yours had plenty to say about the…_accident_. They seem to believe you were exhibiting several symptoms of hallucinations or delusions at the time. They said you were screaming for someone to…um…get out of your head." He paused, adjusting the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "Last night you were brought to the psychiatric ward of the general hospital before you were transferred here to St. Vincent's…do you know why?"

Julie went rigid in anger. "Because you're all a bunch of morons who can't tell that I'm _fine _and just need to go _home _already?!"

He ignored that, thought he silently indicated to the security guards that the patient was growing increasingly agitated. "You had a number of drug tests performed on you…and they all came back negative. You were clean throughout the entire experience…which leads many of us to be a bit…_concerned _about you. Clearly you were suffering from hallucinations when you…accidentally, I assume…pushed your math teacher down the flight of stairs."

She cringed, looking away. "It _was _an accident! And…technically, he fell over the railing…not down the stairs…and his head split open when he hit the ground…it was…awful."

"Yes, it was. It must have been quite traumatic for you." He paused, looking the redhead over with the eye of a medical professional. "Julie…who were you trying to get out of your head that day?"

She bristled instantly. "It's none of your freaking business who I…" she stopped short, visibly pained. Tears prickled at her eyes. "I can't get him out of my head even if I tried…he already ruined everything…it isn't supposed to _be _like this! It should still be October sixth! It has to be October sixth!"

The doctor met her gaze patiently. "Why, Julie? What's so significant about that date?" He waited, but got no response from her…yet. "Was it because something he did, this person? Did something bad happen to you on October sixth…perhaps last year…or the year before that? And just who is it that _ruined _everything for you?"

"October sixth…that was the day that I…that I fell into the other world…and met him. That was the day I met Zuko." Julie trembled, her composure crumbled. "I was going to fix that…make everything normal again, but…Zuko ruined that. He wasn't supposed to be in my head…and then he forced his way inside of me, and then he…he _changed _things…and that's why it stopped being October sixth! You don't understand!" Her voice shook, but she pause, realizing how all of this must have sounded. "I…I'm _not _crazy!"

"No one said you're crazy. Crazy isn't a word we like to use here. But…there are some people who are mentally ill. Julie, that's no different than having a sick liver or a broken arm. It might be a little trickier to fix, but it's not something you need to be ashamed of."

She stood up suddenly, pushing over her chair as she rose to her full height. She moved so suddenly that the guards jumped into action.

"I'm _not _crazy! I'm…I'm sane! I shouldn't be in here! I need to go home and go to bed…and tomorrow…tomorrow, it'll be October sixth again! It _has _to be! Please, just listen to me!"

"Restrain her."

Two pairs of strong hands seized Julie and pushed her back into her chair. One of the guards continued to hold the violently struggling girl as the other secured the thick leather straps hanging off the back of the chair. Bound tightly across her body, Julie was trapped in her seat whether she liked it or not. Her face turned flaming red as she screamed at them.

"Is this even legal?! You can't keep a minor in a place like this without her parents' consent! I'm sure that's some kind of law! You have to let me out…right now!"

"We already contacted your father, and he already signed off on the paperwork to have you committed to our establishment, Ms. McVay." The doctor smiled grimly at her. "Like it or not, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other. I'll come to see you a few times a week, and you can tell me all about this Zuko…all about this other world. I promise…I'll listen to everything you have to say."

Julie went slack in her chair as hope abandoned her. "My…my dad…said I had to stay…? He…he's leaving me here to rot?"

"I assure you, you'll be perfectly safe in our care. For now, though, I'm going to have David and Leonard bring you back to your room. And," he added in a very calm tone of voice. "I'm going to prescribe a sleep aid to ensure that you don't try to stay up through the night again. We'll have another session tomorrow, and after that I'll decide on how we're going to treat you. How does that sound?"

She made a sour face. "Crappy."

"I'm sorry you feel that way. But really, this is for the best. And your father agrees…he wouldn't leave you in our care if it wasn't good for you. Your father loves you very much, Julie."

Zuko stared and stared as tears filled her eyes, finally spilling over in a rush. Julie had no choice but to turn her face away, desperate for her cracked composure to remain unseen—though she fooled no one, least of all the Fire Prince. He felt a pang of genuine sympathy, knowing all too well how deep the doctor's hapless words had cut her.

Her father had just put her in a mental institution. Everyone had abandoned her…even Ramon, apparently. Whatever had changed, he wasn't continuing with the illusion anymore. Instead, he was letting Julie suffer through the aftermath of a death she believe she caused with her own two hands. He was going to make her think she was actually crazy.

"No," he growled. "Julie…hold on. I'm going to get you out of there! Just hold on!"

The mirror glowed, as if responding to his words. The cracks in the surface miraculously started to seal together, reforming an unblemished sheet of glass. Zuko put his hand on it, testing it's surface, but found that it rippled around his fingers like water. Curiously, it didn't aggravate the fresh cuts on his hands—in fact, it almost seemed to be a balm to his wounds, taking the pain away.

There was a brilliant flash of blue light, and then, when it all faded, the room was empty. The only thing that remained in the classroom was the broken remnants of the chalkboard, still graffitied with lies…and the mirror.

Zuko had gone to where Julie was. Now, if only he could reach her before she had to pay the price.

* * *

**A/N: So. The story comes to full circle at last. Julie is finally in the asylum…only it's not real. It's just a prison she created in her own head. How's THAT for a plot twist?**

**This took me a while to get the narrative the way I wanted it. Every draft seemed to be designed solely to have you, the reader, pity Julie…and honestly, that wasn't what I wanted to achieve with this. The point of Julie's trials in the Spirit World isn't to garner sympathy, isn't to make Zuko feel so bad for her that he instantly forgives her for letting Aang go. It's so that Julie eventually reaches the epiphany that pushing people away is only pushing her deeper into her own personal hell.**

**Zuko's presence is more of a side-effect—rather than being driven purely by sentiment and Mary-Sue romance reasons, I'm trying to portray him as someone trying to right a terrible wrong. He sees a truly evil act occurring right in front of him, something so appalling that he can't let it go unpunished. That's what's making him pursue Ramon so doggedly—and the fact that it's Julie who's in danger only adds to the urgency of his quest.**

**Originally I was going to have him talking to the frail, child-like embodiment of Julie, confronting her about her tendency to hide the truth, and her role in Aang's escape. However, I realized that all of that was premature. He still isn't at the core of Julie's essence—he's looking at a defense mechanism. So I'm saving all of that for later, for when he's actually face-to-face with Julie.**

**Now that Julie has reached rock-bottom, she will either open her eyes and realize that she has a problem, that she needs to accept the help of others and **_**trust **_**people (namely Zuko)…or, she'll be a prisoner in her own mind. In a lot of situations like these, where people are deeply rooted in denial, they become their own worst enemies. I wanted to reflect that with Julie as well…not only to make this realistic to someone in her situation, but to make it that much more significant **_**if **_**and **_**when **_**she realizes that the real person punishing her isn't Ramon…isn't her father…but herself.**

**Also, I have to go back and edit the Prologue. See, when I originally planned this scene, I was going to have it happen way, **_**way **_**in the future—after Ba Sing Se happens in the show. I had present-day Julie in the asylum alluding to things that **_**obviously **_**haven't happened—like the whole bit about her, Zuko, and Iroh being singing nomads to pay their way to the impenetrable city. It's not a huge change, but I thought I'd give you guys a heads up—especially those of you who've taken to rereading the fic (YOU ARE AWESOME PEOPLE!). If you notice the Prologue is suddenly different, don't be surprised, okay?**

**The reason why I moved this story arc to Book I was because I realized Julie shouldn't wait to such a ridiculous length in the story to finally experience some character growth. Besides, the thought of her having these trust-issues so far into the story kind of infuriated me…and I realized that if it was bugging me, it was going to drive you guys NUTS. So, I fixed it. Aren't I awesome?**

**Well, either way, let me know what you guys think. REVIEW!**

**P.S. Is it just me, or am I writing an Inception fanfic?**


	107. Good Intentions

**A/N: I am about a hundred and ten percent done with life. Ugggh.**

**Sorry. Seriously. This took me much longer to write than it should have. Between getting dumped on at work (somehow I short-circuited my desktop computer, so my boss honed in on my workspace and decided I needed an organizational intervention…which, you know, makes it hard to convince the higher-ups that they didn't seriously fuck up by hiring me in the first place), family issues, and yet **_**another **_**rodent problem (I found a mouse chilling in my living room…and later in my bedroom—YIKES!), I barely had any brain cells left for anything even remotely enjoyable like writing.**

**Plus, this chapter was strange for me. I'm trying something different here (for plot-related/symbolic reasons) by having someone new narrate the story. And I'm so used to writing first person for Julie that it was hard to keep her from jumping in. It took me a while to get it right. Even now I'm not sure if it's quite right, but we're going on to five weeks without an update and that's just not acceptable.**

**All I can say is fuck life. Life gets in the way of everything fun in…well…**_**life**_**.**

**Speaking of Julie, a lot of you guys had some interesting things to say regarding the last couple of chapters—interesting **_**good **_**things, mind you. Everyone who reviewed is in agreement that Julie is definitely in need of some character growth, and that I'm going about it the right way with these allegorical mind-games. I wanted to have Julie struggle, but mainly against herself—and I was worried that if I made it too difficult for her, it would only make people feel sorry for her. Obviously, pity is not what Julie needs. She needs…well…an epiphany of sorts…something to get her eyes open to who the real enemy is.**

**I think I have just the thing for that, too. But first, I'm going to cut back to Team Avatar and the rest of the cast. It's been a while since I had a Gaang-themed chapter, and anyway, even if Julie is the narrator/protagonist, this isn't just her story. **

**Plot points are going to happen here. Let's just say that when all this is said and done, the stuff that you saw on Kyoshi Island is going to look like a game of pre-K Duck Duck Goose. This is all going to lead up to a huge mega-fight of epic proportions! I am SO freaking excited to write it. Are you ready?**

**Read, motherfuckers! READ!**

* * *

**Chapter Ninety-Nine: Good Intentions**

Hello.

I haven't gotten a chance to introduce myself, yet—which is kind of stupid of me. The proper thing to do when you first meet someone is to give an introduction, and all of you already know who I am. My name is Ayla. Nice to meet you.

See? Wasn't that nice?

I don't know why I haven't tried to tell my story earlier. But then again, Julie's already been taking care of that. Her story is my story, and my story is her story. It's always been that way because we've always been together…well, at least that's how it _should _be. We're sisters, after all.

Even if she doesn't remember…well, that's not so important. What's important is that neither of us is alone anymore. In fact, that's more important than anything in the world.

Anyway, up until now I've been letting Julie tell our story since I've been living inside her head this entire time. But now that I'm the only one here, I have my own story to tell. Julie has her adventure in the Spirit World going on, and I have mine here in the physical plane. Let me tell you, it's nice being able to walk around and actually touch things, but I dunno. I _hate _being separated from Julie. It feels lonely. _Wrong_.

But it's okay. This is why I sent Prince Zuko and General Iroh into the Spirit World…to bring Julie back. Just like back on Kyoshi Island, when I brought Zuko to the Spirit World just in time to contract with the Unagi's spirit. It saved Julie's life, and we got to be together again.

Sure, it was a teensy bit dishonest, but I don't think I did anything wrong. I was helping Julie. We're sisters. If I have to lie sometimes to keep her safe (even though I don't _like _lying very much) then I'll do it. I'll lie to Prince Zuko a thousand times with a straight face because Julie is my sister and I don't owe him anything.

That sounds bad, doesn't it? I feel like a bad person. Would Julie think I'm a bad person if she knew what I did? I mean, I've been trying to make up for telling so many lies…encouraging her to make friends and to pursue her feelings for Zuko. She deserves to be happy, don't you think?

Anyway, if Julie and Zuko are together, then Len won't look at her like that anymore. Zuko will be Julie's boyfriend, and Len will still be there for us…smiling kindly and keeping us safe. I feel like if I told him everything I've been doing, he'd understand. He'd be on _my _side. Wouldn't he?

He can't like Julie more than me, right? Not that I'm jealous or anything! I _love _Julie. She's my sister. I have no reason to be mad at her. I'm _not _mad. I'm really not.

I'm not sure if you realized this, but I don't get around much. Unless Julie has some sort of head injury, the only time I can float around on my own free will is when she's deeply asleep. And I kind of feel bad about getting to be all happy and floaty while Julie has a concussion, so generally I just stay inside and keep her company.

I don't mind. Not much. Maybe a little bit.

It's not Julie's fault. She never asked to have me trapped inside her head, so it wouldn't be right to be angry at her. I'm not angry at all. Sure, it hurts having to watch Len flirting with my sister. Sometimes I think I almost feel angry at him too. But Julie says that he only does it because he thinks that she's me.

Can't he tell the difference?

Wait, no…stop that. That's a bad thought! I can't think things like that because it's going to make me angry, and…and I'm not supposed to get angry. If I do, then I'm going to start to change inside, just like all spirits do when they're loose in the mortal world for too long. Spirits are pure energy, after all…and it's too easy for something pure to be tainted by some bad feeling in the chi currents. Unless you have your own body to ground your spirit's energy, turning Dark is inevitable.

You remember that time when Prince Zuko almost died because he was being menaced by the spirit of that deceased healer who burned to death on Kyoshi Island? Her spirit turned vengeful for this very reason. A lot of spirits who linger in the physical plane for too long end up this way. In the end, they only wind up causing misery for themselves and others.

But not me. _I'm _going to be different.

Anyway, even if I _wanted _to pass on, I couldn't. I don't really know how. I might not even be able to. There's some reason why I'm still here, and for a long time I didn't know what that reason was. It's why I spent most of my time at the Air Temples sleeping. It's really hard to be angry while you're asleep. If I had stayed there, I wouldn't be having such a hard time holding on to myself. But…it's okay. I have Julie. Everything is going to be okay. We're together. We'll get it right this time, her and I.

I won't turn out like that healer did. I won't let that happen. Julie needs me. I have to protect my sister…so, you see? I'm not mad at anyone. I'm especially not mad at Julie. I could handle a cursed half-life if it means being with my sister again. As long as we stay together, everything will be fine.

Julie is the reason I'm still here. She's why I'm still _me_. And I think she's also the reason why I haven't passed on, yet. That unfulfilled purpose that's binding me to this plane, whatever it is, it must have something to do with her…my sister.

It's all about positive reinforcement. It's vital that I keep up the bouncy, happy vibe…because I really need to stop feeding into these negative emotions. Ever since I got ripped away from the Air Temples, I've been feeling like a snow flake in a mud puddle…bogged down by all this anger I didn't even know I had. It's scary. I don't want to be like that.

So, I can't let Julie find out what's wrong with me. It won't do any good, and it just makes the bad feelings worse. She'll be worried and she'll feel so guilty and then she'll try to protect me again, just like in her past life. I can't handle that. I can't make that mistake a second time…

I can't let Julie protect me again. This time, I'm going to be the one to take care of her.

For now, I just kind of watch and listen and see what happens. If Julie needs me, I'm there for her…forever. And I don't mind it one bit, even if it means never having to live a full existence anymore…even if it means letting the anger in the air distort me until I'm not even myself anymore. I don't mind it because I know Julie would do the same for me.

She already _did _do that for me…a long time ago.

But I'm going to be a good sister this time. I'm going to protect Anju…even if it means doing some bad things. Even if it means other people have to get hurt. As much as I love Len and Rena, as lonely as it is being confined to Julie's body without a voice of my own, family comes first. I had to get her away from those zombies before I could even think about doing anything else.

Besides…I don't know why, but I have a very strong feeling that things will be okay. But _only_ if I come to the shrine. Just holding that old book Julie found makes me feel the same way. It must be a sign…or intuition…or something. Who cares? It's a solution! Solutions are GREAT!

And anyway, I have a plan. I just have to make sure I bring Julie's body there in one piece…and then I can try to save Rena. I'll be honest, the healer creeps me out, and I can't entirely be sure he won't try to use Julie in the future…but I guess I'll save him, too. It can't really be helped anyway.

Though, there's a good chance he'll die in the zombie attack. Accidents happen. Any number of things could go wrong for Shim in spite of my best efforts…I'm just saying.

I know this seems suspicious—especially after everything that creepy man said a few chapters ago. But I promise that everything I do, I do with Julie's best interests at heart. I wouldn't ever do anything to intentionally hurt her. If an opportunity comes along to protect my sister, _of course _I'm going to take it. That's what sisters do.

Julie will understand. She has to.

I love her _so _much.

* * *

So, the zombies haven't gotten much nicer since I left the village.

Actually, the longer they're left to roam around, the more aggressive they seem to become. I could feel just how exhausted Julie's body already was before I left—I don't think she's had a restful sleep in two days now. I found that her legs were shaky as I made them take step after step through the trees, making it really hard to dodge the stray undead that actually bothered to chase after me.

They must not have been dead for very long. The muscles haven't decomposed enough to be much of a hindrance as they lunged towards me. Good thing I still remember what to do with a sword.

Master Prospero trained me well, after all.

But, seriously…whoever gave Julie this sword should be made to go clip his toenails in a clam factory. The blade is on the wrong side and everything. What was that Hiko guy thinking? You can't kill anything with a weapon like this…and making a weapon for a pacifist is like making shoes for a guy without feet. So, what's the point?

Sorry. But you'd be ranting, too, if you had to run around in a body that's close to collapsing, trying to defend yourself with nothing but a stupid _backwards _sword. Stupid Hiko and his stupid head.

Wait, no…positive thoughts! Okay…_kittens are ADORABLE. _There. See? Happy thoughts…which mean I get to stay perfectly sane. No murderous rampages for me. _I'm _not turning into a vengeful spirit. Nope. No-Siree!

Julie is so lucky to have me around. I'm going to make everything better, just through the sheer force of my super bubbly will!

Everything is just fine. Absolutely _fine_.

YAY!

Except I really don't have a very good sense of direction. I think I might be lost. All these trees look the same. So much uniformity should be banned. And on that note, no more trees, either. Trees suck! I'm tired of staring at so many trees!

Poor Julie. She has to look at trees all the time. It must make her really, _really _sad. Though if the Fire Nation really _does _win the war, they'll burn all these nasty trees down, and everything will be better.

I love positive thinking.

"Where's the shrine?" I mumbled, finally giving in to fatigue and sinking to my knees. The ground was kind of squishy and muddy, and it made a gross squelchy noise when I knelt down on it. "I'm so tired…and lonely…" I breathed a heavy sigh, forcing back my frustration. "I miss Julie…"

Oh, I know for a fact that if Julie were leading the way, we'd be twice as lost. But at least we'd be lost together. Being lost all by myself is kind of scary.

Plus…I think that not having Julie in this body with me was having an adverse effect on my spirit. Her soul buffered mine these past couple of months, and when I wasn't talking to her about _happy _things like friendship and eelhounds and con-artistry, I would let my spirit curl up in a fluffy, content ball of vibrating energy and snuggle next to hers...and sleep. I took a lot of naps like this, and being asleep meant no bad, icky thoughts could taint me. It was _nice_.

But now…even with Julie's body to partially ground me…well, without Julie's spirit inside of it, I feel like I'm degenerating at a much faster rate. If she doesn't come back soon, I don't know how much longer I'll keep myself together. Especially with all this negative energy reanimating the corpses in the area. There's so much of it in the air, it's almost suffocating.

I'm scared.

"If I don't find the shrine soon…" I let that thought trail off, because it was a _bad _thought. "No…I'm going to find it! The shrine is a natural nexus point to a vast amount of chi, so all I have to do is use all that energy to amplify my power…and then I can calm all the restless spirits here…"

By doing that, I'm buying myself more time. I can't afford to lose control of myself…not ever. Not while Julie needs me. If I can save my friends in the process, _great! _

If not…no, I can't think about that. Just have to keep moving. Now…which way was the shrine again? North? I'm pretty sure it was North…but maybe it was North_west_…hmmm. Shoot! If there wasn't so many bad vibes in the air distorting the chi currents, I'd just use my Energybending to trace a path there!

If only there was someone I could ask for directions. But there are only zombies and more zombies everywhere I look.

Wait…I think I hear voices up ahead! Maybe _they _can tell me the way.

It's worth a shot, right?

* * *

It was official. Lieutenant Keita was an asshole.

Shen-Long glared daggers at the back of his neck, gripping his reins so tightly that his ostrich-horse was starting to get jittery. So far, the man had proven himself to be an arrogant, misogynistic loud-mouth with a drinking problem. It was probably only because of the war that this guy was able to function.

Barely.

They had left camp an hour ago and were making their way up one of the hills that nestled the zombie-infested village—headed towards the last area their "target" had been seen. Shen-Long wasn't sure what he was going to do if and when they found Julie. He couldn't just let them take her back to Yamada, not could he afford to let Lieutenant Keita anywhere near General Iroh and Prince Zuko. He had a bad feeling that Yamada had given them secret orders to have them eliminated in the heat of battle…or somewhere away from eye-witnesses.

His stomach sank when he realized he probably would have to take out this entire squadron. And since he couldn't take them all at once, that meant he'd have to pick them off one by one, killing them in cold blood before they reached the village. Murder, especially the cold-blooded kind, didn't sit well with him at all…but…did he have a choice?

_This is a war. People die in a war. That's all there is to it._

But still, Shen-Long was bothered. Even though Keita himself was an absolute creep with no obvious redeeming qualities, his men were different. Though generally an arrogant bunch, not all of them were cut from the same cloth as their commanding officer. Especially Private Kimchi, the nervous young man with the baby face who Lieutenant Keita had singled out in the line-up earlier. He obviously wasn't happy with this unit…and out of all of them, he seemed the least deserving of a grisly fate.

_If I can spare the poor bastard, I will…but Keita has to go. I'll have to get him alone somehow, and then—_

There was a rustling in the bushes ahead.

Shen-Long felt his stomach clench tight in horror as he caught a flash of red hair peeking out through the brambles. It was Julie, all right. Her face was scrunched up in a frustrated scowl as she struggled with the branches, fighting until she staggered out on to the path…in the midst of the entire unit, perched on komodo rhinos and looking absolutely intimidating.

She blinked at them one at a time, curious and not the least bit frightened (which was weird for Julie, given how hostile and belligerent she tends to get towards strangers). Slowly, her eyes met Shen-Long's until a radiant smile lit up her features.

"Hi, Len!"

His heart lurched against his ribs. That expression…that voice…she was acting just like…

"Ayla…" he breathed. "Is it…? It can't be…"

She ignored that, coming closer to his scowling mount. But just before she could reach a hand towards his rhino's horn, another rider put his beast between her and Shen-Long. Commander Keita leered down at her, a lit flame in his fist.

"Julie McVay," he said slowly. "I suggest you come with us quietly…unless you want to get hurt."

Julie…or was it Ayla? Shen-Long wasn't sure, but whoever she was, the girl silently assessed the man standing in her way. Her pretty lips pursed together in thought, and she tilted her head to the side. "Where are you going?"

Keita smirked. "I've got orders for my men and I to…_escort _you to Commander Yamada's tent. There you will be debriefed…among other things."

"Oh," she said. She paused, looking around at the trees. "Um…which way is that?"

The Lieutenant's smile dimmed a little, perhaps a little bemused by his quarry's lack of fear. She seemed remarkably unconcerned for his hinted threats of violence. Unless she was just an imbecile…or maybe she had no intention of causing trouble; which was boring, but it made his life easier. If she came willingly, he wasn't going to argue.

"The camp is due North of here," he answered. "And we'll be leaving immediately."

The redhead beamed in delight. "That's perfect! That's exactly where I need to go. I think I got lost on the way…it's so dark and there are so many trees. Everything looks the same, don't you think?"

"Yeah, whatever. If you know what's good for you, you'll climb up on the rhino and keep your mouth shut. I don't like noisy little bitches…and neither do the rest of my men."

She paused, frowning. "That's rude, you know. Just for that, I'm not riding with you. I'm going to sit next to Len. _He _knows how to treat a girl."

Keita scowled. "Who the hell are you even talking about? There's no one named Len here…unless you mean the newbie behind me." He stabbed a thumb towards Shen-Long, who was sitting rigidly in his saddle as he stared at Ayla in disbelief.

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

Before the Lieutenant could comment further, she calmly sidestepped the rhino (wasn't Julie _afraid _of komodo rhinos?) and went over to Shen-Long's mount. Shooting him a mischievous little smile, she smoothly pulled herself up on to the saddle in front of him, taking the reins.

"It's been a long time since I've ridden anything," she commented. "Len, make sure I don't fall off, okay?"

Shen-Long could barely breathe. Was this real?

The redhead peeked at him from over her shoulder, an innocent, girly expression making her crimson eyes seem larger and rounder than normal. He stared into her eyes for a moment, wondering if they were always that color…but no, didn't Julie have green eyes? Shen-Long preferred her like this, smiling and affectionate and cheerful.

This girl was nothing like Julie. And she was everything like…

"Ayla," he whispered. "You…is that you?"

Her face lit up like a candle.

"You recognized me? You knew it was me? Really? Oh, I'm so glad!" For a moment, worry dimmed her radiant glow. "I wasn't sure that you would. You've been taking such good care of Julie that I wondered if you maybe…but…that's silly! Of course you still remember me…"

"_Remember _you?" he breathed, feeling an overwhelming grief rising and swelling like the tide inside of him. "Ayla…I would never…I can't ever forget you. Losing you…it destroyed me."

She held her breath. "It…it did?" she asked quietly, her eyes growing soft. "I never realized that I…that I hurt you so badly."

Before Shen-Long could reply (not that he was sure he could—his throat seemed to have closed up), a small fire blast shot through the air, missing them by inches. Lieutenant Keita had another lit flame in his fist as he glared at them both.

"If you're done cuddling up to my prize, _newbie_, I suggest you get that rhino moving down the path. I've decided I want you to ride in front of me. Lead the way back for us." His eyes gleamed. "And if you try to run…if you do _anything _I don't like, I'll kill you both so fast there won't be time to watch yourselves burn. But if you're feeling lucky, go ahead. Try me. I could use some target practice."

Fury erupted in him. "Don't you _dare _threaten her!"

"I don't make threats. Only promises. Get going…unless you want her to get burned."

Grudgingly, Shen-Long took the reins back from Ayla and did as he was ordered. But his heart burned with the blackest of intentions for the Lieutenant. He was going to regret every last thing he said tonight. He was going to keep this girl safe.

But could Julie finally be getting her memories back? And if so, why now? What had happened to drag the part of her that was still _Ayla _to the surface?

They traveled in silence, giving Shen-Long plenty of time to stew and worry over it. He considered everything that had happened back in the village, everything leading up to when he left to get help. There was that guy who had called himself Ramon…that guy who had been manhandling her, trying to drag her into…where? The Spirit World?

It must have traumatized her. Julie must have known that Ramon guy from somewhere…and maybe what happened in the village made her not want to be Julie anymore…so Ayla came out. Was that it?

_She's scared, _he realized. _And she's so confused. I have to be careful with her._

But his heart ached.

Now that he thought about it, Julie had gone through a number of traumatic experiences in her life. She had been raised by an abusive drunk who would beat her, after all. And then there was this unknown relationship to this Ramon guy—and Shen-Long would have bet money that this asshole had hurt her in his own way. Now that she was getting these memories of her past life, from when she was Ayla…from when she had been loved…her mind couldn't reconcile the two contradictions. So it split.

_This is why we're not meant to remember our past lives, _he thought bitterly. _It drives us insane._

But it was the price he had chosen to pay to avenge Ayla's death. Her old Sifu, the man who had betrayed her, he would pay. He was out there somewhere and he was going to burn for this.

He never expected meeting Julie. He never expected finding his lost love. And that changed everything. She was his top priority now.

And if she wanted to be Ayla at this moment, he would let her. Honestly, Shen-Long didn't know what he was supposed to do to help her, but until he had a plan he was going to play along. It was a stressful situation they were in, after all. Now was not the time to push her.

"Don't be scared," he whispered to her. He looped an arm around her waist and held her against him, trying to reassure her. "I'll handle this. Just trust me."

Ayla had a scowl on her face, and for a moment Shen-Long thought she had switched back to Julie. The expression was so unnervingly similar…but then, Julie and Ayla always had the same face. Different eyes, different personalities…but the same face…the same skin.

"He's a jerk-butt," she mumbled. "If Julie were here, she'd bite his stupid head off…"

Oh. Oh, dear…this wasn't good at all.

It was something Shen-Long would have to handle delicately. Both sides of this girl were very sensitive in their own way. He would have to be careful not to hurt her while trying to help her…because he had decided, he _would _help her. He was going to help Julie put the two halves of her divided mind back together.

They could learn to let go of the past and move towards the future…they could do it together. Because Julie wasn't quite Ayla anymore, just like he, Shen-Long, wasn't quite the same person he was as Len. Time had changed them…but Shen-Long would make sure that it didn't keep them apart.

Part of him couldn't help but feel hopeful at this, though. He was only human. If Julie could reconcile with her past life, would she remember how she felt for him all those years ago? Or would she let go of her past all together and stay with Prince Zuko...who had absolutely no tact, nor a single gentle bone in his body. He wasn't right for her at all.

But if it was what Julie wanted…no, he could worry about this later. Right now, he had a fireball trained on his back, and he was being forced to bring (Julie…or was it Ayla…?) _her_ back to the camp of a known enemy who wanted to exploit her. What was he going to do?

_Come on…think, you stupid asshole…think!_

He was so caught up in plotting their escape he almost didn't notice when Ayla peeked tentatively back at him. When he met her gaze, the girl swallowed heavily, looking nervous.

"Len…are you…" she swallowed nervously. "Are you mad at me?"

"What?" That caught him off guard. "What do you mean? Why would I be mad at you? For summoning the zombies?" He shook his head. "That was an accident…"

Ayla furrowed her brow. "No," she said sternly. "_Julie _summoned the zombies…though it was my idea to try, so you shouldn't be mad at her either…okay?"

"I'm not mad," he hastened to assure her; though he was perturbed by the ease with which Ayla separated Julie's actions from herself. It was a really bad sign that these two personalities were acting separately from one another. "I'm not mad at _either _of you…all right? I'm just…" he hesitated, words failing him as he struggled to express how he was feeling about all of this. "…so happy to see you again, Ayla. I…I missed you…"

He winced as his voice cracked a little from emotion. But the redhead was looking at him with concern, squirming in her seat as she tried to get a better look at his face.

"I hurt you," she tried to explain fretfully. "You're hurting because of me…because I _died, _I…I hurt you and I never meant to do it, but…" she was blinking a lot, looking like she was going to cry. "…I mean…that's why I thought you might be upset with me. For leaving you. For…_dying_."

Shen-Long felt something snap inside of him.

"You think I'm mad at you for…for _that?_" he cried. "You think I _blame _you for what those bastards did to you? You didn't ask them to tie you to that stake and burn you alive!"

Ayla cringed and shrank away from him, putting her hands over her ears. She turned around in the saddle and faced front, her eyes downcast and her shoulders hunched. Meanwhile, Shen-Long was cursing his own idiocy. Of course that was an extremely traumatic experience, and Ayla didn't deserve to have to relive it due to his big, fat mouth.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "Ayla, I…I shouldn't have said that. I wasn't thinking."

"I should have felt the pain."

Shen-Long blinked. "What?"

But the girl never turned around. "I should have felt it when the Brotherhood killed me. It should have burned. But I didn't feel a thing." She sniffled. "I…I should have been the one to hurt…"

"I…I don't understand what you're saying…"

Ayla shook her head again. "Forget it. I…I can't talk about it right now. I have to think happy thoughts…and this isn't happy. What I did was so horrible…and I can't let myself remember it all. So, please, Len."

Shen-Long hesitated.

_Happy thoughts? _This was getting stranger by the second. But he realized he had no choice but to let the matter drop for now. If they didn't figure out a way out of going to see Yamada, there was a good chance they'd both be imprisoned…or worse. The last thing he needed was to lose sight of Ayla while she was obviously vulnerable.

"We'll talk about this later," he told her in a low voice, so Keita and the others wouldn't hear. "Right now I need to focus on getting us out of here."

Ayla perked up right away—as suddenly as the lighting of a flame. "You mean escaping?"

The abrupt mood swing was unsettling. Not to mention the fact that she had spoken at normal volumes, which was just begging their enemies to send a fireball at them. Shen-Long frowned, puzzling at the cheer emanating from her petite form, at the smile tugging the corners of Julie's mouth into a manic-looking smile. It was so random…almost compulsive.

"Don't let them hear you," he said sternly. "I don't want them hurting you!" Then, he hesitated. "Are you feeling all right? You're acting…really peculiar."

She giggled—Julie _never _giggled. "Don't be silly, Len. I'm just in a good mood! Everything is fine!"

"It wasn't a moment ago," he muttered. "Anyway, what's gotten into you? How can you be so…_bubbly _at a moment like this? They could kill us, you know."

"No, they can't."

Shen-Long lifted an eyebrow. This was certainly news to him. The more this girl talked the less she reminded him of the Ayla he used to know…and more like the manifestation of a psychotic break Julie was having. The realization left him deeply concerned…almost panic-stricken, given that this was definitely _not _a good time for either of them to be having a mental breakdown.

But that smile on her face was so unnatural…so forced. What was happening to her? What was making her act like this?

"Julie," he said firmly. "Get a hold of yourself, or we're going to get ourselves killed. This isn't like you at all!"

The girl went rigid. "That…that's not my name, Len." She wasn't facing him anymore, but he could tell by the icy dread in her voice that she wasn't smiling anymore, either. "Why did you call me by _her _name?"

He cursed inwardly. "It slipped. Just…" he breathed out a sigh. "Just…give me some time to adjust to all of this, okay? A few hours ago you were Julie and now you're Ayla. I need more time to get my head straight."

Translation: he needed to get them the fuck out of there, _now_.

There was a very pregnant pause before the silence was shattered by Ayla's laugh—a nervous, high-pitched sound that reminded Shen-Long of glass breaking. "I get it…you…you can't let _them _know I'm not Julie. They're after her, aren't they? Is that it?"

She laughed again, and Shen-Long felt himself getting goose-bumps. Suddenly, her hands felt like ice in his, and he wondered why he never noticed it before. There was something very _wrong _about this…something he had no idea how to fix.

"Don't worry, Len. They won't get her. I won't let them." There was an edge to her voice now. "They can't have her. I'm going to keep her nice and safe."

He swallowed—his mouth had gone dry. "Julie…" his stomach clenched tight as he stopped himself just in time. If she wanted to be called Ayla right now, then fine. It was obvious that Julie wasn't in a sound state of mind, and the last thing he wanted was for her to hurt herself…or someone else.

It would be an accident, of course. Julie wouldn't intentionally hurt someone else. She and Ayla had that in common. They were both so gentle…even though Julie would deny it to her dying breath.

"We're going to take good care of her, Len. You and me…we can do it together. You've been so _nice _to her…so _kind_. No one else is that nice. You take such good care of Julie…you and Rena. You wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Never."

Shen-Long struggled to coax some air into his lungs, but it was impossible as he got the mental image of a young woman burning to death at the stake. That pretty face tensed in agony, skin blackening and eyes wide open, staring at nothing…mouth open in a silent scream…until she was nothing but bones and ashes…Ayla…_his_ Ayla…the girl he had failed to save.

He swallowed. Even though he felt sick to his stomach, it wouldn't do to upset the redhead nestled against his chest. Could she feel how fast his heart was beating? It was imperative to act like nothing was wrong…

"Right," he said in a tight voice. "I'd die before I'd let something hurt Julie. You…you know that, don't you?"

The redhead glanced at him over her shoulder and shot him that eerie smile. "Of course. It's the reason why I love you so much, Len."

His stomach turned over in surprise. "That's…" he started to say, but he stopped himself.

As badly as he wanted this to be real, he couldn't take her words at face value. Julie wasn't herself. She probably was acting on her past memories and had no idea what she was saying. He couldn't act on his feelings until he was absolutely sure that she felt the same way—and all evidence pointed to her being in love with Prince Zuko.

Spirits, this hurt. This was beyond cruel.

"It's no big deal. Julie's a good person…she's my friend. She's important to me."

Something wary stirred in those red eyes of hers, but a moment later it was masked behind that unnatural cheer. "Great! Anyway, you don't have to worry about those jerk-muffins anymore. I'm going to take care of them…as soon as we're closer to the shrine. I've got a plan."

Shen-Long scowled. He didn't like the sound of that…but in the end his curiosity won out. "What shrine?"

"Baihu's shrine. You remember that tiger spirit thingy that almost ate Zuko? He's going to stop the zombies if we get there in time. I even brought the magic book with me. It's in my bag."

That girlish innocence was back, but he wasn't fooled. There was an urgency to Ayla's tone that made him especially cautious about her so-called plan. Shouldn't she be more worried about the others? His heart skipped a beat in dread as he realized that Julie should have been waiting for him back in the village, and she wasn't. She was supposed to have stayed with his sister and Prince Zuko and the others…but she _hadn't_.

"Jul…err…Ayla…" he found it difficult not to stammer out his question. "What happened to everyone else? To Bo-Fen? They were supposed to keep an eye on you for me…"

The girl frowned. "They were keeping an eye on _Julie_, Len."

Shen-Long felt a throb of impatience. "Fine. They were watching _Julie_, and now _you're _here…not where I left…um…_her_. Did something bad happen? Is everyone else all right?"

Ayla just shrugged. "They were alive when I left. Zuko and Iroh went to the Spirit World to find Julie…and Rena and Shim are guarding their bodies from the zombies until they wake up. In the meantime, I'm taking Julie's body to a safe place, and I'm going to purify Baihu's shrine to stop the dead from rising again."

"You're going to use the book and Baihu's power to put the zombies to rest?" he said slowly, trying to piece the logic of the story together. "And what do you mean Zuko and Iroh are in the Spirit World? How did they get there?"

"I sent them there. I had to. If I didn't do something, no one would be able to stop Koh from taking her face."

Shen-Long felt the blood draining from his face. "You…sent them into the Spirit World…to look for _Julie_?"

Ayla blinked at him in confusion. "Yes. Why? You look like you're going to faint."

Oh, Spirits. She had no idea what she had done wrong. She had sent Prince Zuko and General Iroh into the Spirit World to chase after her alternate personality…and they wouldn't ever come back. Julie and Ayla were the same person! And when _Koh _found their wandering spirits…oh, _Spirits_! Ayla had _killed _them!

Shen-Long had no idea what to do. Julie had been dangerous enough before when she couldn't control her bending. Now, her mind was split into two personalities, one of which still depended on him to protect her…and the other one in frightening control and hell-bent on "protecting" her "sister."

"You…Ayla, you can't just…_do _things like that," he gasped frantically. "What if they get caught by the Masks? Or Koh?"

She looked abashed; Shen-Long realized too late how sharp his tone had been. But it really didn't do him any good to be gentle considering the fact that she already sent two people to the Spirit World to their _deaths _out of good intentions. It was disturbing…and Shen-Long couldn't help but feel partly responsible for it all. If he had only taken better care of Julie, maybe none of this would have happened. Maybe she'd still be sane right now.

And _damn_. Those poor bastards. Shen-Long wasn't going to pretend that he cared much for Prince Zuko, but the little asshole hadn't deserved to be exiled to Koh's lair for nothing. Neither did General Iroh. Shen-Long definitely didn't want to know what would happen when Julie came to and realized what she had done.

"They're going to save Julie," she said slowly, as if repeating herself would suddenly make everything all right. "That's most important."

He ran his hand through his scalp, dazed. "Okay…" he breathed. "I just…I'm trying to understand. Okay, um…you said that Bo-Fen was still alive?"

The redhead nodded, all serious and sure. "She can't walk much, but she can still defend herself. And Shim's watching her back…though I don't know if I trust him. Maybe we should get rid of him later. Just in case he tries to hurt her or Julie. I don't like the way he looks at her, Len."

"No!" Shen-Long blurted out, too loud.

He went tense, certain that his voice had carried back towards Keita and his men. Sure enough, the Lieutenant sped up his mount so that the tip of his rhino's horn was almost tickling their rhino's tail. Shen-Long winced as he looked over his shoulder, locking eyes with his so-called commanding officer.

"Got a problem, newbie?"

Shen-Long didn't dare to blink. "No."

"That's no, _Sir_."

He gritted his teeth and forced back the fire he wanted to send at this cretin's face. Every smart-aleck remark he had ready, every insubordinate action he could think of, all of it was suppressed in his desperation to protect the girl in front of him. But he couldn't help but hate himself a little as he muttered, "No, Sir."

Keita narrowed his eyes at him. "You seemed awfully riled up just now. You sure there isn't anything you want to share with the rest of the squad?"

A beat.

"No, Sir."

There was a tense pause. By now, they had all come to a temporary halt, the Lieutenant eyeing Ayla as though gauging how much of a threat she would be. He had pulled up his rhino so that he and his prisoners were side by side, and he was just close enough to be within arm's reach of Ayla if necessary (Shen-Long couldn't help but notice this troubling fact). Sure enough, Keita gave his newest recruit one last disparaging glance before making a decision.

"Julie McVay," he snapped, causing the redhead to jump back against Shen-Long's chest. "Dismount and come over here. You're riding with me for the rest of the way."

There was an awkward pause as Ayla stared uncomprehendingly at Keita. Once she realized that she had been given an order rather than the punch line to a bad joke, she folded her arms defensively.

"I don't want to ride with you, you arrogant old hoozer. And quit picking on Len…or I'm going to let him kick your butt from here to next Tuesday."

"OH?" The Lieutenant's face had turned an alarming shade of red—the angry variety of red that was never a good sign for a Firebender. "Is that so? Little girl, I don't think you realize just how much danger you're putting yourself in. And I wouldn't count on _Len, _here, to back you up…not if he doesn't want to end up brought up on charges."

Ayla wrinkled her nose in disdain. It was obvious she didn't think much of Keita or his scare tactics. Tossing her pretty red hair over her shoulder, she leveled a pointed glare in his direction.

"You better watch yourself," she warned him. "You're making me mad…and I'm not supposed to get mad! I have to think happy thoughts right now...or else…or else something _bad _will happen!"

"Ooh, did you hear that, boys? She said something _bad _will happen if I don't stop picking on her and Lenny," Keita remarked tauntingly. A wave of color flooded into the girl's face as she glared at him, something that caused him to throw his head back and laugh at her. Shen-Long felt her shaking with anger.

"Stop laughing," she said quietly. "I don't care if you laugh at me, but don't you dare make fun of Len. He's twice the man you'll ever be."

The Lieutenant just sneered. "Little girl, when our betrothal is made official, I will personally see to it that you learn your place. Your disobedience may be cute now, but no wife of mine is ever going to talk back to me."

"You're not going to teach her…I mean, _me…_anything! There's no way that she…I mean…um…I'm not marrying a jerk-butt like you! So fuck off!"

Shen-Long groaned to himself. Okay, now Julie was starting to sound like her old self…but of course, she had to do it at the worst possible moment. How typical.

Keita went quiet. So had the rest of the soldiers in the squad. Private Kimchi was watching the conversation unfold nervously, as if sensing that this would only end in a frightening display of disciplinary action. And he was not wrong in this instance.

"Off that rhino," the Lieutenant snapped. "_Now_."

Ayla squared her jaw. "Make me!"

And he did. Before Shen-Long could even blink, Keita's palm lashed out and cracked against the girl's cheek. By the time the soldier was pulling her back, out of arm's reach, there was a stinging red mark where Keita's hand had made contact with her face. Ayla stared straight at the ground, her crimson eyes very wide and unfocused.

"Stupid bitch," the Lieutenant growled. "Don't make me tell you again!"

Ayla blinked and slowly brought a hand to the red mark on her cheek. Shen-Long leaned over her protectively, trying frantically to assess the damage.

"Are you all right?" he said tersely.

The redhead pressed her fingertips tentatively against her skin and winced. "He…he bruised Julie's cheek. He…hurt Julie…"

Shen-Long felt his stomach drop. "Ayla?"

He sensed it before it happened, the faint stirring of something deadly in the air. Goosebumps rose on his skin as if a thunderstorm was about to break open the sky. One minute Ayla was sitting frozen in his arms…and the next…

"He _hurt _Julie."

Her eyes began to glow an inhuman shade of red. They were like blazing coals straight out of an unforgiving furnace. Shen-Long realized immediately what was about to happen, but as he moved to stop Ayla he found that his muscles were locked tight against his will. He couldn't move.

Keita drew his rhino back a few steps, startled. "What the-?"

And that was when Ayla vaulted off the saddle and grabbed on to the horn of the Lieutenant's mount. Somehow, the beast didn't balk or try to throw her off. Instead, it seemed to be just as paralyzed as Shen-Long felt—though its milky eyes seemed remarkably unafraid. It gave off an eerily calm aura, as if it were in a trance.

Keita threw up his arms to protect himself—or perhaps he was trying to Firebend but couldn't quite summon his inner flame in time. Ayla had scurried up the rhino's next and slammed her glowing red palm into his chest, directly over the spot where his heart was. The shockwave rippled through Keita's meaty body, making his muscles spasm and a painful gurgle fly out of his throat. His eyes widened as he stared up at nothing, Time seemed to slow down as he tumbled off the saddle and hit the ground too hard, snapping his neck and killing him instantly.

Ayla smiled, eyes full of mischief. "Oops." She looked around at the dumbstruck soldiers. "My hand slipped."

Shen-Long felt the air leave his lungs. He couldn't breathe. Did Julie just…_kill _a man?

No. There was just no way. This wasn't like her…Julie wouldn't do something like this…and Ayla wouldn't either. This wasn't something she was acting out of her memories. This was something worse…something sinister and familiar.

"That bitch killed the Lieutenant!" one of the soldiers shouted. "Get her!"

There was a moment of confusion among the remaining members of the squad as someone pointed out that Commander Yamada wanted her brought to him alive. That was all Shen-Long bothered to hear before grabbing Ayla, dragging her back on to his saddle, and cracking the reins of his rhino urging it to run. Before anyone could think of pursuing them, he was already vanished off the path and into the woods.

They crashed through the undergrowth, tearing through bushes and stray branches in their haste to escape. Shen-Long shielded Ayla with his body to keep her from getting scratched, but his heart thundered in his chest.

"Len!" she cried. "Len, wait! We're going the wrong way! We have to get to the shrine!"

He glanced down at her incredulously, not bothering to slow down. "Are you crazy? You just killed someone! Those guys are going to kill you if they catch up to us! How can you think about something like that now?"

Ayla's whole body tensed underneath his. "You don't understand…this is more important! And that man had to die! He _hurt Julie! _He was going to hurt you! I was protecting you both!"

Shen-Long shook his head. "You were smiling. You…you were enjoying it."

The conversation died. The girl shrank down into herself, as if she only just now understood the enormity of her own actions. She looked so confused and scared that it made him want to apologize to her immediately. It clearly wasn't her fault...not entirely. Keita had been pretty threatening, and then there was the matter of fact that he had been contemplating killing the man himself.

But…still. He wouldn't have been having fun while doing it. There had been no sane reason for Julie to smile as she used her bending to intentionally kill another human being.

"Did you mean to kill him?"

Ayla wasn't meeting his gaze. "Maybe. I…I was mad. I wanted him to hurt for what he did to Julie…and for what he _wanted _to do to her later. He would have been a terrible husband for her."

Shen-Long breathed out a sigh. Okay, he definitely couldn't fault her for that. She was absolutely right on all accounts. Keita had most likely deserved the fate he had been dealt. He just wished that Julie hadn't been the one to deliver it to him.

"Len," said Ayla in a tiny voice. "Do you hate me now? For…for killing him?"

"What?" That caught him by surprise. "No, of course not! I mean…you're right. Keita was a problem, and I…I guess I'm just worried about you. But I don't hate you. Why would you think that?"

She didn't answer him. She couldn't even look him in the eyes.

"Ayla…" They were safely in the distance now, too far away for Keita's search and retrieval unit to catch up to them. Shen-Long allowed his rhino to slow to a canter as he pulled Julie into a one-armed embrace. "Nothing you do could ever get me to hate you, okay? I'll always love you…you know that, right?"

The girl seemed to glow with happiness. "Really?"

He nodded slowly. "Really."

There was a brief silence as the weight of his words sank in. Ayla shifted around so that she was suddenly facing him, her hands on his chest and her eyes locked with his. Shen-Long had been careful not to let go of her, not wanting her to fall off the rhino and risk hurting herself…but he wasn't expecting her to suddenly twine her arms around his neck and brush her lips against his.

"Len," she breathed. "Kiss me."

His heart sputtered. He was suddenly light-headed and couldn't think straight. There was no logic, no reason to hold back, no people to find or places to be. Instead there was just the softness of her mouth, the enticing sea-breeze smell that lingered in her hair, the way her slender body was pressed up against his…this was something he couldn't resist. But something in the back of his mind nagged at him, warned him that giving in to desire would be a costly mistake.

His misgivings kept him still as a statue as Ayla tried to deepen their kiss. Shen-Long couldn't help it. His mouth moved with hers almost desperately, longing and desire robbing him of his senses as he parted her lips and met her tongue with his own. He felt her breathing hitch in excitement as she snuggled closer, burying her hands in his hair and dragging him closer. Every ounce of his self-control was being burned away by the fire in his blood, all for this girl.

Shen-Long pulled back a little, gasped for breath. A ragged laugh escaped him. This was good…too good. He stared into her crimson eyes, captivated by her.

"I love you," he murmured, leaning in to nip at her bottom lip. "Julie…"

All the warmth was instantly sucked out of the air as he realized his mistake. Ayla's eyes went wide with hurt and fury.

"You…why did you…? That's not my name…"

Her voice trembled, as though she were about to cry. Shen-Long cursed, reaching for her—but Ayla slapped his hands away. She slid off the back of the rhino and backed up a few yards, tears rising to the surface.

"You like her more than me," she muttered accusingly. "You're in love with _her_, aren't you?"

Alarmed, Shen-Long tried to dismount after her. But the moment his feet touched the ground, Ayla took off running into the forest, not bothering to look back. He tried to follow, but suddenly his legs seemed to turn to jelly, and his knees gave out. He collapsed on the ground, sputtering in frustration and remorse.

"Dammit!" he cursed. Julie must have done something to the chi points in his legs with her bending. "Spirits dammit!"

Of course, it had all been a mistake. It had been a mistake to kiss her when she was obviously so confused…a mistake to call her by the wrong name…a mistake to let his emotions get the better of him…to let his desire get in the way of protecting the girl he loved.

He had to get her back. He had to find her before she did something she would regret. If only he could get his damned legs to _work_.

* * *

"What do you mean they were delayed?"

Delun's voice was sharp as a knife, slicing through the already frayed nerves of his underlings. The acolytes cringed at his anger, their minds frantically searching for something, anything to appease their leader. But his ire was understandable—inevitable, really, given that their plans were being clumsily upended by a twelve-year-old super monk and his hapless friends.

Bad enough they had to flee Jade Valley village after the young Avatar overpowered them by calling upon the power of his past lives. The Avatar State was truly a force to be reckoned with, but knowing this did nothing to soothe the livid Delun.

And now, on top of it all, they had received word that the Earthbending children they were expecting for tonight's sacrifice weren't likely to arrive until it was too late. All because of the unexpected surge of Fire Nation soldiers into the nearby villages (something about an Earthbending rebellion…most peculiar since they had deliberately wiped out any benders they had gotten their hands on)…among other things.

"Do I need to remind you how _vital _tonight's sacrifices are?" Delun snapped. "We cannot under any circumstances lose this opportunity to grow stronger than our so-called _brothers_ from the Naga sect! If we lose favor with the Red Lady, our clan could likely _die out!_"

Yes, they knew. The idea had been firmly cemented in their minds months before they had even volunteered to leave their tunnels and travel the outside world. This was their most important mission yet if you didn't count what they had planned for the Winter Solstice. If they failed…death really would be a mercy compared to what Delun would do to them all.

Or Kraje, the old Raven who had taken Delun as his Chosen one. What a bloodthirsty spirit, if there ever was one…but there was no doubt that he made the clan stronger.

"The Naga clan has been absolutely insufferable since they've started occupying Ba-Sing Se. Taking Omashu should have solved that problem, but the Avatar had to interfere…that heretic brat." Delun's face twisted into a hateful expression. "Were they behind _this _as well?"

The timing would have been a little too perfect.

"Actually," said one of the acolytes, immediately wishing he hadn't spoken when their leader fixed his hawk-like gaze upon him. "The reports say that it was a band of Water Tribe skirmishers. They've been ambushing Fire Nation squadrons, interrupting their supply lines…and they must have stumbled upon our men by accident. It's strange that they've gotten involved."

"Probably not," Delun grumbled. "The Water Tribes claim to have strong traditionalist and family values, even though they nurture and encourage their children to learn _Waterbending_. They're nothing more than hypocritical deviants…however, if our brothers were _foolish _enough to hint at any ill intentions towards those children, it would explain why the Water Tribe felt obligated to intervene."

"Shall we send someone to eliminate Chief Hakoda?"

"No. We'll need every able-bodied brother and sister to see to tonight's sacrifice. After it is complete, we can take the time to deal with our enemies."

"Master Delun," a cloaked messenger stepped forward. "Our spies have returned from the nearest villages with news of the Avatar's movements. They say that your younger half-brother is aiding him on his journey to master the elements."

Delun sighed. "I _know _that. I already encountered them in Omashu…though it was my impression that Kuba was left behind to learn Earthbendingfrom that senile King Bumi."

"Well, he was confirmed to be with Avatar Aang while inciting an Earthbender rebellion. A man they freed by the name Tyro is said to be leading formerly captive Earthbenders out of a Fire Nation prison ship to retake the villages."

"And the Avatar?" he asked sharply.

"The reports on that matter are scattered and confused. But surely he will remain with this Tyro in his fight against the Fire Nation, would he not?"

Delun gave him a withering stare. "For a mission as important as this one, I do not leave _anything _to chance. Especially not a volatile of a factor as the Avatar." He closed his eyes, turning his back on the acolytes. "Leave me. I have work to do before the ceremony."

The cloaked minions exchanged frantic glances—but as their leader cleared his throat pointedly, they hastily bowed low and scurried out of his presence.

"And don't return before the ceremony unless it's a matter of supreme importance," he snapped at their retreating backs. He sighed bitterly. "Simpletons. The only one worthy of serving our Lady Ayla is me. Compared to myself, the chosen elite, they are but mere worms. I am superior…and you know it. Don't you, Kraje?"

Slowly, he opened his eyes. They were glowing yellow.

_You greatly exaggerate your own importance, mortal. You are merely a vessel for my convenience. Nothing more._

Delun grimaced. "You chose me for a reason. Now, show me visions of things yet to come. Show me the Avatar and his allies. Show me what stands in the way of tonight's sacrifices to Lady Ayla."

_Many things you ask for…all different. I am not especially inclined to reveal them to you._

This was disturbing…and highly unusual. In all of the years he lived as Kraje's mortal vessel, Delun couldn't remember many instances when the Crow withheld information from him. The only times he could remember were times when the spirit was in the mood to test him—for it was well known that it was always searching for a more powerful, more worthy vessel. Kraje only wanted the best…and for the moment, _he _was the best.

There had been a time when Kraje had been considering his heretic half-sibling, Kuba. That had been the last time the spirit had refused him the Clear Sight. It was not in his power to see the future…only things that Are. But when Kuba had been a candidate for becoming the new vessel…Delun had been almost blind.

Could it be that Kuba's reappearance in his life was causing this? It might be that the old Crow would never reveal things to him again until that boy was dead in the ground.

It was definitely something to consider.

"Show me what you will, then," Delun snapped. "I will make the most out of little…and in doing so I will prove myself worthy of your eyes, Kraje."

_Compliance. It is a rare tone for you, and certainly preferred to this arrogant bent of yours. If not for your ambition, you would have little to back up your lofty words. However…I suppose I can show you a little of what Is. Make of it what you will._

That was all the warning Delun got before the images erupted in his brain. He squared his shoulders and threw his head back, receiving the full weight of his vision and instinctively grounding himself before he could be overwhelmed. Sometimes the Clear Sight could be disorienting…and it certainly wasn't for the weak of heart…or stomach.

He saw it all…

_The Avatar sitting on the head of his bison, flying low to the ground and staring solemnly in the distance. His two Water Tribe companions were talking in low voices back on the saddle, in a private conversation that went ignored by the young Airbender. And there, curled up in a ball to avoid looking at the big, open sky was his half-brother…the weakling. _

And then…

_Earthbenders and Firebenders meeting head to head on the field of battle. Buildings were set ablaze in the literal heat of the fight, civilians and soldiers alike screaming from the carnage. He could see Water Tribe men darting into the fray as well…and it looked as if they were turning the tide in the favor of the Earthbenders. The Fire Nation were shouting for their men to regroup, organizing a hasty retreat._

Not that it mattered much to Delun. So long as the war continued, the Brotherhood would continue to gain followers…and he would be the shepard to guide his flock of helpless, gullible lambs. They were no different from the wretches in Jade Valley Village, who were all too willing to believe that Lady Ayla would bring salvation to a bunch of heretic elemental-benders.

No, he would see to it that every last one of them _burned_ to a crisp.

_A red-haired girl was running through the trees, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was clutching a book to her chest and looked very determined…and very heartbroken. _How interesting… _Her surroundings were very familiar. She was getting closer and closer to the shrine, to where he was waiting for her._

Of course, it had been a brilliant idea to leave the tomb behind. He knew it was only a matter of time before Julie had sensed the distortion of energy in the area as more sacrifices were made in her name. Given her potential, it was inevitable that she would find the book.

As stubborn and headstrong as the girl was, fate was placing her neatly in his hands. Delun smiled in immense satisfaction.

"She is near," he muttered.

_As is your destruction, _Kraje replied. _Unless you manage to avert fate and prove yourself worthy of my protection._

He almost laughed at the spirit, but caught himself just in time. It was never a good idea to laugh at a spirit, especially one acting as the source of one's power. Instead, he schooled his expression into something much more subdued, yet unmistakably _smug._

"Fate is on my side," he told the Crow. "You'll see. By the end of the night, Ayla's incarnation will be in my thrall. Baihu will be mine to command, and you will learn my true potential."

The monstrous bird only croaked with laughter.

_We'll see, _it said with glee. _We certainly shall see._

* * *

**A/N: Yeah. Ayla's not doing so well.**

**I really had to be subtle with her character as I was writing this fic. I didn't want to give away what was happening to her too soon…and by the time you guys realize it, it's kind of too late. All of that positive energy, all those times when she seems sleepy or just doesn't respond, it's because she was trying to keep herself stable and grounded so she wouldn't become a vengeful spirit.**

**We're starting to see some major consequences for what Energybenders do. I know some of you clever readers are wondering if they're overpowered since they can manipulate the spiritual side of nature—something only the Avatar should be able to do. **_**You're not wrong**_**.**

**Only the Avatar can be a true bridge between the worlds. When spirits linger too long in the mortal world without incarnating in a mortal body (like the Moon and Ocean spirits did), or when humans meddle in the Spirit World, it leads to very, very bad things. That's what this entire episode arc is supposed to illustrate.**

**While Zuko and Iroh are facing countless dangers in the Spirit World—where **_**they **_**shouldn't be—Ayla is starting to feel the side-effects from not passing on to the afterlife. She's managed to avoid them for all these years by sleeping in the Air Temples, but now that she's awake with a purpose, she's starting to break down…slowly, though. Because she technically inhabits a body (Julie's), she shouldn't become corrupted as quickly as other spirits.**

**But, yeah. When Julie got sucked into the Spirit World…when the shrine got desecrated by the Brotherhood, throwing of the balance of chi in the area in a major way…Ayla's condition took a nose-dive. Which we're seeing right now, as she narrates the start of her quest and her motivations for embarking on it…along with a rapid deterioration of her logic and patience.**

**Will Shen-Long be able to help her now that he's found her? Will Ayla be able to help Team Avatar defeat the Brotherhood?**

**WELL…sorry. Next chapter I'm switching back to Julie. You'll find out…eventually. Because I'm evil like that.**

**Still, I hope this chapter was good enough to warrant such a long wait. It was just a real bitch to write. Switching narrators was supposed to be symbolic, and I didn't want to botch it. But, yeah. I probably did. Something like this is really tricky.**

**What do you guys think? REVIEW!**


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